From christie12@verizon.net Thu Sep 6 14:28:26 2018 From: christie12@verizon.net (John Christie) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2018 14:28:26 -0400 Subject: Tv. antenna booster Message-ID: <000001d4460f$67706560$36513020$@verizon.net> Hi. I was wondering if you could recommend a tv. Antenna Booster.I am using a Spectrum 713 Long Range Digital TV SP-713 Antenna. I live in East Weymouth in a 7 story building. In the winter time, I can pick up most of the boston stations with the acceptance of Channel 38 accept when it is 0 or below. In the summer and other times I can pick up Channel 10, 64 and I use to pick up channel 28. I live on the third floor and there is a tree close to me. In the summer, I can't pick up Channel 7/56. I can only pick up 11 stations in the summer. Would a Tv. Antenna Booster help me get more stations? If so, what kind of Booster should I get? I did some research on Amazon, but the kind that they had didn't get good reviews. I picked up channel 6 in Portland as well as Channel 66. With this antenna. However, these are rare pickups. Would a Tv. Antenna Booster bring in more stations? If so, What kind should I purchase? Where would I purchase it? Thanks a lot. From lsochrin@rcn.com Wed Sep 12 16:08:04 2018 From: lsochrin@rcn.com (Larry Sochrin) Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2018 16:08:04 -0400 Subject: Tv, antenna booster In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: John Christie?s posting was interesting to me because I also have periodic issues with Channel 38, more so than with any others that I get. I live in Brookline, MA. > > From: "John Christie" > Subject: Tv. antenna booster > Date: September 6, 2018 at 2:28:26 PM EDT > To: "Boston Radio Interest group" > > > Hi. I was wondering if you could recommend a > tv. Antenna Booster.I am using a Spectrum 713 Long Range Digital TV SP-713 > Antenna. I live in East Weymouth in a 7 story building. In the winter time, > I can pick up most of the boston stations with the acceptance of Channel 38 > accept when it is 0 or below. In the summer and other times I can pick up > Channel 10, 64 and I use to pick up channel 28. I live on the third floor > and there is a tree close to me. In the summer, I can't pick up Channel > 7/56. I can only pick up 11 stations in the summer. Would a Tv. Antenna > Booster help me get more stations? If so, what kind of Booster should I get? > I did some research on Amazon, but the kind that they had didn't get good > reviews. I picked up channel 6 in Portland as well as Channel 66. With > this antenna. However, these are rare pickups. Would a Tv. Antenna Booster > bring in more stations? If so, What kind should I purchase? Where would I > purchase it? Thanks a lot. > From sm720740@netzero.net Wed Sep 12 23:02:17 2018 From: sm720740@netzero.net (sm720740@netzero.net) Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2018 03:02:17 GMT Subject: Tv. antenna booster Message-ID: <20180912.200217.9537.0@webmail09.dca.untd.com> Hi John, The Spectrum 731 antenna (like most antennas this style that are selling on amazon) usually have a "converter box". That box makes your antenna "rotate" 360 degrees and is a signal booster as well. Let me tell you my scenario. I live in Northeaster Massachusetts about 15 miles from the Needham towers and 45 miles from the tower farm in Rehoboth (RI Market). I have an "old school" outdoor 6 element antenna in my attic that is 25 feet off the ground. The local station (2,4,5,7 etc).... not a problem. Channel 38 has always been problem! The signal likes to "Check Up" (delay) and it has been like this for a while. The stations out of Rehoboth, Ch. 12 and 64 were the best until recently (was receiving those 24/7 ). Ch. 10 was good most of the time. As for Ch. 6, you need a good night to "carry that signal." My question is this? With all of these frequency changes (and construction permits) due to the auction and other reasons, are these stations being worked on currently and are the power outputs being "reduced" because.(I feel that Ch. 12 and 64 out of Rehoboth were reduced) I wonder if there is a TV engineer on this group that could put a little more insight as to what is going on currently. I will say even though the digital TV picture is awesome, these digital signals are awful! they need MORE POWER! To top it all off, your TV tuner will be obsolete when ATSC 3.0 starts to broadcast (Next 5 years?) ____________________________________________________________ You'll Never Think About Solar Panels After Seeing This Patriot Wealth http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL3231/5b99d3a23e14153a10fc8st03duc From billsmithmailsort@gmail.com Sun Sep 16 12:45:54 2018 From: billsmithmailsort@gmail.com (Bill Smith) Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2018 12:45:54 -0400 Subject: Gardening guru Paul Parent has died Message-ID: I missed Meteorologist Todd Glickman's contribution on the death of Paul Parent and was sorry to hear it. For several years in the early 90s, I had the Sunday morning news shift at RKO. I would sit in the booth and watch how he patiently explained geranum diseases to old ladies from Littleton (They always seemed to be from Littleton). He would make sure they understood, even when it messed up the clock. He gave me advice once, when the twins, now 25, were tearing up the front lawn playing baseball and soccer. Worn spots would fill with crabgrass. He suggested creeping fescue because its deep roots meant it would be durable and keep nuisance grasses from taking over 10 years later, the grass took on that crabgrass light green, so I tracked him down at a personal appearance in Methuen and asked what I was doing wrong. "It's basically a hybrid grass breeded with a deep rooted Florida weed," he said. "We found out later, that strain just wants to go back to being a weed." He did have a solution, as always. Then there was the morning he was all excited when told that Joe Morgan would be calling in for some good tomato talk. Paul thought it was an interview, but Walpole Joe wanted some advice on growing his own tomatoes. It was ships passing in the night until they each eventually managed to figure it out. From joe@attorneyross.com Sat Sep 22 00:38:25 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2018 00:38:25 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP Message-ID: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find that 96.9 FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP.? It's now "Pure Oldies 96.9," with oldies from the 1950s and 1960s.? The ads seem to be local ads, and the only legal ID, or mention of call letters at all, is "WLZX-FMHD3."? I didn't know a repeater could be used to relay the programming of an HD3 channel.? WLDX is at FM 99.3, but I've been enjoying Pure Oldies so much that I haven't checked to see what they are doing. The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400.? This apparently means that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sat Sep 22 08:06:53 2018 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2018 08:06:53 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP In-Reply-To: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: I think a repeater can translate an HD channel. Here in Boston the 106.1 translator for WRCA 1330 was doing Irish 96.9 (WBQT HD 2) and admittedly the AM was, too, for awhile before Bloomberg. But I think I read a repeater on FM could just simulcast an HD station. The website for WHMP says 101.5 and 107.5 FM/ 1240 and 1400 AM Fybush's column from Jan of 2017 said "the addition of an FM translator to WHNP 1600 will bring a flip to a music format". Radio-locator and wikipedia now say that WHNP 1600 Longmeadow is now WLZX. Clicking on the WHNP (now WLZX -AM-) link on radio-locator leads one to WLZX "Lazer 99.3" FM On Sat, Sep 22, 2018 at 2:21 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: > I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find that > 96.9 FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP. It's now "Pure Oldies > 96.9," with oldies from the 1950s and 1960s. The ads seem to be local > ads, and the only legal ID, or mention of call letters at all, is > "WLZX-FMHD3." I didn't know a repeater could be used to relay the > programming of an HD3 channel. WLDX is at FM 99.3, but I've been > enjoying Pure Oldies so much that I haven't checked to see what they are > doing. > > The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in > Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It > also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400. This apparently means > that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their > Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > From joe@attorneyross.com Sat Sep 22 23:56:33 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2018 23:56:33 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP In-Reply-To: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: From my hotel in Hadley, I found that I can't pick up WHMQ Greenfield, but I can pick up both 101.5 and 107.5, as well as the original WHMP 1400 in Northampton.? The usual liner is WHMP 101,5 and 107.? I didn't listen long enough to hear a legal iD.? I did hear one, presumably recorded, announcement that referred to WHMP at 96.9 FM, so I assume the change was fairly recent. anyone know or will hazard a guess as to why they didn't keep the Northampton translator on 96.9 and just put Pure Oldies on 101.7? On 9/22/2018 12:38 AM, A Joseph Ross wrote: > I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find > that 96.9 FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP.? It's now "Pure > Oldies 96.9," with oldies from the 1950s and 1960s.? The ads seem to > be local ads, and the only legal ID, or mention of call letters at > all, is "WLZX-FMHD3."? I didn't know a repeater could be used to relay > the programming of an HD3 channel.? WLDX is at FM 99.3, but I've been > enjoying Pure Oldies so much that I haven't checked to see what they > are doing. > > The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in > Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It > also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400.? This apparently means > that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their > Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From radiotest@plymouthcolony.net Sun Sep 23 07:30:08 2018 From: radiotest@plymouthcolony.net (Dale H. Cook) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 07:30:08 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP In-Reply-To: References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20180923072631.06fec538@plymouthcolony.net> At 11:56 PM 9/22/2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: >I didn't listen long enough to hear a legal iD. You might not have heard one for the translator, just for the translated station, if you listened longer. Most FM translator transmitters sold nowadays have FSK ID capability. Dale H. Cook, Radio Contract Engineer, Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA https://plymouthcolony.net/starcityeng/index.html From map@mapinternet.com Sun Sep 23 09:09:36 2018 From: map@mapinternet.com (M.Casey) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 09:09:36 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP/WHNP etc. In-Reply-To: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: Saga is programming WLZX, 99.3, Northampton on WHNP, 1600, East Longmeadow and it's 98.5 translator located on WHNP's AM tower. Mark Casey -----Original Message----- From: A Joseph Ross Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2018 12:38 AM >The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400. This apparently means that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. From scott@fybush.com Sun Sep 23 10:30:18 2018 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:30:18 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP/WHNP etc. In-Reply-To: References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: And WHNP hasn't been WHNP for well over a year now... it changed to WLZX(AM) right before the simulcast started. On Sun, Sep 23, 2018, 10:26 AM M.Casey wrote: > Saga is programming WLZX, 99.3, Northampton on WHNP, 1600, East Longmeadow > and it's 98.5 translator located on WHNP's AM tower. > Mark Casey > > -----Original Message----- > From: A Joseph Ross > Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2018 12:38 AM > > > >The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in > Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It > also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400. This apparently means > that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their > Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > > From elipolo881@gmail.com Sun Sep 23 12:27:00 2018 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 12:27:00 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP/WHNP etc. Message-ID: On the MA/RI South Coast, WMVY 88.7 FM Edgartown (Martha's Vineyard) is rebroadcast on the HD2 channel of RI NPR station WNPE 102.7 FM Narraganset Pier, and that HD2 is rebroadcast in analog on translator W243AI 96.5 FM Newport, RI. So W243AI is an analog translator of WMVY via the HD2 signal of WNPE, which also serves to bring WMVY to the handful of people with HD radios in southern RI. At least that arrangement was still in effect when I was last down there a few years ago. I don't know whether WMVY may have since arranged a direct connection to the translator, bypassing WNPE HD2. EP On Sun, Sep 23, 2018 at 12:00 PM, < boston-radio-interest-request@lists.bostonradio.org> wrote: > Send Boston-Radio-Interest mailing list submissions to > boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.BostonRadio.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-radio- > interest > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > boston-radio-interest-owner@lists.BostonRadio.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Boston-Radio-Interest digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Changes at WHMP (Bob Nelson) > 2. Re: Changes at WHMP (A Joseph Ross) > 3. Re: Changes at WHMP (Dale H. Cook) > 4. Re: Changes at WHMP/WHNP etc. (M.Casey) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2018 08:06:53 -0400 > From: Bob Nelson > To: A Joseph Ross > Cc: Boston Radio Group > Subject: Re: Changes at WHMP > Message-ID: > gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > I think a repeater can translate an HD channel. Here in Boston the 106.1 > translator for WRCA 1330 was doing Irish 96.9 (WBQT HD 2) and admittedly > the AM was, too, for awhile before Bloomberg. But > I think I read a repeater on FM could just simulcast an HD station. > > The website for WHMP says 101.5 and 107.5 FM/ 1240 and 1400 AM > > Fybush's column from Jan of 2017 said "the addition of an FM translator to > WHNP 1600 will bring a flip to a music format". Radio-locator and wikipedia > now say that WHNP 1600 Longmeadow is now WLZX. Clicking on > the WHNP (now WLZX -AM-) link on radio-locator leads one to WLZX "Lazer > 99.3" FM > > On Sat, Sep 22, 2018 at 2:21 AM A Joseph Ross > wrote: > > > I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find that > > 96.9 FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP. It's now "Pure Oldies > > 96.9," with oldies from the 1950s and 1960s. The ads seem to be local > > ads, and the only legal ID, or mention of call letters at all, is > > "WLZX-FMHD3." I didn't know a repeater could be used to relay the > > programming of an HD3 channel. WLDX is at FM 99.3, but I've been > > enjoying Pure Oldies so much that I haven't checked to see what they are > > doing. > > > > The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in > > Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It > > also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400. This apparently means > > that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their > > Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. > > > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > > > > -- > > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2018 23:56:33 -0400 > From: A Joseph Ross > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: Re: Changes at WHMP > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed > > From my hotel in Hadley, I found that I can't pick up WHMQ Greenfield, > but I can pick up both 101.5 and 107.5, as well as the original WHMP > 1400 in Northampton.? The usual liner is WHMP 101,5 and 107.? I didn't > listen long enough to hear a legal iD.? I did hear one, presumably > recorded, announcement that referred to WHMP at 96.9 FM, so I assume the > change was fairly recent. > > anyone know or will hazard a guess as to why they didn't keep the > Northampton translator on 96.9 and just put Pure Oldies on 101.7? > > On 9/22/2018 12:38 AM, A Joseph Ross wrote: > > I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find > > that 96.9 FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP.? It's now "Pure > > Oldies 96.9," with oldies from the 1950s and 1960s.? The ads seem to > > be local ads, and the only legal ID, or mention of call letters at > > all, is "WLZX-FMHD3."? I didn't know a repeater could be used to relay > > the programming of an HD3 channel.? WLDX is at FM 99.3, but I've been > > enjoying Pure Oldies so much that I haven't checked to see what they > > are doing. > > > > The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in > > Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It > > also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400.? This apparently means > > that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their > > Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. > > > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > > > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 07:30:08 -0400 > From: "Dale H. Cook" > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: Re: Changes at WHMP > Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20180923072631.06fec538@plymouthcolony.