WECT tower
The WECT Tower was a 2,000 ft (609.6m)-tall[1] 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.[citation needed]
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.[2] 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,[3][4] 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,[5] due to a shift to a UHF channel and a vastly smaller coverage area.[6]
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 at 12:47 PM, the tower was demolished with explosives to be scrapped.[7] Proceeds from the sale of the land and the scrap metal of the tower will go to the foundation.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "ASR Registration 1006713". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ "WECT engineer says Big Switch took some improvisation, Si Cantwell, Wilmington Star-News, September 27, 2008". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- ^ "WECT - Big Switch Minute: Answering your questions, August 13, 2008". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
- ^ WECT Airs DTV Instructional Video, TVNEWSDAY, Sep 22, 2008
- ^ Early Digital-TV Switch Has Flaw: Viewers Could Lose Certain Channels on Permanent Basis, Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2008, cited here Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ FCC Looking For Lost Channels In Digital TV Switch, September 16, 2008
- ^ "Demolition crews take down 2,000 ft. TV tower". WECT. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
- ^ "Fayetteville Observer: "Steel from demolition of TV tower in Bladen County to help [http://greenberetfoundation.org/ Green Beret Foundation]", September 21, 2012". Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
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External links
[edit]- "Listing 1006713". Antenna Structure Registration database. U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
- Skyscraper Page diagrams
- WECT TV6 Tower at Structurae
- Towers completed in 1969
- Buildings and structures in Bladen County, North Carolina
- Towers in North Carolina
- Radio masts and towers in the United States
- Demolished buildings and structures in North Carolina
- Buildings and structures demolished by controlled implosion
- 1969 establishments in North Carolina
- 2012 disestablishments in North Carolina
- Buildings and structures demolished in 2012
- Former radio masts and towers