Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

Hello all,

I am new to the group but have a specific reason for joining. The
primary reason I joined, like many of you I am sure, is to get
information about short wave radio. My situation: I have the
appropriate parcel of land (110) acres that is free from any legal
impediments to building a short wave radio tower. The land is located
in West Central Alabama, in rural Fayette County.I also have the
necessary funding to build a short wave radio tower and transmitter.
The site has been evaluated as a perfect location that is virtually
free from any potential liability and from the perspective of reaching
millions of people in Mexico and Central America.

Questions for the group:

1. What are the potential financial rewards for owning and operating a
short wave radio transmitter/tower?

2. How does an owner go about establishing a revenue stream from
potential purchasers of air time.

3. Who would the primary customer base be?

Comments or suggestions?

Thank you,

DrJoe (newbie)

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

Well, I don't know the answers to all your questions, but the most
obvious question for you is: Do you have a license from the FCC yet?
Before you actually get a legal license to start broadcasting, all your
other questions are pretty much moot.

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

Hi Invader3K,

No, I do not have a license. I am really not at that point in my quest
yet. All I am really looking for at this point is whether or not it is
a viable economic opportunity. If so, where would the income stream
come from, and how to go about obtaining customers who want to lease
air time.

:)

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

Hey Bert,

I appreciate your responses. Is there a specific group or entity (other
than FCC) to talk to other tower owners?

Thanks,

Joe

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

Another private short-wave station is WBCQ. You might find it useful
to listen to them ( 7.415, 5.110, 9.330, and 18.910). It seems to be a
labour of love combined with the perils of Pauline. The minimum power
requirement of 50,000 watts seems to be a heavy financial load and
money problems seem to be right up front. They have been in business
for 8 years . www.wbcq.com

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

"Brian O" wrote:


"DrJoe" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello all,

I am new to the group but have a specific reason for joining. The
primary reason I joined, like many of you I am sure, is to get
information about short wave radio. My situation: I have the
appropriate parcel of land (110) acres that is free from any legal
impediments to building a short wave radio tower. The land is located
in West Central Alabama, in rural Fayette County.I also have the
necessary funding to build a short wave radio tower and transmitter.
The site has been evaluated as a perfect location that is virtually
free from any potential liability and from the perspective of reaching
millions of people in Mexico and Central America.

Questions for the group:

1. What are the potential financial rewards for owning and operating a
short wave radio transmitter/tower?

2. How does an owner go about establishing a revenue stream from
potential purchasers of air time.

3. Who would the primary customer base be?

Comments or suggestions?

Thank you,

DrJoe (newbie)
Hi DrJoe,
Well, you have a lot of questions. This indicates that you probably don't
have much experience in the sw broadcast business. If you want answers, I
would think the best thing to do would be to try to talk to some managers at
various sw broadcast stations around the country. Most are government run
or managed by a certain church denomination. There aren't many strictly
commercial sw stations in the USA that I know of.. Some you might talk to
are WWCR, WHRI, VOA, etc. Send them an email and try to get a feel for the
business. If you're just looking for a revenue generator, you can get a
tower company to set up a tower and lease out space to cellular, two-way,
teleco microwave, local broadcaster microwave, etc. They usually pay
anywhere from $500 to several thousand per month to lease space on the
tower. Check with some of your local cellular providers. They may even
erect the tower and pad at no charge to you, just to be able to lease land
space from you.
B


There's also the issue of your target audience. By law, shortwave
broadcasters in the U.S. cannot target the U.S. as an audience. Of
course the private ones do so, but that's because they follow the
letter, if not the spirit of the law.

I think some more fundamental questions need to be asked: What is
your goal? Hobby/fulfillment of a dream? Making money? Spreading a
certain message to a certain area/demographic?

After you answer that question, the next question is, what is the best
way to fulfill that goal? (Note that I didn't say, "How can a
shortwave transmitting site help me reach that goal.")

Unless the shortwave transmitter is an end unto itself, you may find
yourself in way over your head. I can't imagine trying it.

(If I were trying to reach an american audience via shortwave, I'd set
up in a foreign country that allowed private ownership of a shortwave
transmitter.)

Good luck, whatever you do -- and if you do pursue this, keep us
posted. It will be an interesting story, and I know I'd like to hear
about it!



--
Eric F. Richards

"Nature abhors a vacuum tube." -- Myron Glass,
often attributed to J. R. Pierce, Bell Labs, c. 1940

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

"Invader3K" wrote in message
oups.com...
Going back to the original post, you said you want to target Mexico and
Central America. What kind of programming would you plan on providing?
Spanish language talk? Music? News coverage?

