KSET now back on in Golden Triangle

[stan]

Good to hear them back on the air. We'll see if this incarnation can make it long term. They still have nighttime coverage issues (Lumberton and north Jefferson county get the bulk of the signal) and until they can up the power at night they will struggle. They ought to get one of these too frequent religious translators that we have in the Triangle.

 

[jd]

Agreed, hopefully they can make it work this time. Unfortunately for KSET the daytime power isn't quite enough to cover the whole Beaumont-Port Arthur area with a really good signal, and forget Orange. It's very complicated (and not worth a detailed explanation here), but as bad as the night signal is, it turned out that it's about the best they could have done.

They ought to get one of these too frequent religious translators that we have in the Triangle.

That's the best idea, if they could somehow acquire one. Finding one to fit the 25-mile/2mVm daytime rule might not be hard, but finding somebody to part with it would probably be next to impossible. For some reason KZFT in Fannett thought they had to have a translator for Beaumont, and there's no way KHCB would give theirs up either. As far as a new one moving in, I haven't heard of anything in the works.

 

[ContinuousWave]

Well, it was noted on FB that Tom Clay, former "Market Manager and Morning Personality" on KSET has taken a job as a news announcer at WBAP (talk about Clueless really digging the bottom of the barrel)....Also Clay is doing a LMA programming on KCOX in Jasper yet a lot of the ads that run on it are Beaumont advertisers....that won't work well...like Beaumont folks wanting to advertise on Houston stations??? Plus the gun nut programming is still there (one of the frequent ads is from Triangle Tactical....who has had run ins with the law already and says come buy all the guns and needed accessories you need....yeah BANG BANG shoot everything up!! Kill Kill Kill!!! Of course with the area being full of bubba type gun nuts, they probably make money.....I see a local "Ferguson" event happening one day....

Have not seen any action on KSET's license....I bet Bill Hill lets it go when the one year is up.....I PERSONALLY think the station could be improved....but I would rather buy KZZB 990 for cheaper and make its ground system work right so it covers the area like it used to again...

 

[ContinuousWave]

Agreed, hopefully they can make it work this time. Unfortunately for KSET the daytime power isn't quite enough to cover the whole Beaumont-Port Arthur area with a really good signal, and forget Orange. It's very complicated (and not worth a detailed explanation here), but as bad as the night signal is, it turned out that it's about the best they could have done.



That's the best idea, if they could somehow acquire one. Finding one to fit the 25-mile/2mVm daytime rule might not be hard, but finding somebody to part with it would probably be next to impossible. For some reason KZFT in Fannett thought they had to have a translator for Beaumont, and there's no way KHCB would give theirs up either. As far as a new one moving in, I haven't heard of anything in the works.

Ironic JD made mention of the translators....the one KZFT owned they sold to a Lake Charles non-comm religious...an AIR 1 I think....with which 103.7 now, they would not need it! The 94.7 xlator would be a nice signal..it could move since it was licensed a while before the freeze on moving xlators.....and then the 97.1 came up....(which has yet to hit the air though they have a license to cover!!! HMMMM Yes I AM filing on that one; their whole filing especially for the 107.7 is total BS)...

the 96.5 trying to move from Vinton is gonna be in trouble when the FCC gets the packet I sent them ......KHCB has two xlators...the 104.9 in Beaumont which covers down to mid Jeff Co quite well and the 106.7 in Port Neches (same tower as the 94.7) licensed to Vidor...which of course the barely cover...and not the entire COL but it is heard in BMT ok...they didnt need the 104.9 except for the Lumberton area...and the middle class working white folk there....the slums in Beaumont have NO money for their coffers....

HOWEVER, I think the night signal COULD be improved...the Orange situation involves 1310 in Sulphur though it is a Class D and would have to accept interference....I dont think Bruce Merchant would give a hoot about loss of coverage in Orange if 1300 had stronger signal there...

What WOULD be nice if the site could be moved NE of Vidor, go directional toward PA and BMT (which would put them further from KXYZ) and of course have to protect Jennings 1290...and maybe get more power...but given the land cost, etc I doubt that would happen....if the damn FCC opened up the EXband, I would file for one ASAP.....plenty of clean channels here at night..(the Monroe 1680 country does come in nicely and heading into winter means less night noise)

A EX band south of Vidor would cover the entire area day and night...but we are talking the FCC and we know how things work with them now..

With the growth of Lumberton and WEST Beaumont/Sourlake, I doubt it would be worth it to improve 1300 down to PA anyway...but their night signal into MidCounty would use the help....but it probably wont happen....I bet Bill Hill lets the license lapse..with KXXF selling for 250K at a C2 FM, that puts 1300 worth maybe at less than 100K...would not pay more than that....but if I was going to look at ANY AMs, two come to mind...990 (with the ground system fixed and the array redone for better bandwidth and stability as well as a new processor at the transmitter) would be a nice signal..used to be but we all know why its not now....AND 1150.....a move in channel and location could produce a nice Class B station....but it would not be cheap.....at night 1150 is NOT heard in Beaumont at all....and does NOT serve its COL....The audience for it is in Port Arthur, not Port Neches (Vision Latina called itself 1150 Port Arthur when they owned it!)...staying on 1150 wont make anything happen but a channel change coupled with a new tower site and pattern and it would kick butt over the entire area...but I guarantee the current owners wont do that....they probably paid less than 75K for the license (after they spent who knows how much in clearing the property which is now owned by a neighbor and leased by the station....had to so Vision Latina had money to pay the FCC fines they got hit with!)...

Damn the BPO area sucks in radio these days...but then the area itself is nothing like it used to be...and noone seems to care to fix it...

