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Why The Move
From AM 1250 To
AM 800?
Our consulting engineer and many others in the
broadcasting industry are aware that AM signals on the lower end of the dial
tend to be received farther from the transmitter with less interference than
those on the upper end of the dial such as 1250. In effect, even though our
transmitter power is the same as before, many more people will be able to hear
the the signal clearer and for longer time periods than previously.
The old Bauer transmitter served WPEL for over 40 years. It is getting harder and harder to obtain replacement parts. The tubes the transmitter requires are getting more expensive each time they are replaced, and they typically are replaced at least annually. The new transmitter will save over $1,000 a year just for tubes alone. A savings in electrical use is anticipated.
Also our present tower was the right height to broadcast the AM 800 signal.
Strong reasons to make the change to
AM 800.
How Does A Radio Station Move
Frequencies?
First an application must be submitted and approval must be granted from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington D.C. In 2006 the application was completed by our consulting engineer and then submitted for review by our attorneys (These attorneys deal specifically with communication and the FCC) and then the attorneys submitted the application to the FCC.
Approval to change the frequency was received in the summer of 2007 and the planning
began. In September, we purchased a 1KW Solid-State Armstrong Transmitter. Our
chief engineer ordered a rack, inductors, and vacuum variable capacitors. October
17, 2007 was the date decided upon to make the change. Our chief engineer with
the assistance of two other engineers began the change about 9 a.m. Before
moving from
1250 kHz to 800 kHz, the tower and associated cables such as the FM coax line
and deicer cables needed to be adjusted by the use of decoupling components.
The antenna tuning unit was completely rebuilt. A new caox line was
installed for the AM 800 transmitter. A new audio processor and a new
audio line were connected. The modulation monitor was installed. And
last but not least, air tests were conducted resulting in AM 800 being on the
air at approximately 3 p.m. on October 17, 2007.
| AM 800 ANTENNA TUNER | AM 800 TRANSMITTER |
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