WWKB Cutting Back To 10,000 Watts?

[gary adams]

have any of you guys called the station to find out.......... i just called they are aware of the rumor but they as far as they know are running at a full throttle 50.000 watts they have been having transmitter problems but as far as they know its been taking care of i cant believe that scott couldn't find out if it was fact or fiction maybe its sun spots or atmospheric problems is the reason their not reaching out

[Mike Sheridan]

here in North Carolina their signal has been pretty good lately.  Maybe they had to go up on the aux transmitter for awhile.  Isn't there a 10KW aux for WWKB?

[Savage]

KB had a 1950s vintage tube-type RCA BTA-10U standby but AFAIK it hasn't run in years.  When I did PM drive at the station in 1986 Tom Atkins put it on one day for some reason (at the time KB still had its main Continental 317-C2 and a standby MW-50 so there must have been some kind of phasor or antenna issue.)  The RCA only made about 7kw.  It sounded great, though.

Last time I was out at Big Tree was sometime around 2001 or 2002.  I saw the new Destiny but no newer 10kw rig was in evidence then.  And IIRC the RCA was still parked there.

[hypwr]

Jackson Armstrong told me that WKBW at one time had a Westinghouse transmitter.  He wasn't certain if it was a 50HG 1 or 2.  Does anyone know if they, indeed, had a Westinghouse?  Just curious, as I love old transmitters.

[Mike Sheridan]

Jackson Armstrong told me that WKBW at one time had a Westinghouse transmitter.  He wasn't certain if it was a 50HG 1 or 2.  Does anyone know if they, indeed, had a Westinghouse?  Just curious, as I love old transmitters.

They sure did.  Look up WKBW on www.fybush.com in the tower site of the week section. There is some very good information there. 

[Savage]

The WKBW Westinghouse wasnt a "1" or a "2"....it was just an HG-50.  It was the earliest series from 1941.
Absolutely enormous, massive, like a locomotive.

[hypwr]

Thanks for the info.  We still have a 50HG.  It is disconnected from the main power, however, I have some of the lights on the front lit.  I may put some DC on the meters and connect an audio source to the mod meters.  Sure looks alot better than our two "upright freezer" looking transmitters.

[JustPastBuffalo]

The WKBW Westinghouse wasnt a "1" or a "2"....it was just an HG-50.  It was the earliest series from 1941.
Absolutely enormous, massive, like a locomotive.

And that power transformer was a pup! Planted in the basement and rising to the top of the cabinets on the second floor. IIRC (it's been years) RCS, the Harris MW50 occupies the space previously held by the RCA 10kw'er. Our pal Frank Saj used to fire up the 10 every other Monday morning at 2. If it was your good fortune to work that shift, you had the pleasure </sarcasm> of hearing WCKY screaming in over the broad band air monitor. 10kw from Hamburg on 1520 getting muscled by WCKY's 50 kw (which, given its directional pattern probably was 70 kw) on 1530... still, I couldn't bring myself to monitor "Program."

[Time Traveler]

What may be kind of surprising here is that I used to be able to receive WKBW in Cincinnati, at night in spite of the fact that KB is nulled in that direction, not to mention adjacent local WCKY...

[Mike Sheridan]

When we moved to Florida from our little hut in Hamburg I used to DX KB and the signal was always getting squashed by WLAC 1510 and WCKY 1530, but I stayed in there to hear what was going on at home!