[BC] AMs on top of buildings

[David Reaves]

On Tuesday 24 May 2005 04:00, I wrote:
<<
>> Not sure if either is still in operation:
>> WITH 1230 in Baltimore
>> WDAE (1280?), Tampa.
 >>

On Tue, 24 May 2005 07:29:24 -0400, "Paul Smith W4KNX"  
<paul at amtower.com> wrote:
<<
> WDAE is now WHNZ 1250 and is now co located with WFLA at WFLA's  
> site at the
> north end of Tampa Bay.  The old WDAE 1250 tower was on the ground  
> right
> downtown Tampa on Reo street.  WdAE now resides on 620 which for  
> decades was
> known as WSUN.  Musical call signs.
>
> Paul Smith
> W4KNX
> Sarasota, FL
 >>

OK, Paul, I'm 0 for one. ;-)

But, I would have sworn, that back when I passed my First Phone exam  
in Tampa in '72 there was a huge stubby self-supporter on a downtown  
building with, IIRC, the letters "W-D-A-E" on it. I thought they  
transmitted from there.

BTW, that 620 installation is one impressive mofo: two huge self- 
supporters straddling a four lane highway on a causeway in Tampa Bay.  
I think the calls WSUN are really cool. Is someone else using them?


Tue, 24 May 2005 09:34:14 -0400, Fred Gleason  
<fredg at salemradiolabs.com> wrote:
<<
> WITH is still there, at the original site in the heart of Baltimore  
> from which
> it signed on in 1940.  Tower is a 202 ft self-supporter with a rooftop
> counterpoise.  It was originally series-fed, but converted to a  
> skirted
> shunt-fed arrangement in the mid-nineties.  It's about the most  
> efficient use
> of a kilowatt in the AM band that I've ever seen -- that little pot  
> hits over
> 830,000 population within the primary contour!
>
> The building it sits atop is a history lesson in it's own right.   
> Originally
> built in the mid-twenties as a shoe factory (four story factory  
> loft), it's
> now mostly empty.  The original 'showroom' (where the out-of-town  
> shoe buyers
> from various department stores around the country were entertained  
> and shown
> the line for the upcoming year) is still substantially intact on  
> the fourth
> floor, and is a wonderful example of Art Deco architecture.
>
> I'll see if I can dig up some photos to post in the next few days.
>
> Cheers!
 >>

YES!
Back in the game, batting .500!

BTW, can someone tell me what is the tallest self-supporting tower?  
( I mean a REAL steel three or four-faced tower, like the RKO Radio  
logo from the 1930s newsreels, not some concrete thing like the CN  
tower). As a kid, I would go apeshit when we would drive through  
Richmond, VA, where IIRC there were TWO huge towers.

David P. Reaves, III
TransLanTech Sound, LLC
Home of the Award-winning "Ariane Sequel" Digital Audio Leveler