KAAY Blog Reaches Iran

Iran, Islamic Republic of Yazd

The following is from a public radio FM page: Storyteller: John Philpot

For many years, Philpot has entertained folks with his stories, both on the air and at events across the U.S. and Canada. Raised in Mena, Philpot has a B.S. degree in agriculture and a master’s degree in educational media from the University of Arkansas. He was an extension agent in Clark and Miller counties and a radio and television specialist in the state extension office. He worked as farm director at KAAY radio in Little Rock, KATV Channel 7 and the Arkansas Radio Network. He has hosted Arkansas Outdoors on the Arkansas Educational Television Network since its inception in 1992.
...............................................................................
John Philpot followed Marvin Vines as Farm Director of KAAY. I have written a lot of material on Marvin and if you are new to the blog or haven't read any, just put "Marvin Vines" in the upper left search window and click on search this blog.

I always thought "Vines" was such a great name for a farm director. He was one of the very few ever on the air at KAAY to use his real name. Wayne Moss I believe used his real name the second time he was at the station. He was the first Sonny Martin and when he returned that name was in use, so he used his real name. He was also program director at that time. A lot of us worked at KAAY two different times.

More Hams

BTW, A. J., the video was great! Sometimes, today, there are even those discourteous operators (we hams call them "lids") who find sport in interfereing with those who are conducting nets, both practice and real-time. These "lids" are often sought out, prosecuted and sometimes incarcerated. Unfortunately, these are the ones the public hears about, often not of the real heros, those who actually come to the aid of others...and the public paints us with the same broad brush.

Real drama can STILL be heard on some ham bands, and operators from far-away lands are heard daily. There is still a romance in ham radio, even though the age has brought us instant satisfaction with cell phones, Internet and texting...but there's something about being off in a corner, talking with someone (or listening to others talk) between far countries, getting the REAL info on what it's like "over there", etc.; there's nothing like kicking on that old tube radio, kill all the lights in the house and tune around, listening for who-knows-where.

Also, if you happen to hear a ham operating, you can get a verification from him (we call them QSL cards) by sending them a letter, explain to the operator that your a shortwave listener (which you are, since you're listening in that band spectrum!), give the operator times, date(s) frequencies and some details and include a self-addressed stamped envelope if within the U.S.A., or a couple of dollars if outside the country, and they will usually surprise you with a nice card and sometimes other little trinkets! If you hear someone interesting, write down their callsign and go to www.qrz.com and put it in the search box in the upper left-hand corner, then hit "search"...it'll give you their mailing address and possibly a bio on that person, as well.

Yes, the video was right on the mark, A. J.; there are still those out there that give of their time, talents and equipment to help others in need, in so many ways too numerous to mention here...plus, a little "theater for the mind", if one can tear themselves away from the TV...and "they" say ham radio has no place in this world! Bud Stacey, Extra Class ham KC4HGH, near Mobile, AL

Didn't work at KAAY but known to many of us

Former KATV Bureau Chief/Engineer Passes Away
Source: KATV.com A longtime member of the Channel 7 family has died.

Former Hot Springs bureau chief, director and engineer Dick Story passed away Monday night.

Dick started at KATV in 1954, and most recently worked as part of the production crew for Channel 7’s Good Morning Arkansas.

He is survived by his wife, Laura, daughter Kathy, and a son, Doug.

Dick Story was 74-years-old.

Ham heard from

A. J., I prefer the term, "ham", since the term "amateur" denotes someone doesn't know what he or she is doing....

Ham radio has been "dumbed down" in my opinion, as of late, but it still takes a lot of skill, knowledge and study to achieve licensure. Not only that, but hams all over this world drill themselves through emergency "nets" or networks every week, testing their equipment and their readiness, in case disaster strikes. In fact, when Hurricane Katrina hit ground zero at Waveland, MS (the media says New Orleans, but ask folks at the National Weather Service and who live here on the Gulf Coast!), there was NOTHING left...and the Georgia Baptist Society came to the rescue, bringing ham radio with them. Many operators put their lives and jobs on hold for as long as six months, until communications were restored along the coast...for FREE. These people, and people like them, are professionals in every sense of the word, nothing amateurish about them at all, and hams work during ALL sorts of disasters, not to speak of many non-disaster-related events.

This is NOT Citizen's Band radio, like some people think- we are federally-licensed and tested for the hobby we love and we love to give back, freely.

The slogan is, "When all else fails, ham radio!" Bud Stacey, KC4HGH, Extra Class ham, near Mobile, AL

Thanks Bud for a great comment, but what did you think of the video?

