I remember as a kid in the 60s two of the local stations were still using the WE 5kW rigs and I still remember the fence around them. Both were late 30s transmitters. Thanks for posting!
JetFli: I believe the Benns family along with the Brennans were the original owners. This was in a string of sister stations, WBAM in Montgomery, Alabama, WVOK in Birmingham, Ala. and WAPE in JAX, FLA. These were very popular in the 60's.
that was interesting to see,i hope there is more videos like this of the radio and tv station transmitters, this is really nice , i liked watching this video,
Wow, I can't believe a WE xmtr still on the air- even still with mercury rectifiers. That thing is truly a relic of another era. How long did they keep that thing running?
+Nathan Kayle Well the video was shot in the mid-90's and I am assuming without calling Gregg, that it was replaced about the same time frame by a Harris DX-50 which is still in operation. While considered an older solid state transmitter now, there are still many stations that use the DX-50. Glad you enjoyed it.
Wow, I could actually hear the music through the transmitter, and I didn’t see any speakers in sight either! I wonder how much power that thing was pushing out at the time you recorded this. It had to be a crazy amount of power I know.
What a beautiful site! I'm hoping that at least 1 of those transmitters is still there in 2023. Probably not tho. 😞
I remember as a kid in the 60s two of the local stations were still using the WE 5kW rigs and I still remember the fence around them. Both were late 30s transmitters. Thanks for posting!
JetFli: I believe the Benns family along with the Brennans were the original owners. This was in a string of sister stations, WBAM in Montgomery, Alabama, WVOK in Birmingham, Ala. and WAPE in JAX, FLA. These were very popular in the 60's.
Love them badass tube rigs, Tower of Power
that was interesting to see,i hope there is more videos like this of the radio and tv station transmitters, this is really nice , i liked watching this video,
I am in Love... Thank You for the tour...
Wow, I can't believe a WE xmtr still on the air- even still with mercury rectifiers.
That thing is truly a relic of another era. How long did they keep that thing running?
+Nathan Kayle Well the video was shot in the mid-90's and I am assuming without calling Gregg, that it was replaced about the same time frame by a Harris DX-50 which is still in operation. While considered an older solid state transmitter now, there are still many stations that use the DX-50. Glad you enjoyed it.
You can read more about that beauty at Chattanooga Radio History on FaceBook
Wow, I could actually hear the music through the transmitter, and I didn’t see any speakers in sight either! I wonder how much power that thing was pushing out at the time you recorded this. It had to be a crazy amount of power I know.
I wonder if maybe there's a monitor circuit in the transmitter shack connected to a speaker?
That was the modulation transformer making the sound. At the ATU's, it is the tuning components. That's how AMs are. It's radio the way God intended.
Thanks for the tour. 73, Jim K2JHV (alias WA2WHV)
Great tour..Enjoyed it very much.
73,
Glenn WA4AOS
Sounds like it as a Christian type station that played religious content. I didn’t recognize the song playing though.