Old Farmhouse Radio Station in Middle of Nowhere

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Old Farmhouse Radio Station in Middle of Nowhere

Рет қаралды 17,074

Жыл бұрын

Quick walk around on grounds of old abandoned AM radio station. Now closed but still transmitting another station's signal. Kind of a creepy, isolated but yet beautiful location in the middle of last summer.

Пікірлер: 110

@grampsradio 7 ай бұрын

My first and second AM radio announcer gigs were at 1,000 watt day-timers. God, I miss those days. So much fun!

@bltc11 7 ай бұрын

Sounds like a great gig! I wasn’t an announcer but listened a lot. I always liked the idea of Art Bell at a lonely radio station somewhere in the desert, talking about strange otherworldly encounters, after midnight of course.

@grampsradio 7 ай бұрын

@@bltc11 Art Bell's station was KNYE 95.1 FM in Pahrump Nevada. Karen Jackson bought the station from Art in 2008. Art Bell died ten years later at the age of 72 at his home in Pahrump, Nevada on April 13, 2018. KNYE 95.1 FM is located in Nye County Nevada out in the middle of nowhere in the desert. The population of NYE County is about 55,000. The station plays an eclectic mix of pop music most of the broadcast day. Art Bell's "Coast to Coast AM" is still heard every night. The signal is received in Las Vegas, 60 miles to the east and Death Valley, 30 miles to the west. Art is gone but his station lives on.

@user-fw2nt7ys1s 2 ай бұрын

My first radio job was doing 5P-sign off on an AM daytimer. My shift got shorter and shorter as the year progressed (sunset came earlier later in the year). Coincidentally, that station was in a house, as well. Great memories!

@johnstreet797 2 ай бұрын

we called them coffee pots back then

@thecw301 7 ай бұрын

That tower seems to have been purpose-built for the FM antennas at the top. AM towers are balanced on a ceramic insulator, and the entire tower is the antenna. So it must have been torn down at some point.

@bltc11 7 ай бұрын

You could be right. I’m not real knowledgeable about broadcast antennas but I’ll bet that would be an expensive deal. Thanks for watching!

@bobbywuk 7 ай бұрын

Could have been a "shunt fed" AM tower, which would require a grounded base to the ground planes. Another clue, is the insulators in the support guy wires, these would not be required for an FM tower.

@thecw301 7 ай бұрын

@@bobbywuk Ah, shunt-fed. Yeah, that's probably what it was. An advantage to using that method, you don't have to worry about isolating the FM antennas or tower lights. Of course, you will have a higher angle of radiation, right?

@kjallen1818 7 ай бұрын

The guy wires have insulators on them, so I doubt the tower was rebuilt.

@dougtaylor7724 2 ай бұрын

Looks like 200 feet of Rohn 45. There were two coax’s running up the tower. The big one is FM. The small one may be a low power AM setup.

@user-ss1jx8og4u 2 ай бұрын

Art Bell's spirit might be around there.

@ScottCasonRealtor Жыл бұрын

I'm from that area. WBBK was licensed to Blakley Georgia. The FM is still there, those are the little antennas at the very top. Small town radio stations like that are going off the air because economics can't support them anymore. All the businesses that use to support local radio like your local car dealers, drug stores and grocery stores have all gone. Replaced by big box stores. When mom-and-pop left, so did the ad dollars.

@bltc11 Жыл бұрын

Too bad small towns seem to be dying. I think a Dothan FM station is using the tower. Thanks for watching

@ScottCasonRealtor Жыл бұрын

@@bltc11 That is correct. It's the sister FM of the AM that's now gone. And yes, we had so much fun at these small town radio stations.

@grampsradio 7 ай бұрын

Replaced by Amazon

@9tomato9 4 ай бұрын

There is also a license assignment in the works for the group of stations it is a part of. b1053.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/48/LSL2-384124-v1-Local_Public_Notice_Memo_for_AL_Media.doc_.pdf

@ronb6182 2 ай бұрын

Yeah and Walmart. I remember listening to stations like that and then the national anthem would play then a distant station would come on from another state. AM is dying right and left. And talk radio was in full swing in 1979. FM rock stations started taking over because they had stereo broadcast. KQV in Pittsburgh used to be a rock station then went all news all the time no more songs. I'm glad I can find any genre on the Internet. Sometimes I like classical, sometimes I like big Band music. Well being a Christian I listen to BBN. Either on the radio or live stream. I grew up listening to all types of music. 73@@grampsradio

@brentsutherland6385 2 ай бұрын

"the spirit of radio"

@q95oldies57 6 ай бұрын

Very interesting, and many memories come back. I started at a very similar operation 48 years ago.