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > At 11:56 PM 9/22/2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: > > >I didn't listen long enough to hear a legal iD. > > You might not have heard one for the translator, just for the translated > station, if you listened longer. Most FM translator transmitters sold > nowadays have FSK ID capability. > > Dale H. Cook, Radio Contract Engineer, Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA > https://plymouthcolony.net/starcityeng/index.html > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 09:09:36 -0400 > From: "M.Casey" > To: "A Joseph Ross" , "Boston Radio" > > Subject: Re: Changes at WHMP/WHNP etc. > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="utf-8"; > reply-type=response > > Saga is programming WLZX, 99.3, Northampton on WHNP, 1600, East Longmeadow > and it's 98.5 translator located on WHNP's AM tower. > Mark Casey > > -----Original Message----- > From: A Joseph Ross > Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2018 12:38 AM > > > >The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in > Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It > also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400. This apparently means > that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their > Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Boston-Radio-Interest mailing list > Boston-Radio-Interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > https://lists.BostonRadio.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-radio-interest > > > ------------------------------ > > End of Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 96 > ***************************************************** > From walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com Sun Sep 23 14:05:38 2018 From: walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com (Paul B. Walker, Jr.) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 14:05:38 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP/WHNP etc. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Up here in the Twin Tiers region of NY/PA, we have a Class A licensed to "Portville" NY with an HD2, 3 and 4.. all being fed to analog translators.. it brings Olean NY rimshots WXMT's adult rock and WBYB's country format to an in market signal.. it's been going on for years and then some. On Sun, Sep 23, 2018 at 1:59 PM Eli Polonsky wrote: > On the MA/RI South Coast, WMVY 88.7 FM Edgartown (Martha's Vineyard) is > rebroadcast on the HD2 channel of RI NPR station WNPE 102.7 FM Narraganset > Pier, and that HD2 is rebroadcast in analog on translator W243AI 96.5 FM > Newport, RI. > > So W243AI is an analog translator of WMVY via the HD2 signal of WNPE, which > also serves to bring WMVY to the handful of people with HD radios in > southern RI. > > At least that arrangement was still in effect when I was last down there a > few years ago. I don't know whether WMVY may have since arranged a direct > connection to the translator, bypassing WNPE HD2. > > EP > > > > On Sun, Sep 23, 2018 at 12:00 PM, < > boston-radio-interest-request@lists.bostonradio.org> wrote: > > > Send Boston-Radio-Interest mailing list submissions to > > boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > https://lists.BostonRadio.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-radio- > > interest > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > boston-radio-interest-owner@lists.BostonRadio.org > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of Boston-Radio-Interest digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. Re: Changes at WHMP (Bob Nelson) > > 2. Re: Changes at WHMP (A Joseph Ross) > > 3. Re: Changes at WHMP (Dale H. Cook) > > 4. Re: Changes at WHMP/WHNP etc. (M.Casey) > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2018 08:06:53 -0400 > > From: Bob Nelson > > To: A Joseph Ross > > Cc: Boston Radio Group > > Subject: Re: Changes at WHMP > > Message-ID: > > > gmail.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > > > I think a repeater can translate an HD channel. Here in Boston the 106.1 > > translator for WRCA 1330 was doing Irish 96.9 (WBQT HD 2) and admittedly > > the AM was, too, for awhile before Bloomberg. But > > I think I read a repeater on FM could just simulcast an HD station. > > > > The website for WHMP says 101.5 and 107.5 FM/ 1240 and 1400 AM > > > > Fybush's column from Jan of 2017 said "the addition of an FM translator > to > > WHNP 1600 will bring a flip to a music format". Radio-locator and > wikipedia > > now say that WHNP 1600 Longmeadow is now WLZX. Clicking on > > the WHNP (now WLZX -AM-) link on radio-locator leads one to WLZX "Lazer > > 99.3" FM > > > > On Sat, Sep 22, 2018 at 2:21 AM A Joseph Ross > > wrote: > > > > > I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find > that > > > 96.9 FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP. It's now "Pure Oldies > > > 96.9," with oldies from the 1950s and 1960s. The ads seem to be local > > > ads, and the only legal ID, or mention of call letters at all, is > > > "WLZX-FMHD3." I didn't know a repeater could be used to relay the > > > programming of an HD3 channel. WLDX is at FM 99.3, but I've been > > > enjoying Pure Oldies so much that I haven't checked to see what they > are > > > doing. > > > > > > The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in > > > Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It > > > also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400. This apparently means > > > that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their > > > Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. > > > > > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > > > > > > -- > > > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > > > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Message: 2 > > Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2018 23:56:33 -0400 > > From: A Joseph Ross > > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > > Subject: Re: Changes at WHMP > > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed > > > > From my hotel in Hadley, I found that I can't pick up WHMQ Greenfield, > > but I can pick up both 101.5 and 107.5, as well as the original WHMP > > 1400 in Northampton.? The usual liner is WHMP 101,5 and 107.? I didn't > > listen long enough to hear a legal iD.? I did hear one, presumably > > recorded, announcement that referred to WHMP at 96.9 FM, so I assume the > > change was fairly recent. > > > > anyone know or will hazard a guess as to why they didn't keep the > > Northampton translator on 96.9 and just put Pure Oldies on 101.7? > > > > On 9/22/2018 12:38 AM, A Joseph Ross wrote: > > > I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find > > > that 96.9 FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP.? It's now "Pure > > > Oldies 96.9," with oldies from the 1950s and 1960s.? The ads seem to > > > be local ads, and the only legal ID, or mention of call letters at > > > all, is "WLZX-FMHD3."? I didn't know a repeater could be used to relay > > > the programming of an HD3 channel.? WLDX is at FM 99.3, but I've been > > > enjoying Pure Oldies so much that I haven't checked to see what they > > > are doing. > > > > > > The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in > > > Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It > > > also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400.? This apparently means > > > that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their > > > Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. > > > > > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > > > > > > > -- > > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Message: 3 > > Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 07:30:08 -0400 > > From: "Dale H. Cook" > > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > > Subject: Re: Changes at WHMP > > Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20180923072631.06fec538@plymouthcolony.net> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > > > At 11:56 PM 9/22/2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: > > > > >I didn't listen long enough to hear a legal iD. > > > > You might not have heard one for the translator, just for the translated > > station, if you listened longer. Most FM translator transmitters sold > > nowadays have FSK ID capability. > > > > Dale H. Cook, Radio Contract Engineer, Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA > > https://plymouthcolony.net/starcityeng/index.html > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Message: 4 > > Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 09:09:36 -0400 > > From: "M.Casey" > > To: "A Joseph Ross" , "Boston Radio" > > > > Subject: Re: Changes at WHMP/WHNP etc. > > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="utf-8"; > > reply-type=response > > > > Saga is programming WLZX, 99.3, Northampton on WHNP, 1600, East > Longmeadow > > and it's 98.5 translator located on WHNP's AM tower. > > Mark Casey > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: A Joseph Ross > > Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2018 12:38 AM > > > > > > >The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in > > Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It > > also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400. This apparently means > > that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their > > Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. > > > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Subject: Digest Footer > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Boston-Radio-Interest mailing list > > Boston-Radio-Interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > > https://lists.BostonRadio.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-radio-interest > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > End of Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 96 > > ***************************************************** > > > From dave@skywaves.net Sun Sep 23 15:41:37 2018 From: dave@skywaves.net (Dave Doherty) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 15:41:37 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP In-Reply-To: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <00a901d45375$71a53b00$54efb100$@skywaves.net> Translators (what you refer to as repeaters) are allowed to rebroadcast HD channels. It's happening all over the place. -d -----Original Message----- From: Boston-Radio-Interest [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@lists.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of A Joseph Ross Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2018 12:38 AM To: Boston Radio Subject: Changes at WHMP I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find that 96.9 FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP. It's now "Pure Oldies 96.9," with oldies from the 1950s and 1960s. The ads seem to be local ads, and the only legal ID, or mention of call letters at all, is "WLZX-FMHD3." I didn't know a repeater could be used to relay the programming of an HD3 channel. WLDX is at FM 99.3, but I've been enjoying Pure Oldies so much that I haven't checked to see what they are doing. The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400. This apparently means that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From jjlehmann@comcast.net Sun Sep 23 17:12:26 2018 From: jjlehmann@comcast.net (Jeff Lehmann) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 17:12:26 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP In-Reply-To: <00a901d45375$71a53b00$54efb100$@skywaves.net> References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> <00a901d45375$71a53b00$54efb100$@skywaves.net> Message-ID: <9665C9D3-FCE0-4EDC-B8F6-DCE15307A22B@comcast.net> 96.9 came along before the new FM translators tied down to AM stations, so it was allowed to translate an HD channel, as it?s doing as oldies. The new 101.5 was part of the ?AM revitalization? window, so it is mandated to translate an AM station for some amount of time. Jeff Lehmann > On Sep 23, 2018, at 3:41 PM, Dave Doherty wrote: > > Translators (what you refer to as repeaters) are allowed to rebroadcast HD > channels. It's happening all over the place. > > -d > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Boston-Radio-Interest > [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@lists.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of A > Joseph Ross > Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2018 12:38 AM > To: Boston Radio > Subject: Changes at WHMP > > I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find that > 96.9 FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP. It's now "Pure Oldies 96.9," > with oldies from the 1950s and 1960s. The ads seem to be local ads, and the > only legal ID, or mention of call letters at all, is "WLZX-FMHD3." I didn't > know a repeater could be used to relay the programming of an HD3 channel. > WLDX is at FM 99.3, but I've been enjoying Pure Oldies so much that I > haven't checked to see what they are doing. > > The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in Northampton > and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It also says that > they are on AM at 1240 and 1400. This apparently means that they still have > WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their Springfield relay, which I > believe was called WHNP. > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > > From wollman@bimajority.org Sun Sep 23 20:44:20 2018 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 20:44:20 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP/WHNP etc. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <23464.13156.376249.152967@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > So W243AI is an analog translator of WMVY via the HD2 signal of WNPE, which > also serves to bring WMVY to the handful of people with HD radios in > southern RI. Given that most FM listening is out-of-home these days, and most new cars have HD, it's probably more than a handful. It would probably make a lot of sense for them to move that on RIPR's new Bristol County signal on the old channel 6 tower in Tiverton, but of course that would cost money (probably a lot more money given the greater population coverage). -GAWollman From joe@attorneyross.com Sun Sep 23 22:21:50 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2018 22:21:50 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP/WHNP etc. In-Reply-To: References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: Boy is THAT complicated! In any event, I wish I'd looked at email this morning, so I could have listened while I was driving home on the Turnpike.? Too late now.? I did find that WHMP 1400's signal did reach Springfield area, as did the 101.5 translator, though the translator had some multipath interference.? A stationary location might have had better reception. On 9/23/2018 9:09 AM, M.Casey wrote: > Saga is programming WLZX, 99.3, Northampton on WHNP, 1600, East > Longmeadow and it's 98.5 translator located on WHNP's AM tower. > Mark Casey > > -----Original Message----- From: A Joseph Ross > Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2018 12:38 AM > > >> The WHMP website indicates that they are now on FM at 101.5 in > Northampton and 107.5 in Greenfield, which I also haven't checked. It > also says that they are on AM at 1240 and 1400.? This apparently means > that they still have WHMQ in Greenfield, but have eliminated their > Springfield relay, which I believe was called WHNP. > > Both WHMP and WLZX are owned by Saga Communications. > > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From 011010001@interpring.com Mon Sep 24 07:09:06 2018 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2018 07:09:06 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Changes at WHMP In-Reply-To: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: On Sat, 22 Sep 2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: > I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find that 96.9 > FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP.? It's now "Pure Oldies 96.9," with > oldies from the 1950s and 1960s.? The ads seem to be local ads, and the only > legal ID, or mention of call letters at all, is "WLZX-FMHD3."? I didn't know > a repeater could be used to relay the programming of an HD3 channel. A translator can relay an HD2 or HD3 channel; in fact, many stations use these channels as STLs to feed what are essentially new FM stations that, moreover, don't count toward local ownership caps. The only drawback is that translators are limited to nomore than 250 watts. Rob From raccoonradio@gmail.com Mon Sep 24 08:13:30 2018 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2018 08:13:30 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP In-Reply-To: References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: Thanks to the FM translator for WRCA in town, Beasley in effect has 6 FMs despite the 5 FM cap (though 106.1 lower powered).The other 5 are on 92.9, 96.9, 98.5, 102.5, and 105.7 On Mon, Sep 24, 2018, 7:48 AM Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> wrote: > > > On Sat, 22 Sep 2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: > > > I'm in the Amherst area for a few days, and I was surprised to find that > 96.9 > > FM is no longer the FM repeater for WHMP. It's now "Pure Oldies 96.9," > with > > oldies from the 1950s and 1960s. The ads seem to be local ads, and the > only > > legal ID, or mention of call letters at all, is "WLZX-FMHD3." I didn't > know > > a repeater could be used to relay the programming of an HD3 channel. > > A translator can relay an HD2 or HD3 channel; in fact, many stations use > these channels as STLs to feed what are essentially new FM stations that, > moreover, don't count toward local ownership caps. The only drawback is > that translators are limited to nomore than 250 watts. > > > Rob > From wollman@bimajority.org Mon Sep 24 20:56:08 2018 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2018 20:56:08 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP In-Reply-To: References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <23465.34728.959786.748341@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > A translator can relay an HD2 or HD3 channel; in fact, many stations use > these channels as STLs to feed what are essentially new FM stations that, > moreover, don't count toward local ownership caps. The only drawback is > that translators are limited to nomore than 250 watts. But are not derated for height: if you can give adequate contour protection to the existing stations, you can put your 250-watt translator on a tall tower or mountain and get better-than-class-A coverage. This is most likely to work if you squeeze your translator in between two full-power stations on a channel where there is an out-of-market station far enough away that it doesn't need much protection, but close enough to prevent a new full-power allotment in your home market. -GAWollman From joe@attorneyross.com Mon Sep 24 21:59:32 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2018 21:59:32 -0400 Subject: Changes at WHMP In-Reply-To: <23465.34728.959786.748341@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <18ee1616-7fd9-2a37-c945-637b9f57353b@attorneyross.com> <23465.34728.959786.748341@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <7ae86c32-9547-613c-39f5-cc359e67f02a@attorneyross.com> Interesting.? I did notice on the trip home that the Pure Oldies 69.9 from Northampton was quite listenable on the Turnpike quite a bit past Springfield. On 9/24/2018 8:56 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > < said: > >> A translator can relay an HD2 or HD3 channel; in fact, many stations use >> these channels as STLs to feed what are essentially new FM stations that, >> moreover, don't count toward local ownership caps. The only drawback is >> that translators are limited to nomore than 250 watts. > But are not derated for height: if you can give adequate contour > protection to the existing stations, you can put your 250-watt > translator on a tall tower or mountain and get better-than-class-A > coverage. This is most likely to work if you squeeze your translator > in between two full-power stations on a channel where there is an > out-of-market station far enough away that it doesn't need much > protection, but close enough to prevent a new full-power allotment in > your home market. > > -GAWollman > > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From aerie.ma@comcast.net Tue Sep 25 12:42:35 2018 From: aerie.ma@comcast.net (Jim Hall) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 12:42:35 -0400 Subject: NBC Boston Message-ID: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> I wonder if the strange situation of NBC in Boston has happened anywhere else in the country? Here we have WBTS-LD operating on Ch 46, with PSIP to Ch 8, but sloganing as NBC10, even though a good part of the market can pick up WJAR-TV. Backed up by WYCN-CD, originally in Nashua and technically Class A, but now operating at full power by channel sharing with WGBX, from the same tower as WBTS-LD. Backed up again by WNEU-DT2 in New Hampshire. Since WBTS and WYCN are on the same tower, what's the point of having both of them? And why do they slogan as NBC10 with another Channel 10 forty miles away, when they could have used 8 or 13 for their slogan and avoided confusion? Ditto WYDN from Worcester now channel sharing with WPXG in Concord NH and being licensed to Lowell MA. From kvahey@gmail.com Tue Sep 25 13:27:05 2018 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 13:27:05 -0400 Subject: NBC Boston In-Reply-To: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> References: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> Message-ID: To make a long saga short - Comcast chose 10, 810 because they controlled that number on cable with NECN. They didn't care one iota about WJAR in Providence but they have had tremendous difficulty getting on cable systems in Bristol, County, MA which is considered Providence. I live in Cambridge and I can get WJAR OTA on virtual channel 10 and south and west of Boston there is tremendous overlap. On Tue, Sep 25, 2018 at 1:16 PM Jim Hall wrote: > I wonder if the strange situation of NBC in Boston has happened anywhere > else in the country? Here we have WBTS-LD operating on Ch 46, with PSIP to > Ch 8, but sloganing as NBC10, even though a good part of the market can > pick > up WJAR-TV. Backed up by WYCN-CD, originally in Nashua and technically > Class > A, but now operating at full power by channel sharing with WGBX, from the > same tower as WBTS-LD. Backed up again by WNEU-DT2 in New Hampshire. Since > WBTS and WYCN are on the same tower, what's the point of having both of > them? And why do they slogan as NBC10 with another Channel 10 forty miles > away, when they could have used 8 or 13 for their slogan and avoided > confusion? > > > > Ditto WYDN from Worcester now channel sharing with WPXG in Concord NH and > being licensed to Lowell MA. > > From scott@fybush.com Tue Sep 25 13:50:12 2018 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 13:50:12 -0400 Subject: NBC Boston In-Reply-To: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> References: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> Message-ID: There were reasons, even if they were obscure ones. For the OTA signal from WBTS-LD, "10.x" was not an option because of WJAR. 13.x was also unavailable because of WGME in Portland, which has a tiny bit of overlap of its signal into the WBTS coverage area. I guess WMTW is just slightly more distant, which is how WBTS got 8.x. But... Comcast believed (correctly, IMO) that OTA is of only very minor importance in the Boston market. So the real branding goal was to get a common identity on cable and satellite across the market. My recollection is that "8" was not available all across the market on cable/satellite. But "10" was. And for all that we freak out about it here, the real world impact of the Boston/Providence overlap is not so severe. If you live in the Boston TV market and you're among the 90% or so with cable/satellite, you tune to "10" and you get NBC Boston. If you get WJAR on your cable at all, it's up on 96 or 99, not on "10". If you're in Bristol County, you're not a Boston market viewer. When you punch in "10" on cable and get WJAR, Comcast doesn't care, because your viewership doesn't count in the NBC Boston market. So we're down to the 10% of households that are OTA, and for them Comcast is buying time until it can finish playing out the long game. WYCN-via-WGBX and WBTS-LD are stopgap moves until WNEU's full-power signal moves down from New Hampshire. My assumption is that WBTS will end up channel sharing on WNEU as 8.x, and that will be the full-power NBC OTA signal, almost at parity with WBZ/WCVB/WFXT. Even then, it will still be "NBC10," because the vast majority of its viewers will see it by punching in "10." If there's still a bit of confusion among the small percentage of OTA viewers in the small chunk of the market that gets both WJAR and NBC Boston, it affects maybe 1-2% of the market's households. Still not ideal, but also not very relevant. If WJAR gets a few eyeballs in Stoughton or WBTS in Attleboro, neither counts in the ratings anyway... and so nobody's all that worried. On Tue, Sep 25, 2018, 1:16 PM Jim Hall wrote: > I wonder if the strange situation of NBC in Boston has happened anywhere > else in the country? Here we have WBTS-LD operating on Ch 46, with PSIP to > Ch 8, but sloganing as NBC10, even though a good part of the market can > pick > up WJAR-TV. Backed up by WYCN-CD, originally in Nashua and technically > Class > A, but now operating at full power by channel sharing with WGBX, from the > same tower as WBTS-LD. Backed up again by WNEU-DT2 in New Hampshire. Since > WBTS and WYCN are on the same tower, what's the point of having both of > them? And why do they slogan as NBC10 with another Channel 10 forty miles > away, when they could have used 8 or 13 for their slogan and avoided > confusion? > > > > Ditto WYDN from Worcester now channel sharing with WPXG in Concord NH and > being licensed to Lowell MA. > > From astelle.donald@gmail.com Tue Sep 25 15:50:39 2018 From: astelle.donald@gmail.com (Don) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 15:50:39 -0400 Subject: NBC Boston References: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> Message-ID: <8F416B32163B435EB90971FE01B6F887@ownerd8aa55a4d> >>and avoided confusion? Confusing to me for sure. However, I know where to find NBC programs on my system in my area. I think that's the only thing that matters to most people...and it appears most people have found it. The explanation and markieting on where it can be found in different areas is complex and noisy, but once your found it, and can return to it on your own system, you are set. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Hall" To: "Boston Radio Mailing List" Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2018 12:42 PM Subject: NBC Boston >I wonder if the strange situation of NBC in Boston has happened anywhere > else in the country? Here we have WBTS-LD operating on Ch 46, with PSIP to > Ch 8, but sloganing as NBC10, even though a good part of the market can > pick > up WJAR-TV. Backed up by WYCN-CD, originally in Nashua and technically > Class > A, but now operating at full power by channel sharing with WGBX, from the > same tower as WBTS-LD. Backed up again by WNEU-DT2 in New Hampshire. Since > WBTS and WYCN are on the same tower, what's the point of having both of > them? And why do they slogan as NBC10 with another Channel 10 forty miles > away, when they could have used 8 or 13 for their slogan and avoided > confusion? > > > > Ditto WYDN from Worcester now channel sharing with WPXG in Concord NH and > being licensed to Lowell MA. > > > --- > This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. > https://www.avg.com > From mariogonz@aol.com Tue Sep 25 19:06:41 2018 From: mariogonz@aol.com (Mario Gonzalez) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:06:41 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared Message-ID: I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings and afternoons.? We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour but it seems to have disappeared.? Even when we last heard it, it seemed to be late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to the top of the hour.? I don't know which device was correct though. I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of the hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? Mario From scott@fybush.com Tue Sep 25 19:16:24 2018 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:16:24 -0400 Subject: NBC Boston In-Reply-To: <8F416B32163B435EB90971FE01B6F887@ownerd8aa55a4d> References: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> <8F416B32163B435EB90971FE01B6F887@ownerd8aa55a4d> Message-ID: <223a76e8-a58c-6691-9527-95611990e326@fybush.com> The bigger issue, really, isn't whether or not people have figured out that they press "10" now instead of "7" to get NBC. Prime-time ratings suggest that the vast majority of viewers have figured that out. The problem is that even if they've found NBC on 10, the local news product there has nothing compelling about it to make a viewer change habits and switch away from 5 or 7 or 4 or 25. Not many markets these days have five TV newsrooms running full bore (off the top of my head? NYC, Chicago, LA), and making a mark as the fifth entrant in a crowded field is a huge challenge. Even being the number-four newsroom in a market is a tough position these days. From webmaster@rabbitears.info Tue Sep 25 19:33:53 2018 From: webmaster@rabbitears.info (RabbitEars Webmaster) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:33:53 -0400 Subject: NBC Boston In-Reply-To: References: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> Message-ID: <2ae784eb-c037-a831-6f71-589789805ba1@rabbitears.info> Scott, WBTS-LD is moving itself into Providence on channel 36, so WBTS-LD will not be sharing.? (Presumably, it will host WRIW-CD in the long term.)? Additionally, virtual channel 8 will not be available to WNEU either because it will overlap with WMTW, while the low-power and directional WBTS-LD signal does not. My suspicion is that NBC will remain as 15-1, but on the WNEU signal. - Trip www.rabbitears.info On 09/25/2018 01:50 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > There were reasons, even if they were obscure ones. > > For the OTA signal from WBTS-LD, "10.x" was not an option because of WJAR. > 13.x was also unavailable because of WGME in Portland, which has a tiny bit > of overlap of its signal into the WBTS coverage area. I guess WMTW is just > slightly more distant, which is how WBTS got 8.x. > > But... Comcast believed (correctly, IMO) that OTA is of only very minor > importance in the Boston market. So the real branding goal was to get a > common identity on cable and satellite across the market. > > My recollection is that "8" was not available all across the market on > cable/satellite. But "10" was. > > And for all that we freak out about it here, the real world impact of the > Boston/Providence overlap is not so severe. If you live in the Boston TV > market and you're among the 90% or so with cable/satellite, you tune to > "10" and you get NBC Boston. If you get WJAR on your cable at all, it's up > on 96 or 99, not on "10". > > If you're in Bristol County, you're not a Boston market viewer. When you > punch in "10" on cable and get WJAR, Comcast doesn't care, because your > viewership doesn't count in the NBC Boston market. > > So we're down to the 10% of households that are OTA, and for them Comcast > is buying time until it can finish playing out the long game. WYCN-via-WGBX > and WBTS-LD are stopgap moves until WNEU's full-power signal moves down > from New Hampshire. My assumption is that WBTS will end up channel sharing > on WNEU as 8.x, and that will be the full-power NBC OTA signal, almost at > parity with WBZ/WCVB/WFXT. > > Even then, it will still be "NBC10," because the vast majority of its > viewers will see it by punching in "10." > > If there's still a bit of confusion among the small percentage of OTA > viewers in the small chunk of the market that gets both WJAR and NBC > Boston, it affects maybe 1-2% of the market's households. Still not ideal, > but also not very relevant. If WJAR gets a few eyeballs in Stoughton or > WBTS in Attleboro, neither counts in the ratings anyway... and so nobody's > all that worried. > > On Tue, Sep 25, 2018, 1:16 PM Jim Hall wrote: > >> I wonder if the strange situation of NBC in Boston has happened anywhere >> else in the country? Here we have WBTS-LD operating on Ch 46, with PSIP to >> Ch 8, but sloganing as NBC10, even though a good part of the market can >> pick >> up WJAR-TV. Backed up by WYCN-CD, originally in Nashua and technically >> Class >> A, but now operating at full power by channel sharing with WGBX, from the >> same tower as WBTS-LD. Backed up again by WNEU-DT2 in New Hampshire. Since >> WBTS and WYCN are on the same tower, what's the point of having both of >> them? And why do they slogan as NBC10 with another Channel 10 forty miles >> away, when they could have used 8 or 13 for their slogan and avoided >> confusion? >> >> >> >> Ditto WYDN from Worcester now channel sharing with WPXG in Concord NH and >> being licensed to Lowell MA. >> >> From joe@attorneyross.com Tue Sep 25 23:28:58 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 23:28:58 -0400 Subject: NBC Boston In-Reply-To: <8F416B32163B435EB90971FE01B6F887@ownerd8aa55a4d> References: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> <8F416B32163B435EB90971FE01B6F887@ownerd8aa55a4d> Message-ID: Seems to me it was just yesterday that I learned not to look for NBC on Channel 4.? ;) On 9/25/2018 3:50 PM, Don wrote: >>> and avoided confusion? > > Confusing to me for sure. > > However, I know where to find NBC programs on my system in my area. > > I think that's the only thing that matters to most people...and it > appears most people have found it. > > The explanation and markieting on where it can be found in different > areas is complex and noisy, but once your found it, and can return to > it on your own system, you are set. > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Hall" > To: "Boston Radio Mailing List" > > Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2018 12:42 PM > Subject: NBC Boston > > >> I wonder if the strange situation of NBC in Boston has happened anywhere >> else in the country? Here we have WBTS-LD operating on Ch 46, with >> PSIP to >> Ch 8, but sloganing as NBC10, even though a good part of the market >> can pick >> up WJAR-TV. Backed up by WYCN-CD, originally in Nashua and >> technically Class >> A, but now operating at full power by channel sharing with WGBX, from >> the >> same tower as WBTS-LD. Backed up again by WNEU-DT2 in New Hampshire. >> Since >> WBTS and WYCN are on the same tower, what's the point of having both of >> them?? And why do they slogan as NBC10 with another Channel 10 forty >> miles >> away, when they could have used 8 or 13 for their slogan and avoided >> confusion? >> >> >> >> Ditto WYDN from Worcester now channel sharing with WPXG in Concord NH >> and >> being licensed to Lowell MA. >> >> >> --- >> This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. >> https://www.avg.com >> > > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Tue Sep 25 23:38:38 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 23:38:38 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the hour.? I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a second or two delayed.? I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by either my cellphone or the Windows clock.? The beep on the hour has gone the way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings and afternoons.? We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour but it seems to have disappeared.? Even when we last heard it, it seemed to be late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to the top of the hour.? I don't know which device was correct though. I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of the hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? Mario f -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Tue Sep 25 23:38:29 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 23:38:29 -0400 Subject: NBC Boston In-Reply-To: <223a76e8-a58c-6691-9527-95611990e326@fybush.com> References: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> <8F416B32163B435EB90971FE01B6F887@ownerd8aa55a4d> <223a76e8-a58c-6691-9527-95611990e326@fybush.com> Message-ID: This surprises me, since NBC Boston has the facilities of NECN at its disposal.? Anyone know why this is so? On 9/25/2018 7:16 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > The bigger issue, really, isn't whether or not people have figured out > that they press "10" now instead of "7" to get NBC. Prime-time ratings > suggest that the vast majority of viewers have figured that out. > > The problem is that even if they've found NBC on 10, the local news > product there has nothing compelling about it to make a viewer change > habits and switch away from 5 or 7 or 4 or 25. Not many markets these > days have five TV newsrooms running full bore (off the top of my head? > NYC, Chicago, LA), and making a mark as the fifth entrant in a crowded > field is a huge challenge. Even being the number-four newsroom in a > market is a tough position these days. > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From scott@fybush.com Tue Sep 25 19:12:06 2018 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:12:06 -0400 Subject: NBC Boston In-Reply-To: <8F416B32163B435EB90971FE01B6F887@ownerd8aa55a4d> References: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> <8F416B32163B435EB90971FE01B6F887@ownerd8aa55a4d> Message-ID: <09c6525c-a790-d7d0-ad79-d03da6f1bfb7@fybush.com> The average viewer isn't us. The average viewer is using a pay-TV service, be it Comcast/Xfinity, RCN, Verizon FiOS, Dish or Direct. That's 9 out of 10 viewers - minimum - in the Boston DMA. NBC is on channel 10 for that average viewer. Maybe "810" if it's Xfinity for HD. That average viewer doesn't know what "WBTS-LD" is, or "WYCN-CD," or "WNEU." She doesn't use an antenna and doesn't deal with "8.1" or "15.1" or "60.5." She sees an ad for "NBC 10." She picks up the remote and presses "10." She gets NBC. If she's in the Boston DMA, she gets NBC Boston, and if she's a Nielsen household, her viewing counts. If she's in the Providence DMA and she sees an ad for "NBC 10," she picks up the remote, presses "10" and *still* gets NBC - only it's WJAR, and WJAR gets the ratings credit, and NBC still gets the network viewership.