This is where all the fun began! In 1977, Roy H. Park and Park Broadcasting purchased WHEN Radio from Meredith Broadcasting, a company that also owned and operated WHEN-TV (now WTVH). Following the sale, the studios which had been at the same location as the TV station on James Street in Syracuse, were moved to the transmitter site in Liverpool, New York just off Old Liverpool Road, and only a short distance from downtown Syracuse. In 1977, most of the equipment (pictured above) was sparkling new in the studios, with the exception of a few pieces of gear brought from the James Street location.
This showcase studio was large by most studio standards. It measured approximately 12 x 18 feet with an 8 foot ceiling. In the top photo you are looking directly at the "board" and toward the studio door at right. Also in the photo above and to the right you'll notice what we referred to as 2 ITC 3-spot (playback) machines (meaning 2x - 3 slots for playback of recorded tapes containing music and commercials and other program elements.) WHEN's entire music library at the time was on tape cartridge. No records were ever used other than a rare occasion or around Christmas for x-mas LP cuts. This studio was designed for either "stand-up" or sit-down. In the photo at left and facing control board ... and looking slightly to the left. To the immediate left of board and through large studio window is news booth (approx. 6 x 6 ft with 8 ft ceiling) where all NewsWatch62 broadcasts were anchored. Room to left in distance and in window is area where news was written and actualities were edited. To left of studio phone - cart rack containing current top hits...to far left in this rack were songs classified as recurrents. Beyond board and in far corner of studio on left... oldies. Though difficult to see in these photos, the studio mic was the popular Electro-Voice RE20 found in radio station studios across the country. The same model mic was used in the news booth on the other side of the glass...that can be seen HERE
The photo on right was taken looking toward the rear of studio which had wraparound glass so transmitters could be monitored by those who were on-air. This also allowed for guests visiting the station to watch first-hand what was going on during a dj's shift. Note piano in back of studio. This was used frequently by Phil Markert during his morning drive show. Just beyond the showcase windows is a 5 kilowatt Gates transmitter. Another identical stand-by transmitter was located to the far right and cannot be seen in this shot.
◄62 WHEN - Production Studio Board - 1978 - Another Shot of This Production Studio Can Be Seen HERE.
Above -- WHEN's Production Studio in the late 70's and throughout the 80's was equipped with the same control board (Cetec - SPARTA) as was in the main studio. (This board was eventually replaced with a Pacific Recorders BMX-22 stereo console (pictured below) when the station switched to AM Stereo in the 80s. That console can be seen in this photo. On a very rare occasion, when a technical problem or maintenance issue arose that had to be addressed, the main studio could be taken off-air and programming could then originate from this studio. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS - For a (better) look at both the production studio and the news booth described above, click HERE to see portions of an article from a 1979 issue of BM/E Magazine and its Best Radio Station nominations.
As noted above, WHEN radio's main studio control board was upgraded from a mono Sparta to Pacific Recorders' BMX stereo model in the early 80s as part of the upgrade to "AM Stereo" broadcasting. The photo at right shows a similar Pacific Recorders stereo board similar, though somewhat larger, than the one used by air personalities 24-7 at 62 WHEN's studios on Old Liverpool Road.
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