AM Aux sites / towers

[Dave Doherty]

Hi Dan-

>Note that WCBS, whose relatively short aux tower is on the same little 
>island off the Bronx as its 207-degree main tower, is limited to 
>substantially lower aux power than WCBS's normal 50 kW. I've never heard an 
>explanation of this quirk in FCC regulations.

With a shorter tower, vertical radiation increases dramatically. It is not 
unreasonable to expect that the nighttime power limit for a short tower 
would be much lower than a tall tower.

You are of course referring to the City Island site shared by 660 and 880 - 
WFAN and WCBS - for many years. I had occasion to look into the history of 
the City Island site many years ago. As I recall, the WCBS aux antenna at 
that time was a section of one of the guy wires, or might have been a 
vertical wire hung from a guy wire.  In any event, I doubt that WCBS would 
have applied for more aux power than they could reasonably produce, given 
that arrangement.

I have vague memories of the original WNBC site at Port Jefferson - two or 
three towers, with a pond in front of the building sporting a fountain to 
help cool the transmitter. My dad worked at NBC TV in those days, and all 
the NBC staff was invited to bring their families to an annual picnic.

-d