Southwest Florida Radio

[oldies76]

A very interesting area, Southwest Florida has many unique radio stations obviously catering to the retirees in this area. Several local stations come to mind, WSRQ, LECOM Radio on several frequencies, such as 91.7 and 106.9. Also Seaview Radio on 104.9 WCVU, also 101.1 WAVV. 1150 WTMP (classic Motown and R&B out of Tampa). All of these stations have an amazing selection of classic hits from the 1960's onward, not heard in many markets. Even some 50's are still heard at times. Not only do they play all the big hits, they will go "deep" and play many of the ignored early 80s soft rock, contemporary music. WSRQ goes especially deep, mixing in virtual concerts, album tracks, and an endless selection of radio hits not heard in years. The selection these stations offer, remind me of radio stations growing up as a teen in Southern California, such as K-Earth 101 and others about 30-40 years ago.

Amazing how a certain geographical area of the country can provide quality musical entertainment on the radio, once thought as truly lost or never to be heard from again. Obviously that notion is 100% false. Thankfully, Florida finally has the answer! Thank you Southwest Florida radio stations for the wonderful music and memories and a great place to live. Keep spinning all the great hits, thousands of them!

 

[Ai4i]

Thank you Southwest Florida...

Hello Southwest Florida!

 

[DavidEduardo]

A very interesting area, Southwest Florida has many unique radio stations obviously catering to the retirees in this area. Several local stations come to mind, WSRQ, LECOM Radio on several frequencies, such as 91.7 and 106.9. Also Seaview Radio on 104.9 WCVU, also 101.1 WAVV. 1150 WTMP (classic Motown and R&B out of Tampa). All of these stations have an amazing selection of classic hits from the 1960's onward, not heard in many markets. Even some 50's are still heard at times. Not only do they play all the big hits, they will go "deep" and play many of the ignored early 80s soft rock, contemporary music. WSRQ goes especially deep, mixing in virtual concerts, album tracks, and an endless selection of radio hits not heard in years. The selection these stations offer, remind me of radio stations growing up as a teen in Southern California, such as K-Earth 101 and others about 30-40 years ago.

WSRQ, in 25-54 in Sarasota, gets a 0.9. The Classic hits station gets a 7.7 and bills about 7 times as much as WSRQ. It averages less than 300 AQH listeners in 25-54, and in 36-64 only has 900.

Hardly successful.

WCVU has no ratings in any market, and bills less than WSRQ. Too bad the great "Sea Vue" calls are lost on this one.

Hardly successful

WAVV is not "oldies" but a softer AC, but is not in the top 10 in Ft Myers billing. It has less than a 1.0 share in 25-54. It leans very old.

Moderately successful.

Amazing how a certain geographical area of the country can provide quality musical entertainment on the radio, once thought as truly lost or never to be heard from again. Obviously that notion is 100% false. Thankfully, Florida finally has the answer! Thank you Southwest Florida radio stations for the wonderful music and memories and a great place to live. Keep spinning all the great hits, thousands of them!

Those soft AC stations are not "oldies" stations. They are just AC stations with more 70's songs and fewer brighter tempo songs , but not 50's and 60's pure CHR hits.

 

[oldies76]

WSRQ, in 25-54 in Sarasota, gets a 0.9. The Classic hits station gets a 7.7 and bills about 7 times as much as WSRQ. It averages less than 300 AQH listeners in 25-54, and in 36-64 only has 900.

WSRQ can be heard outside Sarasota. They use three frequencies (91.7, 106.9 and 95.3) to reach cities as far north as Bradenton and as far south as Punta Gorda. 91.7 sounds the clearest where I live. Not sure how far inland any of these signals reach, since there's not much development east of I-75 in this area (except for Arcadia), due to nature preserves and parks. I think they tend to go too deep for my tastes, but they tend to trainwreck more songs that I desire. The songs that do appeal to me (top 40 radio hits) are still numerous and overshadow the songs I don't really like. But they do a good job overall. Which station is getting a 7.7?