Ham Radio

DJ's rarely were ham radio operators even though they were very much hams. The engineers on the other hand were often ham radio operators. Ham radio made it possible for an individual to have his own station, to talk to other hams. No music.

I like the term "ham" rather than "amateur". Those of you who are one, what do you prefer?

Here is a great film on ham radio:

For a Few Insiders

KAAY from the beginning was full of "inside" material. Howard Watson a/k/a/ Ken Knight was probably the biggest instigator of this. With his late night show he had a bit more freedom to go "way out". Often only Howard understood what he was saying. Much of the "bits" required you work in the Channel 11 building to understand what was going on. Anyone outside of Arkansas would have never understand the "Ear On Arkansas" program. The nighttime national audience had no idea of what our competition was in the daytime.

Radio station ratings are usually based on morning drive. As I mentioned in a previous post, Brother Hal, a/k/a Hal Webber was always our big battle. I ran across a wonderfully detailed article on Hal. It is a very long piece. It even mentions Walt Sadler a/k/a Ron Owens who did news mach later at KLRA. Those of you who worked with me at KAAY will probably be the only ones who will invest the time to read all of this article : http://www.fewmets.net/articles/cochran/hal.html

The Haunting Continues

Scott Reed has left a new comment on your post "The legend rolls on":

I talked to Clyde/Dale last night (7/27) about KAAY and the haunted transmitter. He said that he heard doors opening and closing when he knew for sure that he was the only one in the building.

He also mentioned that the KAAY location on Capital also had some strange occurrences - cabinet doors opening on their own, etc.

I encouraged Dale to visit your blog and post his comments about the haunted transmitter.

Thanks Scott for that comment. I too remember strange occurrences in the 7th Street & Capitol studios. Most of those were probably pranks from other staffers. Like the time Joe DIckey and a few others hid a walkie talkie in a file cabinet in the front office, and sent strange words to the secretary.

Most of these "hauntings" always occurred at either location, when someone is alone in the buildings. Weekends in the case of the 7th street. Also, let's face it. D.J.'s are more likely to be haunted than normal folks.

Incidently this posting is being made in the middle of the night, with music from Charade playing in the background. Backward!

Call Letters

A. J., I am sick that the radio stations nowadays are not giving their callsigns out any more...it hardly is worth it any more to tune one, then wait until the top of the hour...some used to break for news at the bottom of the hour and announce there, as well as several times during the hour...now, it's (what THEY think) snappy smart-aleck slogans instead of callsigns. Who cares if they're "Pirate 106" or "Blue Sky 94, Easy Listening"? I want to know WHO they are and where they are and let the slogan FOLLOW the callsign!

As a Ham radio operator, if I don't i.d. every ten minutes, I get in trouble and it's a HOBBY! Why can't a business be required to i.d. at the required times? I'll tell you why: a weak, defunded FCC and strong lobbyists in Congress FOR the radio conglomerates...and you know the old saying about how money talks? Bud, Mobile, AL

Right you are Bud. Radio programmers are like sheep. If someone is successful everyone follows. From the beginning of broadcasting, call letters were a badge of honor as well as identification. When trying to find great call letters, we were often twarted by a ship at sea. There were some very good K___ assigned to a ship. Some stations over came weak call letters with great jingles. WDGY comes to mind. Hard to say, doesn't spell anything. KFWB is another. Hard to say, but lots of great jingles got the call letters across. IF stations use jingles today, they are shotgun meaningless blurbs. The entire "sound" of a station could be built around a good jingle package in the old days.
I notice XM radio uses some great jingles very effectively.

Whatever happened to call letters?

In the hayday of top 40 call letters were king. For those of you too young to remember radio stations in the U.S. are given call sign or letters to identify themselves. In the U.S. east of the Mississippi got a call sign that started with "W" and West of the Mississippi, the F.C.C. assigned a "K". A few exceptions exist. Stations like KDKA in Pittsburg and WOAI in San Antonio got their call letters before this geographic line was drawn.

Top 40 stations quickly learned good call letters helped in the ratings race. Stations were looking for call letters that spelled something like WAKY (one of my favorites).
Right behind the call letters the frequency with a rhyme helped, i.e. "the mighty ten ninety".

Most later day programmers think the only thing that is important is a clever name for their station that has nothing to do with either the call letters or the frequency. "Big Dog" has now given away to "Alice".

