Re: John Garabedian

[Dan Strassberg <dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net>]

At 03:06 PM 5/25/97 +0000, you wrote:
>
>I know John H. didn't last long at 'MEX after Max's death...just quickly
>checking some of my 'MEX surveys, the last one John's name appears on is
>11/11/71 (Max died 10/21)...the next survey doesn't have a date on it but
>has the same #1 song (Got To Be There--Michael Jackson), and Ron Robin is
>listed as PM drive jock...John H is nowhere to be found.
>
Garabedian had applied for and been granted a CP to build WGTR many years
earlier than 1971. But the station did not take to the air, if memory
serves, until November of 1972--just a year after you say Garabedian left
WMEX. He could have quit--or provoked management to fire him. He clearly had
plenty to do in the intervening year in preparation for WGTR's sign-on.

The history behind how Garbedian finally got the CP for WGTR is interesting.
Another applicant had filed for 1060 in Natick after Garbedian filed for it,
but the FCC ruled that the competing application was not timely filed and
dismissed it, granting Garabedian's application. The other applicant sued
and the courts compelled the FCC to reverse the grant and hold competitive
hearings. I don't recall whether the FCC awarded the facility to
Garabedian's Home Service Broadcasting Corp as a result of the hearings, or
whether Garbedian reached a settlement with the other applicant before the
hearings began (or after the heaarings began but before the FCC ruled in
Garbadian's favor).

Garabedian's original application had specified a TX site on the east side
of Natick, not far from Route 9. It appeared that a site east of downtown
Natick was necessary to avoid prohibited overlap with KYW (probably on the
south shore of Long Island), The other applicant had proposed the Kendall
Ave site in S Natick, very close to the Framingham line--clearly a superior
location for serving Natick-Framingham--if there was some way to avoid
interfering with KYW. The Kendall Ave site is the site that WGTR actually
used. Apparently Garabedian acquired the site from the other applicant as
part of the settlement of the case.

Someone must have realized that prohibited overlap could be avoided by using
a tower that just squeaked the antenna efficiency above the 175 mV/m minimum
for unattenuated field at 1 mile. I believe that to be the reason why WGTR
used such a short tower (140'). You will note that WJLT, which is using
WKOX's near-half-wave top-loaded towers, only had its application granted
after it reduced its requested power from 1 kW to 500w, The lower power from
the taller tower produces just about exactly the same field as WGTR's 1 kW
did from its much shorter tower.

- -------------------------------
Dan Strassberg (Note: Address is CASE SENSITIVE!)
ALL _LOWER_ CASE!!!--> dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net
(617) 558-4205; Fax (617) 928-4205

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