@scottgarvy 2 ай бұрын

I install security system for a living. That may be a siren speaker. That is how/where we would install one.

@chrisgarrett9619 2 ай бұрын

That is true but could also be a speaker. I grew up close to a radio station and I used to hear music playing sometimes. Who would hear a security alarm out in the middle of know where? Maybe he can get someone who owns the house to give a tour.

@scottgarvy 2 ай бұрын

@chrisgarrett9619 I've been installing for many years (45) and many customers want them outside. I tell them not to but the customer is always right.

@Lugeix 3 ай бұрын

The speaker at the peak is most likely a Security Siren.

@MoonMan1267 Жыл бұрын

Love these types of videos you have been making.

@bltc11 Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much!

@JRNipper 2 ай бұрын

Looks very much like KDAN-AM near St. Paul, MN did some decades ago. It went off the air in the early 80s, I believe. My friend and I went there and noticed a lot of the studio equipment was still there all racked up and seemingly, ready to go back on the air. Don't know why they went off. The station was set among the cow pastures.

@user-ss1jx8og4u 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for posting this video.

@briceperdue7587 2 ай бұрын

I agree thanks for posting!

@mashakamakarov4296 2 ай бұрын

Perfect property for a ham ❤ will love to renovate that

@albing1397 2 ай бұрын

Spool was for the Helix coax that feeds the FM antenna. You need a big bend radius.

@paulwilliams286 2 ай бұрын

As for that wire spool, I wonder if it was for the coax going up the tower? You see, for am AM station, the entire tower is the antenna. AM runs on lower frequency or longer wavelengths and the height of the tower matches that wavelength. More efficient for transmitting that signal. However, if the transmitter was changed to the FM band, then FM is sent on higher frequency than the AM band which means shorter wavelength. ( Yes, higher frequency means shorter wavelength). Those antenna on top of the tower are matched to that wavelength.. Shorter wavelength, shorter antenna. Therefore, the tower itself in not the antenna but mearly the hoist and that spool of cable connnects tha transmitter to the antennas up there! I hope this explains things in case some one may not understand that. Laws of physics!

@bltc11 2 ай бұрын

It is presently transmitting an FM signal from another station so that would be right in line with what you said. Good info, thanks for watching!

@atrainradio929 5 ай бұрын

This is superbly cool. Thanks for honoring past radio stations.

@bltc11 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching.

@user-ty1ef4iv6x 2 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing some local radio history

@bltc11 2 ай бұрын

My pleasure! Thanks for watching.

@bradrock7731 6 ай бұрын

Where I grew up, the stations played the national anthem when signing off at midnight.

@sherrokinchen5253 5 ай бұрын

Hey, I’m curious because I live in the 229 area too. where was the station located? What city and county?

@johnsampson1096 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tour, Bill. WGHM out of Nashua, N.H. has a similar tower at 900 AM. It's 900 watts and also shares homes via a multiplex system with 1590 WSMN. AM 900 has a music oldies format, and is locally owned with no commercials. I believe they run small power under 100 watts after dusk. Birds like to perch at the top of the stick.

@bltc11 2 ай бұрын

Long live AM stations! Thanks for watching.

@fubarsnafu4994 2 ай бұрын

Caution walking around the tower and lines - electrical hazards and high RF pouring out of that antenna into your cranium 😆

@scratchpad7954 2 ай бұрын

Luckily, the frequencies of AM radio (540 kHz - 1.7 MHz) are orders of magnitude lower than what is considered ionizing (~900 THz).

@rupe53 2 ай бұрын

@@scratchpad7954 being an FM station these days the radiation from the antenna would be near the top, not the whole tower

@scratchpad7954 2 ай бұрын

@rupe53 That is true. The wavelength of AM is such that the entire tower becomes the transmitting antenna. However, I, too, could see the actual transmitting antenna array for the FM station near the top of the tower. Since WBBK completed their transition to FM, that frees up more of the tower's height for serving as the transmitter facilities for other stations whose studios could share the old WBBK-AM building.

@rupe53 2 ай бұрын

@@scratchpad7954 yeah, I picked up on that too. These days I would venture a guess that most towers have more than a single license holder because it's easy to sell extra tower space and there's always someone looking for a site that's already approved by zoning, the FCC, etc. BTW, with the advent of fiberoptic and high-speed cable, a studio can be most anywhere and remotely fed into a tower site.

@centexan 2 ай бұрын

I worked at an AM station thst wasn't quite that remived from civilization, but it was alone out in some fields. The building was wood frame up on cedar piera. It was my first commercial annnouncer job and I'll never forget it.