* It's easy to overthink all of this. It actually took some pretty clever thinking on NBC's part (and the advantage of owning the Comcast cable systems and NECN) to find a channel number that they could use almost universally. *The "worst case" scenario, and it's pretty unlikely, is that she uses an antenna, lives in the fraction of the Boston market that can see WJAR over the air, punches in "10," still gets NBC - but she's watching WJAR instead of WBTS *and* is a Nielsen household. I suppose that's *possible," but it feels like a long shot. On 9/25/2018 3:50 PM, Don wrote: > Confusing to me for sure. > > However, I know where to find NBC programs on my system in my area. > > I think that's the only thing that matters to most people...and it > appears most people have found it. > > The explanation and markieting on where it can be found in different > areas is complex and noisy, but once your found it, and can return to it > on your own system, you are set. From wollman@bimajority.org Wed Sep 26 00:59:55 2018 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 00:59:55 -0400 Subject: NBC Boston In-Reply-To: <09c6525c-a790-d7d0-ad79-d03da6f1bfb7@fybush.com> References: <010701d454ee$c46fd500$4d4f7f00$@comcast.net> <8F416B32163B435EB90971FE01B6F887@ownerd8aa55a4d> <09c6525c-a790-d7d0-ad79-d03da6f1bfb7@fybush.com> Message-ID: <23467.4683.397218.202198@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > The average viewer isn't us. > The average viewer is using a pay-TV service, be it Comcast/Xfinity, > RCN, Verizon FiOS, Dish or Direct. That's 9 out of 10 viewers - minimum > - in the Boston DMA. Is that really true any more? Anecdotally, I know a *lot* of cord-cutters, in the city and the suburbs. These are very likely to be the people Nielsen is not going to measure (or even reach to recruit for measurement). They pretty much universally have Comcast because they live in places where there is no competition, but they don't subscribe to video service; everything they watch is either OTA (very rarely) or Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime. (Most of them probably subscribe to all three.) Or they're just watching people play video games on Twitch (also Amazon). I think at this point I know more people who listen to the radio (pretty much exclusively public radio or sports-talk) than watch linear TV. -GAWollman From joe@attorneyross.com Wed Sep 26 01:02:25 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 01:02:25 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: It goes back earlier than the 1970s.? I remember it in the late 1950s or early 1960s, when I was in high school.? I had an electric alarm clock which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock. On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: > Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ > radio > Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR > > There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal > and HD > Which tone is correctly timed ? > > --------------------------------------------------- > > > > > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross > wrote: > > I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the > hour.? I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a > second > or two delayed.? I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by > either > my cellphone or the Windows clock.? The beep on the hour has gone the > way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching > defeat from the jaws of victory. > > On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: > > I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings > and afternoons.? We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour > but it > seems to have disappeared.? Even when we last heard it, it seemed > to be > late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to > the > top of the hour.? I don't know which device was correct though. > > I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of > the > hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. > > I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's > just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? > > Mario > f > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA > 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From wollman@bimajority.org Wed Sep 26 01:08:56 2018 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 01:08:56 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <23467.5224.45259.149913@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the > hour. It's difficult to do with all of the digital delays in broadcasting systems these days, particularly when you consider how many listeners are coming in via streaming or HD simulcasts. Even 15 years ago, actually getting these time signals into the air chain on the dot was a huge hassle to the stations that still used them, for little discernable benefit. If you're a young person and you even have a watch, it's probably an Apple Watch or a Fitbit and gets its time automatically from your phone. Most young people I know don't wear watches. Your phone gets its time from the cellular network and should keep better time than any watch. -GAWollman From rbello@belloassoc.com Wed Sep 26 00:19:11 2018 From: rbello@belloassoc.com (Ron Bello) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 00:19:11 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ radio Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal and HD Which tone is correctly timed ? --------------------------------------------------- On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: > I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the > hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a second > or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by either > my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the > way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching > defeat from the jaws of victory. > > On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: > > I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings > and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour but it > seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed to be > late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to the > top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. > > I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of the > hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. > > I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's > just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? > > Mario > f > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > From martinjwaters@yahoo.com Wed Sep 26 01:26:18 2018 From: martinjwaters@yahoo.com (Martin Waters) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 05:26:18 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <553449410.2927084.1537939578229@mail.yahoo.com> ? ? I just checked WINS -- the old-fashioned way, on an actual radio oriented to partially null the interfering Toronto signal here in Conn., 75 miles from Manhattan -- and it still broadcasts the hourly tone. It was 11 seconds late vs. the U.S. Naval Observatory Website, another good source for exact time. ? ? Use of HD (not sure WINS uses it, although WBZ does) causes a delay of around 7-8 seconds unless it is compensated for -- and I am unsure whether WBZ ever did. ? ? As for WBZ, it definitely used the tone as of 1963, when I became a radioholic. Although they "almost" didn't need it, because it "always" sounded exactly after the recorded news intro's final word (? . . . "from the WBZ news center") gave way to the clattering teletype sound effect. ? ? ? Meanwhile, does anyone have any more on when WBZ dropped the tone? Whenever, I figure noheart did it to save money by not operating the tone generator. From elipolo881@gmail.com Wed Sep 26 05:13:55 2018 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 05:13:55 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (A Joseph Ross) Message-ID: > > Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 23:38:38 -0400 > From: A Joseph Ross > To: Mario Gonzalez , Boston Radio > > Subject: Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared > > I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the > hour.? I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a second > or two delayed.? > > If you're listening to the BBC on WBUR or any other affiliate that also broadcasts in HD, the delay you're hearing is most likely the approximately eight-second delay inherent in the processing of the HD signal, and you'l hear that delay even if you're not listening in HD, because stations that broadcast in HD must purposely delay their analog signal so that it's synchronized in time with the delay inherent in their HD signal. The BBC beep comes up right at the top of the hour in the WBUR studios, but goes over the air eight seconds later due to the HD processing (and synchronized analog) delay. EP From raccoonradio@gmail.com Wed Sep 26 03:59:14 2018 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 03:59:14 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: Maybe gone by now but WTIC Hartford had a morse code (or some such) representation of the letter V for victory.It sounded like the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. (Notes G, G, G, E flat.) This ran at the top of the hour. WCBS New York and some CBS affiliates ran some notes that sounded like dong...dong...dong...dong! then it went to the CBS News top of the hour sounder. This can be heard 1 min and 9 seconds into this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc3jiAgA0rU TV networks would have a ding at the top of the hour, start of a program. A website called TVParty used to have that sound when the page loaded. Bob Nelson On Wednesday, September 26, 2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: > It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s or > early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm clock > which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand on > the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while listening to > the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard the tone, I'd > quickly plug in the clock. > > > On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: > >> Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ >> radio >> Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR >> >> There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal >> and HD >> Which tone is correctly timed ? >> >> --------------------------------------------------- >> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross > > wrote: >> >> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a >> second >> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by >> either >> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the >> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching >> defeat from the jaws of victory. >> >> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: >> >> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings >> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour >> but it >> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed >> to be >> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to >> the >> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. >> >> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of >> the >> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. >> >> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's >> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? >> >> Mario >> f >> -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 >> ? >> Newton, MA >> 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> >> > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > From elipolo881@gmail.com Wed Sep 26 04:58:30 2018 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 04:58:30 -0400 Subject: Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 100 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: > > Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:06:41 -0400 > From: Mario Gonzalez > To: Boston Radio Group > Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared > > I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings > and afternoons.? We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour but it > seems to have disappeared.? Even when we last heard it, it seemed to be > late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to the > top of the hour.? I don't know which device was correct though. > I haven't listened very recently to hear whether they still have the beep, but the delay in the beep from the top of the hour may have been due to the delay inherent in HD processing, because WBZ broadcasts in HD during daylight hours, and even if you're not listening in HD, they (and all stations that broadcast in HD) must purposely delay their analog audio so that it's synchronized in time with the delay inherent in the processing of their HD signal, though that delay is normally only about 8 seconds, not 30. EP From kvahey@gmail.com Wed Sep 26 03:43:50 2018 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 03:43:50 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: My recollection is WBZ, WHDH and WEEI all had tones in the 70's WEEI was tied into the CBS Net Alert system and was the most distinctive but the tones originated in New York City. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbLu2nZL35s I can remember seeing the Net Alert boxes when WEEI was still in the old Boston Edison Building on Tremont St. On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 1:03 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: > It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s or > early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm clock > which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand > on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while > listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard > the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock. > > > On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: > > Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ > > radio > > Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR > > > > There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal > > and HD > > Which tone is correctly timed ? > > > > --------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross > > wrote: > > > > I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the > > hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a > > second > > or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by > > either > > my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the > > way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching > > defeat from the jaws of victory. > > > > On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: > > > > I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings > > and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour > > but it > > seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed > > to be > > late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to > > the > > top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. > > > > I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of > > the > > hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. > > > > I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's > > just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? > > > > Mario > > f > > -- > > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA > > 02459 > > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > From map@mapinternet.com Wed Sep 26 10:15:26 2018 From: map@mapinternet.com (M.Casey) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 10:15:26 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <6D5DFAB9FF0145DD82ED2B2544A4EF24@laptop> Hartford, CT's WTIC AM 1080 still has the "V" in morse code on the hour Mark Casey -----Original Message----- From: A Joseph Ross Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2018 11:38 PM To: Mario Gonzalez ; Boston Radio Subject: Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the hour. From ashboy1951@gmail.com Wed Sep 26 08:39:13 2018 From: ashboy1951@gmail.com (Doug Drown) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 08:39:13 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: I remember hearing the OTH CBS "chirp" a few times on WEEI-FM during the "Hot Hits" days of the '70s. I don't recall ever hearing the "bong", however. -Doug On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 3:43 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > My recollection is WBZ, WHDH and WEEI all had tones in the 70's > > WEEI was tied into the CBS Net Alert system and was the most distinctive > but the tones originated in New York City. > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbLu2nZL35s > > I can remember seeing the Net Alert boxes when WEEI was still in the old > Boston Edison Building on Tremont St. > > > > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 1:03 AM A Joseph Ross > wrote: > > > It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s or > > early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm clock > > which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand > > on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while > > listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard > > the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock. > > > > > > On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: > > > Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ > > > radio > > > Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR > > > > > > There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal > > > and