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Re: [IRCA] [NRC-AM] WBEY 1370 Calera, AL "Fallen Flags"
Speaking of Les and Paul...
Two mighty fine DXers
And a darn good guitar
As was Lucille
RIP BB
Saul
Date: Fri, 15 May 2015 15:28:35 -0400
From: bobgale@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: walkerbroadcasting@xxxxxxxxx
CC: abdx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; am@xxxxxxxxxxx; irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [NRC-AM] WBEY 1370 Calera, AL "Fallen Flags"
Thank you, Les and Paul, for the pix!
Bob Galerstein WB2VGD
Monroe, NY
On 5/15/2015 12:17 AM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote:
And here we go, here are Les' pics of DWBYE 1370
Calera, Alabama.
The sign out front of the station near the road
http://www.onairdj.com/wbyesign.jpg
The front of the WBYE building, close up
http://www.onairdj.com/wbyefront.jpg
The front of the WBYE building a little further back, from
a different angle
http://www.onairdj.com/wbyefront1.jpg
Enjoy.. or, well not... seeing as what these pictures
show... a dead, gone and never coming back radio station.
Paul
On Thu, May 14, 2015 at 9:33 AM, Paul
B. Walker, Jr. <walkerbroadcasting@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Les,
If you took pictures and want to
email them to me, I will be glad to post them in a way
that all members can access them, since i'm not sure
this list can accept attachments and i'm not sure
members would liek a ton of photos flooding their inbox.
Paul
On Thu, May 14, 2015 at
9:31 AM, ROBERT GALERSTEIN <bobgale@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Les,
Is it possible to post some of these photos, or
submit them to the NRC website?
Bob Galerstein WB2VGD
Monroe, NY
On Thu, May 14, 2015 at 10:02 AM, Les Rayburn
wrote:
>
Out driving yesterday, when my wife and I
passed a run-down sign that was so
sun-bleached as to almost be unreadable. But
a quick glance at the business associated
with the sign made me realize that I was
looking at W-B-E-Y, 1370 AM.
I turned around and went back for a closer
look. A quick turn of the dial told me that
the station was off the air...and I couldn't
recall if it was in my log book at home. I
took a few pictures using my cell phone
camera, as we had a look around.
In back of the building was a large
fiberglass C-Band satellite dish, that I
imagined had once received programming from
some other source. But no evidence of an STL
link. Instead, I found a tall telephone pole
with what looked like the remains of a 40
meter dipole mounted near the top. 50 ohm
coax ran from inside the building to the top
of the pole. Could someone had loaded up
this for use as the stations antenna?
The large faded letters on the front of the
building were almost like the voice of a
ghost. It was sad, and nostalgic---all at
the same time.
Railroad fans use the term "fallen flags" to
refer to railroads that no longer exist.
Think of companies like Conrail, or
Southern. Their boxcars can still be seen on
trains today, echoes from railroads past. I
couldn't help but thinking of the term
"Fallen Flag" when it came to this station.
Had it once been a hometown hero, reporting
on local happenings, lost dogs, and
obituaries. Or was it one of the many
gospel/religious stations that seem to dot
the southern landscape more than any other?
A quick check of Wikipedia revealed a little
more, but not much. It looks like the
station went off the air in 2002---but it's
absent from my logbook. How could I have
missed a 1,000 watt daytime only station,
less than 15 miles from my home? Hmmm....
I wonder if anyone out there logged this
station? And I can't help but wonder how
many more stations like this we'll lose in
the years ahead.
--
73,
Les Rayburn, N1LF
Maylene, AL
EM63
Member NRC, IRCA, & Medium Wave DX
Circle
Former CPC Chairman for NRC/IRCA
Elad FDM-S2 SDR, SDR-IQ,Funcube Pro,
Wellbrooke ALA-1530+ loop, Clifton Lab
Active Whip,
Quantum Phaser, Kiwa Loop, Palstar MW
Pre-Selector
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