National Radio Club/World TV FM DX Association
Joint Convention October 13-16, 2011
Omaha, Nebraska
Comfort Inn and Suites, Omaha, NE
jump to Convention Summary
Ernie Wesolowski, Mike Lantz (behind), David Shapiro,
Rick Dau, Jefferson Lewis, Skip Dabelstein, Greg Gade KFAB Engineer, Bill
Dvorak.
Paul Swearingen, Frank Merrill, David Shapiro, John Callarman, Ernie Wesolowski, Rick Dau, Greg Gade KFAB Engineer, Bill Dvorak
Skip Dabelstein, Paul Swearingen, Frank Merrill, John Callarman, Ernie Wesolowski, Rick Dau, Greg Gade KFAB Engineer, Bill Dvorak
Greg Gade KFAB Engineer, Bill Dvorak, Frank Merrill, Carl Mann, Mike Lantz, David Shapiro
Skip Dabelstein, Jefferson Lewis, Carl Mann, Paul Swearingen, Bill Dvorak, Mike Lantz, David Shapiro, Frank Merrill
Phil Blytheway, Skip Dabelstein, Rick Dau, Ernie Wesolowski, Frank Merrill, David Shapiro, Greg Gade KFAB Engineer, John Callarman
Convention pic of 59'ers: Ernie Wesolowski, Carl Mann, Skip Dabelstein, John Callerman, Bill Nittler.
Perseus Rx gathering in Omaha Parking lot. Photos courtesy Mark D.
2011 Convention NRC-WTFDA
October 12-15 --- Omaha, Nebraska
Thursday, October 13
First evening arrivals met in the hospitality room of
the Comfort Inn, at South 72nd St. just NE of the I-80 exit. Upon arrival
members enjoyed pop and chips while getting acquainted and re-acquainted. Some
groups formed for dinner, one large group going to the nearby Anthony’s
Steakhouse, while others dined at Perkins, next door to our hotel.
Friday, October 14
Morning breakfast was complimentary for those staying at
the Comfort Inn, then a day of tours began. The group met in the lobby for a
9:25am departure to the KFAB-1110 transmitter site several miles south of Omaha,
at 60th & Caphart Rd in Sarpy County.
KFAB’s three 500-foot towers are
in line to the SSE providing night time signal
protection for WBT Charlotte,
NC. The middle of the three is the daytime non-directional tower, while a fourth
tower on the east end is used for KGOR 99.9 FM’s standby transmitter. KGOR’s
main transmitter is at the Crown PointTower Farm in North Omaha.
Engineer
Greg Gade guided the tour for over an hour and seemed to genuinely enjoy our
company, happy to display this historic transmitter site that dates back to
1947. Four transmitters occupy this room. The smaller Westinghouse is a 5kw
transmitter that’s been here since KFAB’s move from Lincoln, while a larger 50kw
Westinghouse transmitter with phasor cabinets sits nearby. Next to it is the
more recent workhorse, a Continental 317C, now used for standby. Mr. Gade
switched it on, allowing the huge final tubes to light up.
KFAB’s newest
transmitter is a solid state 50kw Harris with a display screen providing all the
necessary
readouts. Adjacent to it is the accessory rack containing the IBOC
unit, which we all resisted sabotaging. We were also shown the EAS room (they
monitor KVNO), living quarters that were used by engineers in the early days
when this was a very rural area, and the 250kw diesel generator. Then out back
we were allowed to walk to the foot of the towers, safely fenced in at their
bases. Members snapped many pictures, both inside and out.
The car pool
then headed back north into the Dundee neighborhood of Omaha where we visited
the KFAB and Clear Channel Studios, on the second floor of 5010 Underwood
Avenue. Other studios here are those of KGOR 99.9, KTWI-93.3, KQBW-96.1, and
KXKT-103.7. KFAB and KGOR have been here the longest, as this was their studio
home for many years before consolidation brought in the other stations. Mr. Gade
was our tour guide here, as well.
Lunch was at
Goldberg’s, a nearby
locally owned burger bar. Then the tour continued with a look at the studios of
New Radio Group (NRG), owners of KOIL-1290, KKAR-1180, KOZN-1620, KQKQ-98.5,
KOOO-101.9 (actually licensed to Lincoln), KOPW-106.9, and KMMQ-1020. NRG is
only a couple of blocks from Clear Channel, at 5011 Capitol Avenue. The tour
lasted about an hour.
Our day of touring concluded with a drive–by of the
home of Omaha’s own Warren Buffet, at 55th & Farnam Streets. Then it was back to
the Comfort Inn for chips and drinks in the ballroom and DX chat. Dinner was on
our own at nearby restaurants, which offered everything from family and fast
food dining to Italian, Mexican, and Steakhouse cuisine.
The Business
Meeting began at 7:30pm presided over by NRC Chairman Wayne Heinen. Wayne
reported the club is in good financial shape, and noted the attractive 15-dollar
annual option of
E-DXN on-line membership should be helpful for the club’s
future. Thanks were given to the editors and to publisher David Yocis.
Recognition was then given to Bruce Elving, to whom the convention was
dedicated, and to former Omaha Dxer Marv Robbins who passed away earlier in the
year in Florida.
Many fascinating items were sold at the DX Auction,
ranging from a HD Radio donated by KFAB (won by David Jones of Nashville) to NRC
logs and maps. Surprisingly, few station bumper stickers were offered or even
seen. The auction raised just over 200 dollars.
The DX Quiz followed with
about 15 members taking part. Frank Merrill won it (again) with 35 points,
followed by Carl Dabelstein 31 pts, and George Sherman 29 pts. Frank won 25
dollars cash, plus the honor of writing the next DX Quiz.
