WCFB's tower knocked down

[FrankF]

The severe storms & tornados this morning not only caused devestation to many homes and buildings in several towns & citys, a tornado took down 94.5 WCFB's tower in Volusia County. It's mentioned on their website, however the station is still streaming. http://star94fm.com/

[radiodxrichmond]

According to R&R, Cox engineers from Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville are all collaborating to piece together a temporary set-up. A small tower will be in place (who knows where) with all the equipment by as early as tonight.

Radio-X

[James Westerfield]

According to R&R, Cox engineers from Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville are all collaborating to piece together a temporary set-up. A small tower will be in place (who knows where) with all the equipment by as early as tonight.

Radio-X

They are already back on the air.

[MN Maniac]

When I was working radio in O'Town, one of Cox's people told me they had installed a "frequency agile" FM transmitter at the WHOO/990 transmitter site in Pine Hills.  This could broadcast any of the Cox FMs (92.3, 94.5, 95.3, 96.5, 98.9) at reduced power in an emergency.

True?

[radiodxrichmond]

They are already back on the air.

Any clue how strong their signal is? Does it cover most of the area?

I would guess it's on the Pine Hills transmitter site with WHOO and WMMO...though that doesn't really cut it for a Daytona Beach COL 

Anyhow, who cares...good to see them back up and running. And my heart goes out to those in Volusia Co. who were affected by this tornado. I have a friend who lives in Orange City and didn't get anything more than T-storms.

Radio-X

[KE4KLS_Radio]

When I heard them this afternoon in Merritt Island, they were a bit scratchy, but considering all that has happened, they did well to get the station back on the air in such a short time.

WKRO 93.1 was off some this a.m., but they are back on, probably a power issue.

Any other stations lose signal due to the storm?   

[Zach]

Just noticed on their website they're holding a contest - "Tell us when STAR came back on the air and you could win $500."

What an odd thing to do. 

[PaulBWalkerJr]

I'm going to take a wild guess on this and say that WCFB/Star 94.5 is on the air from an Auxiliary Tower somewhere closer to Daytona Beach then their licensed tower was...

In an situation where you have an Auxiliary Site or an STA, you must STILL Cover your COL while, at the same time... not serving any areas not normally served by the licensed facility.

[MN Maniac]

It will be interesting to see what Cox chooses as a long-term solution for this.

As Paul mentioned, 94.5 is licensed to Daytona Beach.  This was the original WNDB-FM.  Memory is a bit hazy here, but I believe New City moved it into Orlando sometime around 1991 (?) as Lite A/C "Love 94.5." 

Unlike the other Volusia Co. FMs which target Orlando from the Orange City towers (101.9, 105.9, 106.7, 107.7), WCFB had it's own transmitter facility near Paisley.  That tower has now been destroyed, of course.

In order to remain a full Class C, WCFB will have to rebuild to the full 450 meters.  If they go short, they will almost certainly be downgraded to C0.  Both of their first-adjacent neighbors would likely jump at the chance to upgrade: 94.7/Gifford would gladly extend and enhance their coverage to Brevard Co.  94.3/Lake City would love to either move into Gainesville or sell to someone who would.  Both of these scenarios are now prohibited only because WCFB maintains it's full Class C status.

Plus, WCFB needs the full height to cover Orlando adequately from that distance.  Even at 1,500 feet, there are a few coverage "holes" in the market.  Especially in the fast-growing areas of Osceola Co.  Anything shorter ain't gonna cut it.  They cannot move to the Bithlo antenna farm because of spacing issues to Gifford.

So, what will Cox do?  I see two options: Rebuild Paisley or lease space in Orange City.  The latter may not even be possible, due to weight and intermod issues with existing stations. 

Anyone know how long a station can hold onto their licensing parameters under an emergency situation such as this?  In other words, how long do they have to rebuild without losing their Class C?  Also, how long can they broadcast from an auxilary facility which does not city-grade their COL (which is obviously the case if they are indeed transmitting from Pine Hills.)

[gabigley1]

Click here to see photos of the damage to their tower site:

http://star94fm.com/slideshows/5092/1.html