 

[DavidEduardo]

WSRQ can be heard outside Sarasota. They use three frequencies (91.7, 106.9 and 95.3) to reach cities as far north as Bradenton and as far south as Punta Gorda. 91.7 sounds the clearest where I live. Not sure how far inland any of these signals reach, since there's not much development east of I-75 in this area (except for Arcadia), due to nature preserves and parks. I think they tend to go too deep for my tastes, but they tend to trainwreck more songs that I desire. The songs that do appeal to me (top 40 radio hits) are still numerous and overshadow the songs I don't really like. But they do a good job overall. Which station is getting a 7.7?

WSRQ is licensed to Zolfo Springs, and is located well inland, covering less than 9,000 people in its 70 dbu contour.

WSRQ is the only larger signal. The others are translators with limited coverage but do cover the central parts of Sarasota and Bradenton.

The format is copied from WMCE in Erie, the owner, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Inc's, original market.

The 7.7 is iHeart's Classic Hits station.

 

[Ai4i]

DE...
WSRQ bills $0, as they are a non-com with occasional promos for LECOM school.
W237FJ and W295BH are both translators of WSRQ(AM), Sarasota, not WSRQ-FM.

 

[oldies76]

Another aspect of living in SW Florida is the ability to hear radio signals originating in Cuba. I have heard two powerful AM stations coming in rather clear in the daytime. 950AM Radio Reloj, which is all-news and talk. "Reloj" Spanish for clock, you hear a click-chirp every second and a quick series of high-pitch transmission tones every minute, when the announcer says the time and then says "Radio Reloj".

The other station is AM 910, which plays some Spanish music and has news, talk. I believe that one is out of Havana. Could be Radio Metropolitana.

I've picked both of these in my car radio anywhere from Naples to Sarasota I-75, Route 41 corridor.

Very interesting to say the least, to hear how radio sounds and operates coming in from a communist nation just south of us.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Another aspect of living in SW Florida is the ability to hear radio signals originating in Cuba. I have heard two powerful AM stations coming in rather clear in the daytime. 950AM Radio Reloj, which is all-news and talk. "Reloj" Spanish for clock, you hear a click-chirp every second and a quick series of high-pitch transmission tones every minute, when the announcer says the time and then says "Radio Reloj".

Radio Reloj, owned by CMQ's owner Goar Mestre, was the world's first all news station. The format is essentially unchanged since then, and is one or more news items in each minute, the time and then more news. There are no talk shows. There are Reloj repeaters all accross the country.

The other station is AM 910, which plays some Spanish music and has news, talk. I believe that one is out of Havana. Could be Radio Metropolitana.

The majority of Cuban stations are networks of up to 25 or so stations across the 800 mile width of Cuba. There are a few regional networks and local stations, but those are mostly above 1100 or 1200 on the dial.

Very interesting to say the least, to hear how radio sounds and operates coming in from a communist nation just south of us.

It is a socialist country, not communist. You'd have to know fluent Spanish to find any difference between those stations and ones across Latin ... except for the lack of commercials for private enterprise.

 

[oldies76]

Radio Reloj, owned by CMQ's owner Goar Mestre, was the world's first all news station. The format is essentially unchanged since then, and is one or more news items in each minute, the time and then more news. There are no talk shows. There are Reloj repeaters all accross the country.

The majority of Cuban stations are networks of up to 25 or so stations across the 800 mile width of Cuba. There are a few regional networks and local stations, but those are mostly above 1100 or 1200 on the dial.

I tuned in to 910am today, to get better clarification and it is Radio Metropolitana. Some older baladas were playing. They were loud and clear with some background hiss noise. North Port, Florida straight line to Havana is 269 miles. What is the power output of 910 and that of 950 Radio Reloj? And once last question, did you set up or operate any radio stations in Cuba? I know you did Ecuador, you mentioned a few years back. Curiosity, that's all.

