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WBHN Bryson City?

S

stereolane

Had to visit Asheville back in April, so I stopped by and took a peek at WBHN in Bryson City. I was stunned that the seek/scan on my radio wouldn't stop on ANYTHING in Bryson City, it just kept going around and around...There is NOTHING on AM or FM in Bryson City during daylight hours! One person quipped that his only source for Tennessee related news was from WLAC, once the nightime skywave kicks in. How pathetic! After seeing this, I have to wonder why this little AM station can't make a living for somebody. Yes, I already know that 1590 is a lousy frequency. I also detected a unanimous dislike for WBHN's absentee owners, as I questioned folks around town. This station signed on in the '60's, so it has weathered a bad economy before. What is the issue today? Why are the Starcast folks disliked so much?
 
If you bought it you would end up going against Art Sutton’s Sylva operation. The CP on 540 includes city grade in Bryson City even at night.

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WRGC&service=AM&status=C&hours=N

Another issue is the CP for WNCC to have a city grade signal Fm signal in Bryson City.

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WNCC&service=FM&status=C&hours=U

One of these operations most likely will run country and the other AC or Oldies, so programming wise it will have be done with a Gospel or Talk format but I just do not think there is enough local business accounts in Bryson City to support a good local news operation and or that will advertise on a second or third tier programmed station.
 
The STA is about to run out soon. Hopefully someone can pick it up. The property is worth $225k so if you have good credit getting a real estate loan is the vest way to go. I talked with a former GM from there who is now in West Va. and he said you can make a little money their if it's done right but there isn't a lot of local business support mainly from it being a tourist town. Also it would need am FM translator to make it competitive with the Art Sutton stations in the area. And being that area the cost of living is not cheap. NC taxes and all plus property values are sky high. The owner told me they just recently got the local high school sports back on the air but that was before he turned it off. The current care taker and former employee JB Jacobs can tell you just about anything you need to know. he has his own web site for gospel music.
 
I was in Bryson City a week or two ago, and there is almost nothing on the radio down there. 680 comes in, but with lots of power-line noise. 990 from Knoxville comes in, along with perhaps two or three other AMs weakly. WSB comes in over the carrier, but barely detectable.

I had a Walkman, and almost nothing comes in thru the valley. WKSF (and its translator) comes in, along with that WFQS public radio translator (the clearest signal). WIMZ comes in from over the mountain, and 102.1 barely came in. Maybe three others came through there. If you were up on a hill there, you could probably get most Knoxville, Asheville, Upstate, and even some of Chattanooga and Atlanta's stations. In the valley there, however, very little comes in.
 
charlestondxman said:
I was in Bryson City a week or two ago, and there is almost nothing on the radio down there. 680 comes in, but with lots of power-line noise. 990 from Knoxville comes in, along with perhaps two or three other AMs weakly. WSB comes in over the carrier, but barely detectable.

I had a Walkman, and almost nothing comes in thru the valley. WKSF (and its translator) comes in, along with that WFQS public radio translator (the clearest signal). WIMZ comes in from over the mountain, and 102.1 barely came in. Maybe three others came through there. If you were up on a hill there, you could probably get most Knoxville, Asheville, Upstate, and even some of Chattanooga and Atlanta's stations. In the valley there, however, very little comes in.
Click to expand...

A nearly EMPTY radio dial is correct. That's what I observed during a visit in April. The seek/scan on the radio in my vehicle went around and around. One person in Bryson City said that the only radio station where he could get any meaningful Tennessee news is WLAC...after sunset.

Art Sutton is a stellar operator, but those talents can't bore through mountains, or poor AM ground conductivity. 540 khz is a great spot, but in the mountains, it's still AM, and will still have issues. Add to that leaky powerlines, wi-fi noise, etc, etc. FM will have multi-path around every corner. Stations in Colorado struggle for the same reason. Put up as many translators as you like, people are not going to flip from one frequency to another as they drive from town to town in the mountains. If you want to serve Bryson City, your transmitter had better be IN Bryson City.

Furthermore, whoever stuck WBHN's tower on the side of a mountain was obviously not well informed on the workings of AM....

I am interested in WBHN, however, my plate is pretty full right now with similar projects. So, I'm not sure I could make it happen. I would hate to see Bryson City lose a radio station that served the area for 40+ years.
 
With the tower being on top of the hill that it resides at would be a good spot for having a translator. It would cover Bryson City well and probably have more coverage than the low power given for 1590 at night. Unfortunately at this time I can't make the move to NC but would love to pick this station up. It would probably make a good mom & pop operation if you can keep your overhead low. From what I have been told the transmitter is old but in good working order. But it has been sitting for almost a year so it might give you some trouble you never know.
 
Odd thing about WBHN's transmitter... It sits right in the main studio, directly in front of the on-air console. Not even a window to separate it. If the mic is open, you are hearing the hum of the transmitter. As large as the building is, that never made any sense to me.
 
I got a facebook notification today and WBHN is signing back on the air tomorrow morning. No info yet on who is running it or programming.
 
I was told friday that Lloyd Brown will be the new owner with a non profit group. Below is from and article in the Smoky Mt News. The whole article can be viewed at that link below.

Lloyd Brown is leading an effort to convert WBHN into a listener-powered station, similar to National Public Radio. Brown said the newly-formed nonprofit, The Lighthouse Broadcasting Corporation, will primarily play gospel music, but also broadcast bluegrass, country, Western and easy listening. Church programming, youth sports and local bands such as the Rye Holler Boys will be featured

http://www.smokymountainnews.com/index.php/news/item/1136-supporters-hoping-to-keep-wbhn-on-the-air
 
How are things at WBHN? The first words that came to mind when I was reading the article were "unmitigated disaster"... let's hope I'm wrong...
 
stereolane said:
How are things at WBHN? The first words that came to mind when I was reading the article were "unmitigated disaster"... let's hope I'm wrong...
Click to expand...

I was just looking at this board and its hard for me to believe nothing has been posted on here since 11/23/10. Is WBHN back on the air? What happened to the two groups working to get the station back on the air? Looking at radio locator it appears the station is on the air, but is it? Radio-locator is showing Starcast South, Inc as the owner of the station, and they appear to be the company that has owned the station since 1999. So what's going on? The article stereolane refers to does not even mention the name of the company the 2 groups were trying to "buy" the station from.

One other comment, its a shame a board dedicated to radio in NC has been inactive since 11/23/10. I know most people are posting on the individual market boards, but you would think there would be more going on this board.
 
I did pass through western NC in October, but had to stay on I-40. I could barely hear WBHN on 1590. The reason I think it will be a disaster is simple... from the article, you appear to have an experienced broadcaster taking orders from someone with zero experience. Add to that the comments that smack of a lot of backward thinking and failure to look forward, with an already challenged operation.
 
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