1968-- WXVW--- DON SAID WHAT!!!???!!!

[dbsteff]

Don Fugate and I both performed at both WLRS and WXVW. We had been having trouble with the Collins AM transmitter at WXVW, so I was "babysitting" during the graveyard shift while Don was on the air. WXVW, at that time (1968) was using an antiquated, even for the time, Western Electric console. It was a 30's vintage console, but still worked great.

Collins Transmitters are known for their reliability, In fact, it was The Collins Radio Company that I went to work for when I left WLRS/WXVW and moved to Dallas Tx...anyway it was unusual to have a recurring problem with one. We did, however.

There was a 6L6 vacuum tube in the low voltage power supply, and for some strange reason it would die frequently, producing a sort of cascade effect, such that it would take down the entire transmitter. Since the DJ on the air took his headset feed from the on-air monitor, he would know this had happened when his headphones would fill with static....thus a clear indication that the Transmitter was off the air.

This particular night, and, by the way, I have a picture from that night.....anyway, Don had the mic open and was reading the weather forecast. I was watching from behind him at the VU meter on the modulation monitor.

Suddenly, Don stopped, mid-sentence, and turned to me saying:

"Well, this Son of a B--tch is off the air again!."

As soon as he began to say that, I began waving my arms frantically for him to shut up. It was to no avail. Don had not closed the mic before making this declaration, and I, watching the VU meter jump with Don's voice knew he had just blurted this comment out over the air.

As Murphy's law would have it, another tube, a 12AX7 had died in the air monitor, producing the same earful of static. Don was deceived, therefore into believeing he had just been knocked off the air again.

Since the mic was open, the studio speakers were muted, so I couldn't hear what had happened. As soon as Don realized what he had done, he punched up the cart machine for a commercial and closed the mic.

It was too late. The 5-line phone lit up sequentially, from left to right. The first caller was a fireman, up late at the firehouse. His comment when Don answered the phone was simply:

"OH NO IT'S NOT!!!"

If anyone is interested, I have many more stories about both WLRS and WXVW and my times there.

Regards

Dan Steffen

[John Quincy]

Thanks for sharing Dan!

Love those old broadcasting stories. Bring 'em on!

[dbsteff]

I'd be glad to send some old WXVW pics....not sure how to post them here

Dan

[John Quincy]

Send them to [e-mail].

Thanks Dan!

[Travis]

I've said this elsewhere, but I just gotta say it again:

The WXVW transmitter tower was unique in that the call letters were mounted vertically on the tower, and were such that regardless of whether you were viewing them from the front or back side of the tower they always appeared as WXVW. This couldn't be done with most stations, such as WAKY, because the "K" would appear backwards when viewed from the back side of the tower. Yes, I make a big deal of this, but it's so very cool in the way those letters worked out on the tower.

Hey Dan! The old, old studios of WXVW were associated with a lot of ghost stories. Do you know any?

[dbsteff]

Don't know about ghost stories, but the old farm house that hosted the station would certainly be a likely site for some.

I'm going to send to John Q. a couple of pics I have from the station/studio circa 1968. Including one of Don Fugate and I in the studio earlier in the evening.....before the infamous off the air comments. Shown will be the old Western Electric console, the EV 666 microphone, the sparta-matic cart machines, etc. You'll note that had Don been watching the VU meter on the on-air monitor, directly in front of him, instead of reading his copy, he'd have seen he was still on the air.

I'm not exactly sure how John will post the pics I will send later today, but I'm sure they'll be available to you in short order.

Good to hear from you.

Dan

[dbsteff]

I mentioned that in that era (60s) Collins transmitters were highly reliable and as a brand highly respected. Collins later became part of Rockwell International, who then sold the broadcast division to Continental Electronics.

I recently ran across an old Collins logo, which I have had all these decades. There aren't too many of these to be found anymore so I thought I might share it with any nerds, like myself, who might find it nostalgic.

Regards

Dan

ps PERSONNEL UPDATE: Don Fugate (shown on the WXVW page) recently retired and moved, with his wife, back to the hills of West Virginia, from whence both he and I hail. He will spend his retirement with rod & reel. He will travel between Texas, where he still maintains a home and West Virginia during the seasons of the year. Don's adult children still reside in the Ft. Worth area.

Attachments: