WPEP going dark (but now, WVBF serves Taunton)]

[Brian Vita]

Paul Hopfgarten wrote:
> 2 Watts!
>
>
>   
I know of drive-ins broadcasting with more watts than that!

As an interesting side note, at the Georgetown DI (yes, the porno 
palace) the AM xmtr fed into the speaker lines under the field.  The 
theory was that the speaker posts reradiated the signal.  Also under the 
ground were the high voltage lines (ie substantially greater than 440V!) 
going to our own transformer vault (apparently Georgetown Power & Light 
thought that the drive in needed several thousand amps).  The AM signal 
would couple to the power lines and reradiate throughout the surrounding 
area.  Everytime you passed a transformer on 133, you heard us.

Another fun fact was that the drive-in owned three hand-built 
transmitters made by some crazy ham radio operator in VT.  It used a 
Hartley tank oscillator for tuning and had no harmonic suppression.  
Since digital car radios had not yet taken over, the transmitters were 
deliberately tuned down to 525 or so.  Most of the analog radios tuned 
that far down without a  problem.  As a result, they had a relatively 
clean channel to work with.  An unintended side effect was that our 
harmonics popped up at 1050 and 1575.  Given the lack of selectivity on 
the old car radios, it would not be unusual to get some strange dialog 
on your car radio as you cranked up I-95, which ran behind the screen,  
listening to WBZ or WMEX (or whoever was on 1510 at the time).

I think that the statute of limitations has run out on this one and the 
former owner of the dive-in passed away last winter.

>From deep in the witness protection program....