Keep in mind, also, that the average Latin American city has far more radio
stations than the Average US city. So many, that it is really absurd to
think many people would find anything on SW, from the US, that would be
better than the multitude of clean, local signals.

Argentina, with about 37 million population, has 8,300 radio stations. The
US, with nearly 300 million, has 13,500.

Why would anyone thing that there is anything that listeners in Latin
America would want to hear that a broadcaster who has to ask questions on
this board could provide.

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

Thanks to everyone who made a good faith effort to answer my questions.
It is true, I do not have much experience with tower/radio...I am a
clinical psychologist, not an expert in radio. I just had a person
interested in buying my land for the very purpose I state and wanted to
knw more about his reasons for wanting it.

Thank you!

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

"David Eduardo" wrote in message
. net...
Keep in mind, also, that the average Latin American city has far more
radio stations than the Average US city. So many, that it is really absurd
to think many people would find anything on SW, from the US, that would be
better than the multitude of clean, local signals.

Argentina, with about 37 million population, has 8,300 radio stations. The
US, with nearly 300 million, has 13,500.

Why would anyone thing that there is anything that listeners in Latin
America would want to hear that a broadcaster who has to ask questions on
this board could provide.

Perhaps for the same reason that you, with your presumed superior intellect,
feel the need to post here.

-Brian

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

As a clinical phycologist,you could examine politicians from afar like
Dr.Justin Frank examined bush and you could give your opinions about
those crazy insane politicians.(they are all crazy and insane,ya know)

Hmmm,,, I own a half acre of land in Putnam County,Florida.(Northeast
Florida) It is sort of out in the sticks,so to speak.I wonder if I could
get a cell phone company or two or three or whatever in that that area
to put up a tower (all at their own expense,of course) and pay me a
bunch of bucks each month?
cuhulin

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

Frank Dresser wrote:
The site has been evaluated as a perfect location that is virtually
free from any potential liability and from the perspective of reaching
millions of people in Mexico and Central America.

WRNO in New Orleans tried something like that. I don't think it ever made
money. There's a bunch of domestic SW transmitters now, and nearly all the
programming consists of fringe evangalists, conspiracy theorists and
wierdos. It's my suspicion that these guys are far more entertaining for
the listener rather than for the broadcaster.

Preachers, preachers, preachers.

To the best of my knowledge, WWCR is profitable. I don't think you're
going to find shortwave broadcasting to be a route to riches though.
WWCR's owners had years of experience with similar programming on
regular AM stations before they tried shortwave.

--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

I was driving near Harrisburg Pa and spotted WMLKs set-up.
http://wmlkradio.net/Images/fieldshot.jpg
It doesn't look that complicated.

What you would want to do is find some religious whack-jobs to lease
your land and have them build the transmitter by passing the hat. Put
in the lease some clause that if they don't pay the rent you get to
repossess the transmitter. Then you could rent it out to the enemies of
the New World Order or some other religious whack job(s).

If you look at it like a land bank, it may not be that stupid of a
deal. This presumes you have no better use for the land (storage units,
graveyard, etc.).

Frank Dresser wrote:
"DrJoe" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello all,

I am new to the group but have a specific reason for joining. The
primary reason I joined, like many of you I am sure, is to get
information about short wave radio. My situation: I have the
appropriate parcel of land (110) acres that is free from any legal
impediments to building a short wave radio tower.

You'll need more than a single tower. If I'm not mistaken, the FCC requires
SW broadcasters to have some sort of directional array. I suppose a Yagi or
quad could be operated from a single tower, but those normally are good for
only a single band and they are cumbersome at the most used SW frequencies.


The land is located
in West Central Alabama, in rural Fayette County.I also have the
necessary funding to build a short wave radio tower and transmitter.
The site has been evaluated as a perfect location that is virtually
free from any potential liability and from the perspective of reaching
millions of people in Mexico and Central America.

WRNO in New Orleans tried something like that. I don't think it ever made
money. There's a bunch of domestic SW transmitters now, and nearly all the
programming consists of fringe evangalists, conspiracy theorists and
wierdos. It's my suspicion that these guys are far more entertaining for
the listener rather than for the broadcaster.


Questions for the group:

1. What are the potential financial rewards for owning and operating a
short wave radio transmitter/tower?

A couple of years ago, Dave Frantz was soliciting people to buy time on WWRB
for $25.00 a half hour. Considering all the expenses, it sounds like a good
way to turn billionaires into millionaires!


2. How does an owner go about establishing a revenue stream from
potential purchasers of air time.

Get paid in advance. Brother Stair has claimed he pays as little as seven
or eight dollars an hour for SW airtime.


