[BC] WLW--when it was 500 kW

Thu Jul 14 19:54:04 CDT 2005

Hello guys, I was sorting some emails and I just happened to look in.
Rare now days for me. I hope I can answer some questions about the WLW
site. Since I get the digest I don't easily reply to the list without
allot of cut and paste. 
   There were originally two towers at WLW to suppress the radiation
towards Ontario Canada. I do not think they were passive as there were
open wire feed lines running across Tylersville Road (when it was 2 lane
gravel) on poles and insulators. But this could have been part of the
system to run on the tower as a Auxiliary in case the main tower needed
maintenance. Both towers were south of Tylersville and West of Reading
road (SR 42). The first of the two towers were removed early on after
the cessation of the 500 KW operations. The second tower was used as an
auxiliary and finally dismantled in the Late 70's or early 80's upon the
divestiture of the Everybody's Farm land South of the site. 
   The experimental call of the 500 KW rig was W8XO. It is held by a ham
in Mason now. WLWO was the shortwave operation. There were several
rhombics from the shortwave coupling house that is still near the rear
of the property.  I am told there was one South East and one South west.
There was a 1 kw propagation beacon running on 6030 KHZ for several
years from a vertical in the front yard of the transmitter building. The
hidden foundations on the west end of the property are for the original
50 KW 700 flat top. The current Auxiliary 88 degree shunt fed tower is
located at the building that was the feed point up to the old flat top
antenna. It was erected in 1998. There are also foundations buried about
18 inches below the ground surface between the residence and the garage
that were the old piers for the WSAI flattop that was fed from the
Residence. You can see them in the dry season of summer.  
   I have found evidence of the 500 KW rig being maintained into the
60's. IE rotating equipment serviced on a regular basis. There was a
push to get the transmitter licensed to 625 KW using modern ceramic
tubes in that era. Since the plate and modulation transformers would
have allowed 100% modulation operation to that power level. But once the
FCC broke up the clears and started allowing other stations access to
the channels they gave up the fight and stopped maintaining it.  
   When we put the 3dx50 Harris Box in at WWVA they tore out a Gates
vp-100 rig and a 317 Continental. Although I am told the VP 100 would do
good to make 10 or 20 KW upon retirement it was a 100 KW rig at one
time. But it was never licensed for more than 50 to my Knowledge.

Hope that helps in the WLW discussion. 
73,

Paul Jellison
Regional V-P engineering
Clear Channel Radio Rocky Mountain Territory
4695 South Monaco St.
Denver, CO 80237
------------------------------

Message: 13
Date: Tue, 05 Jul 2005 16:15:59 -0400
From: Scott Fybush <scott at fybush.com>
Subject: Re: [BC] WLW--when it was 500 kW
To: Broadcast Radio Mailing List <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20050705161304.0410d008 at gwind.pair.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 02:59 PM 7/5/2005 -0500, you wrote:

>Hmmmm. That would seem to put it out somewhere around the WLWO "farm"
>(a/k/a Bethany but I knew it as WLWO first). John has been around here
>today. Comments John?

I'm not John, but...

Bethany/WLWO is west of Mason/WLW, as I recall.

Meanwhile, though, we have this from Randy Michaels, who recalls that
there 
were two towers, one west of the current tower, the other south, behind 
what's now a shopping center on 22:

"I don't think the towers were passive. There were two shorter (90
degree, I think) towers that were part of the DA. I have an original
copy of the tune-up study and can check. That array was the first array
designed for pertinent vertical angle suppression. It controlled skywave
towards Toronto, while maintaining ground wave. WLW had a monitoring
station at Niagara Falls for over a year. Measurement showed that when
the DA was switched in, the signal level dropped to 31% of its ND value
at Niagara Falls, which is the same as dropping power to 50kw from 500
kW. The signal level in Columbus did not change. We kept one of the
towers as an aux until 1985."

He's looking for some paperwork that he thinks he still has from the 
original tower design. Stay tuned.

s

Message: 15
Date: Tue, 05 Jul 2005 16:39:12 -0400
From: Rich Wood <richwood at pobox.com>
Subject: RE: [BC] WLW--when it was 500 kW
To: Broadcast Radio Mailing List <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.2.20050705163647.06072b70 at pop.mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

------ At 01:29 PM 7/5/2005, Paul Smith W4KNX wrote: -------

>Believe it or not, we are related... We share a common scoundrel of a
>relative a few generations back...LOL... I've met him and have several
of
>his mugs, tshirts and other giveaways.

The next time you see Paul, please say hello for me. When he was in New 
York we used him often at WOR.

Rich 

------------------------------

Message: 17
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 13:47:34 -0700
From: "John Vodenik" <jvodenik at sosinet.net>
Subject: Re: [BC] WLW--when it was 500 kW
To: "Broadcast Radio Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Message-ID: <001a01c581a2$c5ae80c0$a3dc3143 at wb9auj>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
	reply-type=original

Bethany is approx 1 mile west of WLW, on Tylersville Road.  I know that
they 
had shortwave rhombics at the WLW site, but didn't know about a 2nd
tower. 
The rhombic tower bases are still there, if you can find them.  A tower 
"may" have been located where there is a new housing developement now, I

don't know for sure.  As I mentioned earlier, there is a 2nd tower there

now, for use as a backup antenna.  NE would have put it in Mason, Ohio.
WLW 
is just SW of Mason.

John @ VOA / Delano

>>
>> My understanding is that it was passive and located at a considerable
>> distance to the NE of the Blaw-Knox.
>
> Hmmmm. That would seem to put it out somewhere around the WLWO "farm"
> (a/k/a Bethany but I knew it as WLWO first). John has been around here
> today. Comments John?
>
> Phil Alexander, CSRE, AMD
> Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology
> (a Div. of Advanced Parts Corporation)
> Ph. (317) 335-2065   FAX (317) 335-9037
>
>
>
>
>
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------------------------------

Message: 18
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 13:51:16 -0700
From: "John Vodenik" <jvodenik at sosinet.net>
Subject: Re: [BC] WLW--when it was 500 kW
To: "Broadcast Radio Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Message-ID: <001f01c581a3$49e0d190$a3dc3143 at wb9auj>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
	reply-type=response

Yes, I do remember something about a tower across Rt. 42, where Scott
took 
the picture that is on his web site.  And they were building a shopping 
center when I was home last year.
John @ VOA / Delano

> Meanwhile, though, we have this from Randy Michaels, who recalls that 
> there were two towers, one west of the current tower, the other south,

> behind what's now a shopping center on 22:
>
> "I don't think the towers were passive. There were two shorter (90
> degree, I think) towers that were part of the DA. I have an original
> copy of the tune-up study and can check. That array was the first
array
> designed for pertinent vertical angle suppression. It controlled
skywave
> towards Toronto, while maintaining ground wave. WLW had a monitoring
> station at Niagara Falls for over a year. Measurement showed that when
> the DA was switched in, the signal level dropped to 31% of its ND
value
> at Niagara Falls, which is the same as dropping power to 50kw from 500
> kW. The signal level in Columbus did not change. We kept one of the
> towers as an aux until 1985."
>
> He's looking for some paperwork that he thinks he still has from the 
> original tower design. Stay tuned.
>
> s
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> This is the BROADCAST mailing list
> To send to the list, email: broadcast at radiolists.net
> For sub changes, archives and info on this other lists: 
> http://www.radiolists.net/
> 

-