Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!netsys!vector!telecom-gateway From: mihalo@chinet.chi.il.us (William Mihalo) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Praise the Lord and Pass the RF Filters Message-ID: Date: 25 Jun 89 23:18:05 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: Chinet - Chicago, Ill. Lines: 79 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 213, message 4 of 5 Since I live near this radio station, but far enough away not to be affected by it, I thought I'd make some comments. First, the areas that appear to be affected include North Hammond and parts of the downtown area (there really isn't much left of downtown Hammond) which includes the Hammond Times. Earlier this year the Hammond Times published a series of articles criticizing a fundamentalist Christian church with a number of things including financial misconduct. It wouldn't surprise me if the interference is aimed at the Hammond Times. Second, the lack of interest on the part of the FCC in this area doesn't surprise me. The Calumet Region, as this part of the state is called, includes the Gary-Hammond-East Chicago area and the surrounding suburbs. This part of Indiana is quite different politically and economically from the rest of Indiana. The situation is analogous to the Chicago/Downstate Illinois rift across the border. Consequently, few people in downstate Indiana would seem concerned about such a problem. Third, Indiana Bell has never expressed much interest in this part of the state anyway. Illinois Bell ran the telephone company in Northwest Indiana for years. In the 1970's the operation of the telephone circuits was turned over to Indiana Bell, which has its headquarters in Indianapolis. Since divestiture, Indiana Bell has a lock on telephone calls placed to nearby communities (for example I live about a mile from Chicago) but must use Indiana Bell and pay Indiana Bell's tariffs for phone calls that terminate nearby. Alternate long distance carriers are blocked since they can't kick in unless I make a phone call that exceeds a certain distance. The end result of this is that its cheaper for me to call Columbus, Ohio than it is to place a long distance phone call to Chicago. If you complain to Indiana Bell about the problem they just laugh. Finally, there is a Chicago rock radio station that has its frequency near WYCA. Although I'm not affected by the blanketing that is going on in North Hammond, I cannot tune in this particular station. If I try to tune it in, I'll hear the station and WYCA at the same time. These are just a few comments that might enlighten why this situation is occurring. I don't anticipate a resolution of this problem for a >long< time. Bill Mihalo uucp: att!chinet!mihalo or att!osu-cis!david!calumet!wem [Moderator's Note: Your notes are generally correct. Hammond and Whiting used to be *great* towns thirty years ago; but after Gary Works/US Steel and three-quarters of Whiting Refinery/Amoco closed up shop, everything went bust. There is no downtown Hammond anymore. Just boarded up storefronts. All that is left downtown is the Hammond Times, the public business office for Northern Indiana Public Service Company; and of course Jack Hyles' First Baptist Church. The Hammond Times has been on his case for several years regards financial misconduct in the same way the Charlotte (NC) Observer kept hammering on Jimmy Bakker. First Baptist (or at least Dr. Hyles) has some financial interest in WYCA, but I don't know how much. You are correct about Indiana Bell. Illinois Bell had the Hammond/Whiting/East Chicago exchanges for years, and they were more than pleased to pull out and turn it over to Indiana Bell several years ago when the area dried up financially. Is the 219-931/932/933 central office still on Fayette Street, across the street from the Hammond Times? Illinois Bell also had a business office there; that office was closed many years ago. Indiana Bell took the territory over grudgingly; they did it through some slight of hand with Illinois Bell; I never have figured out why. The Chicago Tribune has started breathing hard on WYCA, just as they have been doing to the Reverend Doctor Hyles for about a year now. The FCC may be forced to intervene and stop WYCA from jamming all the other stations in the south suburban area. I don't think WYCA is acting purely out of spite to the Hammond Times though; the station was pulling the same kind of stuff in the early seventies as well. *Then* the FCC made them cool it. This time the FCC has backed off for whatever reason. Fred Goldstein, where are you? Wanna start a good fight with the FCC in Chicago? I only wish you were here to hear it yourself, and become a 'true believer'! PT]