Worlds Last Chance ministry bankrupt?

[ChrisSmolinski]

From GH's WOR mailing list:

The Worlds Last Chance ministry has apparently gone bankrupt and has abandoned shortwave radio and WBCQ. The following message is now posted on wbcq.com:


Superstation available

One of the most powerful and versatile shortwave stations is now available for your lease. The Monticello Maine Superstation operating on 9.330 MHz with up to 500 KW of power with its fully rotatable antenna system can put a shortwave signal anywhere in our world. Contact WBCQ at (207) 889-0039 for this unique opportunity.

[redhat]

The cost of power and staff for that thing (assuming its running at full power) has to be around $200 an hour.  Should we start a gofundme to do a rotating sched of pirates every week?  Could be fun.

[Stretchyman]

You can count on my $200.

I'll start a Religion.

Str.

[shadypyro]

Yeah they went bankrupt, nothing on 9330 am

[Treehouse SWL]

I guess I should be sad that another SW station is off for now. But during the few times I ever listened to Last Chance on 9330 kHz, I didn't listen for long.

That said, it would be nice if that big WBCQ antenna could be used for something interesting.

[M R I]

In the past I heard Allan on the air trying to get pirates to use his station. What a signal you would get on this antenna even at a much lower power.

[NQC]

Hey All,

OK, I'll step in it.

When the Amegon was    built I thought :WOW , an  extremely  serious investment (overkill) and potential boondoggle /White Elephant.

But if Galal Doss, who apparently had VERY deep  pockets (at least back in the day ) wanted to foot the bill, why not ?

BUT, all the eggs were in ONE basket, depending solely on this "mysterious " guy.I had this thought right out of the gate

I really didn't check World's Last Chance frequencies , but per the reports above, it apparently has gone dark.

This is a TWENTY THREE db (!!!)   antenna and at full power (500 kw )   radiates  a focused   "12.8 MEGAWATTS " beam . KILLER !

Even at low power, it would be an INSANE antenna.

Not sure what the legal / financial arrangements are. Is Ampegon the only folks that are allowed to   or able to do maintenance ?

I would think that BCQ runs on a fairly tight budget. Wire antennas strung between towers are probably low maintenance , compared to this beast.

I wonder if this antenna will ever see any use by Alan (if allowed)  or whether it just becomes a giant forgotten  artifact , like the Duga /Woodpecker antenna .

Lets face it , not too many folks in the US listen to SW b'casts. And  3rd world isn't very  lucrative re donations to cover transmitter costs  ( or MAKE  a few bucks to buy  that new Rolls !)

WWCR gets  maybe $90 to $ 160/hr but "only" at 100 Kw and at much lower gain. Less bang,less bucks.

If the BCQ Ampegon is run at a full 500 Kw, per estimates above, it's $200/hr ( I haven't crunched any numbers).

And that may be just for the juice to heat it.A  considerable mark up might be required for Alan to make ANY dough. My guess is there may not be any takers at $300+ /per hour for a low audience /low  $$$ return shortwave broadcast  format  .

Coupled with the  other issues I mentioned above, I'd say 75% chance this antenna really won't be being  doing much (or maybe even anything) in the future.

I hope I am wrong.

de NQC

[n2avh]

More to it than just electricity cost--you need an engineer, and they won't just come in for an hour here and there.  It probably costs a cool million a year to operate a high-powered single-transmitter station, and that's without amortizing the construction costs.

[atrainradio]

I was wondering what had happened to 9330. I could hear that signal with a piece of plywood for an antenna. You'd hate to see such a massive antenna, not even ten years old, sit and rot. But yeah, it probably costs a mil per year to run it. Annnnnnd as a few others have mentioned, to be frank, did anyone here actually care about what the loons at World's Last Chance had to say?

[NQC]

Hey Atrainradio,

I will just say that these broadcasts "weren't my cup of tea " either  and leave it at that.

I guess we'll just have to see what happens with the antenna.

NQC

 

[BoomboxDX]

I enjoyed listening to the programs, as their take on religion was fascinating, although I didn't agree with their doctrines. WLC was definitely something different to listen to on the SW bands.

WLC's radio production and presentation were first class, with excellent bumper music that sounded like James Howard or the soundtrack to I Am Legend. Somebody in the organization definitely knew how to do 'radio'.

Obviously, a lot of money went into the equipment, because WBCQ had a killer signal here into the NW US, stronger than most other domestic SW stations. They gave Greenville a run for the money when it comes to US SW signals. The programs must have taken a certain amount of money to produce, as well.

I haven't read anywhere yet that WLC is literally bankrupt, but I sort of doubt they have a lot of members donating, being that they're a small sect, so they probably ran out of money to fund the WBCQ broadcasts. A lot of religious organizations are hurting for money -- the economy being what it is in the US, Canada, UK, and EU.