Saturday,
October 15
More touring is offered after breakfast. The car pool left at
9:30am for
its first outside the Offutt Air Force Communications site just
north of Elkhorn, NE. It's one of four sites used by Offutt to maintain
communication with aircraft anywhere in the world. A combination of shortwave
and satellites are used. This particular site is for transmitting only, and
members could see a number of antenna installations designed for low-angle and
high-angle radiation in a number of directions. The antenna farm for their
receivers is south of Scribner, NE, about 30 miles from here.
Next, we
head back west into North Omaha to two historic AM single-tower transmitter
sites near 60th & Hartman Streets. They are the two oldest stations in Omaha.
KXSP-590 was WOW radio for years, and was WOAW when it signed on in 1923. The
other is KCRO, better known historically as KOWH, the Todd Storz station where
the Top 40 format was born in the 50s. Initially it was WAAW
when it came on
in 1922. Both have nice transmitter buildings dating back to the days when
engineers lived on site.
Not far from these two stations are the tall
towers of the North Omaha Antenna Farm, locally called “Crown Point” for the
nearby street of the same name. These towers dominate the Omaha skyline from
many vantagepoints.
TV stations KETV, KMTV, and WOWT own three towers. A
number of FM stations also rent space on the towers. A fourth tower on the south
end went up in the 1990s, erected by Journal Broadcasting. The newest tower is
the middle TV tower (KETV), replacing their original that collapsed in 2003. The
TV towers are just over 1350 feet, while Journal’s tower is at about 1150 feet.
Journal’s radio studios (KXSP-590, KEZO-92.1, KQCH-97.7, KSRZ- and KKCD-105.9)
are at the foot of their tower, but they weren’t open for tours on this day.
Back to the hotel for lunch, then off for a free visit, courtesy of host
Ernest Wesolowski, to the Strategic Air and Space Museum near Ashland. Arriving
around 2pm, the museum is just off I-80 near the Platte River. 13 members
strolled through two large hangers seeing and touching historic Air Force
aircraft. Among the displays was a model and pictures of the old Offutt Air
Base, which during WW II was the Martin Bomber Plant. It was here the B-29 that
ushered in the nuclear age was built: The Enola Gay.
Back to the hotel
for a late afternoon demonstration of the Perseus radio receiver, courtesy of
Mark Durenberger. The demonstration was setup in the back parking lot of the
hotel, starting with the raising and securing of a portable 30-foot telescoping
flagpole to hold the antenna. Two copper rods were driven into the dirt for the
ground connection.
The Perseus receiver is simply a box
feeding
Mark’s laptop computer. On the laptop screen the entire broadcast band could be
seen in spectrum analysis, and KFAB’s tall and wide IBOC signal was clearly
recognizable. Any waveform can be monitored and manipulated using the computer
mouse. Most amazing is that the entire frequency range of the AM broadcast band
can be recorded for later Dxing. Mark recorded the band across the 5pm ID, and
later, inside, members were given the opportunity to tune and playback the Ids
on the frequency of their choice.
A happy hour and banquet followed at
6:30. The 7:30 dinner in the ballroom was roast beef and salmon. Following
dinner, in introductory remarks by Carl Mann, it was noted that this convention
was dedicated to the memory of Bruce Elving, editor of the FM Atlas and a friend
to many DXers. Bruce was our guest in Omaha during the 1992 convention. Also
noted was the passing this year of
Omaha Dxer Marv Robbins, who was the
driving force for the NRC Omaha convention of 1959.
At the 1959
convention, a young Carl “Skip” Dabelstein joined the NRC and has been a member
ever since, for 52 consecutive years. Two other 1959 attendees present this
evening were singled out: John Callarman of Texas, and Bill Nittler of Colorado
(now in NM).
Further recognition was given to Neil Zank and Bob McCoy,
both present this evening, who hosted the 1977 NRC Convention in Lincoln, NE.
Recognition was then given to the Dxer who traveled the greatest distance to
attend: Phil Blytheway of Seattle, although it was later discovered that Mike
Lantz of Miami deserved equal recognition. Their travel distances are within 30
miles of each other.
Guest Speaker Mark Durenberger followed, speaking
first about his years in broadcasting and playing some entertaining clips of
jingles and
bloopers. He then presented a fascinating look at the effects of
radio during the war years, beginning with radio’s start prior and during World
War I. Of particular interest was how the development of radio and discovery of
propagation assisted the war effort. Monitoring and subterfuge played important
roles in the new medium. Time constraints limited the story up to the Pacific in
WW II. Social time continued until after midnight.
Sunday following
breakfast, DXers departed for their home QTHs.
Here’s hoping someone
bids for his or her city for the convention in 2012.
73s
Ernest J.
Wesolowski
neerniew@yahoo.com
List of attendees
DAN BARTEK NE
PHIL BLYTHEWAY WA
CARL DABELSTEIN AZ
JOHN CALLARMAN TX
MARK
DURENBERGER MN
RICK DAU NE
BILL DVORAK WI
DALE HAMM MO
WAYNE HEINEN
CO
DAVID JONES TN
MIKE LANTZ FL
JEFFERSON LEWIS MO
CARL MANN NE
BOB McCOY NE
FRANK MERRILL IL
LANNIE MERRITT NE
BILL NITTLER NM
WAYNE RYAN ON
DAVID SHAPIRO MO
GEORGE SHERMAN MN
TODD SKAINE MN
PAUL
SWEARINGEN KS
ERNEST WESOLOWSKI NE
DAVE WHATMOUGH ON
NEIL ZANK NE