@bltc11 2 ай бұрын

Sounds like the isolated lighthouse station in the movie, The Fog. Thanks for watching

@tomconroy9087 7 ай бұрын

I am surprised that the tower is not secure with a tower registration number. That is a very modern prefab transmitter building too. So many old sites are neglected, very sad. I did not see an isocoupler, so I suspect only FM will be on this stick.

@bltc11 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@anthonymokelkie9360 2 ай бұрын

that nice place there, Jee I wish i had that old place. be great for ham radio station, nice wish I had that place id be so happy. thanks video ve4akf

@bltc11 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@MrTechHistory 6 ай бұрын

WBBK-AM began broadcasting in May of 1960. It went off the air in December of 2009.

@bltc11 6 ай бұрын

Good to know, the info I got was from internet sites which may not be 100% accurate. Thanks for watching.

@generice6695 7 ай бұрын

Tower transmits WBBK-FM (93.1) with 45,000 watts at 330 ft (HAAT).

@klafong1 5 ай бұрын

I noted the three-phase power feed to the building. As a rule-of-thumb, it seems that transmitters with 5 kW and greater output required three-phase power.

@cqdx1677 3 ай бұрын

i remember 1260 kHz VoA broadcasts once upon a time

@alanrogs3990 2 ай бұрын

I'd like to see what, if any, old equipment is inside, like old broadcast turntables and such.

@bltc11 2 ай бұрын

I couldn’t see anything through window. Thanks for watching

@creative27feb 5 ай бұрын

Awesome ❤❤❤Mast WBBK 1260 Khz, 73 /88 DE VU2YW

@jsteelsadventureandvariety4545 Жыл бұрын

Interesting site and video Mr Bill👍

@bltc11 Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

@edlightman 5 ай бұрын

we had a daytime am in ambridge pa wmba 1460 it was a muaic of your life type of station in the 1960s they signed off at 6:pm week days and 5:pm weekends . now they are full time with a country and clasic rock format

@bltc11 5 ай бұрын

Good that it’s still on the air.

@ramonapool619 2 ай бұрын

It's a shame the property isn't kept up better.

@alexluna6810 Жыл бұрын

I love those scenarios; it takes me back to my childhood when i used to explore with my friends far away radio station you are in my team.

@alexluna6810 Жыл бұрын

I love this video; can you imagine that its raining about 5:30 pm and you work on that radio station till midnight ? Broadcasting shows about ufos and paranormal activity? i miss those days!!!

@bltc11 11 ай бұрын

I agree you are on my wavelength. Something magical about these old stations. Thanks for watching

@littleprincess4417 14 күн бұрын

Just a comment about the horn on the end of the building. Most likely an alarm horn for the security system

@W4BIN 3 ай бұрын

I never heard of VOA operating within the domestic AM broadcast band. (add a zero at the end and maybe) Ron W4BIN

@sandasturner9529 2 ай бұрын

Nice property to build a house!😊

@9tomato9 10 ай бұрын

The question is, seeing the air conditioners running and the tower is in use, why would they keep the fence open? The FM antenna wire could be easily cut, and it seems the main power box on the side of the building could be shut off by someone.

@bltc11 10 ай бұрын

I wondered the same thing. Since I made the video I passed by on the Highway and noticed that they had up a new section of fence that completely closed off the access. Coincidence? Probably not. Maybe they saw my video? Funny thing, my video about the “abandoned fast food restaurant” seemed to cause the same thing. A few weeks after that video came out a new fence was built completely around the abandoned Wendy’s… Thanks for watching.

@Marcuswelby-nx2te 2 ай бұрын

1200s are low power stations they go off the air at night or do something with their antenna

@user-fw2nt7ys1s 2 ай бұрын

The fence is illegal. You should never have been able to walk up to the base of that tower. Towers must be fully fenced per FCC rules, especially since there is an active station using that tower.

@bltc11 2 ай бұрын

I traveled through the area a few weeks ago and noticed the back area was now fully fenced in. Thanks for watching.

@ATOMSHAMRADIO Жыл бұрын

Sad to see a radio station like that and off the air i wish i had a station💯📻📉📈

@bltc11 Жыл бұрын

Always sad to see the deterioration. Thanks for watching.

@grampsradio 7 ай бұрын

Start a streaming radio station. You wont make any money off it, but it's a fun hobby!

@rohnkd4hct260 2 ай бұрын

Surprised you can get that close to a working tower.

@richb.4374 2 ай бұрын

FM broadcast stations use antenna's mounted on top of their towers. AM stations use the entire tower itself as the antenna, this is why you cannot touch an AM station tower that's on the air, but it's safe to touch an FM tower while it's on the air because the tower is not carrying any RF current.