 

[ZantennaG1]

A very interesting area, Southwest Florida has many unique radio stations obviously catering to the retirees in this area. Several local stations come to mind, WSRQ, LECOM Radio on several frequencies, such as 91.7 and 106.9. Also Seaview Radio on 104.9 WCVU, also 101.1 WAVV. 1150 WTMP (classic Motown and R&B out of Tampa). All of these stations have an amazing selection of classic hits from the 1960's onward, not heard in many markets. Even some 50's are still heard at times. Not only do they play all the big hits, they will go "deep" and play many of the ignored early 80s soft rock, contemporary music. WSRQ goes especially deep, mixing in virtual concerts, album tracks, and an endless selection of radio hits not heard in years. The selection these stations offer, remind me of radio stations growing up as a teen in Southern California, such as K-Earth 101 and others about 30-40 years ago.

Amazing how a certain geographical area of the country can provide quality musical entertainment on the radio, once thought as truly lost or never to be heard from again. Obviously that notion is 100% false. Thankfully, Florida finally has the answer! Thank you Southwest Florida radio stations for the wonderful music and memories and a great place to live. Keep spinning all the great hits, thousands of them!

That's pretty cool! I suspect the station operators must have some pretty deep pockets, but if that's how we keep radio interesting, than I'm all for it! Florida definitely has a rich culture on it's own though, combining the Hispanic population with several others gives the area great taste in music, but the stations can only supply that if they can afford to.

Another aspect of living in SW Florida is the ability to hear radio signals originating in Cuba. I have heard two powerful AM stations coming in rather clear in the daytime. 950AM Radio Reloj, which is all-news and talk. "Reloj" Spanish for clock, you hear a click-chirp every second and a quick series of high-pitch transmission tones every minute, when the announcer says the time and then says "Radio Reloj".

The other station is AM 910, which plays some Spanish music and has news, talk. I believe that one is out of Havana. Could be Radio Metropolitana.

I've picked both of these in my car radio anywhere from Naples to Sarasota I-75, Route 41 corridor.

Very interesting to say the least, to hear how radio sounds and operates coming in from a communist nation just south of us.

It amazes me that salt-water has a ground conductivity of 5000 mS/m (to put that in perspective, the area around Bismarck, ND, is 40 mS/m, and Atlanta is a mere 1.0 mS/m) and can propagate signals so easily over hundreds, if not thousands of miles. It is definitely on my bucket list to visit the gulf coast and Dx.

What is the power output of 910 and that of 950 Radio Reloj?

Reloj is 50kw, don't know about 910 Metropolitiana.

 

[gr8oldies]

When I lived briefly in Sarasota there were sevaral Cubans I could hear in the daytime.

That's pretty cool! I suspect the station operators must have some pretty deep pockets, but if that's how we keep radio interesting, than I'm all for it! Florida definitely has a rich culture on it's own though, combining the Hispanic population with several others gives the area great taste in music, but the stations can only supply that if they can afford to.

It amazes me that salt-water has a ground conductivity of 5000 mS/m (to put that in perspective, the area around Bismarck, ND, is 40 mS/m, and Atlanta is a mere 1.0 mS/m) and can propagate signals so easily over hundreds, if not thousands of miles. It is definitely on my bucket list to visit the gulf coast and Dx.

Reloj is 50kw, don't know about 910 Metropolitiana.

Take any listed power for any Cuban station with as many grains of salt as necessary

 

[oldies76]

That's pretty cool! I suspect the station operators must have some pretty deep pockets, but if that's how we keep radio interesting, than I'm all for it! Florida definitely has a rich culture on it's own though, combining the Hispanic population with several others gives the area great taste in music, but the stations can only supply that if they can afford to.

