102.5 K273CD Ready To Start Jumpin'

[93QClassic.com]

Well, here we go again. Folks a little west of Houston may have noticed a new signal on 102.5. Lo' and Behold, 1090 KULF now has an FM translator... Currently broadcasting from a tower near Monaville, it reportedly can be heard in Katy when the band isn't acting up. Won't be there long, however. This station is a tadpole about to become a frog that will start jumping.

How? Well, FCC rules prohibit big jumps. Recall 106.1 K291CE, which couldn't jump all the way from Simonton to Houston. Each jump had to be a baby jump -- e.g., jumping to a new tower at the edge of its contour. Then another jump to the edge of its new contour. K291CE jumped from Simonton to Rosenberg to Missouri City. In a month or so it'll be built out at a tower located on Senior Road.

Keeps watching, folks. 102.5 will jump to Katy next, then will try for Mo City.

 

[Mediafrog+]

At a check a short while ago, I'm hearing a station in mono running South Asian music on 102.5. Long pauses between songs, no ID's and NOT a simulcast of KULF, so it appears they are testing (assuming I'm really hearing K273CD.) Signal is poor to fair at my location, but is overriding either KMKS or KTCX. Monaville is around 28 miles from my Cy-Fair location.

Apparently this station was originally licensed to Brenham. Not sure if they can continue the zombie walk into Houston, as there are some area LPFM applicants that are seeking a move to 102.5 during the current three month window for resolving mutually exclusive conflicts before final grants are made.

 

[Unregistered]

Let's leave this one alone. Shall we?

 

[93QClassic.com]

Apparently this station was originally licensed to Brenham. Not sure if they can continue the zombie walk into Houston, as there are some area LPFM applicants that are seeking a move to 102.5 during the current three month window for resolving mutually exclusive conflicts before final grants are made.

MediaFrog, this is the part where money talks. Look at the example of the K291CE 106.1 translator about to move to Senior Road. Right now it has a southwest directional construction permit to protect the potential LPFM on 106.1. A minor amendment app will be filed as soon as its built out because, according to the grapevine, a deal has already been reached to make the LPFM on 106.1 either go away or relocate. Then 106.1 will be able to cover nondirectional from 1800 feet with 250 watts. We are already seeing how well its doing at 300 feet in Rosenberg...

I can't pick up 102.5 in Mo City, but your report of Asian music doesn't surprise me. Raftt isn't interested in programming these translators they're moving in. They're interested in making a lot of money from the Asians, Muslims, and Pakistanis. 106.1 is already dominated by the latter on weekends. What do you think will happen when the foreigners offer Raftt more money than Fort Bend ISD. Say bye-bye to English announcers and good classic hits...

 

[purpledevil]

Don't remember ever hearing it on in Brenham before, and apparently it's now licensed to the 'Ville (Bell, not Mona). Gonna have to check it from the house this weekend. Sooner this one gets out of my backyard the better.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Checking 102.5 mid-Sunday afternoon 2/1: K273CD is now simulcasting KULF 1090, but the FM is about 15 seconds behind the AM. Signal fair with some dropouts while driving around in Cy-Fair. Not hearing KMKS or KTCX during signal fades.

 

[ContinuousWave]

Tropo was low Sunday due to the front passing thru....Havent checked the tropo maps yet but I bet KTCX eventually will slam it...It's only a matter of time.

 

[purpledevil]

KTCX isn't the biggest problem. KMKS from Bay City will be this translator's biggest nemesis. Like KNTE, it's a regular visitor in Harris County, and up until this translator signed on, it did pretty well in my little slice of Austin County. 93Q has this one right, it's only a matter of time before it hops to the next lilly pad.

I checked K273CD out this weekend and it is indeed airing KULF on a delay.

Oh goodie...

 

[93QClassic.com]

Checking 102.5 mid-Sunday afternoon 2/1: K273CD is now simulcasting KULF 1090, but the FM is about 15 seconds behind the AM. Signal fair with some dropouts while driving around in Cy-Fair. Not hearing KMKS or KTCX during signal fades.

