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WVAB 1550
- Thread starter PHIL Z
- Start date
PHIL Z said:
Is this the same frequency that WVAB (Virginia Beach) was on for many years? They were a cool oldies station for a long time. 8 Watts at night though, how far can that get?
Joe
8 watts at night on 1550 might be good for 2-3 miles in Virginia Beach. Depending on where their transmitter is located, it may provide a listenable signal to a small part of the city. On 1560, there's 50,000 watt Radio Disney in New York that booms in here at night. This might cause additional interference with WVAB on 1550.
Oddly, N4GBK, it was the early 60's, out in West Babylon, Long Island ....
Four miles inland ; it was not exactly on the beach, privy to the best water-path effect .....
On my aunt and uncle's cheesy CLOCK radio .....
The then-WBOF 1550 was pretty much right with that same 1560 (then WQXR) with a faithful, solid signal in broad daylight.
WBOF was beautiful music then, and a strict daytimer. But their 5000 omni watts at the time certainly got out well enough via water-path reception.
Thanx for the memories!
Four miles inland ; it was not exactly on the beach, privy to the best water-path effect .....
On my aunt and uncle's cheesy CLOCK radio .....
The then-WBOF 1550 was pretty much right with that same 1560 (then WQXR) with a faithful, solid signal in broad daylight.
WBOF was beautiful music then, and a strict daytimer. But their 5000 omni watts at the time certainly got out well enough via water-path reception.
Thanx for the memories!
Hey fellow! WVAB was for some years upstairs from the "Jewish Mother" near the ocean front (the restaurant, not the Mom).
Joe
Joe
I was doing mornings ("The Rooster Booster Club") at WVAB when it switched from MOR to Oldies in 1976. We were a daytimer with no pre-sunrise authority, so it was frustrating in the winter to have to wait until 7:45am to sign on after most everyone had already headed out. That also meant signing off early and at one time, we carried Notre Dame football from the Mutual Network. Since I also worked the Saturday afternoon shift, I had to sign us off, usually early in the 3rd quarter of the game!!! Genius, I tells ya!! Shear genius!!!
I thought the FCC would grant permission to daytimers to stay on the air past sundown occasionally if they were in the middle of a program. Is that right?
Joe
Joe
As I recall, the rule has always been that AM stations without pre and post sunrise authority can stay on after hours in certain cases, however no commercials can be aired. Usually it was for engineering testing purposes or emergency broadcasting.
>> '....Hey fellow! WVAB was for some years upstairs from the "Jewish Mother" near the ocean front (the restaurant, not the Mom)....' <<
'Muvvy! Are son is dating ga shicksa he met on the phone from Lawn Guyland. Where have we gone wrongg?'
* * * * * * *
JoeyBabe : What year did WBOF/WVAB first sign on ?
I'm thinking that it might have been the first of those somewhat-shoehorned daytime stations, like WCMS 1050, WPMH 1010, WZAM 1110, etc.
(We couldn't get WPMH on Long Island because of 1010 WINS, but once got WCMS 1050 even with WHN on.
WTYD 1270 came in a few times via the water-path, and 'ZAM 11' did.
WTAR ..... SEVENNNNTEEEE NNNIIIIIIIINE! ..... literally was loud enough to be a car radio button on L.I.'s south shore.
* * * * * * *
On after-sundown:
I worked at three daytimers, back in the 60s and early 70s.
Ironically, one of them was on 1550, too. That was at the long-dark WBAZ Kingston, up the Hudson a ways from NYC and a lot closer to CBE Windsor than WBOF was.
The program log said 'Sign-off ; 7:15' (or whatever time) and that was it. The carrier dropped at 7:15:00:00:00:00. I'd even try to backtime the Star Spangled Banner right up to the nit.
Back then, the FCC wouldn't let you stay on later even if you were carrying a live broadcast of Washington crossing the Delaware.
'Muvvy! Are son is dating ga shicksa he met on the phone from Lawn Guyland. Where have we gone wrongg?'
* * * * * * *
JoeyBabe : What year did WBOF/WVAB first sign on ?
I'm thinking that it might have been the first of those somewhat-shoehorned daytime stations, like WCMS 1050, WPMH 1010, WZAM 1110, etc.
(We couldn't get WPMH on Long Island because of 1010 WINS, but once got WCMS 1050 even with WHN on.
WTYD 1270 came in a few times via the water-path, and 'ZAM 11' did.
WTAR ..... SEVENNNNTEEEE NNNIIIIIIIINE! ..... literally was loud enough to be a car radio button on L.I.'s south shore.
* * * * * * *
On after-sundown:
I worked at three daytimers, back in the 60s and early 70s.
Ironically, one of them was on 1550, too. That was at the long-dark WBAZ Kingston, up the Hudson a ways from NYC and a lot closer to CBE Windsor than WBOF was.
The program log said 'Sign-off ; 7:15' (or whatever time) and that was it. The carrier dropped at 7:15:00:00:00:00. I'd even try to backtime the Star Spangled Banner right up to the nit.
