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The Okeechobee Transmitter Site: A History of "Big Water”

The WRMI facility in Okeechobee (a Seminole Indian word for “Big Water”), Florida, is widely considered the "crown jewel" of private international broadcasting. Its story is one of survival, engineering ingenuity, and the expansion from religious powerhouse to a global platform for all voices.

1. The Pre-Florida Roots (1927–1976)

The lineage of the Okeechobee site actually begins in Boston, Massachusetts.

  • The Experimental Era: In 1927, station W1XAL was granted one of the first shortwave licenses in the U.S.  Programming was mostly educational with a sprinkling of music and entertainment.  In 1939 the station moved about 20 miles south of Boston to Scituate.  It occupied the former powerhouse and grounds of a WWI- era military test facility. 

  • The World War II Effort: Under the callsign WRUL (World Radio University for the Listener), the station moved to Scituate, MA. During the war, it was leased by the U.S. Government to beam news into occupied Europe, Africa and Latin America.  The U.S. government used the facilities for Voice of America broadcasts during and after WWII up to the early 1950s.  WRUL resumed some of its own programming in 1947.  The VOA lease ended in 1954, and 100% of the programming was back to WRUL.

  • Commercial Station: With the new callsign WNYW, the station became “Radio New York Worldwide,” with studios in New York City, CBS newscasts and a variety of commercial programming.

  • Family Radio Acquisition: In 1973, Family Stations, Inc. (Family Radio) purchased the facility and renamed it WYFR ("We're Your Family Radio").  An airtime exchange agreement with the Voice of Free China began on January 1, 1982.  An airtime exchange agreement with the BBC started on February 22, 1996.  In 1998, WYFR was broadcasting 209 transmitter hours daily.

2. The Move to Florida (1977)

As the Boston suburbs grew, the Scituate site became cramped and prone to signal interference. Family Radio sought a location that was flat, remote, and geographically ideal for reaching Europe, Africa, Latin America and beyond.

  • Why Okeechobee? The site—20 miles north of Lake Okeechobee—offered 660 acres of pancake-flat land, which is perfect for the massive ground-plane required for shortwave antennas.

  • The Migration: Starting in 1977, the station began a "phased move." Each time a new transmitter was built or moved to Florida, one was decommissioned in Massachusetts. By 1979, the transition was complete, and Florida became the primary hub.

3. The "Homebrew" Continental Transmitters

The technical legend of the Okeechobee site lies in its transmitters. While the station owns some Continental Electronics 418-D units, the engineers at WYFR did something remarkable: they purchased the blueprints and key components from Continental and built their own copies on-site.

  • This "homebrew" approach resulted in a transmitter hall that is virtually unique in the world—a long row of high-power, water-cooled transmitter cabinets designed for 24/7 reliability.

  • By 1988, the site reached its current capacity of 14 transmitters.

4. The WRMI Era (2013–Present)

In 2013, Family Radio faced a financial crisis following the failed "Judgment Day" predictions of its founder, Harold Camping. The massive Okeechobee site went dark in June of that year.

  • The Rescue: Jeff White, the founder of WRMI (which was then a smaller operation in Miami), recognized that if the site were sold for scrap or parts, the Western Hemisphere would lose its most powerful independent voice.

  • The Transition: In December 2013, WRMI purchased the entire complex. In a massive logistical feat, WRMI moved its operations from Miami to Okeechobee, hired back the veteran engineering staff, and brought all 14 transmitters back to life.

5. The Site Today: A Working Ranch

The 660-acre property is as much a farm as it is a radio station.

  • Co-existence: The land under the massive antenna wires is leased from the J.C. Bass family which uses it for cattle grazing. The cows keep the grass low around the antennas," which reduces fire risk and maintenance costs.  The radio operations do not interfere with the cattle business.

  • Resilience: The facility is designed to be self-sustaining, with heavy-duty climate control and its own power management systems to survive Florida's intense thunderstorm seasons.

 

 

Technical Summary of the Site:

  • Land Area: 660 Acres (approx. 1 square mile).

  • Building Size: 16,000 square foot transmitter building.

  • Antenna Count: 23 (Rhombics, Log-Periodics, and Curtain).

  • Current Status: Largest privately owned shortwave station in the Western Hemisphere.

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