This is from several years ago. We rebuilt the WBPM studio using a reconditioned AudioArts R-60 console. WBPM is licensed to Saugerties (Saw-ger-tees), NY, however, the studio is located in Fishkill, NY some 50 miles away. As such, the air signal is not listenable at the studio, and off air monitoring is done via the T-1 STL line. I am sure that this is what the FCC had in mind when they wrote the Main Studio rules.
WBPM, Saugerties NY air studio
The studio is a fairly small setup, but functional. It is located with co-owed Pamal stations WSPK and WHUD.
WBPM Saugerties NYWBPM studio
I always try to get several pictures of the studio before it gets turned over to the DJs. Come back the next day and it will look like this:
We are scrapping several old transmitters these last few weeks as part of a site upgrade A couple of Harris FM20 and 10H transmitters are out the door.
Harris FM20H transmitter, circa 1970
Some people like these transmitters. I am not one of those. I found that they were of dubious reliability, tended to drift out of tune and have AM noise problems, and had multiple catastrophic failure modes. If it was not tuned just right, it also had a tendency to have HF oscillations and internal arcing in the PA cabinet.
Harris FM20H3 PA cabinet modification
This transmitter had a non-factory authorized modification installed as a tuning aid. Tune for best efficiency, and minimum AM noise then check and see if it is arcing. It is also advisable to wear hearing protection during the tuning process.
Harris FM20H3, circa 1972
This particular transmitter was my nemesis for a couple of years. It is actually possible to hate an inanimate object, I can tell you. Goodbye, you piece of shit.
We tend to scrap these instead of dumpster them. It saves the client a little bit of money on dumpster charges. If all the metal is sorted out by category, e.g. all the copper windings are cut from the HV transformer and PS filter inductors, and all the brass, aluminum, and wiring harness are separated, then it is almost worth the time and effort. Personally, I’d rather see all that material reused than landfilled.
In keeping with the theme “Take pictures now, because someday these stations may disappear,” I was out at WVOS-AM in Liberty, New York today removing some old studio equipment. The former studio building is going to be leased out as office space. The call letters mean the “Voice Of Sullivan” county, where the station is located. Urban legend has it, the station’s claim to fame is that while Max Yasgur and Michael Lang were negotiating the use of Yasgur’s nearby farm for a music festival at the local diner, the diner staff overheard and called the radio station. Thus, WVOS-AM was the first to break the story of Woodstock.
WVOS-AM transmitter building and former studios
The station originally signed on the air in 1947 from this location with a power of 250 watts. At some point, the power was upgraded to 1000 watts along with all the other class C AM stations in the lower 48 states. The original building has been added onto and recently resided. An FM signal was added in 1967. These studios remained in use up to December of 2005, when the stations were moved into the co-owned WSUL studio facility in Monticello, NY.
WVOS-AM tower, along NY Route 17, Liberty NY
This is the original tower, which is 194 feet (59.16 meters) tall. As such, it is no longer required to be lighted or painted. This is the tower that is on the right-hand side of NY Route 17, just as one is entering the village of Liberty.
Lobby, former WVOS studio building
The former studio building itself is in remarkably good condition. Oftentimes, when a studio gets moved, the old equipment is abandoned, the heat is turned off and the place is shuttered. After years of neglect, these buildings are usually in very rough shape. Not so with this building.
Nautel Amphet 1, WVOS-AM, Liberty, NY
The transmitter is a Nautel AMPFET 1, short version. Its serial number 132, which, I don’t know the year of manufacture but I’d bet it was before 1990. At some point, an add-on matching unit was installed to better match the transmitter to the tower. In my mind, transmitter-to-antenna matching is best done at the tower with an ATU. I don’t know why the matching unit was deemed necessary.
Gates BC1T transmitter, WVOS-AM Liberty, NY
The backup transmitter is a Gates BC1T, made in 1968. The nice thing about these old tube transmitters is you can match them to almost anything. On more than one occasion, I used a Gates BC1 series transmitter with a horizontal wire, while a tower was being replaced.
WVOS 1240 KHz
It looks like the roof might have leaked onto this transmitter at one time.
When I was there, the station was playing some sort of Hot AC format. There is no mention of the AM station on any company-owned website. It appears to be changing formats often as several sources have it listed as either Spanish talk, ESPN sports or country music. Seems to be a throwaway, at this point.
