On a recent occasion here in Wavescan, we presented an episode about the illustrious shortwave station WYFR up to the time when all 14 shortwave transmitters were installed in their new facility at Okeechobee in Florida. This bevy of transmitters included one new unit that had been in storage for some time at the Continental factory in Dallas Texas; 5 that were transferred from the WRUL-WNYW-WYFR shortwave station at Hatherly Beach, Scituate in Massachusetts; and 8 that were constructed by the station staff at Okeechobee.
In the onward flow of information
about this huge shortwave station, we pick up the story again in the year 1988
at the time when the full complement of transmitters at Okeechobee was on the
air in active service.
As the transferred and new
transmitters were installed progressively at Okeechobee, they were initially
designated with the numbers from 1 - 14 in the order in which they were installed. However, as time went by, the designation of
each unit was modified and each transmitter was then identified in the
progressive order of the actual location within the transmitter building.
At this stage (1988), shortwave WYFR
contained the following compliment of transmitters:-
2 Continental 418D 100
kW New, though one was previously
on air at Scituate
1 Continental 417B 50 Previously on air at Scituate
2 Harris Gates HF100
100 Previously on air
at Scituate
1 Gates
HF50C 50 Previously on air at Scituate
8 WYFR 100 All
new, design based on Continental 418D
All 14 shortwave transmitters at
WYFR were on the air in daily usage with programming in some 20 languages
beamed at varying times throughout the day to all continents. And, beginning each day at 2200 UTC in 1988 for example, all 14
transmitters were on the air at the same time, with a total output power into
the antenna systems of a massive 1.3 MW (megawatts).
In addition to the full complement
of 14 shortwave transmitters, 2 at 50 kW and 12 at 100 kW, WYFR
programming was beamed almost worldwide
with a bevy of 23 antennas; 12 log periodics, 5 nested double rhomboids (10),
and a TCI curtain with a passive reflector.
The feeder transmission lines running from the transmitter building to
the various antenna systems as shown on an engineering map are described as appearing like the spokes of a huge wagon wheel.
Audio Insert
WYFR: Theme music &
identification announcement
Over the years, there have been a
few occasions when WYFR has sustained significant damage under the impact of tropical storms
and hurricanes. For example, during the
year 2004, WYFR was damaged by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, and then again
during the following year by Hurricane Wilma.
In advance of the coming storms, the
WYFR staff made adequate preparation to safeguard their station against wind,
rain and lightning. Outdoor items that
might blow around were secured, the transmitters and other electronic equipment
inside the transmitter building were covered with plastic sheeting to safeguard
against rain, and the transmitters were shut down when the open wire
transmission lines began to slap around in the wind.
On these stormy occasions, some of
the outdoor facilities were damaged, including antennas, feeder lines and
switches. After the systems were
repaired following Hurricane Wilma, the 100 kW transmitters were on the air for
a while at half power.
During its nearly 36 years of active
service, shortwave WYFR was on the air daily with the continuous broadcast of
its massive program output that was heard in almost every country of the
world. During this long era, they
celebrated four major anniversaries, their 10th,
20th, 25th and 30th.
One
of the unique broadcasting arrangements that was implemented by Family Radio
was a long series of relay transmissions via major shortwave stations operated
by other international radio broadcasting organizations. The first of these international program
relays began without prior announcement on January 1, 1982, under a reciprocal
agreement with Radio Taiwan International.
WYFR programming was relayed via RTI, and RTI programming was relayed by
WYFR.
Over a period of more than 30 years,
the international programming of Family Radio was noted on the air via
shortwave transmitters owned and operated by a multitude of other shortwave
broadcasting organizations at more then 30 different locations on all
continents except Australia. During a
special series of test transmissions in 2003 that was arranged by NASB, the
National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters, two half hour programs compiled
by WYFR were broadcast over the original WRMI at Hialeah with 50 kW on 7385
kHz.
The most unusual relay of WYFR
programming had to be over station WTTZ “somewhere in Europe”. A listener in Kristiansand Norway reported in
2008 that he was listening to the programing from station WTTZ on 6925 kHz
several nights in a row. The noted
American specialist in pirate radio activity, George Zeller, states that he
knows nothing about the unauthorized European shortwave station with a fake
American callsign, and we can only presume that the WYFR relay via WTTZ was an
unauthorized operation by a hobby broadcaster.
Shortwave station WYFR was always a
prolific verifier of reception reports and their QSL cards were issued from
their head office in Oakland California.
More than a dozen different QSL cards are known, and if any international
radio monitor in some part of the world out there was able to collect at least
one card from each design, the tally would be much higher.
Their 20th anniversary
QSL card was quite unique, in that it was in reality a pair of cards. The photo on the left hand side card featured
the studio staff in Oakland California, and the photo on the right hand side
card featured the staff at the transmitter station in Okeechobee Florida. When the two cards are placed side by side,
the reading of the text, and the map of the world, are shown as complete.
The end came mid year 2013, on June
30, to be exact; and the illustrious WYFR was no more. It was silenced forever, at least under the
original callsign. As we know, the
station itself was taken over by Radio Miami International
and rejuvenated, and the callsign WRMI was transferred from the 50 kW station
in Hialeah to the Okeechobee station with its 14 transmitters. This station is still the largest privately
operated shortwave station in the Western Hemisphere.
We express appreciation to Dan
Elyea, Engineering Manager at WYFR, for information he has provided for this
lengthy series of topics on this illustrious shortwave station in Florida. In addition, he kindly vetted each of the scripts
in the series on WYFR to ensure that the information was accurate, and that it
presented the story appropriately. We
wish him well for a well-deserved and happy retirement.
On the next occasion when we take a
look at the story of an international shortwave station in the United States,
we plan to go back to the beginning, and present the long and interesting
history of the shortwave station associated with the famous mediumwave station
KDKA in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
(AWR Wavescan/NWS 326)