Do the rating services offer listings now for XM or Sirius? Or even car CDs, Ipods and the like. I just bought a new car radio that plays, SD cards, USB flash drives, an upfront plug for Ipods and the like. If offers highway broadcast info, FM and maybe AM even though I haven't tried it yet. Haven't got past the SD card which also displays on a flashy screen the artist, song title and any other info.and some flashing spectrum lights.

Tell me what you think of this guy's shot at top 40?

Where are they now?

Thanks for the update as to where some of the aforementioned FM stations are now:

The three other radio stations that were mentioned, only one is still on the air today. That station is KSSN. Speaking of which, KSSN is celebrating their 30th year this year. Bob Robbins has been there since day one. He went there after leaving KAAY.
KKYK is now the local RTN TV channel in Little Rock.
The former radio station is now KABZ, 1037 THE BUZZ, A sports-talk station. This station is currently located in the Cottondale building.
KLAZ is currently on the air in Hot Springs at 105.9, playing the current hits.
Currently on 98.5 is KURB B98.5, playing music from the 80's to today. It is one of the sister stations to KAAY.
Then and now these stations are rated in the top five in the arbitron ratings.

Now my comment on KSSN
When I was at KAAY, we were battling KLRA for ratings, even though there were two other top 40 stations in the market. And what was the format of KLRA? Country! And what is the format of KSSN? Country! Actually that is a little misleading. The only time period we battled KLRA for was morning drive time and that was Brother Hal. He was the reason for their #1 rating in that time period. When he did play some music it was country and not very good country. As to KSSN I give all the credit to Bob Robbins. He was great at KAAY and took some audience with him. He built a strong following because he was a good personality D.J. regardless of the music he played. KSSN started at the time country was becoming more rock and they seized that opportunity.
Bob has stuck with it. Other good personality D.J.'s in the Little Rock market have changed stations, markets,or formats or gone to television. Long live Bob Robbins!

More from Dave Montgomery

Dick Downes was brought in after Wayne Moss and Sonny Martin’s departures. Dick only lasted from ’76 to ’77. He was not effective as a PD, and had abrasive ego that matched Tandy’s abrasive ego. He was eventually fired and C David Hamilton was brought in from Rockford to be the PD/MD. C David was likable and put a new staff together, and the station sounded good but was still losing listeners to FM. In sales, combo buys for KAAY and KLPQ were good business, but still neither station was main line enough to counterbalance the growing strength of KKYK, KLAZ and KSSN. You know how this eventually worked out.



Gary Fries came in as GM after Jim Tandy “left”. Gary was from a similar market size as LR, but he had something that Tandy did not – he was likable and immediately formed a “team” of key staff members and pulled things together. Gary stayed as long as he could but his star was rising, and he eventually left for KJJJ Phoenix, and he took several key KAAY/KLPQ staff with him, from admin, air, and news. That’s about when I left for Illinois. “Everybody” was leaving. Gary Fries eventually became a senior executive at RAB Radio Advertising Bureau.

C David Hamilton became the GM, . He had been a PD for a while, but had no substantial experience as a GM. It was a bad match that in the end was his undoing. I don’t think he ever completely connected with the market.

WKYC Cleveland

WKYC featured now on XM Radio. Channel 6

Filling in the blanks & the rise of KKYK, KSSN, KLAZ

Dave Montgomery sent some additions to a previous post:

AJ, the Wikipedia write-up about Clyde Clifford was good and accurate as best as I can remember. But it painted over some of the internal issues and the giant industry shift to FM that was going on during this same time period.



When Jim Tandy came in as GM after Pat’s departure, Jim’s charter was to get the station moved from West 7th street into the new studios at Cottondale Lane. Tandy was a big city GM, coming from WSIX in Nashville, and he may have had a good business mind, but he certainly did not understand the Little Rock / Arkansas market. He acted like a “big market guy comes to a small market”, had an abrasive personality and huge ego. During his brief tenure staff tension was thick. Also during his tenure, the newly launched LR FM stations were getting ratings traction, and KKYK KSSN and KLAZ were sucking up listeners as fast as you could change the dial. The days of the AM powerhouse were fading.

More of Dave's comments later. Just a bit of my memory of the studios. The West 7th street studios were chosen because it was an old doctor's office. Perfect for a radio station because it had lots of small rooms. We had to do almost no internal or external changes. It was in a a great neighborhood; diagonally across from the State Capitol. We did put in a very rinky dink sign. I always hated the sign. Part was do to the sign restrictions of the area but it was still poor. It finally wound up at the transmitter. Eddy Graham did most of the wiring and setting up of the control room and production studio. The Cottondale Lane studios were built from the ground up for a radio station, but as Dave pointed out, FM was making a big move in audience and KAAY had passed on an early chance to get in on FM. This was probably more of a corporate decision, than Pat Walsh. More later on KAAY's late arrival into FM.

