WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

[Ben Zonia]

Proposed WZZM-TV 13 TL move circa 1969. Waiver of Section 73.610 (b)(1) not granted.

42 52 23 N 85 57 28 W 228 kW Visual. HAAT not specified, probably the same HAAT as the LIC site. Actually South of Allendale a few miles.

http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/c ... r_id=87059

https://casetext.com/case/west-michigan ... nc-v-f-c-c

The minimum distance required from WZZM-TV to WSPD-TV/WTVG Channel 13s in Zone 1 was 170 miles. I believe that the distance required to WISN-TV 12 was 60 miles, and was fully spaced. At one time, cochannel overlap over domestic bodies of water was allowed, and I think WKZO-TV 3 and as I recall, WTMJ-TV were both on 3, creating very bad cochannel interference. WTMJ-TV moved to 4, along with some Chicago moves, 4 o 5 as I recall. At that time, all the TV stations wanted to be on Channels 2-6. Upstart ABC thus ended up on Channel 7 in many major markets. Lower noise circuits in VHF High channels and 316 kW ERP more or less equalized this, except in fringe and hilly terrain areas. With increased electrical interference, Channel 7-13 had the clearest signals by the 1970s. Vacuum cleaners always messed up Grade B Low VHF signals.

[Ben Zonia]

For The Record: W12AP Kalamazoo ordered to terminate operations by February, 1972. See Page 64.

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-B ... -13-BC.pdf

Legal Presentation.

https://books.google.com/books?id=y206A ... 22&f=false

[ftballfan]

1971 was not a good year for WZZM. They lost exclusive ABC for a decent portion of their viewing area to WGTU and WUHQ weeks apart.

Hypothetical question:
1. If WZZM were allowed to move its tower south in the 1970s, would WGTU have moved its tower south and west to put a stronger signal into Cadillac, Ludington, and Manistee (and/or added translators in those areas)? Remember back at that time, Ludington and Manistee were bigger than Gaylord and Petoskey.

[Ben Zonia]

WGTU 29 originally tried to cover the majority of the area that two stations covered for CBS and NBC. People used to put up very high gain UHF antennas to pull it is up the near the Straits. A few still survive, but unless you really demand that roofers save and restore an antenna, they usually trash them. If you have a decent antenna on a roof, take it down yourself or hire someone if you need to do it safely before you allow antenna hating roofers to ruin it. I don't think WZZM-TV lost much to WUHQ. Places like Mecosta County got near City Grade analog signals from WWTV, WPBN, and WZZM, and near Grade B signals from WNEM and WJRT. WPBN picked up NBC from WOOD and WNEM from two places in Mecosta County, one East of Stanwood for WOOD, and one 5.7 miles South of M-66 and Chippewa Lake Rd. near Barryton for WNEM. Rapid Cablevision got pristine signals form all of those from the WBRN tower, mostly with 4 bay 10 element single channel Yagis. They might better have used that as their head end for both. Someone described the way they switched from WNEM to WOOD. It was a call to a phone line, and a single ring would switch it from one to the other when they called. Imagine if a hacker had gotten that number.

[Ben Zonia]

Here's the Wikipedia article for WTMJ-TV, which moved from Channel 3 to Channel 4 in 1953. Contemporaneously, WBBM-TV moved from Channel 4 to Channel 2.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTMJ-TV

At some point in the 1970s as I recall, the FCC proposed several short spaced VHF drop ins. One was Channel 11 in Grand Rapids, another was Channel 8 Knoxville. It was the same situation as for 13, which was dropped in by substituting Channel 9 for Channel 13 in Cadillac. But Chicago and Green Bay Channel 11s also restricted TL.

There were many Petitions to Deny the drop ins, WTVK 26 was denied moving to Channel 8 in Knoxville. And when the FCC dropped Channel into Knoxville, it caused a great controversy with WTVK.

Lester Lindow was the head of Maximum Service Telecasters, which opposed the moves and drop ins. Lester Lindow had a very interesting life before entering Broadcasting, and then he was soon General Manager of WFDF, and then went to coowned WFBM Indianapolis (called "Wiff Boom", WFDF was "Woof Doof", and coowned WOOD was, well, "Wood". Then he went to Maximum Service Telecasters. If you haven't heard these stories before, look up Lester Lindow and Maximum Service Telecasters.

Interference issues weren't limited to TV. WOW 590 Omaha was a constant thorn in the side of WKZO 590. WOW convinced the FCC that it deserved protection as a quasi Class I. WKZO was required to protect WOW during CH, requiring WKZO to be directional from 6 PM to 10 AM each day, until 1968. Well, OK. WKZO DOUBLED its nondirectional signal in Grand Rapids during morning and afternoon drive times, and gave WKZO and WJEF a de facto duopoly in Grand Rapids.

[Trophyhead]

They were having to pick up in the afternoon, with the Tigers rained out, plugging in stern formatic dreck where live sports would have been. I check in for live traffic during commutes, game coverage nights and weekends and rarely elsewise.