Interesting... If its a true translator, there shouldn't be a delay, right?

I noticed the same thing about 106.1. Not only is there a delay, but 106.1 is in stereo, while 102.1 HD 3 is not stereo -- or at least it wasn't the last time I checked. Separate feeds, obviously.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Interesting... If its a true translator, there shouldn't be a delay, right?

A FM translator for an AM station can use a direct studio feed. Rebroadcasting an AM OTA signal would defeat the purpose of the FM, as you would have the poor sound quality and interference.

The delay might be a result of an internet feed.[/QUOTE]

 

[Unregistered]

If I'm correct, translators not retransmitting FM signals can be fed however they want to. It's only when they're using FM that they have to transmit over the air.

 

[93QClassic.com]

A FM translator for an AM station can use a direct studio feed.

Thanks for the clarification, which means K273CD is legitimately translating. Still doesn't explain how K291CE can have wonderful stereo separation, and the 102.1 HD3 it is rebroadcasting sounds like audio through a tin can.

 

[ContinuousWave]

A FM translator for an AM station can use a direct studio feed. Rebroadcasting an AM OTA signal would defeat the purpose of the FM, as you would have the poor sound quality and interference.

The delay might be a result of an internet feed.

Actually, a fill-in translator for any FM station within the 1mV contour can use any method to feed it....74.1231(b). Of course, a translator contour cannot exceed the main signal's 1mV contour UNLESS owned by another owner. If it does, it is no longer a fill-in and must use OTA reception if the output is above 92.0. Below 92.0, they can use still use any method available.

 

[93QClassic.com]

Just a few more notes to add to this one. Digging deeper, I found that this Bellville translator was in 2013 purchased from Houston Christian Broadcasters KHCB for 30K. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS...?appn=101573545&qnum=5030&copynum=1&exhcnum=1 It was bought by an entity registered as JLF Communications. JLF, however, has not paid its taxes and the Secretary of State has involuntarily ended that company's right to transact business in the State of Texas. https://mycpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/s...ications &Button=search&Search_ID=32035580334

Interesting enought, the mailing address for K273CD is the same as K291CE, which is Don Werlinger's base of operations on Rockley Road. In another thread way back when, someone posted that this one would have more twists and turns that a Spanish novella. They weren't kidding!

 

[purpledevil]

In another thread way back when, someone posted that this one would have more twists and turns that a Spanish novella. They weren't kidding!

Was I wrong, Joe?

...and you've only scratched the surface. Interesting note on JLF. Did you know that this is also the company that purchased 1090 KULF? I wonder, Joe, how DID they get KULF for a ridiculous $10k, when Roy Henderson was asking a whopping 1/4 million for the little class D, when he owned it.

Ponder that for a moment, if you will.

 

[Mediafrog+]

The impending launch of KAYZ-LP downtown will keep K273CD from going too deep into metro Houston.

 

[93QClassic.com]

The impending launch of KAYZ-LP downtown will keep K273CD from going too deep into metro Houston.

Correct, unless they pay them to fade away. Remember, initially 106.1 was granted a permit to move to one of the Senior Road towers only as a directional with the lobe of power going away from Houston. This was because there was an issue with an LPFM. See attached photo. Before I knew that Bob Morrow was actually Don Werlinger, and was hanging out over there at RAFTT, one day he bragged to me that they were going to be able to amend it to nondirectional -- that they paid a lot of money to make the LPFM go away. Sure enough, there's a new amendment to make the Senior Road signal non directional.

Understand, by paying chump change for a translator and moving it to a Senior Road tower, RAFTT is effectively creating a million dollar property. Another broadcaster playing this game of "stick chess" did this many years ago -- paying chump change for a worthless station in Jasper. He then jacked it way up in the air on a tower in Winnie so it'd cover Houston. Although he had to pay off some investors -- some who to this day insist they got screwed in the deal -- that broadcaster collected like he owned a Hotel on Park Place in the game of Monopoly.