3. Who would the primary customer base be?

Give the dial a spin and listen to who is currently buying time on the other
US SW outlets. I suspect your first contacts will be guys who've been
kicked off WWCR, WWRB, WRMI and the others for not paying their bills.


Comments or suggestions?

Thank you,

DrJoe (newbie)


Frank Dresser

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

"Invader3K" wrote:

Going back to the original post, you said you want to target Mexico and
Central America. What kind of programming would you plan on providing?
Spanish language talk? Music? News coverage?

Oops, my bad -- I managed to miss that in the original post. Sorry
about that.

--
Eric F. Richards

"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most
experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in;
we're computer professionals. We cause accidents."
- Nathaniel S. Borenstein

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

"DrJoe" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks to everyone who made a good faith effort to answer my questions.
It is true, I do not have much experience with tower/radio...I am a
clinical psychologist, not an expert in radio. I just had a person
interested in buying my land for the very purpose I state and wanted to
knw more about his reasons for wanting it.

Thank you!


So, were you actually thinking of getting into SW broadcasting?

Frank Dresser

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

"Doug Smith W9WI" wrote in message
...

Preachers, preachers, preachers.

To the best of my knowledge, WWCR is profitable. I don't think you're
going to find shortwave broadcasting to be a route to riches though.
WWCR's owners had years of experience with similar programming on
regular AM stations before they tried shortwave.


The plan the original poster presented, broadcasting into Latin America from
a Gulf State, was pretty much what WRNO tried. But, it's my impression that
big time advertisers weren't interested because they didn't know how many
people were actually listening. WRNO's rhombic antenna also put a HUGE
signal up through the Northern US Midwest and the center of Canada. They
couldn't get their commercial radio model to work, so they ended taking just
about any programming which came along. I think it was WRNO which was
embarassed into cancelling a Nazi leaning racist program which was broadcast
in German.

Frank Dresser

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

"David Eduardo" wrote in message
. net...

"Invader3K" wrote in message
oups.com...
Going back to the original post, you said you want to target Mexico and
Central America. What kind of programming would you plan on providing?
Spanish language talk? Music? News coverage?

Keep in mind, also, that the average Latin American city has far more
radio
stations than the Average US city. So many, that it is really absurd to
think many people would find anything on SW, from the US, that would be
better than the multitude of clean, local signals.


Here, I can only dream of never missing my favorite end-timers and
conspiranoiacs due to some solar spasm or HAARP or whatever.

Frank Dresser

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

"Frank Dresser" wrote:



Here, I can only dream of never missing my favorite end-timers and
conspiranoiacs due to some solar spasm or HAARP or whatever.

Frank Dresser



Jesus, Frank, how can you stand listening to that crap? I had you
killfiled for the longest time, because I couldn't even stand to even
*read* about that ****.

You aren't Al Patrick -- you have a functioning brain -- surely you
can do something more useful than THAT with it???


--
Eric F. Richards

"This book reads like a headache on paper."
http://www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/readi...one/index.html

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

"Eric F. Richards" wrote in message
...


Jesus, Frank, how can you stand listening to that crap? I had you
killfiled for the longest time, because I couldn't even stand to even
*read* about that ****.

I far prefer an imaginative explantion to a dry recitation of the presumed
facts. The Hidden Knowledge SW broadcasters can be very imaginative fitting
facts into their fixed world views.

Also, the end-timers and conspiranoics are making the best possible use of
SW radio. Of all the electronic media, radio demands, and rewards, the most
from our imaginations. Even more so with SW radio, as we mentally error
correct for missing syllables and words.

Or, as Alex Jones would say, "People, fill in the gaps!"



You aren't Al Patrick -- you have a functioning brain -- surely you
can do something more useful than THAT with it???



Sometimes I think it would be fun to do H. L. Mencken style rips into the
Spokesmen of God and the Quack Medics and rest of the Boobosity. But I do
admire them for their cleverness, if not their conclusions. And, on the
larger scale, whatever damage the Hidden Knowledge crowd may do is done by
persuation rather than by compulsion.

Frank Dresser

Tower/Transmitter ownership
 

"Frank Dresser" wrote:



Sometimes I think it would be fun to do H. L. Mencken style rips into the
Spokesmen of God and the Quack Medics and rest of the Boobosity. But I do
admire them for their cleverness, if not their conclusions. And, on the
larger scale, whatever damage the Hidden Knowledge crowd may do is done by
persuation rather than by compulsion.

Frank Dresser



Well, to each his own... but I think I'd rather have my eyes gouged
out with an icepick while listening to one of Eduardo's speeches on
marketing pap than listen to the nutballs.

--
Eric F. Richards

"This book reads like a headache on paper."
http://www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/readi...one/index.html