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Post by David on Nov 3, 2015 21:10:27 GMT -7
According to the station's Facebook page, KWCR-FM 88.1 is history as of October 30th. Programming is now available online only: www.facebook.com/kwcr881/ |
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Nov 3, 2015 22:19:29 GMT -7
Definitely bad news for the Weber community. KWCR has been having problems for several years now. Their licensed facility is gone and they've been running under a series of special temporary authority authorizations. They couldn't get fully licensed due to spacing problems IIRC. There were also complaints filed with the FCC. Maybe they just decided it wasn't worth the effort.
This does open up the possibility of a great opportunity for KCPW though. The spacing issue I believe was between KWCR and KCPW. If KWCR gets deleted then KCPW might be able to move to Ensign Peak or somewhere in the Oquirrhs and have 88.3 cover everything it currently does plus what the 105.5 translator covers as well. That would eliminate the need for the translator and they wouldn't need to worry when KDWY completes its move-in.
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Post by amanuensis on Nov 4, 2015 9:05:59 GMT -7
Definitely bad news for the Weber community. KWCR has been having problems for several years now. Their licensed facility is gone and they've been running under a series of special temporary authority authorizations. They couldn't get fully licensed due to spacing problems IIRC. There were also complaints filed with the FCC. Maybe they just decided it wasn't worth the effort. This does open up the possibility of a great opportunity for KCPW though. The spacing issue I believe was between KWCR and KCPW. If KWCR gets deleted then KCPW might be able to move to Ensign Peak or somewhere in the Oquirrhs and have 88.3 cover everything it currently does plus what the 105.5 translator covers as well. That would eliminate the need for the translator and they wouldn't need to worry when KDWY completes its move-in. What DOES the 105.5 translator cover that 88.3 does not? At least at the south end of Salt Lake County, it seems like their coverage area is identical. |
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Post by David on Nov 4, 2015 11:26:05 GMT -7
KWCR's problems date back to the early 90's when I was in the broadcasting program at Weber State. The transmitter they had then dated from the late 1960's when KWCR first went on the air with 10 watts, and it seems like it had technical difficulties about every other week. KWCR finally upgraded to a new 100 watt transmitter atop Promontory Tower shortly after I graduated, and then a few years later it was moved to some mountain peak and the power was lowered to something like 10-20 watts. Given KWCR's long history of transmitter issues and FCC complaints, I'm not surprised to see the station's demise (but a little sad nevertheless).
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Nov 5, 2015 6:40:16 GMT -7
amanuensis, the K287AE/K288GY translator hits most of Davis County where the main KCPW is shadowed by the mountains (like Ensign Peak). That problem gets solved if the transmitter is on top of the mountains instead of trying to go through it.
David, the plan to move KWCR to Mount Ogden after the demolition of Promontory Tower never happened. The application for a permanent move back to where the station was originally was denied by the FCC due to impermissible overlap with KCPW. They had been running on Special Temporary Authority from a tower in Riverdale (the same one where KDUT-FM3 is).
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Post by friendlee on Nov 5, 2015 7:53:27 GMT -7
Qwacker (KWCR) was running a couple of kW when the transmitter and antenna was up on Promontory tower. Prior to that (when the entire station was located in three small rooms on the top floor of the Browning Center) they were using a 150-watt Versacount transmitter which was noted for protecting the line fuses by blowing the (rather expensive) RF output transistors first. The 10-watt Gates BFE-10 was in service from 1964 to (about) 1984. Sad to hear Qwacker is only an online presence now....
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Post by David on Nov 5, 2015 13:41:06 GMT -7
Ah well, what can I say? It's been almost 25 years since I graduated, so I've reached the "senior moment" stage of my life when it comes to remembering what happened more than 10 years ago.  I DO remember that those of us in the broadcasting program at WSU then lovingly referred to KWCR as "K-Wacker", which apparently was the updated version of Qwacker. I also remember that most of the station's PSA's were still on carts then, and learning the excruciating task of editing open reel tape with a grease pencil and razor blade. That's a lost art these days. Thanks for the brief history, Friend! |
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Post by friendlee on Nov 5, 2015 17:06:00 GMT -7
As fun as audio editing software is, there is something satisfying about a well-spliced edit....
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I DO remember that those of us in the broadcasting program at WSU then lovingly referred to KWCR as "K-Wacker", which apparently was the updated version of Qwacker. I also remember that most of the station's PSA's were still on carts then, and learning the excruciating task of editing open reel tape with a grease pencil and razor blade. That's a lost art these days. Thanks for the brief history, Friend!