W69AQ W46CS is history...

["Michael P Fitzpatrick Jr." <fitzradio@the-spa.com>]

As I posted on a message board recently, and I thought would be of interest
to many here... W46CS, Springfield, MA (formerly W69AQ) has been deleted and
no longer exsists. The station which had a construction permit to build 46
never did so the license was deleted.

I posted some historical tid-bits about the old W69AQ after talking with
some guys at work.

->W69AQ was simply turned on and off by a switch at the master control
console. Most times the evening MCD would forget to tell the overnight MCD
that the transmitter was still on, and that the WSBK programming would be
seen long after the Red Sox/Bruin's games where over.

->W69AQ did *NOT* , however pickup the games using WRLP's transmitter, in
fact they used a receiver located on the top of Coy's Hill in Warren (next
to WARE {AM} 1250's transmitter) which was basically a off-air receiver and
microwave link to Provin Mountain in Feeding Hills. The barn which held our
microwave equipment used in this setup burned down in the latter years. We
kept a microwave setup at Coy's hill to recieve Boston television stations,
(primarily WHDH {we send and receive alot of news footage to/from them} and
WBZ). That system was taken down two years ago.

->The cost of programming the games from WSBK went up so the UHF 69 was
turned off and eventually sold to channel 27 in Worcester, who only operated
it the bare minimum required by the FCC at the time (I was told like an hour
every week). 27 was using a simple corner-reflector roof top mounted recieve
antenna and demodulator to feed the transmitter. In the late 1980's, the
final output tube of the small General Electric transmitter died and the
station never saw the light of day again. Just recently, W69AQ had a
construction permit to build W46CS (A DTV Displacment application) which had
expired and has since been deleted.

--MIKE

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