Back then, the FCC wouldn't let you stay on later even if you were carrying a live broadcast of Washington crossing the Delaware.
From JoeyBabe “I thought the FCC would grant permission to daytimers to stay on the air past sundown occasionally if they were in the middle of a program. Is that right?”
Nope, FCC rules do not allow. Some stations do that and occasionally get caught. Unless someone complains to the FCC and the FCC then investigates and confirms the complaint, the offending station will most likely not get in trouble. Policing the interference on the AM band at one time was a big part of what the FCC did. Nowadays, they seem to be more concerned about stations not having the proper fencing around their tower or get busy writing them up about EAS (Emergency Alert System) violations.
A station may stay on a night with day power etc. in emergency situations such as we see from time to time here on the East Coast during hurricanes. No commercial advertising should be aired when they are operating outside their licensed power and hours. The station should also send a letter to the FCC after the fact letting them know they were on the air to provide a service to the community. This is a CYA for the station if there is any problem about interference. A sporting event that runs on after their sign off time is not an emergency but probably makes financial sense to the owner.
Nope, FCC rules do not allow. Some stations do that and occasionally get caught. Unless someone complains to the FCC and the FCC then investigates and confirms the complaint, the offending station will most likely not get in trouble. Policing the interference on the AM band at one time was a big part of what the FCC did. Nowadays, they seem to be more concerned about stations not having the proper fencing around their tower or get busy writing them up about EAS (Emergency Alert System) violations.
A station may stay on a night with day power etc. in emergency situations such as we see from time to time here on the East Coast during hurricanes. No commercial advertising should be aired when they are operating outside their licensed power and hours. The station should also send a letter to the FCC after the fact letting them know they were on the air to provide a service to the community. This is a CYA for the station if there is any problem about interference. A sporting event that runs on after their sign off time is not an emergency but probably makes financial sense to the owner.
Oh, and AM stations, even daytimers with no night time authorization, may go on the air after midnight local time solely for testing and maintenance purposes. (Experimental Period)They may use daytime power and antenna etc. No commercials or regular programming allowed.
Not much of that going on now. Many years ago, you would hear stations on in the wee hours with test tones and special announcements when performing audio proof of performance and frequency measurements. It also might have happened after changing tubes in the transmitter or when firing up the auxilliary transmitter. Usually happened after midnight on a Sunday night into early Monday morning.
Not much of that going on now. Many years ago, you would hear stations on in the wee hours with test tones and special announcements when performing audio proof of performance and frequency measurements. It also might have happened after changing tubes in the transmitter or when firing up the auxilliary transmitter. Usually happened after midnight on a Sunday night into early Monday morning.
Gerry Marshall said:
Did you work with Emmett K. Jennings in 1976. He was pulling a shift at WJLY (where money nearly never flowed) and hooked on with "VAB in late 76 IIRC.
Yes I did, Joey! I worked with Emmett at WVAB. That was when Robert B. Mitchell (after leaving WNOR nights) was brought in as PD/PM Drive to reposition it as an oldies station. Haven't thought about Emmett in quite a while. He was a nice guy and a pleasure to work with.
Wonder whatever became of Robert B. "Haaaa Yuuuuuu!"
With an FCC office in Norfolk, staying on past signoff would NOT be a good idea...
With an FCC office in Norfolk, staying on past signoff would NOT be a good idea...
Gerry Marshall said:
Right about Emmett, Gerry! One of the most pleasent experiences was working with him at WJLY in 1976. What a great guy!
Joe
Has anyone heard the story of when WVAB's TX site was kicked off the golf course in Va Beach? A friend (also an engineer) tell that it went like this: The golf course told the station they "wanted the antenna completely removed from the property. The station's engineer went out to the golf course and said "...sure, we can take it down, but won't it be a shame what will happen to these nice greens". The golf course people questioned the engineer further asking him what the comment meant regarding "the greens". He said "Well, if you want us to take the ENTIRE antenna system out, that means removal of not only the tower, but all 120 radials that extend approximately 150 feet in every direction from the base of the tower. That means we'll have to bring in a bull dozer, tear up the ground and dig up all 120 of those radials. Uh, you DID say you wanted the antenna COMPLETELY removed, didn't you?" After a moment or two, the golf course said "Well, maybe we need to think this over". As I understand it, the tower was at the golf course for several more years after that, but was eventually moved!
WVAB was an interesting station to say the least. It is the only station that I knew of that operated out of a converted dumpster. As I remember, the brown colored dumpster still had a big yellow simile face painted on the side of it...lol! Classic!
On another note as for the 8 watt night power, I have a 1550 up here in central NY that operates at 3 watts night-time. The signal goes fairly far for 3 watts here but often gets hammered by NYC's 1560 Radio Disney's IBOC hash sidebands.
Hope whoever is putting the stations back on 1450 and 1550, have much success.
On another note as for the 8 watt night power, I have a 1550 up here in central NY that operates at 3 watts night-time. The signal goes fairly far for 3 watts here but often gets hammered by NYC's 1560 Radio Disney's IBOC hash sidebands.
Hope whoever is putting the stations back on 1450 and 1550, have much success.
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