Know the facts

Here is a comment from a far out blog:

This subject is painful, as my dad was a deejay during the golden age of rock and roll. He invented album cuts with a show called Beaker Street — it was on a.m. radio at the time and broadcast 100,000 watts at night. People from Cuba have told me they listened to the midnight album cuts show, and Paul Shaffer used to listen to it… but when computers entered the picture, it was the beginning of the end for the deejay and the program director. Time’s pendulum will swing real music back to the airwaves, I hope and pray.

Wow, that takes me back to high school, doing homework while listening to KAAY. It had a huge signal out of Little Rock that bounced off the ionosphere, so you could hear this AM station from hundreds of miles away. It’s probably safe to say that Beaker Street turned a lot of people on to serious music, the kind you didn’t hear on Top 40. Say hello and thanks to your father from a fan.

OK
Dale A/K/A Clyde C. did you have a son who wrote this?
And I would have thought that everyone knows 50,000 watts is the maximum for any AM station in the United States.
Can you believe any of it?

After Clyde Clifford

A. J., as far as Clyde/Dale commenting on the site, what about the latter personalities that followed him? T'would be interesting, to say the least! I did a search and found this:

"To be fair, there were actually a number of other personalities that followed Clyde Clifford. Among the many people who hosted the show after Clyde, there were several Ken Knights. As mentioned earlier, many names were given to the jocks to use at KAAY until 1976 when Dick Downes became the Program Director replacing Wayne Moss. In order to give the show more verisimillitude, Downes had the next host use his real name. So, there was Beaker Street with Stuart (McRae) for the last few years into the mid seventies. Stuart truly looked and lived the part of the '70s Hippy DJ, complete with the hair, beard and jeans. His approach was very laid back and mellow and his music selections were excellent. Under Downes' direction, Stuart (he just used his first name on air) expanded the show from the original three hours to a full five and a half (11:00 PM to 4:30 AM) achieving some of the best ratings the show ever attained, besting the 10 PM lead-in hour with twice the audience. Unfortunately, McRae's rabbi, Downes, departed and when replacement Carl Hamilton took over the Program Director position in early 1977, he decided to end Beaker Street (it wasn't consistent with the rest of the day) to much protest from all over the world (KAAY had an amazing signal). The last Beaker Street show was done by Don Payne. Stuart McRae resigned more-or-less on the spot after being informed of the end of Beaker Street on KAAY."

This was at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Clifford

May I comment on the comment. This is excellent research. The common thought is to always associate Beaker Street with Clyde. If is my fault for not pursuing what happened after Clyde. When Wayne Moss left, almost all of the folks I know were gone. And when Pat Walsh left, all of my contacts with KAAY were lost.

I would really encourage any and all of those in the latter days of KAAY to contribute to this blog. Anyone who worked with KAAY, has great stories to contribute
and I would really like to hear from you by adding a comment to this post or emailing me at ajlinds@yahoo.com.

Repeat

(double click on the image to enlarge)
I was looking at an old post and the picture would not load and an error message indicated the photo was no longer on the google server. I don't want this to get lost and I want to take the occasion to beg for KAAY music surveys that have not been previously posted. Email me what you might have: ajlinds@yahoo.com

New High

61 visitors to this blog yesterday. That may be a record. However, only 12 votes on the poll (located to the far right of this post). Please, everyone vote!

I'm not sure if the "Haunted Transmitter" post brought in some many new visitors or what.

Clyde Clifford a/k/a Dale Schidenswartz, a message to you: You spent much time broadcasting from the transmitter. How about writing a comment on haunting and the grave near one of the towers for this blog?

Haunted Transmitter

the transmitter site is not haunted, I've been there several times. The christian talk and teaching is too much for the devil to take. john


Thanks John, Even from the very first of KAAY there were always two religious blocks per day.

Perhaps I can do an interview with Felix McDonald, long time Chief Engineer and close resident of the transmitter site, and get him talk about the grave site and alleged haunting.

