WECT tower

The WECT Tower was a 1,905-foot (581 m) -tall mast used as antenna for TV-broadcasting, including broadcasting the analog television signal of WECT channel 6. It was built in 1969 and was situated along NC 53 south of White Lake in Colly Township in Bladen County, North Carolina, United States. Before demolition, WECT Tower was, along with several other masts, the seventh tallest man-made structure ever created; and was not only the tallest structure in North Carolina, but also the tallest in the United States east of the Mississippi River.

On September 8, 2008, WECT ceased regular transmission of their analog signal from the Bladen County tower, relying instead on its newer digital transmitter in Winnabow.[1] Following the switch, the analog signal remained on air until the end of September as a "Nightlight", broadcasting an instructional video explaining installation of converters and UHF antennas,[2][3] but many who were able to receive WECT's former VHF analog signal would no longer be able to receive the station at all digitally,[4] due to a shift to a UHF channel and a vastly smaller coverage area.[5]

WECT continued to utilize the former analog tower for electronic news-gathering purposes before donating the tower and 77-acre (31 ha) site to the Green Beret Foundation in 2011. On September 20, 2012, the tower was demolished to be scrapped.[6] Proceeds from the sale of the land and the scrap metal of the tower will go to the foundation.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ WECT engineer says Big Switch took some improvisation, Si Cantwell, Wilmington Star-News, September 27, 2008
  2. ↑ WECT - Big Switch Minute: Answering your questions, August 13, 2008
  3. ↑ WECT Airs DTV Instructional Video, TVNEWSDAY, Sep 22, 2008
  4. ↑ Early Digital-TV Switch Has Flaw: Viewers Could Lose Certain Channels on Permanent Basis, Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2008, cited here.
  5. ↑ FCC Looking For Lost Channels In Digital TV Switch, September 16, 2008
  6. ↑ "Demolition crews take down 2,000 ft. TV tower". WECT. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
  7. ↑ Fayetteville Observer: "Steel from demolition of TV tower in Bladen County to help [http://greenberetfoundation.org/ Green Beret Foundation]", September 21, 2012.

Coordinates: 34°34′40″N 78°26′30″W / 34.5778°N 78.4417°W / 34.5778; -78.4417

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