HD > > > Which tone is correctly timed ? > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross > > > wrote: > > > > > > I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on > the > > > hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a > > > second > > > or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by > > > either > > > my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone > the > > > way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for > snatching > > > defeat from the jaws of victory. > > > > > > On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest > wrote: > > > > > > I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the > mornings > > > and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour > > > but it > > > seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed > > > to be > > > late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to > > > the > > > top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. > > > > > > I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of > > > the > > > hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa > devices. > > > > > > I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think > it's > > > just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? > > > > > > Mario > > > f > > > -- > > > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA > > > 02459 > > > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > > > > > -- > > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > From billohno@gmail.com Wed Sep 26 12:07:47 2018 From: billohno@gmail.com (billohno@gmail.com) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 12:07:47 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: WCAP (980 Lowell) had the TOH tone for years. The original config involved a constant tone generator (tube job) in the rack that dumped directly to the air chain. The switch was opened and closed by the tip of the second hand of the master control wall clock as it swept by contacts mounted a second or so either side of :00. The latter incarnation, the tone channel was triggered by the ?00? cue tones fed by the ABC network satellite. I?m just talent so I have no clue how it all managed to work. During the music days, we worked very hard to back time to the top of the hour as a matter of practice. The legal ID was a live jock-voiced liner, sounder, v.o. ?This is WCAP Lowell [beep] It?s ____ o?clock? News: ?And ___ degrees and [conditions], I?m ___ WCAP News...? Hitting the tone (without seeming to try) was an art form. Bill O?Neill > On Sep 26, 2018, at 3:43 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > > My recollection is WBZ, WHDH and WEEI all had tones in the 70's > > WEEI was tied into the CBS Net Alert system and was the most distinctive > but the tones originated in New York City. > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbLu2nZL35s > > I can remember seeing the Net Alert boxes when WEEI was still in the old > Boston Edison Building on Tremont St. > > > >> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 1:03 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >> >> It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s or >> early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm clock >> which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand >> on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while >> listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard >> the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock. >> >> >>> On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: >>> Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ >>> radio >>> Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR >>> >>> There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal >>> and HD >>> Which tone is correctly timed ? >>> >>> --------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross >> > wrote: >>> >>> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >>> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a >>> second >>> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by >>> either >>> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the >>> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching >>> defeat from the jaws of victory. >>> >>> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: >>> >>> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings >>> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour >>> but it >>> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed >>> to be >>> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to >>> the >>> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. >>> >>> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of >>> the >>> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. >>> >>> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's >>> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? >>> >>> Mario >>> f >>> -- >>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA >>> 02459 >>> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >>> >> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> From supersport@maine.rr.com Wed Sep 26 13:07:57 2018 From: supersport@maine.rr.com (Supersport - Scratchy 45s & Beyond) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 13:07:57 -0400 Subject: Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 101 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <16616d9fdc8.27cb.54ab37cb0377a2135b14c271ee66f0d0@maine.rr.com> WTIC still does the tones at the Top of the Hour. WBZ no longer says WBZ-HD for the AM. And it seems at any given week, the HD is either on or off. John On September 26, 2018 7:55:59 AM boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org wrote: > Send Boston-Radio-Interest mailing list submissions to > boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.BostonRadio.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-radio-interest > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > boston-radio-interest-owner@lists.BostonRadio.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Boston-Radio-Interest digest..." > > > > ---------- > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: NBC Boston (Scott Fybush) > 2. Re: NBC Boston (Garrett Wollman) > 3. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (A Joseph Ross) > 4. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (Garrett Wollman) > 5. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (Ron Bello) > 6. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (Martin Waters) > 7. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (A Joseph > Ross) (Eli Polonsky) > 8. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (Bob Nelson) > 9. Re: Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 100 (Eli Polonsky) > 10. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (Kevin Vahey) > > > > ---------- > Re: NBC Boston > From: Scott Fybush > Date: Sep 25, 7:12 PM > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > > The average viewer isn't us. > > The average viewer is using a pay-TV service, be it Comcast/Xfinity, > RCN, Verizon FiOS, Dish or Direct. That's 9 out of 10 viewers - minimum > - in the Boston DMA. > > NBC is on channel 10 for that average viewer. Maybe "810" if it's > Xfinity for HD. > > That average viewer doesn't know what "WBTS-LD" is, or "WYCN-CD," or > "WNEU." She doesn't use an antenna and doesn't deal with "8.1" or "15.1" > or "60.5." > > She sees an ad for "NBC 10." She picks up the remote and presses "10." > She gets NBC. If she's in the Boston DMA, she gets NBC Boston, and if > she's a Nielsen household, her viewing counts. If she's in the > Providence DMA and she sees an ad for "NBC 10," she picks up the remote, > presses "10" and *still* gets NBC - only it's WJAR, and WJAR gets the > ratings credit, and NBC still gets the network viewership.* > > It's easy to overthink all of this. It actually took some pretty clever > thinking on NBC's part (and the advantage of owning the Comcast cable > systems and NECN) to find a channel number that they could use almost > universally. > > *The "worst case" scenario, and it's pretty unlikely, is that she uses > an antenna, lives in the fraction of the Boston market that can see WJAR > over the air, punches in "10," still gets NBC - but she's watching WJAR > instead of WBTS *and* is a Nielsen household. I suppose that's > *possible," but it feels like a long shot. > > On 9/25/2018 3:50 PM, Don wrote: > >> Confusing to me for sure. >> >> However, I know where to find NBC programs on my system in my area. >> >> I think that's the only thing that matters to most people...and it >> appears most people have found it. >> >> The explanation and markieting on where it can be found in different >> areas is complex and noisy, but once your found it, and can return to it >> on your own system, you are set. > > > > > ---------- > Re: NBC Boston > From: Garrett Wollman > Date: Sep 26, 12:59 AM > To: Scott Fybush > CC: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > > < said: > >> The average viewer isn't us. >> The average viewer is using a pay-TV service, be it Comcast/Xfinity, >> RCN, Verizon FiOS, Dish or Direct. That's 9 out of 10 viewers - minimum >> - in the Boston DMA. > > Is that really true any more? Anecdotally, I know a *lot* of > cord-cutters, in the city and the suburbs. These are very likely to > be the people Nielsen is not going to measure (or even reach to > recruit for measurement). They pretty much universally have Comcast > because they live in places where there is no competition, but they > don't subscribe to video service; everything they watch is either OTA > (very rarely) or Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime. (Most of them probably > subscribe to all three.) Or they're just watching people play video > games on Twitch (also Amazon). > > I think at this point I know more people who listen to the radio > (pretty much exclusively public radio or sports-talk) than watch > linear TV. > > -GAWollman > > > > > > ---------- > Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared > From: A Joseph Ross > Date: Sep 26, 1:02 AM > To: Ron Bello > CC: mariogonz@aol.com, Boston Group Radio > > > It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s or > early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm clock > which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand > on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while > listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard > the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock. > > > On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: >> Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ >> radio >> Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR >> >> There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal >> and HD >> Which tone is correctly timed ? >> >> --------------------------------------------------- >> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross > > wrote: >> >> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a >> second >> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by >> either >> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the >> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching >> defeat from the jaws of victory. >> >> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: >> >> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings >> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour >> but it >> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed >> to be >> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to >> the >> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. >> >> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of >> the >> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. >> >> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's >> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? >> >> Mario >> f >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA >> 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > > > ---------- > Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared > From: Garrett Wollman > Date: Sep 26, 1:08 AM > To: A Joseph Ross > CC: Boston Radio > > < > said: > >> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >> hour. > > It's difficult to do with all of the digital delays in broadcasting > systems these days, particularly when you consider how many listeners > are coming in via streaming or HD simulcasts. Even 15 years ago, > actually getting these time signals into the air chain on the dot was > a huge hassle to the stations that still used them, for little > discernable benefit. > > If you're a young person and you even have a watch, it's probably an > Apple Watch or a Fitbit and gets its time automatically from your > phone. Most young people I know don't wear watches. Your phone gets > its time from the cellular network and should keep better time than > any watch. > > -GAWollman > > > > > > ---------- > Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared > From: Ron Bello > Date: Sep 26, 12:19 AM > To: A Joseph Ross > CC: mariogonz@aol.com, Boston Group Radio > > > Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ radio > Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR > > There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal and > HD > Which tone is correctly timed ? > > --------------------------------------------------- > > > > > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: > >> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a second >> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by either >> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the >> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching >> defeat from the jaws of victory. >> >> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: >> >> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings >> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour but it >> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed to be >> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to the >> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. >> >> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of the >> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. >> >> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's >> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? >> >> Mario >> f >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> > > > > > ---------- > Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared > From: Martin Waters > Date: Sep 26, 1:26 AM > To: Ron Bello , A Joseph Ross > CC: Boston Group Radio > > I just checked WINS -- the old-fashioned way, on an actual radio oriented > to partially null the interfering Toronto signal here in Conn., 75 miles > from Manhattan -- and it still broadcasts the hourly tone. It was 11 > seconds late vs. the U.S. Naval Observatory Website, another good source > for exact time. > Use of HD (not sure WINS uses it, although WBZ does) causes a delay of > around 7-8 seconds unless it is compensated for -- and I am unsure whether > WBZ ever did. > As for WBZ, it definitely used the tone as of 1963, when I became a > radioholic. Although they "almost" didn't need it, because it "always" > sounded exactly after the recorded news intro's final word ( . . . "from > the WBZ news center") gave way to the clattering teletype sound effect. > Meanwhile, does anyone have any more on when WBZ dropped the tone? > Whenever, I figure noheart did it to save money by not operating the tone > generator. > > > > ---------- > Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (A Joseph Ross) > From: Eli Polonsky > Date: Sep 26, 5:13 AM > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org > >> >> Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 23:38:38 -0400 >> From: A Joseph Ross >> To: Mario Gonzalez , Boston Radio >> >> Subject: Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared >> >> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >> hour.? I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a second >> or two delayed.? >> >> If you're listening to the BBC on WBUR or any other affiliate that also > broadcasts in HD, the delay you're hearing is most likely the approximately > eight-second delay inherent in the processing of the HD signal, and you'l > hear that delay even if you're not listening in HD, because stations that > broadcast in HD must purposely delay their analog signal so that it's > synchronized in time with the delay inherent in their HD signal. The BBC > beep comes up right at the top of the hour in the WBUR studios, but goes > over the air eight seconds later due to the HD processing (and synchronized > analog) delay. > > EP > > > > > ---------- > Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared > From: Bob Nelson > Date: Sep 26, 3:59 AM > To: A Joseph Ross > CC: Ron Bello , Boston Group Radio > > > Maybe gone by now but WTIC Hartford had a morse code (or some such) > representation of the letter V for victory.It sounded like the first four > notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. (Notes G, G, G, E flat.) This ran at > the top of the hour. > > WCBS New York and some CBS affiliates ran some notes that sounded like > dong...dong...dong...dong! then it went to the CBS News top of the hour > sounder. This can be heard 1 min and 9 seconds into this: > > https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc3jiAgA0rU > > TV networks would have a ding at the top of the hour, start of a program. A > website called TVParty used to have that sound when the page loaded. > > Bob Nelson > > On Wednesday, September 26, 2018, A Joseph Ross > wrote: > >> It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s or >> early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm clock >> which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand on >> the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while listening to >> the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard the tone, I'd >> quickly plug in the clock. >> >> >> On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: >> >>> Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ >>> radio >>> Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR >>> >>> There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal >>> and HD >>> Which tone is correctly timed ? >>> >>> --------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross >> > wrote: >>> >>> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >>> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a >>> second >>> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by >>> either >>> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the >>> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching >>> defeat from the jaws of victory. >>> >>> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: >>> >>> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings >>> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour >>> but it >>> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed >>> to be >>> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to >>> the >>> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. >>> >>> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of >>> the >>> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. >>> >>> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's >>> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? >>> >>> Mario >>> f >>> -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 >>> ? >>> Newton, MA >>> 02459 >>> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >>> >>> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> > > > > > ---------- > Re: Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 100 > From: Eli Polonsky > Date: Sep 26, 4:58 AM > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org > >> >> Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:06:41 -0400 >> From: Mario Gonzalez >> To: Boston Radio Group >> Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared >> > > >> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings >> and afternoons.? We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour but it >> seems to have disappeared.? Even when we last heard it, it seemed to be >> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to the >> top of the hour.? I don't know which device was correct though. >> > > I haven't listened very recently to hear whether they still have the beep, > but the delay in the beep from the top of the hour may have been due to the > delay inherent in HD processing, because WBZ broadcasts in HD during > daylight hours, and even if you're not listening in HD, they (and all > stations that broadcast in HD) must purposely delay their analog audio so > that it's synchronized in time with the delay inherent in the processing of > their HD signal, though that delay is normally only about 8 seconds, not 30. > > EP > > > > > ---------- > Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared > From: Kevin Vahey > Date: Sep 26, 3:43 AM > To: A,Joseph Ross > CC: Ron Bello , Boston Radio Group > > > My recollection is WBZ, WHDH and WEEI all had tones in the 70's > > WEEI was tied into the CBS Net Alert system and was the most distinctive > but the tones originated in New York City. > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbLu2nZL35s > > I can remember seeing the Net Alert boxes when WEEI was still in the old > Boston Edison Building on Tremont St. > > > > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 1:03 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: > >> It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s or >> early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm clock >> which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand >> on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while >> listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard >> the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock. >> >> >> On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: >> > Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ >> > radio >> > Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR >> > >> > There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal >> > and HD >> > Which tone is correctly timed ? >> > >> > --------------------------------------------------- >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross > > > wrote: >> > >> > I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >> > hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a >> > second >> > or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by >> > either >> > my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the >> > way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching >> > defeat from the jaws of victory. >> > >> > On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: >> > >> > I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings >> > and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour >> > but it >> > seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed >> > to be >> > late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to >> > the >> > top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. >> > >> > I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of >> > the >> > hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. >> > >> > I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's >> > just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? >> > >> > Mario >> > f >> > -- >> > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA >> > 02459 >> > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> > >> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> > > > > > ---------- > _______________________________________________ > Boston-Radio-Interest mailing list > Boston-Radio-Interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > https://lists.BostonRadio.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-radio-interest From Kaimbridge@Gmail.com Wed Sep 26 15:24:00 2018 From: Kaimbridge@Gmail.com (Kaimbridge M. GoldChild) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 19:24:00 +0000 Subject: [B-R-I] Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared Message-ID: <6d265ac1-2a73-6ee5-ae97-1f6912dc55cb@Gmail.com> Mario Gonzalez wrote, > I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings > and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour but > it seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it Ah, did you just notice its absence in the last few days? Their (even just) daytime IBOC has been off since Saturday (sometime Friday?): Sometimes?at least in the past?when the IBOC is off, the TOH tones will be MIA, too. Though, between the new corporate owners and their new studio digs, the tones very well could have been retired! P=/ ~Kaimbridge~ -- -- -- Wiki?Sites Contribution History Pages: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Kaimbridge math.wikia.com/wiki/Special:Contributions/Kaimbridge wiki.gis.com/wiki/index.php/Special:Contributions/Kaimbridge rosettacode.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Kaimbridge ***** Void Where Permitted; Limit 0 Per Customer. ***** From gary@garysicecream.com Wed Sep 26 15:29:37 2018 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 15:29:37 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <04f701d455cf$43737ba0$ca5a72e0$@garysicecream.com> And once we automated WCAP the tone (which was actually a 980kHz tone at that time) was recorded onto the ID at the end so it would fire just as we joined the ABC network at the top of the hour. Gary F. Gary?s Ice Cream ? Chelmsford Creamery, Inc. Chelmsford, MA garysicecream.com Ice Cream College ? classes in Massachusetts and Florida icecreamcollege.com -----Original Message----- From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of billohno@gmail.com Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 12:08 PM To: Kevin Vahey Cc: Boston Radio Group Subject: Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared WCAP (980 Lowell) had the TOH tone for years. The original config involved a constant tone generator (tube job) in the rack that dumped directly to the air chain. The switch was opened and closed by the tip of the second hand of the master control wall clock as it swept by contacts mounted a second or so either side of :00. The latter incarnation, the tone channel was triggered by the ?00? cue tones fed by the ABC network satellite. I?m just talent so I have no clue how it all managed to work. During the music days, we worked very hard to back time to the top of the hour as a matter of practice. The legal ID was a live jock-voiced liner, sounder, v.o. ?This is WCAP Lowell [beep] It?s ____ o?clock? News: ?And ___ degrees and [conditions], I?m ___ WCAP News...? Hitting the tone (without seeming to try) was an art form. Bill O?Neill > On Sep 26, 2018, at 3:43 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > > My recollection is WBZ, WHDH and WEEI all had tones in the 70's > > WEEI was tied into the CBS Net Alert system and was the most > distinctive but the tones originated in New York City. > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbLu2nZL35s > > I can remember seeing the Net Alert boxes when WEEI was still in the > old Boston Edison Building on Tremont St. > > > >> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 1:03 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >> >> It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s >> or early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm >> clock which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and >> second hand on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet >> while listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as >> I heard the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock. >> >> >>> On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: >>> Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at >>> BZ radio Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR >>> >>> There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog >>> signal and HD Which tone is correctly timed ? >>> >>> --------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross >> > wrote: >>> >>> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >>> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a >>> second >>> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by >>> either >>> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the >>> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching >>> defeat from the jaws of victory. >>> >>> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: >>> >>> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings >>> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour >>> but it >>> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed >>> to be >>> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to >>> the >>> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. >>> >>> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of >>> the >>> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. >>> >>> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's >>> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? >>> >>> Mario >>> f >>> -- >>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA >>> 02459 >>> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >>> >> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA >> 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> From billohno@gmail.com Wed Sep 26 15:55:13 2018 From: billohno@gmail.com (Bill O'Neill) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 15:55:13 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <04f701d455cf$43737ba0$ca5a72e0$@garysicecream.com> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <04f701d455cf$43737ba0$ca5a72e0$@garysicecream.com> Message-ID: On 9/26/2018 3:29 PM, Gary's Ice Cream wrote: > And once we automated WCAP the tone (which was actually a 980kHz tone at that time) was recorded onto the ID at the end so it would fire just as we joined the ABC network at the top of the hour. Ike Cohen would roll-over in his grave if he knew THAT, Gary. ;-) Bill O'Neill > > Gary F. > Gary?s Ice Cream ? Chelmsford Creamery, Inc. Chelmsford, MA garysicecream.com > Ice Cream College ? classes in Massachusetts and Florida icecreamcollege.com > > -----Original Message----- > From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of billohno@gmail.com > Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 12:08 PM > To: Kevin Vahey > Cc: Boston Radio Group > Subject: Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared > > WCAP (980 Lowell) had the TOH tone for years. The original config involved a constant tone generator (tube job) in the rack that dumped directly to the air chain. The switch was opened and closed by the tip of the second hand of the master control wall clock as it swept by contacts mounted a second or so either side of :00. > > The latter incarnation, the tone channel was triggered by the ?00? cue tones fed by the ABC network satellite. I?m just talent so I have no clue how it all managed to work. > > During the music days, we worked very hard to back time to the top of the hour as a matter of practice. The legal ID was a live jock-voiced liner, sounder, v.o. ?This is WCAP Lowell [beep] It?s ____ o?clock? News: ?And ___ degrees and [conditions], I?m ___ WCAP News...? Hitting the tone (without seeming to try) was an art form. > > Bill O?Neill > > > >> On Sep 26, 2018, at 3:43 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >> >> My recollection is WBZ, WHDH and WEEI all had tones in the 70's >> >> WEEI was tied into the CBS Net Alert system and was the most >> distinctive but the tones originated in New York City. >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbLu2nZL35s >> >> I can remember seeing the Net Alert boxes when WEEI was still in the >> old Boston Edison Building on Tremont St. >> >> >> >>> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 1:03 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >>> >>> It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s >>> or early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm >>> clock which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and >>> second hand on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet >>> while listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as >>> I heard the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock. >>> >>> >>>> On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: >>>> Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at >>>> BZ radio Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR >>>> >>>> There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog >>>> signal and HD Which tone is correctly timed ? >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross >>> > wrote: >>>> >>>> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >>>> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a >>>> second >>>> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by >>>> either >>>> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the >>>> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching >>>> defeat from the jaws of victory. >>>> >>>> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: >>>> >>>> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings >>>> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour >>>> but it >>>> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed >>>> to be >>>> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to >>>> the >>>> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. >>>> >>>> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of >>>> the >>>> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. >>>> >>>> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's >>>> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? >>>> >>>> Mario >>>> f >>>> -- >>>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA >>>> 02459 >>>> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >>>> >>> -- >>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA >>> 02459 >>> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >>> > --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus From gary@garysicecream.com Wed Sep 26 19:30:51 2018 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 19:30:51 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <04f701d455cf$43737ba0$ca5a72e0$@garysicecream.com> Message-ID: <053d01d455f0$f67b1340$e37139c0$@garysicecream.com> Trust me Bill.....since Maurice sold the place (and probably even before) Ike has been doing the tarantella. Gary F. Gary?s Ice Cream ? Chelmsford Creamery, Inc. Chelmsford, MA garysicecream.com Ice Cream College ? classes in Massachusetts and Florida icecreamcollege.com -----Original Message----- From: Bill O'Neill Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 3:55 PM To: Gary's Ice Cream Cc: Boston radio e-mail list Subject: Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared On 9/26/2018 3:29 PM, Gary's Ice Cream wrote: > And once we automated WCAP the tone (which was actually a 980kHz tone at that time) was recorded onto the ID at the end so it would fire just as we joined the ABC network at the top of the hour. Ike Cohen would roll-over in his grave if he knew THAT, Gary. ;-) Bill O'Neill > > Gary F. > Gary?s Ice Cream ? Chelmsford Creamery, Inc. Chelmsford, MA garysicecream.com > Ice Cream College ? classes in Massachusetts and Florida icecreamcollege.com > > -----Original Message----- > From: Boston-Radio-Interest > On Behalf Of > billohno@gmail.com > Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 12:08 PM > To: Kevin Vahey > Cc: Boston Radio Group > Subject: Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared > > WCAP (980 Lowell) had the TOH tone for years. The original config involved a constant tone generator (tube job) in the rack that dumped directly to the air chain. The switch was opened and closed by the tip of the second hand of the master control wall clock as it swept by contacts mounted a second or so either side of :00. > > The latter incarnation, the tone channel was triggered by the ?00? cue tones fed by the ABC network satellite. I?m just talent so I have no clue how it all managed to work. > > During the music days, we worked very hard to back time to the top of > the hour as a matter of practice. The legal ID was a live jock-voiced > liner, sounder, v.o. ?This is WCAP Lowell [beep] It?s ____ o?clock? > News: ?And ___ degrees and [conditions], I?m ___ WCAP News...? > Hitting the tone (without seeming to try) was an art form. harp SFX out> > > Bill O?Neill > > > >> On Sep 26, 2018, at 3:43 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >> >> My recollection is WBZ, WHDH and WEEI all had tones in the 70's >> >> WEEI was tied into the CBS Net Alert system and was the most >> distinctive but the tones originated in New York City. >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbLu2nZL35s >> >> I can remember seeing the Net Alert boxes when WEEI was still in the >> old Boston Edison Building on Tremont St. >> >> >> >>> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 1:03 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >>> >>> It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late >>> 1950s or early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric >>> alarm clock which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute >>> and second hand on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the >>> outlet while listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As >>> soon as I heard the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock. >>> >>> >>>> On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: >>>> Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at >>>> BZ radio Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR >>>> >>>> There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog >>>> signal and HD Which tone is correctly timed ? >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross >>>> > wrote: >>>> >>>> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >>>> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a >>>> second >>>> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by >>>> either >>>> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the >>>> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching >>>> defeat from the jaws of victory. >>>> >>>> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: >>>> >>>> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings >>>> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour >>>> but it >>>> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed >>>> to be >>>> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to >>>> the >>>> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though. >>>> >>>> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of >>>> the >>>> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices. >>>> >>>> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's >>>> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? >>>> >>>> Mario >>>> f >>>> -- >>>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA >>>> 02459 >>>> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >>>> >>> -- >>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA >>> 02459 >>> 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >>> > --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus From chris@christianphansen.com Wed Sep 26 05:33:15 2018 From: chris@christianphansen.com (Chris Hansen) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 10:33:15 +0100 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <0584cef2-9fce-3eb5-f985-5601e2f0238d@christianphansen.com> On 26/09/2018 04:38, A Joseph Ross wrote: > I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the > hour.? I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a second > or two delayed.? I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by either > my cellphone or the Windows clock.? The beep on the hour has gone the > way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching > defeat from the jaws of victory. I'm a former Marbleheader who now lives in London, England. BBC Radio 4 (news and talk station of the BBC in the UK) still has the series of beeps (called "pips" here) at the top of each hour (except at 6pm and midnight when it broadcasts the bells from Elizabeth Tower [Big Ben], which are now a recording since the bells have been silenced due to structural work on the clock and tower). However, only on LW, AM and FM are these pips (series of 6, with the sixth being the exact hour pip) accurate. On digital radio the sixth pip is always two seconds "late", while on internet radio it can be anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds late. There have been discussions as to how to synchronise the pips on digital radio--nothing has come of them. But removing the pips would mightily disturb the Colonal Blimps in the suburban and rural parts of the UK--they distrust change and would write nasty letters to the Times, the Mail, and the Telegraph. So the pips, inaccurate as they may be, remain. Interesting fact: The BBC announcers are schooled to be very careful not to talk into the pips--when they do, it's referred to as "crashing the pips". -- Chris Hansen From wollman@bimajority.org Wed Sep 26 21:38:59 2018 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 21:38:59 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <0584cef2-9fce-3eb5-f985-5601e2f0238d@christianphansen.com> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <0584cef2-9fce-3eb5-f985-5601e2f0238d@christianphansen.com> Message-ID: <23468.13491.646660.664913@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > There have been discussions as to how to synchronise the [BBC R4] > pips on digital radio--nothing has come of them. But removing the > pips would mightily disturb the Colonal Blimps in the suburban and > rural parts of the UK--they distrust change and would write nasty > letters to the Times, the Mail, and the Telegraph. So the pips, > inaccurate as they may be, remain. If, as Eli says, the Whirled Service pips actually hit the top in his studio in Boston, it suggests they've managed to fix this for the codec and distribution delays in the US at least. I suspect they run the studios some number of seconds ahead of the official time as a buffer for distribution delays. (Are they still using satellite or is this all fiber now?) > Interesting fact: The BBC announcers are schooled to be very careful not > to talk into the pips--when they do, it's referred to as "crashing the > pips". In a similar vein: there is a policy across all of BBC radio that, in any situation where the pips are either simulated or played back off a recording, no more than three of the pips may be reproduced, so as not to confuse Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells. You can hear this on "Dead Ringers", for example, when they do an impression of Neil Nunes reading a fake news bulletin. I remember WTIC used to be very good about backtiming to the time signal, but as more and more of the day was automated rather than live, they stopped bothering and let their top-hour stager step on the tones, just as it has at WBZ in the last decade or two. Obviously if you're taking live sports there's no choice, but if you're just playing pre-recorded crap out of a server, it's entirely possible to be off by seconds, and management probably doesn't care enough to invest expensive staff time in the process, particularly if that's an ongoing expense (e.g., taking more care about precise spot timing in the top-hour break) rather than something that can be automated. -GAWollman From joe@attorneyross.com Wed Sep 26 22:57:38 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 22:57:38 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <91ec24e5-ce91-d683-0a3a-44633a353bfe@attorneyross.com> And earlier, WNAC had one, which had a rather distinctive sound that matched the tone on WNAC-TV. On 9/26/2018 3:43 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > My recollection is WBZ, WHDH and WEEI all had tones in the 70's > > WEEI was tied into the CBS Net Alert system?and was the most > distinctive but the tones originated?in New York City. > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbLu2nZL35s > > I can remember seeing the Net Alert boxes when WEEI was still in the > old Boston Edison Building on Tremont St. > > > > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 1:03 AM A Joseph Ross > wrote: > > It goes back earlier than the 1970s.? I remember it in the late > 1950s or > early 1960s, when I was in high school.? I had an electric alarm > clock > which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and > second hand > on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while > listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I > heard > the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock. > > > On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: > > Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE > at BZ > > radio > > Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR > > > > There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog > signal > > and HD > > Which tone is correctly timed ? > > > > --------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross > > > >> wrote: > > > >? ? ?I think this may have been the last station to have that > beep on the > >? ? ?hour.? I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a > >? ? ?second > >? ? ?or two delayed.? I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by > >? ? ?either > >? ? ?my cellphone or the Windows clock.? The beep on the hour has > gone the > >? ? ?way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for > snatching > >? ? ?defeat from the jaws of victory. > > > >? ? ?On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via > Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: > > > >? ? ?I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the > mornings > >? ? ?and afternoons.? We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour > >? ? ?but it > >? ? ?seems to have disappeared.? Even when we last heard it, it > seemed > >? ? ?to be > >? ? ?late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their > time to > >? ? ?the > >? ? ?top of the hour.? I don't know which device was correct though. > > > >? ? ?I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the > top of > >? ? ?the > >? ? ?hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa > devices. > > > >? ? ?I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I > think it's > >? ? ?just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? > > > >? ? ?Mario > >? ? ?f > >? ? ?-- > >? ? ?A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? > Newton, MA > >? ? ?02459 > >? ? ?617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA > 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Wed Sep 26 22:59:34 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 22:59:34 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: And when I was a student out at UMass Amherst, I sometines noticed the same tone on the hour on WTIC-TV, Channel 3. BTW, how did it happen that channel 3 in Hartford stopped being WTIC-TV and then later, that call ended up on a UHF channel? On 9/26/2018 3:59 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > Maybe gone by now but WTIC Hartford had a morse code (or some such) > representation of the letter V for victory.It sounded like the first > four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. (Notes G, G, G, E flat.) > This ran at the top of the hour. > > WCBS New York and some CBS affiliates ran some notes that sounded like > dong...dong...dong...dong! then it went to the CBS News top of the > hour sounder. This can be heard 1 min and 9 seconds into this: > > https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc3jiAgA0rU > > TV networks would have a ding at the top of the hour, start of a > program. A website called TVParty used to have that sound when the > page loaded. > > Bob Nelson > > On Wednesday, September 26, 2018, A Joseph Ross > wrote: > > It goes back earlier than the 1970s.? I remember it in the late > 1950s or early 1960s, when I was in high school.? I had an > electric alarm clock which I would set to the exact top of the > hour -- minute and second hand on the 12 -- and hold the plug in > my hand near the outlet while listening to the leadup to the WBZ > news on the hour. As soon as I heard the tone, I'd quickly plug in > the clock. > > > On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote: > > Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s > CE at BZ radio > Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR > > There might also be an issue with timing between regular > analog signal and HD > Which tone is correctly timed ? > > --------------------------------------------------- > > > > > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross > > >> > wrote: > > ? ? I think this may have been the last station to have that > beep on the > ? ? hour.? I think BBC World Service still has it, but that > can be a > ? ? second > ? ? or two delayed.? I guess I'll have to start setting my > watch by > ? ? either > ? ? my cellphone or the Windows clock.? The beep on the hour > has gone the > ? ? way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent > for snatching > ? ? defeat from the jaws of victory. > > ? ? On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via > Boston-Radio-Interest wrote: > > ? ? I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in > the mornings > ? ? and afternoons.? We used to hear the beep at the top of > the hour > ? ? but it > ? ? seems to have disappeared.? Even when we last heard it, it > seemed > ? ? to be > ? ? late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their > time to > ? ? the > ? ? top of the hour.? I don't know which device was correct > though. > > ? ? I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at > the top of > ? ? the > ? ? hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my > Alexa devices. > > ? ? I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I > think it's > ? ? just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards? > > ? ? Mario > ? ? f > ? ? --? ? ?A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite > 103 > ? > Newton, MA > ? ? 02459 > ? ? 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA > 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Wed Sep 26 23:09:13 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 23:09:13 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <0584cef2-9fce-3eb5-f985-5601e2f0238d@christianphansen.com> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <0584cef2-9fce-3eb5-f985-5601e2f0238d@christianphansen.com> Message-ID: Well, they did stop playing Lillibulero at the top of the hour on the World Service. On 9/26/2018 5:33 AM, Chris Hansen wrote: > On 26/09/2018 04:38, A Joseph Ross wrote: >> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >> hour.? I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a second >> or two delayed.? I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by either >> my cellphone or the Windows clock.? The beep on the hour has gone the >> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching >> defeat from the jaws of victory. > I'm a former Marbleheader who now lives in London, England. BBC Radio 4 > (news and talk station of the BBC in the UK) still has the series of > beeps (called "pips" here) at the top of each hour (except at 6pm and > midnight when it broadcasts the bells from Elizabeth Tower [Big Ben], > which are now a recording since the bells have been silenced due to > structural work on the clock and tower). However, only on LW, AM and FM > are these pips (series of 6, with the sixth being the exact hour pip) > accurate. On digital radio the sixth pip is always two seconds "late", > while on internet radio it can be anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds late. > > There have been discussions as to how to synchronise the pips on digital > radio--nothing has come of them. But removing the pips would mightily > disturb the Colonal Blimps in the suburban and rural parts of the > UK--they distrust change and would write nasty letters to the Times, the > Mail, and the Telegraph. So the pips, inaccurate as they may be, remain. > > Interesting fact: The BBC announcers are schooled to be very careful not > to talk into the pips--when they do, it's referred to as "crashing the > pips". > > -- > Chris Hansen > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Wed Sep 26 22:56:24 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 22:56:24 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <23467.5224.45259.149913@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <23467.5224.45259.149913@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: I remember hearing delays in the days before digital systems.? Back in the days when I used to listen to the BBC World Service on shortwave, I sometimes tuned from one BBC frequency to another and found a delay from one to the other.? I assumed that it had something to do with some signals coming directly from the vicinity of London and some came from relays at some other location, maybe Sackville, NB or some British-ruled island in the Caribbean. On 9/26/2018 1:08 AM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > < said: > >> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >> hour. > It's difficult to do with all of the digital delays in broadcasting > systems these days, particularly when you consider how many listeners > are coming in via streaming or HD simulcasts. Even 15 years ago, > actually getting these time signals into the air chain on the dot was > a huge hassle to the stations that still used them, for little > discernable benefit. > > If you're a young person and you even have a watch, it's probably an > Apple Watch or a Fitbit and gets its time automatically from your > phone. Most young people I know don't wear watches. Your phone gets > its time from the cellular network and should keep better time than > any watch. > > -GAWollman > > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From martinjwaters@yahoo.com Thu Sep 27 01:04:07 2018 From: martinjwaters@yahoo.com (Martin Waters) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 05:04:07 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <23468.13491.646660.664913@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <0584cef2-9fce-3eb5-f985-5601e2f0238d@christianphansen.com> <23468.13491.646660.664913@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <1612484761.163197.1538024647750@mail.yahoo.com> On Wednesday, September 26, 2018, 9:39:18 PM EDT, Garrett Wollman wrote: I remember WTIC used to be very good about backtiming to the time signal, but as more and more of the day was automated rather than live, they stopped bothering and let their top-hour stager step on the tones, just as it has at WBZ in the last decade or two.----------? ? ? Indeed, WTIC (AM) does crash the pips now. But the time 'signal," as Bob Steele invariably called it when he invariably talked up to it without any apparent effort, sounded right on time during tonight's Red Sox game. Steele also talked up the "antenna switch" to non-directional every morning. A guy just wants to have fun. ? ? Meanwhile, WINS also still broadcasts a time tone at half-past. That may go back to the day Westinghouse flipped it to news (1965?). I have a hazy recollection that KYW also did that once upon a time. Way back when, WCBS (AM) did it, too.? ? ? Several of the news stations formerly owned by CBS, like WCBS and unlike WBZ, carry the hourly CBS network news 24/7, so a separate tone is not needed -- and would be a problem if it differed even slightly from the CBS chime. I'm thinking specifically of KCBS and WBBM. Maybe there are more. ? ? BTW, WBBM actually runs all 5 minutes of the CBS hourly and the full lengths of the two extended World News Roundup newscasts; station motto: We ain't scared of tune-outs. From ashboy1951@gmail.com Thu Sep 27 08:00:11 2018 From: ashboy1951@gmail.com (Doug Drown) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 08:00:11 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <23467.5224.45259.149913@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: CBC Radio One has been broadcasting a national time check every day at 1:00 PM ET for the past 78 years. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/the-beginning-of-the-long-dash-indicates-75-years-of-official-time-on-cbc-1.2823599 Also, WTIC, despite the recent ownership change, is still maintaining its long tradition of playing a stylized, tonal version of the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth at the top of the hour. As for the "transfer" of the WTIC-TV call letters to Hartford's Channel 61, that's a long story spelled out in detail on Wikipedia. WTIC AM-FM and the *original *WTIC-TV (now WFSB) parted ways in 1973 when Travelers Insurance sold the stations to separate owners. -Doug On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 10:56 PM, A Joseph Ross wrote: > I remember hearing delays in the days before digital systems. Back in the > days when I used to listen to the BBC World Service on shortwave, I > sometimes tuned from one BBC frequency to another and found a delay from > one to the other. I assumed that it had something to do with some signals > coming directly from the vicinity of London and some came from relays at > some other location, maybe Sackville, NB or some British-ruled island in > the Caribbean. > > > > On 9/26/2018 1:08 AM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > >> < >> said: >> >> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the >>> hour. >>> >> It's difficult to do with all of the digital delays in broadcasting >> systems these days, particularly when you consider how many listeners >> are coming in via streaming or HD simulcasts. Even 15 years ago, >> actually getting these time signals into the air chain on the dot was >> a huge hassle to the stations that still used them, for little >> discernable benefit. >> >> If you're a young person and you even have a watch, it's probably an >> Apple Watch or a Fitbit and gets its time automatically from your >> phone. Most young people I know don't wear watches. Your phone gets >> its time from the cellular network and should keep better time than >> any watch. >> >> -GAWollman >> >> >> > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > From 011010001@interpring.com Thu Sep 27 13:29:42 2018 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 13:29:42 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: On Tue, 25 Sep 2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: > I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the hour.? I > think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a second or two > delayed.? I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by either my cellphone > or the Windows clock.? The beep on the hour has gone the way of Jordan Marsh, > WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching defeat from the jaws of > victory. WUMB's Blues and Beacon channels have the full BBC-style "pips", but they won't be accurate because these are Internet streams. Rob From 011010001@interpring.com Thu Sep 27 14:00:21 2018 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 14:00:21 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 101 In-Reply-To: <16616d9fdc8.27cb.54ab37cb0377a2135b14c271ee66f0d0@maine.rr.com> References: <16616d9fdc8.27cb.54ab37cb0377a2135b14c271ee66f0d0@maine.rr.com> Message-ID: On Wed, 26 Sep 2018, Supersport - Scratchy 45s & Beyond wrote: > WTIC still does the tones at the Top of the Hour. WBZ no longer says WBZ-HD > for the AM. And it seems at any given week, the HD is either on or off. I was told by an Eyeheart employee the other day that WBZ runs HD during the day but not at night, per an agreement with whomever owns KDKA in Pittsburgh. Rob From 011010001@interpring.com Thu Sep 27 14:14:40 2018 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 14:14:40 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <0584cef2-9fce-3eb5-f985-5601e2f0238d@christianphansen.com> Message-ID: On Wed, 26 Sep 2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: > Well, they did stop playing Lillibulero at the top of the hour on the World > Service. In the seventies, when I was an avid shortwave listener, they used to use "Oranges and Lemons" as an interval signal. Rob From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu Sep 27 14:12:03 2018 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 14:12:03 -0400 Subject: Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 101 In-Reply-To: References: <16616d9fdc8.27cb.54ab37cb0377a2135b14c271ee66f0d0@maine.rr.com> Message-ID: Entercom picked up KDKA AM and FM from CBS On Thu, Sep 27, 2018, 2:01 PM Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> wrote: > > > On Wed, 26 Sep 2018, Supersport - Scratchy 45s & Beyond wrote: > > > WTIC still does the tones at the Top of the Hour. WBZ no longer says > WBZ-HD > > for the AM. And it seems at any given week, the HD is either on or off. > > I was told by an Eyeheart employee the other day that WBZ runs HD during > the day but not at night, per an agreement with whomever owns KDKA in > Pittsburgh. > > > Rob > From gary@garysicecream.com Thu Sep 27 19:49:29 2018 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 19:49:29 -0400 Subject: GMC Mobile Studios Message-ID: <072101d456bc$bb588cd0$3209a670$@garysicecream.com> For 5 years GMC made RV's that became the Gold Standard for mobile broadcast vans. Then they suddenly stopped making them. Both WCAP and WHDH had them. Here is the story behind them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWdCtwJm6nA Gary F. Gary's Ice Cream - Chelmsford Creamery, Inc. Chelmsford, MA garysicecream.com Ice Cream College - classes in Massachusetts and Florida icecreamcollege.com From billohno@gmail.com Thu Sep 27 21:17:19 2018 From: billohno@gmail.com (billohno@gmail.com) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 21:17:19 -0400 Subject: GMC Mobile Studios In-Reply-To: <072101d456bc$bb588cd0$3209a670$@garysicecream.com> References: <072101d456bc$bb588cd0$3209a670$@garysicecream.com> Message-ID: <8DBC2987-34F0-4779-B7CF-95D663036825@gmail.com> The GMCs were super vehicles for that purpose. I broadcasted from both of those stations? units (?73 & ?74 models). WHDH had 4 massive speakers that needed to be lifted up onto the roof. WCAP had mounted cone speakers that needed to be aimed by a long pole. While HDH had a nicer board, both had cart decks with portable cart racks and ran everything from the road. Good times. Bill O?Neill > On Sep 27, 2018, at 7:49 PM, Gary's Ice Cream wrote: > > For 5 years GMC made RV's that became the Gold Standard for mobile broadcast > vans. Then they suddenly stopped making them. Both WCAP and WHDH had them. > Here is the story behind them: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWdCtwJm6nA > > > > > > Gary F. > > Gary's Ice Cream - Chelmsford Creamery, Inc. Chelmsford, MA > garysicecream.com > > Ice Cream College - classes in Massachusetts and Florida > icecreamcollege.com > > > > From joe@attorneyross.com Thu Sep 27 23:31:41 2018 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 23:31:41 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <0584cef2-9fce-3eb5-f985-5601e2f0238d@christianphansen.com> Message-ID: <26ca3cca-90df-1025-aab7-8072d1e89bb0@attorneyross.com> I didn't know what "Oranges and Lemons" is, and I wondered what sound the fruits might make, but I looked it up on Wikipedia and heard a recording.? Now that I know what it is, I do remember when the BBC began using that tune as an interval signal.? Later, they went back to the chorus of bells that they had been using before. On 9/27/2018 2:14 PM, Rob Landry wrote: > > > On Wed, 26 Sep 2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: > >> Well, they did stop playing Lillibulero at the top of the hour on the >> World Service. > > In the seventies, when I was an avid shortwave listener, they used to > use "Oranges and Lemons" as an interval signal. > > > Rob > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From martinjwaters@yahoo.com Fri Sep 28 08:11:10 2018 From: martinjwaters@yahoo.com (Martin Waters) Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2018 12:11:10 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <23467.5224.45259.149913@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <630465942.805514.1538136670130@mail.yahoo.com> ? ? WTIC: The FCC rules in 1973 required that the TV station go to a different owner (Washington Post) than the radio stations, which could be, and in this case were, sold as a pair to another new owner. ? ? While Travelers owned the three stations, the unique time tones also were broadcast by channel 3. ? ? The tones first were broadcast on July 4, 1943, when for the Allies the war was far, far from being won. The chief engineer and a station executive came up with it. ? ? The CE started with Morse for V, as in victory. Three dots and a dash. The station executive heard it during development and noted that it closely followed the pattern of the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth. So they modulated the four tones to mimic the musical notes, and the rest is history. ? ? The station says the time signal is triggered precisely so that the START of the final tone marks the exact hour. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri Sep 28 11:29:20 2018 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2018 11:29:20 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <26ca3cca-90df-1025-aab7-8072d1e89bb0@attorneyross.com> References: <4f3a9e07-2741-361a-4b85-9a219a7e11bc@attorneyross.com> <0584cef2-9fce-3eb5-f985-5601e2f0238d@christianphansen.com> <26ca3cca-90df-1025-aab7-8072d1e89bb0@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: Oranges and Lemons--Old English nursery rhyme though some verses refer to executions; weird. The British rock band XTC had an album with that title.The mention of churches in the rhyme is ironic as XTC's singer-songwriter Andy Partridge is an atheist, as expressed in one of their songs:"If there's one thing I don't believe in/It's you/Dear God". On Thursday, September 27, 2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: > I didn't know what "Oranges and Lemons" is, and I wondered what sound the > fruits might make, but I looked it up on Wikipedia and heard a recording. > Now that I know what it is, I do remember when the BBC began using that > tune as an interval signal. Later, they went back to the chorus of bells > that they had been using before. > > On 9/27/2018 2:14 PM, Rob Landry wrote: > >> >> >> On Wed, 26 Sep 2018, A Joseph Ross wrote: >> >> Well, they did stop playing Lillibulero at the top of the hour on the >>> World Service. >>> >> >> In the seventies, when I was an avid shortwave listener, they used to use >> "Oranges and Lemons" as an interval signal. >> >> >> Rob >> >> > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, > > MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? Fax:617.507.7856 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > From bill.smith@comcast.net Fri Sep 28 20:56:15 2018 From: bill.smith@comcast.net (Bill Smith) Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2018 20:56:15 -0400 Subject: GMC mobile studios Message-ID: CAP Remotes were wicked fun in the newsroom when the Cohen brothers were tuning the Marti feed from the GMC ("The Unit"). That's where the base 2-way was, conveniently located with audio aimed at the booth. Sometimes the traffic over KCG 492 would become tense as the boys struggled for the best shot, but BillO's tests were quite amusing since his inside joke patter went far over the CoBros heads From bob&wtbs*@clements.org Sat Sep 29 14:38:00 2018 From: bob&wtbs*@clements.org (Bob Clements) Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2018 14:38:00 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared Message-ID: <20180929183800.2044AB81D@mail.l> Well, speaking of watches ... I wear a CASIO that sets itself to WWVB or any of the equivalents in China, North or South Japan (60 or 40 KHx), England, Germany (DCF77). WWVH does NOT send on 60 kHz. (I have only visited WWVH from that list, but multiple times. Nice beach-front property, if a bit militarized.) The watch is always within about 0.1 seconds of the true local time. I also check it against GPS, but the watch does not have a GPS rcvr. I remember being surprised when WBZ suddenly was beeping about 8 and a half seconds late. [When they went HD, of course.] Now that it's just gone, I feel old(er). /Rcc K1BC From billohno@gmail.com Sat Sep 29 15:52:10 2018 From: billohno@gmail.com (billohno@gmail.com) Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2018 15:52:10 -0400 Subject: GMC mobile studios In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7A59405D-5A9B-49C0-9278-A11669F46399@gmail.com> > On Sep 28, 2018, at 8:56 PM, Bill Smith wrote: > > CAP Remotes were wicked fun in the newsroom when the Cohen brothers were > tuning the Marti feed from the GMC ("The Unit"). That's where the base > 2-way was, conveniently located with audio aimed at the booth. > > Sometimes the traffic over KCG 492 would become tense as the boys struggled > for the best shot, but BillO's tests were quite amusing since his inside > joke patter went far over the CoBros heads Yes, Bill Smith, there were certainly some memorable moments. Ike had this presumably unintentionally humorous habit that dated back to his WHN days of testing mics with ?woof!? I never quite adopted that technique. I miss the avocado floral decor, all safely ensconced in industrial strength clear plastic. I miss the Bogen external speaker amplifier that when potted beyond 4/10 would deliver enough ?Eres Tu? by Mocedades through the cone speakers to peel paint a block away. I miss Ike and Maurice Cohen, and, sadly, later, just Maurice, who would sit quietly in ?the unit? often hours on end at remotes, just taking it all in. And as easy a target that the brothers were, perhaps oddly out of time, I could never join in at taking aim. Still can?t. Lots of memories, indeed, from ?Red Dot Weekends?, song ?28? (methinks) on the jukebox downstairs at Cappy?s dedicated to every staffer?s last day, and CRBS. Bill O?Neill From ashboy1951@gmail.com Sat Sep 29 19:24:00 2018 From: ashboy1951@gmail.com (Doug Drown) Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2018 19:24:00 -0400 Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared In-Reply-To: <20180929183800.2044AB81D@mail.l> References: <20180929183800.2044AB81D@mail.l> Message-ID: I found it a bit disconcerting (and amusing) when, during the night hours, WBZ would play its time tone several seconds before or after the CBS TOH "bong." I would have thought that as a network O&O, the two would be synchronized. Doug On Sat, Sep 29, 2018 at 3:16 PM Bob Clements wrote: > > Well, speaking of watches ... > > I wear a CASIO that sets itself to WWVB or any of the > equivalents in China, North or South Japan (60 or 40 KHx), > England, Germany (DCF77). WWVH does NOT send on 60 kHz. > > (I have only visited WWVH from that list, but multiple times. > Nice beach-front property, if a bit militarized.) > > The watch is always within about 0.1 seconds of the true local time. > I also check it against GPS, but the watch does not have a GPS rcvr. > > I remember being surprised when WBZ suddenly was beeping about 8 and a > half seconds late. [When they went HD, of course.] > > Now that it's just gone, I feel old(er). > > > /Rcc > K1BC > From markwats@comcast.net Sun Sep 30 10:09:37 2018 From: markwats@comcast.net (Mark Watson) Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2018 10:09:37 -0400 Subject: GMC mobile studios In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <001e01d458c7$39d4ca90$ad7e5fb0$@comcast.net> Bill Smith wrote: >CAP Remotes were wicked fun in the newsroom when the Cohen brothers were tuning the Marti feed from the GMC ("The Unit"). That's where the base 2-way was, conveniently located with audio aimed at the booth. >Sometimes the traffic over KCG 492 would become tense as the boys struggled for the best shot, but BillO's tests were quite amusing since his inside joke patter went far over the CoBros heads Occasionally, even with the tests and tuning for the best Marti shot, when it came time after the TOH news to throw it to the remote location, still not a usable signal, which meant the board op played a long song, one of three they rotated for Marti signal fill were "American Pie", "American City Suite" (great Cashman & West forgotten hit) and the album version of "Miracles" by Jefferson Starship, which contains a suggestive verse not found on the 45 version that CAP usually played, that verse also going far over the Ike & Maurice's heads. Mark Watson From markwats@comcast.net Sun Sep 30 10:22:18 2018 From: markwats@comcast.net (Mark Watson) Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2018 10:22:18 -0400 Subject: GMC Mobile Studios In-Reply-To: <072101d456bc$bb588cd0$3209a670$@garysicecream.com> References: <072101d456bc$bb588cd0$3209a670$@garysicecream.com> Message-ID: <002101d458c8$ff2cb310$fd861930$@comcast.net> Gary F wrote: >For 5 years GMC made RV's that became the Gold Standard for mobile broadcast vans. Then they suddenly stopped making them. Both WCAP and WHDH had them. WCAP's mobile studio was in service for 34 years. It made it's last public appearance at Dracut Old Home Day in September 2007, a couple of weeks after Maurice Cohen announced the sale of the station. By that time, the board and equipment wasn't in working order, and the vehicle occasionally needed a jump start to get going, but the rooftop speakers still sounding as good as they did in 1973. It had just over 23,000 original miles when I saw it that day. WGIR in Manchester also had a GMC mobile studio, I've seen a couple of photos of it. WLNG in Sag Harbor NY also had one that was in use for years. It was replaced by a refurbished 1990's 40 foot PVTA (Pioneer Valley Transit Authority) transit bus that ran most of it's service life in the Amherst MA area. The RTS bus design was first manufactured by GMC from 1978-1987, then sold to TMC and later Nova Bus when GMC exited the bus manufacturing business. A classic car buff found and restored the KFRC San Francisco GMC mobile studio. It was sitting in a lot somewhere in California in a state of disrepair. It now resembles what it looked like both inside and out. He brings it to classic car shows in the SF area and to the Hot August Nights car show week in Reno NV every year. Mark Watson