WCCC-FM Tech. Gallery

HARTFORD RADIO HISTORY is now
CT BROADCAST HISTORY!
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106.9 MHz, Hartford.

Above: Three of the six members of the WCCC engineering staff in 1947.

Above: Rare photos of original WCCC building on S. Quaker Ln in West Hartford. Constructed in 1947, the building contained two broadcast studios and space for the 500w WCCC (AM) transmitter. Shortly after the station went on the air the studios were moved to the Hotel Bond in Hartford. The AM tower can be seen behind the building. This facility served as the WCCC (AM) transmitter site from 1947 - 1990 when the owner lost the lease on the site and the AM was moved to the FM site on Avon Mountain. 1981 photo.

Upper: WCCC-FM studio in 1984.
Lower: FM studio equipment rack containing, top to bottom, FM tuner, AM demod, FM modulation monitor. FM remote control, AM remote control, patch bays, EBS monitor, and audio distribution amps.

Above: Main and alternate main FM transmitters on Avon Mountain, 1981.

Above: View from the 345' level of the old WCCC-FM tower after guy wire replacement in 1983.

Above: WCCC-FM antenna, 1983. (This tower was replaced in 1990).

Above: In 1990 the original WCCC-FM tower, dating back to 1959, had to be demolished due to structural issues. This picture shows the tower after it had been dropped. The timing wasn't bad because this was the same year that WCCC (AM) lost its lease on the S. Quaker Ln, West Hartford site. Lacking any other available site the owner chose to move the AM to the FM site so a new, insulated tower was installed that could accomodate both AM and FM transmission.

Above: Base of "new" WCCC-FM Tower in 2001.

Above: WCCC-FM studio 2004.

The WCCC air board just prior to replacement in 2005.

Above: Morning show producer's studio. 2006.

Above: New SAS board being installed, 2005.

Above: New FM tower being installed in 2001.

Above: New AM/FM transmitter installation, 2001.

Above: FM and FM-HD transmitters. 23,000 watts ERP. 2005. The center transmitter contains redundant exciters.

New FM tower being errected in 2000. In this photo it stands about about 280'. The ultimate height will be 347'.

Above: Equipment rack in the WCCC Technical Operations Center on Asylum Avenue in Hartford, 2002. Left rack contains monitoring and patching/routing equipment. Middle rack contains studio switchers, audio processing and STL fiber encoders. Right rack contains master clock, AM/FM modulation monitors, HD monitor, UHF radio system and audio distribution amps. 2002 photo.

Above: WCCC tower site on Avon Mountain in 2008. AM tower on left, FM on right.

Above: 1999 Hummer H1, the perfect engineering vehicle, used to get to the FM tower site in heavy snow.

Above: 1996 Hummer H1, one of four Hummers owned by the station. Engineer Ryan Gilligan-Ramsey is seen at the wheel in this 1999 photo.

Above: RF Wattmeter (top) showing 16,500 watts of 106.9 Mhz which produces an ERP of 23,000 watts when fed into the ERI 3-bay antenna. The height of the antenna gives WCCC "50,000 watt equiv. coverage" as a Class B1 station.

Above: 60kva diesel generator comes on line automatically and provides power to the entire studio and office complex in the event of a power failure. A seven day supply of fuel is kept on hand at all times.

Above: Close up of the 3-bay ERI main FM antenna at the 345 foot level on the tower. The antenna to the right is for WHCT-LP, channel 38. 2000 photo.

Above: Chief Engineer John Ramsey. 1990 photo.

Not the WCCC tower but a neat picture nonetheless.

Engineers Chris Larsen, Chris Marti and IT Director Scott Baron in 2002 photo at WCCC's downtown Network Operations Center.

Engineering vehicle at tower site during blizzard.

View from the top of the "new" FM tower in 2002.