Run a KAAY blog and learn Arkansas

Even though I have lived in Arkansas most of my life, with some time off for good behavior in Kansas City, Dallas, and Illinois, this blog is constantly showing me towns in Arkansas that I have never heard of. The latest Locust Grove, AR. It is near Batesville. The good folk in Locust Grove were interested in Gary Weir a/k/a Bozo.

Vote Now

Since the new poll (over to the far right) has been posted, over 80 people have visited the blog, and only 10 have voted. I have never had much luck getting participation in polls. Some media use online polls very effectively. Some blogs get lots of comments and the comments are often more interesting than the blog.

Help me out. I am not necessarily looking for a "yes" vote here, just lots of votes.

WKRP

Speaking of WKRP, it aired again on WGN...they must be rotating the old shows. Unfortunately, I was again away from home and found out too late to record. I'd like to get copies, if anyone has any...glad to pay! Bud, Mobile, AL

I saw the two episodes they ran which were real classics. There were several themes that could have made several shows.

Johnnie got a job offer from L.A. Johnnie had a going away party. Johnnie Left Sleazy record promoter helps find Johnnie's replacement. Johnnie comes back works over night shift. New jock takes coke payola. Busted. Great two 30 min. episodes.

New Poll over to the Right

Polls have not been very successful on this blog. I do need you help on this one. Please vote. I don't care how, just vote. Over 40 people read this blog daily. Please every one of you vote.

The library would be new, never before heard airchecks. Complete Razorback games from the 70s and more.

If you are not the slightest bit interested, vote no. EVERYONE, please vote yes or no.

More Bozo a/k/a Gary Weir

Russell W. has left a new comment on your post "More Bozo Comments":

One Bozo-ism I recall hearing while channel-surfing one afternoon -- I was in my late teens when I moved to Arkansas ... a little, ummmm, "old" for that show: Interviewing one of the kids in the audience, Weir/Bozo asked where she was from and she replied, "Malvern." His answer: "Malvern ... is that anywhere near Malvern?"

Russell Wells
Rincon, Ga.

I sure if we watched old Bozo episodes they would be full of DJ type adlibs. Remember Gary was first a disc jockey.

Early TV was full of great local programming. Most early TV studios had a cooking set. Some stations even did local talent or quiz shows, and of course a dance party.

Today local TV is almost exclusively news. Bring back Bozo and the cooking shows....wait Food Network has already done that 24 hours a day and in H.D.

Speaking of old TV. You all know of my fondness for WKRP. So on a HOT Sat. afternoon that was too hot to be outside, I watched some of the old News Radio sitcom episodes. I didn't like it any better than when it was first out. I only watched it originally because it had a radio theme. Lame it was and is just lame.

Remember the Transoceanic?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Great Memory of Beaker Street":

I know where my notebook papers are! I still have them in a manila envelope marked "Radio Log" in my shack...every now and then, I'll pull it out and read over the list...I also still have my grandpa's old Zenith Transoceanic radio...it has a capacitor problem right now, but is otherwise functional. I'll get that baby fixed and sit back and listen on it again...good nostalgia trip, that article...thanks for the link, Doc!



Posted by Anonymous to KAAY 1090 at 12:03 PM

More Singing Pig

MorningMouth has left a new comment on your post "Dick Price & The Singing Pig Program heard from!":

Holy Cow! If this isn't an incredible coincidence, I don't know what is! I was a "Singing Pig" faithful listener as a kid growing up in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Is the e-mail address you posted here a current one for Mr. Price? I sent him a lengthy letter tonight, and want to make sure it gets to him.
I was a big fan of that show, and among others, he was an influence on my decision to choose radio broadcasting as a career.

-Jimmy Rowe
News Director
Hometown Family Radio/McCook, NE
KIOD-FM/KSWN-FM/KZMC-FM

As far as I know Jimmy that email address was correct.

KLIF featured today on XM Radio

Get the tape recorders ready. XM features KLIF today at 3 PM central.

Sonic Sound Salutes- This Week KLIF 11-90 in Dallas, TX
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM

60's on 6 "Sonic Sound Salutes" continue as we re-create great 60's radio stations across America. This week KLIF 11-90 in Dallas, TX. America's most imitated radio station.

Beaker Street Correction

A correction needs to be made. Beaker Street is currently on The Point 94.1 (KKPT), it is still on Sunday nights @ 7PM.

The legend rolls on

Read the post just below this one before you read this comment:

I just read the post about Glaspie Dillard. It’s the first time I heard the name but not the first time I heard the legend. I don’t remember seeing a gravestone near the west tower although the west tower was the one always mentioned in the ghost legend stories I heard from several people. I have always thought it was an interesting story, possibly true but never quite sure about it. The kind of thing that made working there, –er, interesting.



