Like many Christians of different sects, Harold interpreted the Bible his own way. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormon's come to mind. The difference was; Harold used the power of radio to reach his flock.
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Starting a New SW Station
- Thread starter JHrusky
- Start date
What amazed me about Harold was him not being a young, charismatic speaker. You would think if one could convince hundreds of people to sell their house and cash in their retirement, then travel the country (or fly to other countries), in an RV spreading the word ab out the imminent rapture. Camping looked and sounded like a cadaver. Just weird.
For whatever one thinks about Harold, he was no grifter nor charlatan. Harold actually believed what he preached. Unlike many other religious broadcasters, Harold returned most of every dollar donated from countless little old ladies back into FRS. The thing that illustrates this; Harold had no succession plan. He was convinced when Midnight October 21, 2011 hit, there would be no further need for radio.
I would also agree. Going go have to check out Reuters - I've heard of it but have never visited their site. Thanks for the tip, David!
It should be of interest to some folks on this thread that if one wishes to get into SW broadcasting, now might be the chance, as apparently KVOH Los Angeles (Rancho Simi) after decades has shut down their facility as of the end of June of this year. Haven't heard if they are planning to sell it or not. The station runs 100 kW from a log-periodic antenna beamed at 100 degrees covering the Western Hemisphere. (Don't know what the ERP is because I don't know the gain of the antenna, but my best guess is that it's at least 1 megaWatt in the main lobe). They operated night time hours on 9975 kHz in the 31m Band, and for many years day time on 17750 kHz in the 16m Band, although they shut down this freq years ago. This might be a turnkey opportunity for someone if it's actually for sale.
I thought one of the main reasons for closing was the development of the land. I don't think the transmitter site would be available.
You may be right, although I thought they had decided it's more convenient and less costly to reach their target audience by other means, such as the internet. I guess we shall see.
the land is being sold.
I see...do they have plans to relocate the SW facility or is that it?
KVOH is almost certainly done. Too expensive to operate, dying medium. Old equipment—transmitters were former HCJB units. Pointless to rebuild elsewhere. Audience has moved on to modern distribution platforms.
WTWW in Tennessee also likely finished for the same reasons. Several other U.S. based SW operations have one foot in the grave and the other foot on a banana peel.
Some related threads on the “DX and Reception” board.
no plans as of now, but they arent turning in the license, and if youd search KVOH, theres a discussion on this
Its really not fesible to rebuild KVOH.. land in the LA area would be prohibitively expensive ... maybe out in the desert in NV or ut somewhere, but still.. costly..
If the equipment is aged as is mentioned here, it may not even survive a move like that. Gear that is able to cling on in one location can often fail to survive a day or two bouncing around in the back of a truck, and temperature and humidity changes that come with being lifted-and-shifted.
Our webmaster, Frank, was once contracted to install a used 50 kw Ampliphase that was packed in many wood crates and shipped by ocean freight to subtropical Guayaquil, Ecuador. His story relates to all of this... aging, disassembly for shipping, joggling and bouncing, temperature and humidity changes... and even the loss of one container in the shipping.
Since most older gear now is technically obsolete, it is just not worth it. Tube gear is inefficient and you pay more in electricity and the tubes are increasingly not available. Early solid state devices often don't have replacement parts available and are now very antiquated.
I always thought that the Oxnard Coastal Plain (lease land from farmers) would be a good place for a short wave facility, if the idea is to keep it in SoCal.
On this same subject does anybody know if the VOA Delano facility still exists ?
Still see towers on Google map imagery and street view. But operations there ceased in 2007.
I recall reading that removing the towers would be more disruptive to the local wildlife than leaving them in place, so they continue to stand. However the newer transmitters and other equipment at the Delano facility were moved to other USAGM sites, while the older units were scrapped.Still see towers on Google map imagery and street view. But operations there ceased in 2007.
Back in the day I used to listen to the BBC World service on I think 6135 kHz in the early evening from that site and boy what a signal here in SoCal !