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Energy 94-1 KTFM change

A

AnyHuman

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Application
Basically it's downgrading power and raising height, moving closer to the center of town. Smart move, if you ask me. It will save on their electric bill and provide better coverage to the listeners in San Antonio.
 
AnyHuman said:
Application
Basically it's downgrading power and raising height, moving closer to the center of town. Smart move, if you ask me. It will save on their electric bill and provide better coverage to the listeners in San Antonio.
Click to expand...

My guess is that the move will cost around $150,000 give or take. The electrical savings might be $200 to $400 a month, depending on the power of the transmitter at the new site. It will take 25 years to amortize that.

The move is obviously intended to improve the signal where more listeners are. That can have immediate payback in a matter of months
 
Wow there's a lot of money involved when dealing with transmitters.
 
AnyHuman said:
Wow there's a lot of money involved when dealing with transmitters.
Click to expand...

Unless the new site has a multi-station panel antenna, the first cost is the antenna and the coax and the riggers to install them. That can run into the low tens of thousands.

Then there is the conditioning of the site, with even a part of a leased building requiring commercial grade electrical, HVAC, security, etc.

Then the transmitter. Likely they will use a new transmitter due to the lower power output requirement and the fact that they need to stay on the air during the move at the old site. Count on around $50 k for top of the line (and about $40 k for second tier gear), plus the audio gear, remote control, etc. Double it for a site with a backup transmitter. Of course, if not too old they can sell the old gear, if it is not seriously outdated.

Add in the outside engineering help required, because one local engineer can't do it alone. And legal fees, permits, etc.
 
Last edited:
DavidEduardo said:


Unless the new site has a multi-station panel antenna, the first cost is the antenna and the coax and the riggers to install them. That can run into the low tens of thousands.

Then there is the conditioning of the site, with even a part of a leased building requiring commercial grade electrical, HVAC, security, etc.

Then the transmitter. Likely they will use a new transmitter due to the lower power output requirement and the fact that they need to stay on the air during the move at the old site. Count on around $50 k for top of the line (and about $40 k for second tier gear), plus the audio gear, remote control, etc. Double it for a site with a backup transmitter. Of course, if not too old they can sell the old gear, if it is not seriously outdated.

Add in the outside engineering help required, because one local engineer can't do it alone. And legal fees, permits, etc.
Click to expand...

David, wiill the reduction is wattage effect the quality of the music being transmitted?
 
I'm not David, but no it shouldn't effect the quality. It will effect the signal. But the way the audio gear and processors are set up will effect the actual audio quality. Hopefully they don't make it sound that bad and distorted. Jack FM sounds real distorted.
 
saradio1 said:
David, wiill the reduction is wattage effect the quality of the music being transmitted?
Click to expand...

No.

Coverage is a product of power and height. You can increase height but you generally have to decrease power. In many cases, increasing height, despite losing power, produces better listenability.

Example of power vs. height. All the full power NYC FMs are Class B, which means a standard of 50,000 watts at 500 feet antenna height. But most of the stations are up on the Empire State Building at around 1350 feet. So they have to reduce power to about 6,000 watts.

Power and height have nothing to do with the quality of the audio. That is dependent on the studio gear and the audio processing... in other words, what they plug into the transmitter. Power and height determine coverage, not quality. A 250 watt translator can sound just as good as a 100,000 full class C FM within each station's coverage area.
 
Here's something I've been using for my low power neighborhood part 15 station. Makes it sound just as good as a full power station, perhaps even better depending on the settings. It's computer software.
http://stereotool.com/
 
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