 

[dualux]

CW, I really appreciate reading your analysis of radio in the Beaumont-Port Arthur market on this website, which is spot-on.

A small correction from your last post: KXXF sold for $525,000 plus assumption of debts earlier this year and not for $ 250,000 as you stated.

Just for the sake of playing devil's advocate, I think that KSET would be a better station to buy than the crippled 990-AM simply because of the amount of money that would have to be spent to get 990's former coverage back. At least KSET doesn't have the kind of problems KZZB has and I think it's ready for someone to buy it and fire it up again. I agree it would make a good baby boomer station with old school Top 40...heck even a Black Gospel format might serve the Beaumont market since 990 is barely audible and frequently off the air.

When it was still on the air, I could pick up KSET on my car radio from Groves all the way up to Kountze during the day with good coverage in Beaumont and Lumberton. I just don't see how Hill would let the license expire. Surely someone might want to buy the station if they think they can make money with it.

 

[Mediafrog+]

if the damn FCC opened up the EXband, I would file for one ASAP.....plenty of clean channels here at night..(the Monroe 1680 country does come in nicely and heading into winter means less night noise)

1690 would seem to be able to accommodate a station in SE Texas, given the locations of other stations on that frequency...I think KLAT had a application (CP?) for that back in the 90's, but decided against it. 1670 might also be a possibility, unless it is considered too close to first adjacent KRZI 1660 in Waco.

 

[ContinuousWave]

Well, there is 990 KZZB a 1KW class B in Beaumont and 980 a class B in Houston (both directional away from each other). On the Exband, the distance should allow a 1670/1660 to exist 10kHz apart....Since Brownsville and Dallas area both have a 1700, I think it would workl...HOWEVER, the FCC has not allowed new signals in the Exband in a LONG while...I think an existing signal MAY be able to file a minor change and move to it...but I am not sure if the Exband rules that were used in the original allocations are still considered in effect...The FCC was supposed to review the Exband after some time and allow more moves to it, etc but the actions by a lot of the stations that ended up with Exband allocations and did not turn in their legacy license as it was originally planned put a kink in the plans....1KW at night is not any different than a Class C down in the original MW band...I cannot see why more Exbands are allowed...At night, I can hear both 1700s...but they fade in and out...So with only two signals on the channels thats to be expected..but proved 1KW has some great coverage skywave at night...I would not try a 1700 in the BPT area..but 1690 would work...(and local service is what you worry about anyway)..it would cover the area better than 1300 did...or 990 does!! (depending on where you put it...KOLE (when its on the air) covers into Bmt better than 1300 did into Bmt at night..given the nite time "floppy boobies" pattern of 1300, not surprised....but still...990 does not make it to PA anymore..where it SHOULD....(KOLE's CE in the 70s, Roland Ritcher, did an excellent job on the grounding system....and killed an idea by mgmnt to move it to midcounty...by showing the ground conductivity loss would HURT its signal into Bmt at 250w back then)...hence KOLE would beat KAYC in the ratings at night overall though KAYC on 1450 had a 5/8wave @ 250w vs the 3/8 wave of KOLE (chosen to be closer to a 50ohm resistive input with a simple reactance to be tuned out and being between a 1/4 and 1/2 wave had a lower take off angle vs the 1/4 wave...a 5/8wl has more lower angle signal BUT also starts to show more skywave radiation....NOT a good thing..which is why WLWs and WSMs Blaw-Knox antennas were shortened...it is now generally accepted that 195-200 degrees is the best unless you can run a real Franklin..which doesnt need a ground radial system..its a true dipole above ground!)..

 

[Mediafrog+]

At night, I can hear both 1700s...but they fade in and out...So with only two signals on the channels thats to be expected..but proved 1KW has some great coverage skywave at night...

Both KKLF in DFW and KVNS in Brownsville have been heard in Western Australia around 10,500 miles away, so yes, the night signals get out quite nicely.

would not try a 1700 in the BPT area..but 1690 would work...

There are five U.S. stations on 1690: In California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, and Maryland. So it would seem that one could fit in SE Texas.

 

[Unregistered]

Both KKLF in DFW and KVNS in Brownsville have been heard in Western Australia around 10,500 miles away, so yes, the night signals get out quite nicely.

Can't speak for KVNS, but I've noticed that KKLF is a lot better than it used to be before it was bought by it's current owner. I've never been able to hear it before, until a few months back. Now it comes in every night. Either they are running it with daytime power at night, or they've made some big improvements to the transmitter.

 

[Unregistered]

I concur. KKLF is a nightly catch now. That was never the case before.

 

[frankberry]

The station is non-directional. It's probably running 10kW at night rather than it's licensed 1kW.

 

[ContinuousWave]

KKLF has a CP to moves sites closer to Dallas....I have read on the Dallas forum they may not shut down the day site at miles apart from the night tower...

In the CP, I THINK one site stays as is..I need to look at it again.
SO they are getting a 10db boost at night from the day site on, OR they are already operating from the new tower sites (which is down??)...omni station 24/7 needing day and nite DIFFERENT tower sites w/ power drop at night?? This just is not right!!

 

[Unregistered]

Remember it's Gerald Benavides

This just is not right!!

Well, look at who the owner is.
In the FCC Database, CLARO COMMUNICATIONS, LTD=B COMMUNICATIONS JOINT VENTURE=GERALD BENAVIDES=ALICIA BENAVIDES=ST. JUDE BROADCASTING. They've all got the same mailing address last I checked, and are most definitely the same person, Jerry Benavides.
So he owns a bunch of TV stations, a non-commercial FM, a few commercial AMs and FMs... This definitely isn't right. LOL