[BC] Another one bites the dust in Washington, DC

[gRAdy Moates]

> After 62 years at 1500 AM, the call letters WTOP have left 
> Washington and moved to Frederick, Maryland at 820 AM 
> at midnight tonight.  

    This is REALLY interesting to me, since I built the first 
820/Frederick phasing/branching system when WZYQ-AM 
changed frequencies from 1390 (14ZYQ!) to 820 back in 
the mid-to-late '80's.  

    Then I REbuilt some of it, after the roof on one of the ATU 
buildings caught fire.  (hot rebar in a corner of the block wall 
near the tower ignited the wooden roof structure) 

    After a few years, they followed my suggestion to increase 
the height of the towers and turn down the transmitter to save 
electricity.  This suggestion had fallen on deaf ears when I first 
built it. . . they said that it was imPERative that the letterhead 
read "5.000 Watts" so that they could compete better with the 
other AM guys in town, who had been 5 kW for years.  I was 
no longer involved by that time.  (the REAL) Howard Johnson 
was gone, and so was I.

Grady Moates 
 
Owner, LOUD & Clean Broadcast Science 
  Voice        800 946-7007 
  Facsimile  800 529-5648 
  web          <www.loudandclean.com> 
  email         grady.moates at loudandclean.com