That site is going to become a housing development, and WAQI is moving to the WQBA site at Krome Avenue and the Trail. It will be a serious downgrade in coverage to the north.
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710 WGBS HISTORY
- Thread starter thebeach33445
- Start date
That site is going to become a housing development, and WAQI is moving to the WQBA site at Krome Avenue and the Trail. It will be a serious downgrade in coverage to the north.
Ai4i
Star Participant
Before they moved to their current location in Miramar, they were at the southeast corner of Griffin and Pine Island roads. When they left that one, it became an FCC monitoring station for many years until the FCC moved to the Florida keys. During those years, no local AM stations were allowed to produce in excess of 33mv/m at their site and some had to construct additional towers to prevent this.
Their nighttime null aims toward WOR, so they will lose much of western Broward county.
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Mike Sheridan
Star Participant
Thanks to both of you guys for these posts. I knew there was an FCC monitoring station in the area but I never knew exactly where. I know WSRF had to reign in their pattern because of it. That station had the strangest pattern I have ever seen, lots of nulls. It reminded me of a 4 leaf clover.
David, I assume you are talking about the night time coverage? Daytime coverage used to be really awesome to the north. I think it was only a 2 tower directional during the day but used 6 towers at night.
David, I assume you are talking about the night time coverage? Daytime coverage used to be really awesome to the north. I think it was only a 2 tower directional during the day but used 6 towers at night.
Nights goes to just 6.3 kw, and due to new rules gives more protection to WOR than before. Since the site is at the Trail and Krome, not Miramar, it will have very little if any useful Broward night coverage.
Daytime is a simpler patter, with a deeper null. the null is aimed right at SE Broward.
Ai4i
Star Participant
I thought their current day pattern protected that now-defunct monitoring station and maybe third adjacency, WSBR, but why would they need to be directional from the Miccosukee cassino, other than to direct some of their signal away from the alligators?
From the FCC.
It looks like they are giving up on Broward county and tremendously reducing the resell stick value of the station.
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Mike Sheridan
Star Participant
Wow I just looked at the old WAQI site on Google they are surrounded by housing developments and Everglades High School. I remember when there was nothing there except a concrete plant. There wasn't even much of a road out there, now is surrounded. The traffic must be insane.
David, are you sure about 6.3KW at night? I'm sure you are correct but man that sure is a come down from Florida's Full time 50,000 watt station. Is there another AM station in Florida that is 50,000 watts 24 hours? Another example of the irrelevance of AM radio.
David, are you sure about 6.3KW at night? I'm sure you are correct but man that sure is a come down from Florida's Full time 50,000 watt station. Is there another AM station in Florida that is 50,000 watts 24 hours? Another example of the irrelevance of AM radio.
The filing is for 50 day and 6.3 kw night from the WQBA towers at Krome and the Trail (the casino corner). Apparently nothing more would work without extensively reengineering the site.
Mike Sheridan
Star Participant
Not that I didn't believe you guys but I had to see it myself...wow! Ironically I heard from an old engineer friend of mine tonight. We had not talked in years, so it was a treat. He works for several stations in Miami including SBS. He was unaware of the move.
Wow even the day pattern appears rather limited compared to the old site. 5 tower directional day and night. The old day pattern was only 3 towers.
Wow even the day pattern appears rather limited compared to the old site. 5 tower directional day and night. The old day pattern was only 3 towers.
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Ai4i
Star Participant
I just noticed that their proposed pattern is perfectly symmetric(al?) along the axis of WQBA's sticks, so no additional ones will go up. I do not know what that unpainted stick off to the southwest is. BTW...other 710s might be able to improve their coverages now...maybe.
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danesgs4424
New member
Thanks Frank,
Being his son I can say it was very cool to be taken to meet the astronauts who walked on the moon at like 9 years old. They were at a press conference in coconut grove I think. Still have the pick of Borman or someone handing me back the pen for the autograph. Press credentials don't get you very far these days I guess like then. Yes WGTO "Home of Cypress gardens" Saw my first rock band there at the only venue you could play. No name Beatles playing band, they actually sounded like them. Am sure Winter haven has changed 20 fold since then. BTW I have a lot of my Dad's old reel to reel and cassette tapes made of news and breaking stories from then and am transferring them to digital for posterity.