I’m glad to know that other people heard the story too. It was waa-aay too many years ago, but I think Dale S. had an “artful” version of the legend.

From another Site

The contents of this comment have been covered before in this blog however, I reprint this here because it is an interesting collection of facts and conjecture (about the transmitter being haunted)(and the current Beaker St info is out of date). Here is the comments posted on another site:

Beaker Street was radiated from a 1952 RCA transmitter that was as big as six Cadillacs stacked three-wide by two-deep. When you walked behind it, every hair on your body would stand up. The power tubes were thick as tree trunks and waist-high to a grown man.

The KAAY transmitter site was (still is) built on what was once a graveyard. All the graves were relocated, except for the one occupied by Glaspie Dillard (IIRC), who died when he was a child. His tombstone still stands near the west tower of the array. Yes, the transmitter building is haunted.

Beaker Street still runs every Sunday night at 7:00 on Magic 105 FM (KMJX) in Little Rock, hosted by Clyde Clifford (the very same!).

I notice the site is down at the moment, but "Titanic" may be available for download at www.beakerstreet.com .

Any further questions?

Lin Broadcasting

If you have heard any of the airchecks with newscasts you will usually hear the tag line "a service of the Lin Broadcasting Corp." I have previously written about Lin. (type "Lin" in the search box upper right and search this blog).

Here is another time line of Lin Broadcasting, however, this one is much better and has pictures:

http://www.lintv.com/about/company.html
Thanks Bud for the link.

Great Memory of Beaker Street

Here is a blog with a great memory:
http://echoesinthewind.blogspot.com/2008/02/remembering-walks-on-beaker-street.html

Reunion Rewind

I think I have posted this song before but this one is a different video.

As the wait staff(waitress to us down south) says "enjoy"

Answer to my Question Below

A. J., it's near the Jones Point State Wildlife Management Area, north and in the middle of Midway (to the east) and Monarch (to the west)...see this link:

http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=15&Z=15&X=81&Y=629&W=1&qs=%7cPeel%7cArkansas%7c

Bud, Mobile, AL

Help!

This blog had a visitor from Peel, Arkansas. I've lived in Arkansas most of my life, and I've never heard of Peel. Someone tell me something about Peel.

This visitor was checking out Jim Pitcock.

More Bozo Comments

Lancer has left a new comment on your post "Gary Weir & Bozo The Clown":

"From the big, tall tower in Redfield so all the kids can see the Showzobo."

"Were you born in Septober or Octember?"

"Do you walk to school or carry your lunch?"

Great quotes. Great memories.

Old Transmitters

Lancer has left a new comment on your post "Old Transmitters":

Those old transmitters sound great on the HF bands. Joe Walsh from The Eagles is a ham also & he has a lot of AM broadcast gear.

73,
AD5KL

More My Hometown

This blog tells the My Hometown-Jackson story:
http://radiouseonly.blogspot.com/
Here is a link to My Hometown-Jackson. Sorry its not the entire song, but there is a picture of the 45:

http://radiouseonly.com/singles/mississippi_singles/wjxn_jackson_my_home_town.htm

Old Transmitters

Old Transmitters? Ya gotta understand the mind of Ham radio enthusiasts! They were probably looking for older tube-type gear to obtain and operate!

Some older (and not so old!) operators used AM (one of the old modes of operation (still used today), search out old AM broadcast band transmitters that are being discarded to retune and use in 160 meters (1.8 to 2.0 MHz), the Ham band just above the AM broadcast band. They also retune them for 75 and 80 meters, the band above that at 3.5 to 4.0 MHz.

At reduced power levels (we are allowed 1500 watts PEP), the old tubes will last a lifetime. With the audio processing and good mics, these stations sound GREAT! Please note that Ham radio operators are NOT broadcasters, we are communicators...we just like great gear to use- we are allowed to convert practically anything for Ham radio usage.

Some of these stations exhibit rich, warm audio, even though these operators are only talking. If you have a shortwave receiver, tune around 1.965 MHz, +/- a little, 3.880 to 3.895 MHz, AM mode and give a listen, especially on winter nights, when the atmosphere is clearer from lightening static (and the transmitters keep our "shacks" warm!)

