No Subject

Turning away from the St. Lawrence, we next pointed the NERW-mobile
south to Canton and the hilltop sites of WVLF/WRCD and, nearby, public
radio WSLU (89.5), the flagship of what's now an extensive web of
primaries and translators across the North Country.  

Continuing in the public-broadcasting theme, our next stop found us on
route 68 in the Adirondack town of South Colton, looking up the
hillside at WNPI (Channel 18), the Norwood-licensed northern half of
the public TV combo based in Watertown at what's now WPBS (formerly
WNPE).

Tupper Lake offered a distant view of the hilltop site of WRGR
(102.3), part of the "Radio Lake Placid" quadcast that includes
WIRD-WLPW over in Lake Placid and WIPS in Ticonderoga.  In addition to
local news and the usual fun AAA-ish music mix, we caught their
simulcast of the 6PM news from WPTZ (Channel 5) up in Plattsburgh.

A few miles away in Saranac Lake, a narrow dirt road south of the
village led us to WNBZ (1240), which was running satellite oldies.
The little red building next to the WNBZ tower is also home to the
studios of country WSLK (106.3), which was also off the bird when we
arrived.

And after a stop in the "other" Town of Brighton (the remote Franklin
County one that's home to Paul Smiths College -- with no sign of
college station WPSA 98.3 visible or audible -- not the Rochester
suburb where NERW is based!), we at last pulled into Malone for the
night, with a final stop on the hill just east of town where Tim
Martz' WICY (1490, oldies) and WVNV (96.5, country) are based, and
where WICY's transmitter is located.  (Even though it was very
obviously satellite-delivered, the WICY oldies format seemed quite
popular, judging by the number of stores we visited where the radios
were locked on 1490.)

Tuesday morning dawned clear and warm, and we set out to finish up our
North Country excursion, starting on the other side of Malone at the
hill that's home to WVNV and, a few hundred feet away, WSLU's relay on
90.9, WSLO.  

This time, it was US 11 all the way to Watertown, with just a handful
of stops.  One was in Potsdam, where WSNN (99.3) and WPDM (1470)
simulcast a live-and-local CHR format as "99 Hits," with the AM on the
air from 6 AM until 6 PM and the FM going it alone from then until
midnight sign-off.  We also found Potsdam's two college stations, WAIH
(90.3) at SUNY Potsdam and more-powerful WTSC (91.1) over at
Clarkson.  As noted a few months ago here in NERW, WAIH and WTSC are
simulcasting for the summer with a modern-rock format.

An hour or so later, it was Gouverneur's turn to be visited, starting
up on the hill where the WGIX transmitter now sits.  Down in the
village itself, a weed-choked dirt road and a peeling sign announce
the former home of WIGS (1230), WGIX's late sister station.  The WIGS
tower still stands, overlooking a parking lot full of broken beer
bottles and a boarded-up building.  (The license was returned to the
FCC and the calls deleted a couple of years ago.)