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WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Covers all of Northern Lower Michigan (from Ludington to Tawas northward), as well as the Straits Area and Soo Region.
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MWmetalhead
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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Mar 07, 2021 2:15 pm

Yup, WIXX would've been the most likely place to hear Top 40 hits in that neck of the woods in the pre-WMOM era.

WSNX's signal generally craps out just south and east of Ludington. Back in the day, I do remember them receiving song requests from Ludington once in a great while. Definitely would've been a receivable station with an outdoor antenna. I'm not sure if any of the local cable systems up that way offered an FM radio service.



ChrisWL1980
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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Mon Mar 08, 2021 5:09 pm

I actually LIKED the ABC/SMN "Best Hits/Best Variety" format Y102 used in the '90s. I went to Aquinas College in GR from 1998-2002 and listened from my dorm room on my Drake SW8 (IIRC it was the spring of 2000 or so that Y102 ditched the satellite and went fully live/local). 107.7 WHSB in Alpena used Best Hits/Best Variety as well nights and weekends (they switched to Jones' Adult Hit Radio in early '99, which I didn't like quite as much - WBMI also used that format when they were Hot AC and going by about 12 different names, including Channel 105-5, Kool Mix 105.5, etc.). The Saturday night '80s show with Booray(sp?) was a fun listen.



BayCityJohn2337
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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by BayCityJohn2337 » Fri May 13, 2022 8:29 am

WBMI has now changed to smile FM and the new license has been granted per the FCC



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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by BayCityJohn2337 » Fri May 13, 2022 2:52 pm

Smile FM is now Broadcasting on WBMI 105.5 FM Today in West Branch.



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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by Realist » Sat May 14, 2022 10:34 am

Heard it yesterday when driving through WB. 🤮🤮🤮

Way too many God Squad stations. There’s another local one down the dial at 93.9FM



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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by Ben Zonia » Sat May 14, 2022 11:10 am

It's an odd paradigm that many of the Docket 80-90 drop ins and Class As are only able to survive as noncommercial entities. WAVC 93.9 is a Class C2 made possible by Docket 80-90 and Docket 84-231 and subsequent changes. The odd thing is that many important distance separation requirements actually increased on second and third adjacent channels. As mentioned elsewhere in another thread, A to B and B to B separations on second and third adjacents used to be just 40 miles (39.5 miles with rounding). 6 kW rules also increased cochannel and first adjacent spacings for Class As, leaving many Class As as nonupgradable 3 kW Class As. One more thing that also pushed Class A allotments further into the middle of nowhere. Some said it was because of a rural broadcast initiative, but it really is a way of keeping new stations out of populated areas. Rural stations could have been fit in like they have done in rural areas of Canada, with lower power and directional stations with contour overlap and interference received possibilities. That would also allow competing stations in populated areas.


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ChrisWL1980
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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Sat May 14, 2022 5:32 pm

Realist wrote:
Sat May 14, 2022 10:34 am
Heard it yesterday when driving through WB. 🤮🤮🤮

Way too many God Squad stations. There’s another local one down the dial at 93.9FM
West Branch also has an LPFM at 107.3, and there's also 90.9 in Rose City.
EVERY licensed signal in Ogemaw County now belongs to the Jesus freaks.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun May 15, 2022 8:37 am

There's not exactly a lot of commercial ad dollars to be had in that area. The limited ad dollars that do exist are scooped up by WUPS, WGDN and perhaps WKJC.

There are only about 21,000 year round residents who reside in Ogemaw County.

WBMI likely didn't stand a chance continuing operations as a commercial (for profit) FM.



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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by matt1 » Sun May 15, 2022 11:33 pm

Back around 1981 & 1982 & 1983, I had to wait until WBMI signed off at 12:00 midnight because I could NOT get 105 FM WWCK in Flint ("Flint's Best") when it was a hard rock station back then!!! I missed the first 30 minutes of the late Bob Coburn's "Rockline" (with rock singers or groups) every Monday nights BUT I did heard of the last hour of the show till 1:00 AM!!



ChrisWL1980
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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Mon May 16, 2022 5:37 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Sun May 15, 2022 8:37 am
There's not exactly a lot of commercial ad dollars to be had in that area. The limited ad dollars that do exist are scooped up by WUPS, WGDN and perhaps WKJC.

There are only about 21,000 year round residents who reside in Ogemaw County.

WBMI likely didn't stand a chance continuing operations as a commercial (for profit) FM.
I understand that, but I'd almost rather they'd have gone off the air and turned the license back in than switch to a network with no local content that can be heard on at least two other signals in the area. The region did not need another station playing the Christian versions of Maroon 5 songs that constitute modern CCM.



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Ben Zonia
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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by Ben Zonia » Mon May 16, 2022 6:16 pm

ChrisWL1980 wrote:
Mon May 16, 2022 5:37 pm
MWmetalhead wrote:
Sun May 15, 2022 8:37 am
There's not exactly a lot of commercial ad dollars to be had in that area. The limited ad dollars that do exist are scooped up by WUPS, WGDN and perhaps WKJC.

There are only about 21,000 year round residents who reside in Ogemaw County.

WBMI likely didn't stand a chance continuing operations as a commercial (for profit) FM.
I understand that, but I'd almost rather they'd have gone off the air and turned the license back in than switch to a network with no local content that can be heard on at least two other signals in the area. The region did not need another station playing the Christian versions of Maroon 5 songs that constitute modern CCM.
If they turned the license in, it would be years before the frequency was auctioned and the station returned to the air.


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Colonel Flagg
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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by Colonel Flagg » Tue May 17, 2022 1:13 pm

matt1 wrote:
Sun May 15, 2022 11:33 pm
Back around 1981 & 1982 & 1983, I had to wait until WBMI signed off at 12:00 midnight because I could NOT get 105 FM WWCK in Flint ("Flint's Best") when it was a hard rock station back then!!! I missed the first 30 minutes of the late Bob Coburn's "Rockline" (with rock singers or groups) every Monday nights BUT I did heard of the last hour of the show till 1:00 AM!!
During that timeframe is when WBMI probably sounded best, as Stereo Rock I-105. I believe they used the reel to reel package from TM, branded as Stereo Rock, as did WIOG for a time. However, given a choice, like you, I probably would've preferred hearing WWCK.

The Gladwin FM was originally a rock station as well, as WGMM. Many laughed when Mike Ryan moved up there to build an FM and "play Heavy Metal to the forest" :rollin but he tried it anyway.


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Ben Zonia
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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by Ben Zonia » Tue May 17, 2022 1:31 pm

WWCK-FM 105.5 comes in a lot around West Branch, when WBMI is off the air. Before WBMI originally signed on, circa 1980, even when WWCK-FM was just 3000 watts, it came in much of the time in that part of Michigan. The better your radio and antenna, the better and more often it came in. It also came in in areas near Waterford and Bloomfield Hills, and marginally around all the Northern tier suburbs of Detroit, with just 3000 watts, before WQQO came on the air with 6000 watts equivalent, and all the translators and Canadian stations signed on. When WWCK-FM went to 25000 watts DA, it was still just 3000 watts to the Southeast, and the real pattern even less, like the WFBE and WLAV-FM are even less than the FCC design parameters. The only DA worth anything among the Cumulus stations is for WWWW-FM.


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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by matt1 » Thu May 19, 2022 12:48 am

WGMM (103.1 FM) in Gladwin back then was in MONO than STEREO back in early 1983 till around 1987!! (Mid-Michigan's True Rock!)



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Colonel Flagg
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Re: WBMI 1055 Back on the Air

Post by Colonel Flagg » Fri May 20, 2022 10:20 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Sun May 15, 2022 8:37 am
There's not exactly a lot of commercial ad dollars to be had in that area. The limited ad dollars that do exist are scooped up by WUPS, WGDN and perhaps WKJC.

There are only about 21,000 year round residents who reside in Ogemaw County.

WBMI likely didn't stand a chance continuing operations as a commercial (for profit) FM.
With your dire observations, which make perfect sense, why should we believe that "listener supported radio" will do any better? You're still in a poor community, with a small population. But hey, West Branch is "up north" so if the donations don't start rollin' in, Smilin' Ed can always hold a pancake supper, or Friday fish fry. Cheaper if you're seated before 4:30. The old folks in bibbed overalls will show up in droves. Works every time, as long as you're north of U.S.10.

:rollin


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