Re: MESSAGE ID: 1EC610858

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

At 04:14 PM 7/30/97 +0000, you wrote:
>
>As regards 1510 and it's signal:
>
>I once heard that WNLC in New London was on 1490 for many years and did
> not move to 1510 until the mid 1960's; and that (the then) WMEX was for
> many years 5,000 watts, day-and-night.
>
>The story I heard suggests that by the early-to-mid 1960's, WMEX, having
> become very successful as a top-40 station, wanted to go to 50,000 watts
> day and night, and WNLC in New London wanted to go from 1490 to 1510,
> to improve their signal.
>
>In WNLC's case, they wanted to go to a 1,000 watts (day)/250 watts (night)
> nondirectional signal to 10,000 watts (day)/5,000 watts (night) with a
> very directional signal, transmitted from just north of New London,
> and beamed south towards Fisher's Island.
>
>Supposedely, the FCC decided to allow WNLC to move to 1510 and for WMEX
> to get 50,000 watts during the day--still 5,000 watts at night--and for
> WMEX to erect a third tower in Squantum if they wanted to go to 50,000
> watts during daylight hours.
>
>I do remember riding past the old WMEX/WITS transmitter site before it
> was torn down and noting that the third tower looked different--and
> much newer---than the other two towers. Thus, perhaps the story I heard
> about WMEX and WNLC was true.
>
>But what might have happened if WNLC had stayed at 1490 and that in the
> mid 1960's, "Wimmex" got 50,000 watts day and night? Might WMEX have
> been able to successfully compete against WRKO? Would 1510 still be
> home to a format with "large" appeal (e.g. not religious or ethnic)?
>
Almost all true. WNLC first applied for 10 kW-D/5 kW-N in 1957. It took
years for the regulatory hurdles to be cleared and for the new facility to
get on the air.

Long, long before WMEX applied for a power increase, the (now silent)
Sherbrooke PQ AM 1510 was on the air. As long as WMEX wanted to remain in
Quincy, there was no way they could increase night power and improve their
night signal where anybody (except fish) lived.

As for one tower at Quincy being different from the other two, that's so,
But the one tower (the self-supporting one) was the old one. The two
guy-supported towers were the new ones. When WMEX increased its day power
around 1970, the original plan was to erect only one new tower and to
continue operating at night with the two existing self-supporting towers.
But the Mass DPW had other plans. The bridge across the Neponset River was
being rebuilt and the DPW took the land on which one tower stood.
Consequently, WMEX built two towers a short distance from the one tower that
was not affected. The resulting patterns were the same as WMEX had proposed
when the plan was to build only one new tower, however.

- -------------------------------
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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