All the city-specific pages should now be up and running with full links to Wikipedia, Radio-Locator, the FCC and RECnet. I tried to add as many street views as I could, too. If you find a good view of a tower or studio in Google Street View you want linked on the site, here's how to send the exact shot you're looking at:
First, go into street view and select the shot you want to send.
Next, click the blue "Link" in the upper right hand of the map screen. Highlight and copy the URL under "e-mail or IM" and paste that into an e-mail. Easy peasy!
I'll keep working on the remaining AM stations that haven't been updated, mostly ones between 900 and 1700 kHz. They should be finished sometime before the year 2030. ;)
Friday, September 3, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
More changes afoot on the website
Lots of work being done on the site data as I try to fix old errors and get new data placed. You may have noticed that all the TV stations now have a "info and history" page. All FM stations should now have "info and history" pages now, too, except for new station construction permits. Work in ongoing in getting the AM stations' data pages updated with the new links and info.
All these new data pages have new features. Each one will provide a link to the FCC record and links to Wikipedia and Radio-Locator. FM stations also link to RECnet, which has a lot of useful technical data. Each page for FM and TV will link to the protected contour maps that the FCC still have online, and FM, AM and TV have links to polar plots of directional antennas, (in PDF format for AM stations), on the FCC site.
The big change comes with maps. The government Tiger mapping service shut down, stranding not just this site but the FCC as well. This happened right around the time stations were getting new map links, so it threw the site into even more half-assed territory than usual. Well, that's being sorted out. All the links are going to be to Google Maps overviews. Many stations will feature a link to a street view of the tower site if one is available.
Street view isn't available everywhere, and many promising shots are ruined by sunlight, so it's a slow process to find the best angles, etc.
If you happen across a good street view shot of a tower site and want to see it added to the page, just send me the link and I'll take a gander at it.
Finally, since all the data is being off-loaded onto individual station pages, I've taken this opportunity to clean up the state TV and FM lists, removing direct links to antenna patterns. This has shaved off a considerable amount of size and should speed up page loading for the few of you still on dial-up. My goal has always been a plain and easy to use site, without any fancy bells and whistles (because that would mean buying and learning new HTML/CSS software, which I don't want to do!) Plus, there's something reassuring about having a website whose layout is a throwback to the early days of the internet. It hasn't evolved too much since its debut in 1998 and that's okay by me.
Anyway, I hope everyone likes all the new links. If you find any of them to be broken, or find any station website links that are dead, as always, drop me an e-mail and I'll take care of them.
All these new data pages have new features. Each one will provide a link to the FCC record and links to Wikipedia and Radio-Locator. FM stations also link to RECnet, which has a lot of useful technical data. Each page for FM and TV will link to the protected contour maps that the FCC still have online, and FM, AM and TV have links to polar plots of directional antennas, (in PDF format for AM stations), on the FCC site.
The big change comes with maps. The government Tiger mapping service shut down, stranding not just this site but the FCC as well. This happened right around the time stations were getting new map links, so it threw the site into even more half-assed territory than usual. Well, that's being sorted out. All the links are going to be to Google Maps overviews. Many stations will feature a link to a street view of the tower site if one is available.
Street view isn't available everywhere, and many promising shots are ruined by sunlight, so it's a slow process to find the best angles, etc.
If you happen across a good street view shot of a tower site and want to see it added to the page, just send me the link and I'll take a gander at it.
Finally, since all the data is being off-loaded onto individual station pages, I've taken this opportunity to clean up the state TV and FM lists, removing direct links to antenna patterns. This has shaved off a considerable amount of size and should speed up page loading for the few of you still on dial-up. My goal has always been a plain and easy to use site, without any fancy bells and whistles (because that would mean buying and learning new HTML/CSS software, which I don't want to do!) Plus, there's something reassuring about having a website whose layout is a throwback to the early days of the internet. It hasn't evolved too much since its debut in 1998 and that's okay by me.
Anyway, I hope everyone likes all the new links. If you find any of them to be broken, or find any station website links that are dead, as always, drop me an e-mail and I'll take care of them.
WWFA St. Florian reported on
Reports are that Flinn-owned WWFA is on for testing or stunting in the Shoals. This is the first new commercial band sign on in several years and the first new Tennessee Valley sign on since WZZN moved up from Oneonta.
WWFA is currently playing classic rock and album rock music. We'll keep an ear out to see if this is their permanent format or if they pick something new.
WWFA is currently playing classic rock and album rock music. We'll keep an ear out to see if this is their permanent format or if they pick something new.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Website down for maintenance
Just a word to anyone who may happen on dead links on the website. For the next 15-30 minutes it will be up and down as I upload some minor updates to the site.
Everything should return to normal shortly.
