WFAS Tower Replacement

[x635 4,066]

From the former WFAS FM in Hartsdale, which is now defunct and has become a new station focused on "urban programming" by parent company conglomerate Cummulus Media, with broadcast facilities in the Bronx.

The 1230 AM station will continue to broadcast from Hartsdale. Is there a difference between an AM tower and FM tower? I wonder why WFAS would replace it, as it's in very good shape and can be seen from throughout central Westchester.

I remember listening to WFAS exclusively for snow days, before the internet and all that.

Received a number of calls about the WFAS radio tower being removed today. WFAS no longer has a local FM station. However, the AM station is still active. We have been advised that the station does not intend to shut down their AM operation. The WFAS tower removal is being carried out in connection with a tower replacement. AM will still be carried out from the Secor Road location

[firebuff08 29]

Huge difference between an AM tower and and FM tower. With AM, the entire tower is the positive half of the transmission system, actually radiating the signal into the air. The other half (the negative half) consists of copper wires buried in the ground radiating out from the base of the tower. Each AM tower/antenna is of a specific height based on the frequency the station transmit on, thus a station at 1230 on the dial would have a tower/antenna of a different length than a station at 1420 on the dial. For FM, the tower is merely a support structure for the transmitting antenna. The FM transmitting antenna is mounted either on top of the tower or on the side of the tower near the top. The height of the tower for FM is determined solely by the coverage area the station has been granted by the FCC. That coverage is achieved by a combination of height and power....taller the tower, the lower the power output needed from the transmitter.

Towers do not last forever. They are made of steel and they rust over time. They do need to be replaced. There may be other reasons that the WFAS tower is being replaced. It may be they want to install a stronger tower that will support Cellular and Commercial two way antennas (additional revenue stream) while still functioning as an AM transmitting antenna.