@bobroberts2371 2 ай бұрын

Music format: I am a man of constant sorrow I've seen trouble all my days I bid farewell to ol' Kentucky The place where I was born and raised

@klafong1 5 ай бұрын

Did somebody cut down part of the fencing around the property? This seems like a huge liability if some "BASE jumpers" (people who get their thrills from jumping off objects such as radio towers) decided to climb the tower.

@pinjuke 3 ай бұрын

Are you sure this was an AM radio station tower? I have never seen an AM tower without a brown insulator at the base of the tower. Also, with AM towers, the fence around the tower would be all wood, not chain link as shown in this video. It's obvious this property lacks regular maintenance. All the vegetation around the tower and turnbuckles needs to be removed.

@billbrown1476 3 ай бұрын

Shunt fed towers are Grounded at the base. By adjusting the point the wire attaches to the tower the Impedance can be adjusted to 50 Ohms.

@pinjuke 2 ай бұрын

@@billbrown1476 - what about the chain link fence around an AM tower then? That is a liability. I also noticed that there is no isolation transformer for the FM station.

@billbrown1476 2 ай бұрын

The tower is not hot at the base. So only liability without a fence is someone climbing it and falling from the tower. It should have a secured fence around it. Shunt fed towers can take the FM without an isolation transformer. FM Feedline is tied electrically to the tower.

@rupe53 2 ай бұрын

Key word (in the video) *WAS* an AM station, now an FM station. I suspect the tower was replaced at some point.

@user-em7lp1sb4k 2 ай бұрын

What surprises me is the local thieves haven't destroyed the place yet for a few dollars worth of copper.

@bltc11 2 ай бұрын

Good question. It seems like the copper theft thing might be subsiding compared to a couple of years ago.

@ronb6182 2 ай бұрын

@@bltc11in Florida you must strip the wire by hand or prove it's yours with a receipt where you got it from. They don't accept burned copper.. I guess they could melt it down into something else but then another expense to get rid of the scrap metal. 73

@scottrogers2831 2 ай бұрын

I wonder what the daily (24 hr) cost would be to broadcast am from that place?

@rupe53 2 ай бұрын

not counting staff, the largest bill is usually electricity, then rent or bank payments, then property taxes. From what I see here, they have several AC systems so that's in addition to running the transmitter gear. Might be a couple of grand a month for power. Might be less, depending on the local utility rate.

@ATOMSHAMRADIO Жыл бұрын

You think they clean up the staion its over grown

@WARD5KUSTOMZ 5 ай бұрын

How would i go about researching the records of previous towers? There is an abandoned am site 5 miles from my house.

@bltc11 5 ай бұрын

I don’t remember the exact website, but I just searched for a map of broadcast antennas and found one that showed, I think any antenna licensed by the FCC. Good luck. Maybe you could make a video. Thanks for watching.

@WARD5KUSTOMZ 5 ай бұрын

@@bltc11 im thinking about it. Last i know it was 1310am

@rupe53 2 ай бұрын

@@bltc11 My sister does tower research as her day job and there are several sites available, not to mention FCC listings. American Tower seems to own many of them, even though they may not hold the license to a given site. These days most towers have multiple licenses, including cell phone companies and local govt. (fire, police, highway, etc) It's way easier than getting approval on a new tower location.

@Undertaking-Life 2 ай бұрын

I noticed a lot of Privet. I hate Privet!!!

@banakon148 2 ай бұрын

It’s 😞

@minibikemadman 2 ай бұрын

good to know when the zombies come!

@user-kj1od5ed7p 5 ай бұрын

Are you possibly trespassing could there be someone living there

@bltc11 5 ай бұрын

There were no signs up anywhere. It was wide open. No one living there. I would never go into a marked “no trespassing “ area. On a recent drive by, I noticed that they now have it completely fenced. Probably a good thing. Thanks for watching.

@ShapdCrusadr 3 ай бұрын

Radio Station's should take care of the crap they use. That's like owning a car but never doing the normal maintenance that should be done.

@gkiltz0 8 ай бұрын

There is a rather impressive looking 6-bay FM antenna The Dothan station is very much active. There WAS talk radio around in 1979

@grampsradio 7 ай бұрын

Yes, there certainly was.

@davef.2329 2 ай бұрын

@@grampsradio We sure had it in Little Havana in Miami, Florida back then. WFAB, WQBA, and a couple of others I don't remember anymore, "aqui, en El Corazon de la Pequena Havana." y Hialeah.