TOCOBAGA DX #72 21 May, 2004 CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, USA E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For otherwise unlisted low power FM, pirates and TIS stations within Florida, visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at: http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html © 2004, Terry L Krueger. Retransmit or quote all or any portion only with full credit given to TOCOBAGA DX and all attributed sources. All frequencies are in KHz unless otherwise stated. Times in GMT/UTC unless otherwise stated. INTERSTATE LOVE SONG... The below radio report is mostly a result of a brief hiking trip to north Georgia and the fringes of Tennessee and North Carolina. But first, a devoted attempt to bore you with a quick blurb on where I visited: My first stop was the Etowah Indian Mounds, northwest of Atlanta. This is a great place to walk, reflect and (as I did) eat a packed lunch atop the biggest of the mounds, 63-feet high. The Ocmulgee mounds and grounds (just east of downtown Macon) are much larger, but the three mounds here are still quite impressive. Unfortunately, the interpretive museum is closed for remodeling and, save for grounds maintenance crew, no park staff was present. A quick trip to the Chickamauga National Military Park [War Between the States battlefield] was odd: the seven-mile interpretive drive passes monuments erected to apparently every group that served from both sides. The museum has a phenomenal collection of (seemingly at least a thousand?) authentic circa-1860's muskets and carbines enclosed in glass cases. These are truly amazing to see. The nearby Ft. Mountain State Park (Georgia) was the most impressive, with the 8.2-mile Gahuti Trail and a couple of the shorter ones an absolute must for hiking. Near the top of the mountain are the stone walls built by pre-Columbian Indians, presumably as a defensive line. Amicalola Falls State Park (Georgia) was the only mission abort: a huge updraft lightning storm hit just as I arrived. I opted for lunch at the lodge's restaurant (a decent brunch buffet) followed by a quick view of the waterfalls (in the rain), then my departure. I also visited Black Rock Mountain State Park in extreme northeast Georgia -- the only park I was not impressed with, then on to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the afternoon, a night and full following day. Also, brunch and people-watching at the Shoney's in Gatlinburg. My last park stop was at Tallulah Gorge State Park (Georgia), where I once again tackled the 1,200 metal steps down into the gorge (and back up -- that's the brutal part). On my last day in Georgia, I dropped in on old [WORJ-FM, Orlando] friend and CANAVDX alumni Mike Cooper at Stone Mountain. Good to see him again, as well as his 21-month-old little girl! As always, a stop at the Plantation House (Arabi, Georgia) on I-75 is a "must" for fresh roasted peanuts, peanut butter, peanut brittle, pecan brittle (ouch, this is good) and a fill-up. 530 GEORGIA (TIS) unidentified, (northeast of) Atlanta; while driving south on I-985/I-285 on May 18 around 8:45 a.m., I noted a fair-to-weak signal with a nonstop relay of the local NOAA Weather Radio. The signal somewhat peaked around Exit 107 (Sugar Hill), though still popping up occasionally until lost near the Stone Mountain Freeway exit. Could this be the City of Alpharetta's listed TIS? And there was something else on 530, with a subaudible het, but never any worthy audio. (Krueger-FL) 730 GEORGIA (TIS) WSTT, Thomasville; May 15, 10:00 a.m. Nasty audio -- overmodulated with the weirdest self-imposed pseudo powerline noise-type hash. Under all this was a snake oil program on how I should order pills that will cure all ocular deterioration problems, including glaucoma. This station should be located just south of El Paso, TX and with 50-100 kW. Listed owner is a Marion L Williams. (Krueger-FL) 830 GEORGIA (TIS) William B Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport; huge and seriously overdriven signal noted in passing with short parking loop by female, May 15, 12:30 p.m. on I-75 south of the airport. Once again, where's the FCC (who like to bust FM pirates, but ignore things such as this). (Krueger-FL) 1610 GEORGIA (TIS) unidentified, Chatsworth/Ellijay area; threshold male loop (uncopiable text) atop Ft. Mountain State Park's peak on May 16 at 11:30 a.m. The signal briefly peaked (still poor) on State Route 52, about 4-5 miles east of the park. (Krueger-FL) 1610 NORTH CAROLINA (TIS) Oconaluftee Visitor Center, Great Smoky Mountains National Park; May 17, 2:30 p.m. Still active with male loop, getting out a couple or so miles. (Krueger-FL) 1610 TENNESSEE (TIS) Sugarlands Visitor Center, Great Smoky Mountains National Park; May 18, 9:00 a.m. Nothing but an open carrier, getting out less than a mile for those who want to hear nothing. (Krueger-FL) 1620 FLORIDA (UNLICENSED) unidentified, Tampa; a provisionally new one (it is morphed from a previously-active AM unlicensed station). Noted this for the first time May 19th at 6:15 p.m. on southbound I-275, just south of the Bearss Avenue