If you find any dead links, please drop me a line and let me know. With 500 stations, it's possible a link got missed during testing. Thanks!
Everything should return to normal shortly.
If you find any dead links, please drop me a line and let me know. With 500 stations, it's possible a link got missed during testing. Thanks!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Site search and counter now online
A minor update: For fun, I've added a few minor features to the site. One's a basic counter, located at the bottom of the index page. The other is a site search which seems to work fairly well. It's embedded in the news page, which is shown on the index page inside a frame.
If you have any problems with the site search, drop me a line through the contact button on the main page.
If you have any problems with the site search, drop me a line through the contact button on the main page.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The Gump gets “The Gump”
The people at Tiger Communications probably thought they'd have the Montgomery new rock market to themselves after an orchestrated flip of their two east Alabama properties a few weeks back. They were wrong.
After flipping 95.9 The Tiger and 93.9 The Eagle, it seems the folks over at WACV decided to jump into the fray. As announced on the great Montgomery Radio and TV site (linked on the right side of this blog), they are flipped Friday to new rock as "The Gump".
This will put modern rock on no less than four signals across the area, with Tiger on 93.9 and a deleted-but-operating translator at 107.1 and The Gump on 1170 and 104.9.
Let's not kid ourselves, though, the real battle will be between the two translators. And since they have nearly equal (and limited) coverage, I don't expect either one to make major waves.
By and by, this marks the second time 104.9 has been alt rock and probably who knows how many times now that Montgomery has lost an oldies station.
After flipping 95.9 The Tiger and 93.9 The Eagle, it seems the folks over at WACV decided to jump into the fray. As announced on the great Montgomery Radio and TV site (linked on the right side of this blog), they are flipped Friday to new rock as "The Gump".
This will put modern rock on no less than four signals across the area, with Tiger on 93.9 and a deleted-but-operating translator at 107.1 and The Gump on 1170 and 104.9.
Let's not kid ourselves, though, the real battle will be between the two translators. And since they have nearly equal (and limited) coverage, I don't expect either one to make major waves.
By and by, this marks the second time 104.9 has been alt rock and probably who knows how many times now that Montgomery has lost an oldies station.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Several silent AMs, TV updates and a FM switcharoo
Reports are that several Alabama AMs have gone silent recently. WKZD "Crazy about the oldies" in Priceville is reported off, but still streaming online. No word on whether the FM translator is still going.
In Birmingham, WAYE is off, probably due to continued financial woes. They've been reported off for nearly two weeks. WENN-AM is also reported off, but the translator and online stream are still going strong.
No STAs or other correspondence has been filed for any of these stations that I'm aware of.
In TV news, Fort Walton Beach's WFGX (My Network TV) has finally moved from its FWB transmitter site to one of the tall towers in Baldwin County. This extends their broadcast range to both Mobile and Pensacola now, giving the area its first viable OTA or cable carriage of the once-network. No word on if any programming is available in HD. Also, a report of a weak analog signal present on the same channel in Mobile has people wondering if LPTV Christian outlet W50CF failed to vacate the channel for WFGX. It would explain the reception problems people in Mobile were experiencing when WFGX first signed on.
On FM, WTGZ (Tiger 95.9) and WQSI (classic country) have announced a switcharoo, bringing the Tiger's alt rock to a bigger signal that should penetrate the Montgomery market better. Or, at least it will once some more translators are in place.
Finally, slightly out of market but still worth mentioning, WDIZ Panama City has dropped their several years old nostalgia format for ESPN Radio. WDIZ's signal can be caught along the coast in the Mobile-Pensacola area.
In Birmingham, WAYE is off, probably due to continued financial woes. They've been reported off for nearly two weeks. WENN-AM is also reported off, but the translator and online stream are still going strong.
No STAs or other correspondence has been filed for any of these stations that I'm aware of.
In TV news, Fort Walton Beach's WFGX (My Network TV) has finally moved from its FWB transmitter site to one of the tall towers in Baldwin County. This extends their broadcast range to both Mobile and Pensacola now, giving the area its first viable OTA or cable carriage of the once-network. No word on if any programming is available in HD. Also, a report of a weak analog signal present on the same channel in Mobile has people wondering if LPTV Christian outlet W50CF failed to vacate the channel for WFGX. It would explain the reception problems people in Mobile were experiencing when WFGX first signed on.
On FM, WTGZ (Tiger 95.9) and WQSI (classic country) have announced a switcharoo, bringing the Tiger's alt rock to a bigger signal that should penetrate the Montgomery market better. Or, at least it will once some more translators are in place.
Finally, slightly out of market but still worth mentioning, WDIZ Panama City has dropped their several years old nostalgia format for ESPN Radio. WDIZ's signal can be caught along the coast in the Mobile-Pensacola area.
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