You know something is right when "Woman in Love" (1980), "Yes I'm Ready" (1980) and "Magic" (1980) are all played after several tune ins (And that's just the tip of the iceberg). I mean, you don't really hear these in other markets....I should also add AM 1320 Venice's REAL OLDIES to the mix. So basically, that's five or six stations playing all sorts of classic hits / soft AC / oldies within a 100 or so mile radius and I can catch them all at any given time in the car, except of course the AM's at night or during lightning.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I tuned in to 910am today, to get better clarification and it is Radio Metropolitana. Some older baladas were playing. They were loud and clear with some background hiss noise. North Port, Florida straight line to Havana is 269 miles. What is the power output of 910 and that of 950 Radio Reloj?

Nobody knows for sure the power of Cuban stations, but since the Chinese rebuilt all the stations there, the data is pretty close to being precise. This year's WRTVH shows 3 on 910, one with 25 kw and two with 5 kw. On 950 there are also three, two with 10 kw and one with 1 kw.

And once last question, did you set up or operate any radio stations in Cuba? I know you did Ecuador, you mentioned a few years back. Curiosity, that's all.

Free radio in Cuba ended in 1960. I was only two years into my first gofer job at a Cleveland R&B and Jazz station then. Cuba and Nicaragua are the only Spanish speaking Latin American nations or territories where I have not either worked or consulted. I was an intern in Mexico City in 1963, and then in late 1964 I began building my own group in Ecuador at age 18: https://www.davidgleason.com/1964-1970-Ecuador-Main-Page.htm

 

[Deleted User]

I am just north of Fort Myers and the local radio here doesn't suck. Lots of choices for me, much more than I have North of Boston in the summer. All my FM presets get used regularly , if I don't have my phone for SXM in the mustang it is no big deal as there are stations for me. On the bikes I rarely stream , use the MP3 files stored in the GPS, or the CD player.

 

[DavidEduardo]

It amazes me that salt-water has a ground conductivity of 5000 mS/m (to put that in perspective, the area around Bismarck, ND, is 40 mS/m, and Atlanta is a mere 1.0 mS/m) and can propagate signals so easily over hundreds, if not thousands of miles. It is definitely on my bucket list to visit the gulf coast and Dx.

Groundwave over salt water tends to hit a practical limit at the 600 to 600 mile limit. While there is good conductivity, the gradual erosion of the signals makes greater distances improbable. For example, in nearly 30 years in Puerto Rico I never had daytime groundwave signals from Morocco, Mauritania, Senagal or the Spanish island territories in the Atlantic. And I never had daytime reception from FL, GA, SC or NC either. Savannah is 1100 miles, and so is Jacksonville. Miami is abou 900 miles and I never got a Miami station in the daytime, even using a very good loop and an HQ180 and an R390A.

Similarly, I never got a report of daytime reception of any station I managed or, for that matter, any station I knew the manager or engineer at (and that was pretty much ever station on the Island) being heard daytime more than 400 5o 500 miles away.

Reloj is 50kw, don't know about 910 Metropolitiana.

There are 17 listed Radio Reloj stations, from 1 kw to 25 kw and on a bunch of frequencies, per WRTVH 2022. Metropolitana, a strictly La Habana local service, is 5 kw.

 

[Ai4i]

....I should also add AM 1320 Venice's REAL OLDIES to the mix...

WDIZ appears to be on a downward spiral, signal-wise.
First, they allowed their CP for a translator on 97.7 to lapse;
now, they want to go from 1,000 watts at night to 150 watts at night.
These are NOT the glory days for AM radio.

 

[oldies76]

WDIZ appears to be on a downward spiral, signal-wise.
First, they allowed their CP for a translator on 97.7 to lapse;
now, they want to go from 1,000 watts at night to 150 watts at night.
These are NOT the glory days for AM radio.

That's too bad, seems like they expanded their 70's library, at the same time reduced the 60's a bit. I can get them pretty clear in the North Port area, much better than 1150 from Tampa. Their FM counterpart is too far to receive this far south.