On a related note, here are actual recordings from WLW on the day of John F. Kennedy's assassination.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J75BAx4W3Zo&list=PL0O5WNzrZq...
WLW: America's 500,000 watt radio station (2015)
61–70 of 81 posts
Re: WLW: America's 500,000 watt radio station (2015)
#62For point of reference, the max power allowed in the US is 50kW
I don’t believe this is correct; when I look up the details of transmitters, they’re often 100kW+, e.g., https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&facid=62331 for an arbitrary example in Montana
Different power levels for different frequencies/services. Your arbitrary example is an FM station broadcasting at 94.5 MHz. AM broadcast stations are limited to 50KW. The FCC regulates ERP based on a number of factors including minimizing interference with other frequencies and a frequency's propagation characteristics. For example, UHF TV full-power transmitters power limit is one megawatt.
Re: WLW: America's 500,000 watt radio station (2015)
#63The station’s once groundbreaking transmitter is long retired but preserved, on-site, beside its modern counterpart. I wonder if they ever offer tours. It would be neat to see some of this history the next time I'm passing through the Cincinnati area. On a related note, it looks like there's a "National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting" just down the street from the WLW site.
The VoA museum near the WLW Antenna does give tours on the weekend of the VoA transmitter (Voices of America) that was located near the WLW Transmitter -- sadly, it's only open on the weekends, but, it's still a really fun tour that talks about the shortwave transmission history of VoA.
During Hamfest (usually held in Xenia now that Hara Arena is gone), you can usually get a tour of the WLW transmitter site.
Re: WLW: America's 500,000 watt radio station (2015)
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
We'd need to blast a radio signal at about 100 million watts for it to hit the closest star with the same strength that Voyager is sending to us right now. Something like 4 light years away. If we consider how quickly signal strength decays, it's pretty easy to picture just how quiet we are. Our loudest tv stations are like 5% of that. We think we're blasting a firehose off into space but we're spitting from a straw.
Would be true for omnidirectional transmission. Much much less for a directed transmission.
You'd have to know where the aliens are for that to matter!
Re: WLW: America's 500,000 watt radio station (2015)
#65for national security it would be best to shut this puppy down because it is broadcasting our position to extraterresterial civilizations, not all of whom may be friendly.
> for national security
Don't you mean planetary security?
Re: WLW: America's 500,000 watt radio station (2015)
#66Re: WLW: America's 500,000 watt radio station (2015)
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
Military radars, su h as early missile warning systems, might achieve higher power signals, and their signals are much, much better focused.
that is a very good point. we should also shut down BMEWS and send a manned constellation up there to spot ICBMs visually. this is a good billet for the space force.
ICBM launch detection has been done since the 60s with satellites using infrared sensors to detect the heat emitted by the rocket engine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Support_Program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-Based_Infrared_System
Re: WLW: America's 500,000 watt radio station (2015)
#68Re: WLW: America's 500,000 watt radio station (2015)
#69I drive past this transmitter every day on my way to work, passing through Mason. Several times my son has asked what would happen if someone snapped on the support cables.
I grew up in western Ohio listening to WLW, and to this day, when I drive down I-75 and pass the Mason exit I say (to myself, or whoever is in the car w/ me) "Home of the transmitter" (as was the wont of 700 WLW personality Bill Cunningham to say any time Mason was mentioned on-air).
Re: WLW: America's 500,000 watt radio station (2015)
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would be true for omnidirectional transmission. Much much less for a directed transmission.
You'd have to know where the aliens are for that to matter!
Hitting a fixed target, from light-years away, with a signal stronger than cosmic background? Pretty sure a world-class team could get PhDs just for the attempt.