Re: shutting off to do transmitter work...

["Peter Q. George" <radiojunkie3@yahoo.com>]

     You would be surprised on how many FM stations
shut down after the AM side would sign-off for the
day.  This would be in violation of the FCC rules. 
The FCC eventually cracked down on this practice in
the early 1970's. So that there was no mistaking it,
FM stations (those with or without AM counterparts)
had to stay on the air until at least 10:00 PM, local
time.  Play it or lose it. The result, in the fall of
1973 WCCM-FM had to stay on the air until 10:00 PM. 
Here was a 50,000 watt FM'er in the 6th largest market
(in mono, mind you) shutting down at 10:00 PM. We all
know now that eventually (6 months later) 93.7
switched to Stereo and became the famous WCGY, "The
Rock Garden". 
     In 1968, I was vacationing in the White Mountains
on the Kancamaugus Highway and heard WBNC/1050 in
Conway and was able to hear WBNC-FM/93.5 as well. 
They actually broke away with some symphonic and easy
listening programming on the FM.  BUT, they also shut
down at local sunset, on both AM and FM sides.  I
guess they thought that no one was listening to the FM
and got away with it.  Four years later in 1972, same
station but this time they stayed on until 10:00 PM on
the nose.  They always ended with "Go, Tell It On The
Mountain" on the AM and FM sign-offs.  We now know
this FM'er as WMWV ("Mount Washington Valley").  It is
now 24/7 in Stereo with a unique eclectic format. The
AM'er is still WBNC, but it is a non-descript
daytimer.  Too bad, too.  If they went with something
like the WSAI "Real Oldies" style of programming, they
could get a good bang for the buck.  It's a fairly
good 1,000 watt signal and covers about 20 miles out
of Conway.  It is the only local AM voice that hits
the vacationers on the "Highway". Oh, well.  73.

Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts   
>  
>  
> Well, around 1961 or so, when 93.7 (whatever it is
> now) first came on the air as WGHJ, it 
> simulcasted daytimer WCCM and went off when WCCM
> went off.  At some point I called the 
> station and asked why the FM didn't keep going after
> AM sign off.  The answer was that to 
> do so would involve going out and getting
> advertisers for the time, and there wasn't enough of
> 
> an FM audience yet to make that work.
> 
> Which, I've long thought, is why all the standalone
> FM classical stations failed.  WCRB was 
> the only classical station that survived, in large
> measure because they had an AM signal 
> until the FM audience became large enough for an FM
> standalone to be viable.
> 
> -- 
> A. Joseph Ross, J.D.                          
> 617.367.0468
>  15 Court Square, Suite 210                
> lawyer@attorneyross.com
> Boston, MA 02108-2503           	        
> http://www.attorneyross.com
> 
> 


=====
Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts
                           "Scanning the bands since 1967"
radiojunkie1@yahoo.com
radiojunkie3@yahoo.com
***********************************************************

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