A good website to check out as well, to look at some old AM broadcast band transmitters in use for Ham radio rigs is: http://www.amfone.net/Amforum/index.php

Enjoy! Bud, KC4HGH, Mobile, AL

Incidently, KWHN an AM station here in Fort Smith AR used to broadcast on 1320 and 1620 with the idea 1320 would be turned off. Flooding and technical problems has caused them to abandon the 1620 frequency.

WHY?

Why did someone visit from Netherlands Geldermalsen, Gelderland?
Sometimes I can find out from the counter information. This visitor was looking at pictures of the old transmitter. Their google search was for "old transmitters".

Go figure.

My Hometown Fort Walton Beach WNUE

Again thanks to Russell Wells'f for the Pams My Hometown jingles I have been posting lately. Here is the latest:

WTMA Featured on XM Radio

60's on 6 "Sonic Sound Salutes" continue as we re-create great 60's radio stations across America. Terry " Motormouth" Young transforms the 60's on 6 into these great stations every Friday with their original jingles, DJs, and local happenings. This week we'll feature WTMA of Charleston, SC . 60's on 6, The way it was, is the way it is.

Take a look at recent visitors

United States Minneapolis, Minnesota
22
United States Mentor, Ohio
23
Belgium Beringen, Limburg
24
United Kingdom Bedford, Bedfordshire
25
United States Little Rock, Arkansas
26
United States Bedford, Texas
27
Panama Pueblo Nuevo, Chiriqui
28
United States Wichita, Kansas
29
United States Lebanon, Tennessee
30
United States Denver, Colorado
31
United States Huntsville, Alabama
32
United States Minneapolis, Minnesota

And this blog doesn't even have 50,000 watts.

Welcome Visitor from Foulke AR

Welcome to someone from Foulke, AR (yes that's the name of the town, near Texarkana)
They were looking for Bozo and Gary Weir. Hope they found it interesting.

I have written about our Foulke monster promotion. Here is the link:
http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/2007/12/kaay-fouke-monster.html

Beaker Street Clyde Clifford KAAY

Much has been written and commented on this blog about Beaker Street. If you are new to this blog just enter Beaker Street in the search box in the upper left and click search this blog.

Here is a site with some Beaker Street background music. Click on it and do your best Clyde Clifford impersonation.http://www.beakerbrothers.com/

Leave a Comment

Your comments help keep this blog going. Got a question about KAAY? You can leave an anonymous comment by clicking on the word "comments" on the right hand side of the bottom of this post. When the box opens type you comment in the box. Then scroll down and move the dot to the word anonymous. Then click on the box that says publish this comment. It may take a day for your comment to appear.

Dick Price & The Singing Pig Program heard from!

My gawd...got a new computer and was trying to navigate about on it and lo and behold there was an inquiry from someone with a VERY long memory!
Dick Price alive and moderately well, if somewhat super-annuated.
Did I read right that Fred is in Huntsvfille? I worked there twice @ WAAY-TV for about 5 years.
I'm trying to remember the weather guy who also left TV here in Little Rock and went to H'ville.
We lived next dock to each other @ River Valley marina (Ken Rainey?)
I would like to once again clear up the Singing Pig thing...I was NEVER the Singing Pig...the PROGRAM was called the Singing Pig.
Talk Show on KAAY. "Never try to teach a pig to sing...wastes your time and annoys the pig."
My bride REALLY gets panties in a wad when someone calls her Ms. Pig.
Anyhow: Thanx for remembering. After radioing for 4 decades the KAAY gig was the most fun I ever had.
Dick Price
dickprice@bigfoot.com
501 258 7194

A friend's CD

This has nothing to do with KAAY. A friend of mine, Jim Terry has written and performed a CD entitled "Parker and Terry Black and White Memories". He has made a music video of one of the songs, "In the Wink of an Eye".

Enjoy:

A note from Gary Weir

Having portrayed Bozo The Clown in Arkansas for 25 years I remember alot of personal appearances, especially the one at the Hot Springs Mall. What fun it was! Being Bozo was a wonderful career and I was saddened to hear about the death of Larry Harmon, the original Bozo The Clow on television.

Racoons Caused the Channel 7 Tower Collapse KATV

Not really. I just wrote that headline because it will bring in lots of hits to this site. My counter can tell me often why someone found this site. I have written a lot about both raccoons and the KATV tower collapse. These two topics bring in tons of readers. Sorry, I don't have anything new about either topic. If you do, please email me at once. (ajlinds@yahoo.com)I have had no response to the free $50 gas card. Here are the details:

http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/2008/06/free-gas.html

Great Rock & Roll Remembered Piece

Yes, KAAY is mentioned in this story along with many other great top 40 stations. What I really enjoyed were the show posters and music surveys.

