Where did 105.1 Helen go?

[livingfruitvirus]

Its status doesn't appear to be up anywhere. The WHEL calls have been dropped. Is the station simply off?

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

It's still on the air as Viva 96.7-105.1-105.7. It blocks 105.3 on this end of Gwinnett County. I still say it's a mistake to sell it. It should be 105.1/105.3 The Buzz. I'm sure young teens and twenty-somethings in Northeast Georgia would also like that. There are some days when Viva is all you can hear on 105.3 (due to 105.1) and this is inside their market in a major county. At least they could move it somewhere far from the metro, then sell. I think there are one or two other stations licensed to Helen? I can flip the local switch on my walkman and still hear Viva 105.1 at 105.3. Again, this is in Gwinnett County and that should be a major issue for CC. I like Viva; it's a great station. I'm sure the new owners of WHEL will do something great with that signal, but the Buzz really needs WHEL or they need change WHEL's frequency (if possible) or move it further from the Atlanta market so it's not a problem.

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[livingfruitvirus]

WHEL is far away from Atlanta. The tower's just on top of a mountain, so even at 1800 watts it gets real good distance.

Still, WHEL isn't coming up on Radio-Locator for some reason. Anywhere. Not even in the list of Helen licensed cities.


> It's still on the air as Viva 96.7-105.1-105.7. It blocks
> 105.3 on this end of Gwinnett County. I still say it's a
> mistake to sell it. It should be 105.1/105.3 The Buzz. I'm
> sure young teens and twenty-somethings in Northeast Georgia
> would also like that. There are some days when Viva is all
> you can hear on 105.3 (due to 105.1) and this is inside
> their market in a major county. At least they could move it
> somewhere far from the metro, then sell. I think there are
> one or two other stations licensed to Helen? I can flip the
> local switch on my walkman and still hear Viva 105.1 at
> 105.3. Again, this is in Gwinnett County and that should be
> a major issue for CC. I like Viva; it's a great station. I'm
> sure the new owners of WHEL will do something great with
> that signal, but the Buzz really needs WHEL or they need
> change WHEL's frequency (if possible) or move it further
> from the Atlanta market so it's not a problem.
>

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

> Still, WHEL isn't coming up on Radio-Locator for some
> reason. Anywhere. Not even in the list of Helen licensed
> cities.

I was listening to Viva 105.7 today around 4pm and during their id, they said "and 105.1 Helen." I don't remember them saying the WHEL calls though? There is another signal on that stick. It's at 89.9 (class A) and it is licensed to Helen. They could move WHEL. It's a good idea too. I was in Suwannee yesterday afternoon and WHEL was covering the Buzz. It contributes to the failure of 105.3. You need Gwinnett in this market. It's one of the big four (Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cobb). Also the market is growing east and north, towards WHEL. Forsyth is projected to be the fastest growing county in Georiga and one of the top ten in the nation. It's also growing into a very wealthy county. WHEL gives The Buzz problems there.

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[radionut987]

> WHEL is far away from Atlanta. The tower's just on top of a
> mountain, so even at 1800 watts it gets real good distance.
>
> Still, WHEL isn't coming up on Radio-Locator for some
> reason. Anywhere. Not even in the list of Helen licensed
> cities.

Maybe the FCC revoked the station license or something.  Either that, or the station has gone dark while it's in the process of being sold to the new owners, Radio Seoul Georgia.  A while back, WHEL was sold to such a group, with plans of changing the format to Korean.

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

> Maybe the FCC revoked the station license or something.
> Either that, or the station has gone dark while it's in the
> process of being sold to the new owners, Radio Seoul
> Georgia.  A while back, WHEL was sold to such a group, with
> plans of changing the format to Korean.
>
It's still on the air with it's Vivia Format. Like I said, it's strong in Gwinnett and Forsyth Counties and completely covers 105.3 The Buzz in North Gwinnett. You need a good tuner (which most Alternative Rock fans don't invest in) to listen to the Buzz. I'm sure most hear Viva 105.1 cutting in on 105.3 and hit scan to 99.7 or 88.5. Again, CC is making a mistake. It should be 105.1/105.3 The Buzz to reach listeners in the fast growing northeast metro. You can't give up the northeast with an Alternative/Modern Rock format.

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[radionut987]

> It's still on the air with it's Viva Format. Like I said,
> it's strong in Gwinnett and Forsyth Counties and completely
> covers 105.3 The Buzz in North Gwinnett. You need a good
> tuner (which most Alternative Rock fans don't invest in) to
> listen to the Buzz. I'm sure most hear Viva 105.1 cutting in
> on 105.3 and hit scan to 99.7 or 88.5. Again, CC is making a
> mistake. It should be 105.1/105.3 The Buzz to reach
> listeners in the fast growing northeast metro. You can't
> give up the northeast with an Alternative/Modern Rock
> format.

Hmmmmmmmm!  Maybe the sale hasn't become final yet.  Still, I agree that Clear Channel is messing up big time by not simulcasting on both 105.1 and 105.3. It seems like common sense is all but missing at CC Atlanta headquarters.