exit. Signal grew to an excellent level westbound and just east of the Dale Mabry exits. Nonstop (presume satellite-fed programming) Latin American tropical/ballads format. Audio quality (very clean) immediately recalled the old 1640 kHz "La Pimerisima 16-40 AM" transmitter, which I located at the Arena Plaza at 3434 W. Columbus Drive, near Raymond James Stadium. This one went silent nearly two years ago. The antenna was still there when I checked only three or four months ago. But now, the stick is gone and the web design/hosting company it operated from on the 2nd floor is no longer here. The signal was traced today to a location near the North Boulevard and Martin Luther King, Jr. intersection, which is roughly a couple of miles east of the former location. I suspect this is operated by the same proprietor who ran it on from the business on 1640 (where the format was exclusively nonstop Puerto Rican salsa-type music). The signal covers much of Tampa-proper, making it half way across both the Howard Frankland and Courtney Campbell Causeway bridges into Pinellas County. (Krueger-FL) 1640 FLORIDA Florida Dept. of Transportation/Turnpike, Okahumpka; heard at fair level on the I-75 Lake Panosafkee bridge the morning of May 15, and again on the return. Peaking to excellent level at Exit 321 (Sumterville), with male looped references to State Road 50, guard rail replacement, the Florida Turnpike's Ocoee exit, etc. (Krueger-FL) 89.1 MHz FLORIDA (UNLICENSED) unidentified (ex-"Flavor FM"), Lauderhill; May 20: this space is still being taken up by a station. Very strong and stereo, although I can't be certain that this is the same station that I heard almost a year ago. They are off the air during the day (maybe due to the new law that went in effect in Florida) but appear after 5 p.m. from my observations. They are still doing rap with live dj's and seem to really play a lot of sped-up hip hop songs with live phone calls. (via "Richard Nervous"-FL) 89.3 MHz FLORIDA (UNLICENSED) Land o' Lakes; this station has been listed on my FLPRS for awhile, but we learn that it remains active, as reported to me on May 16th. (a source who wishes to remain anonymous-FL) 92.1 MHz GEORGIA WDQQ "Wild Adventures Radio", Adel; May 19, 3:15 p.m. Nonstop randomly cycling loops on the tourist park, one singing ID drop heard. Bet I know what Valdosta market station never appears in the books. Owned by Adventure Radio Group, LLC. Lots of billboards promoting the park and 92.1 along the Interstate. The owner of this and the park also recently purchased Cypress Gardens (Winter Haven, Florida) and plans on re-opening it this summer. (Krueger-FL) 92.7 MHz FLORIDA (UNLICENSED) unidentified, Tampa; the Kreyol station noted early Saturday morning May 15th, 6:40 a.m., with usual kompa vocals, stereo. Peaked south of Busch Boulevard on I-275. (Krueger-FL) 96.7 MHz FLORIDA WZHP-LP, Dade City; May 15, 7:10 a.m. Actually, my very first LPFM log. "96.7 The Switch" slogans, voice-tracked Christian rock format with the same male voiced short spots for local businesses between. (Krueger-FL) 96.7 MHz GEORGIA WYZK, Valdosta; May 15, 7:15 a.m. Mentioned here only because this overtook WZHP-FM just north of Dade City. Classic Rock format, clear WYZK ID. Of course, confirmed the same station when passing through the Valdosta area on I-75 a couple of hours' later. (Krueger-FL) 101.1 MHz FLORIDA (UNLICENSED) "Radio Nouvelle Vision", Pompano Beach; May 20: still on the air and they do live phone- in shows in the afternoons and play the same music style. Very weak signal from south Ft Lauderdale into the Hollywood area on I-95. I'm not sure where this one is originating from, but it cannot be heard in the Cypress Creek area of Ft Lauderdale. (via "Richard Nervous"-FL) 102.1 MHz FLORIDA (UNLICENSED) "WHGE" Hunter's Green Elementary School, New Tampa; a feature in the May 21, 2004 edition of the Tampa Tribune by Michele Sager: "Parents waiting to drop off their children in the morning at Hunter's Green Elementary can listen to a new station on their radios. The school's radio station, WHGE, 102.1-FM, began broadcasting last week. The station simulcasts the student-produced television show from 8 to 8:15 a.m. Listeners get a daily dose of patriotic songs, weather, sports reports and school news. Eventually the station will add a looping track of expanded information that will run throughout the school day. The low-watt station can be heard within a 1-mile radius of the school." (Note: Part 15-compliant, not a pirate -- Krueger). ### ---[Start Commercial]--------------------- World Radio TV Handbook 2004 is out! Only $20.97 through us. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0823059685/hardcoredxcom ---[End Commercial]----------------------- ________________________________________ Hard-Core-DX mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://dallas.hard-core-dx.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx http://www.hard-core-dx.com/ _______________________________________________ THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS FREE. 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