Take a look:

http://www.kioa.com/audio/MA06RocknRoll.pdf

My Hometown Video

Sometime ago I did a project for a Seniornet class that was learning Windows moviemaker. I used the "My Hometown" jingle for KVLC, Little ROck. Here is the You Tube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkFL1i76JsI&feature=email
Here is a comment left from a You Tube viewer:

I remember listening to KAAY radio station back in the 60s,great station although I could only pull it in at night.I remember disk jockeys like Doc Holliday and listening to Beaker(sic?)theater on the weekends and hearing "underground music" as they called it.Good old days!

Sonovox Jingles

Written and posted lots about Sonovox jingles here. I ran across a company in Great Britian that will customize you a sonovox jingle for $20 (American). They also have some free stuff but I didn't take the time to fill out a lengthy form for a free checkout. If anyone does let me know what their stuff sounds like. You can be sure its not "PAMS OF DALLAS".

Here's the link:

http://www.freeradiojingles.co.uk/

My Hometown Montgomery WAPX

If you have any of the My Hometown jingles please email me at ajlinds@yahoo.com.
Here is My Hometown- Montgomery WABS. Special thanks to Russell Wells for these.

My Hometown Birmingham WSGN

As you know I really enjoy jingles. On this blog we have posted several of the "My Hometown" series created by PAMS of Dallas. Thanks to Russell Wells, I will be able to post many more. He sent me a CD of several that I can share with you.

Here is Birmingham WFGN:

Must See Bozo Picture

You must see this picture of the KAAY Comandoes with Bozo:
http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/2006/03/kaay-commandoes.html

Gary Weir & Bozo The Clown

With the passing of Larry Harman (Bozo), it caused many of us to remember our old friend Gary Weir. Even though Gary never worked at KAAY, he was good friends with Jerry Sims and myself. We all worked together at KXLR.

As Jerry and I moved to KAAY, Gary got into television and eventually became the Little Rock Bozo the clown.

Here is an interesting bit I ran across on the web:

Another Bozo show watched from time to time by my kids was beamed out of KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas. Gary Weir played the red-haired, white-faced Bozo for our state. I was able to book my children on the show. Unfortunately, the day they were supposed to appear was a snowy, blizzard-like day where we lived in eastern Arkansas. Even the main roads were closed. I was unable to call to cancel the appearance, the phones being out of order because of the inclement weather. This was not the case in Little Rock, in central Arkansas, where the weather was cold but no snow. About a week later, I received a personal letter of an irate nature from Bozo stating that because my kids didn't show up when scheduled they would be blacklisted and would never be able to be on the Bozo show. I may be the only person who ever received a threatening letter from Bozo the Clown.

Postscript: My daughter did meet Bozo later on a school trip. We still have a large autographed picture of Bozo with his arms draped around her. She kept quiet about the letter.

Gary loved kids and I'm sure he was not aware of the weather situation.

I also found an interesting video clip from Channel 16. On this clip Gary does the voice over, and I will have to assume he also was Bozo:

Another 4th of July Hit

A KAAY Happy 4th of July

KAAY History

I write so much about KAAY, I am always happy to find a good short history.
The current KAAY website has a great short history:

http://www.1090kaay.com/Article.asp?id=603927

Waylon Holyfield

I have previously written about Waylon Holyfield. (use the upper left search box and search this blog for previous). I went to Little Rock University with Waylon and celebrate his success.

I also remember trying to find "Arkansas You Run Deep In Me" which he wrote.

I found a my space link that has a bio and a player with the song:

http://www.myspace.com/waylandholyfield

Comment of WLS & John Rook

Doug Krile has left a new comment on your post "WLS & John Rook":

What a great read! Thanks a million for the link! Between KAAY and WLS, I cut my listening-teeth during the 60's.

Doug is commenting on the post immediately below this one.

The section about the GM at WLS at the time, made me really appreciate even more the GMs at KAAY. You have seen the video of Lind Carl Voth the second GM.(and there will be at least one move part of the video soon) That will give you a good feel for the management style during the formative years of KAAY. Then as Pat Walsh became GM we were all treated to a completely different management style. Some of us may have not really understood his style and especially wives of men employees. Pat was one of a kind, and had a way of getting the best out of everyone.

I'm sure the atmosphere of WLS and many other large stations was charged with the sales vs programming vs management.

Pat was a master at getting programming people into sales. And we all know sales is where the money is.