V/r
Greg Danes
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K.M. Richards
Guest
And then later (1954) George B. Storer used a dormant channel 27 construction permit with the transmitting facilities of failing WFTL-TV to put WGBS-TV on the air on channel 23.
http://www.uhftelevision.com/articles/wgbs.html
Mike Sheridan
Star Participant
Great story, while I knew most of it there were some details I wasn't aware of. I believe WFTL-TV may have operated until about December 1954 though. The article made it sound like it was just a CP. The power and antenna hight was quite small by todays standards.
I saw the first tests when WAJA-TV went on the air. The first test pattern said WGBS-TV. In a day or two there was a new test pattern with the WAJA calls.
Another interesting story of UHF in the '50's is that of WBUF Channel 17 in Buffalo. It was sold by the local businessmen who started it to NBC. NBC improved the signal and even moved into a building specially made for TV running it as an NBC O&O. NBC already had the maximum number of VHF stations so this was an experiment. Just before the 3rd VHF WKBW-TV came on in 1958 NBC threw in the towel. They sold the studios to WBEN-AM-FM-TV. The NBC network shows moved back to WGR-TV-2. NBC donated the license to the Western New York Educational TV Foundation. It went on as WNED-TV around 1959.
WNED is one of the few educational TV stations that operated with a commercial license. A move that turned out well when WNYETV started their second educational station on 23 with a non commercial license. After awhile they wanted to sell one of the stations but the dilemma was WNED 17 was well known in the area as an educational station since it had operated as such for many years. The FCC allowed the swap of the commercial and educational licenses so that WNED 17 was retained and 23 was sold as a commercial station.
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K.M. Richards
Guest
I think I made it clear enough:
Third paragraph starts with the sentence "Meanwhile, in adjacent Fort Lauderdale, UHF stations WFTL-TV/23 and WITV/17 had gone on the air in the course of 1953 (in April and November, respectively)."
Fifth paragraph includes the verbiage "Storer purchased the WMIE-TV CP and WFTL-TV's facilities, then filed for WFTL-TV to be reassigned to channel 39 and go dark."
(emphasis added from original article)
So yes, WFTL-TV operated literally until the day before WGBS-TV signed on, then handed the keys to the transmitter site over to Storer, which used their own permit (the WMIE/27 CP, reallocated to channel 23 and with the new call letters) to sign it on the next day as a "new" station. At that point, the now-dark WFTL-TV's CP was reallocated to channel 39. If you look at the filing history excerpts I reproduced from Broadcasting you'll see that Storer never had his hands on WFTL-TV's permit or license.
DrAkbar
Star Participant
Storer was an interesting guy who spent a lot of his $$ improving Ancient Modulation stations he owned. WJBK 15~Hundred in Detroit and its 9 stick night array to protect WTOP and KSTP. And KGBS 10~Twenty in Boss Angeles which finally went full-time after he re-engineered a station on the same frequency in Roswell NM. There's probably more stories out there...plus Storer owned an airline that brought frigid folks from the NE down to Miami and warm up while listening (no doubt) to WGBS!
Storer didn't just rebuild the Roswell station... he built it. To provide additional service to rural NM when the clear channels were being "broken down" Storer had the new CP in Roswell redesigned prior to construction and he built and paid for the facility on the condition of accepting mutual interference. KTNQ had to accept a NIF level of nearly 9 mV/m, meaning no night service to most of Orange COunty and ratty service in parts of the San Fernando Valley. But he got the 50 kw bragging rights and a 300 kw lobe over central LA.
The FCC bought the deal as Storer's "generous offer" to get Roswell on the air provided new service to many areas of New Mexico, and that was the idea of allowing the clears to be duplicated in places like Guymon and Kalispell and Grand Island and Grand Junction and St. George.
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