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KBUU Covers 95 Miles Out on 71 Watts!

Z

zumabeachhans

Our little low-power FM station sits 825 feet above the Malibu coast and transmits on 99.1 FM. We have real terrain problems on PCH and cover about 70 percent of Malibu.

Full-power KGGI is on the same frequency with a tower at Lake Arrowhead, about 80 miles east.

And there are two other LPFMs on the same channel: 50-watt KTPC in Venice, and 100-watt KLBP in Long Beach.

But down in San Diego, nobody on 99.1 - there are two big signals up and down from us, on 98.9 and 99.3. Neither of those towers has any altitude.

So when there are no big winds and the inversion later clamps down on the LA Basin, KBUU comes in clearly on car radios at Camp Pendleton. That's 95 miles southeast on 71 Watts.

And that's despite the FCC requirement that we use directional antennas pointed 90 degrees and 180 degrees from San Diego.

I just find that remarkable.
 
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zumabeachhans said:
Our little low-power FM station sits 825 feet above the Malibu coast and transmits on 99.1 FM. We have real terrain problems on PCH and cover about 70 percent of Malibu.

Full-power KGGI is on the same frequency with a tower at Lake Arrowhead, about 80 miles east.

And there are two other LPFMs on the same channel: 50-watt KTPC in Venice, and 100-watt KLBP in Long Beach.

But down in San Diego, nobody on 99.1 - there are two big signals up and down from us, on 98.9 and 99.3. Neither of those towers has any altitude.

So when there are no big winds and the inversion later clamps down on the LA Basin, KBUU comes in clearly on car radios at Camp Pendleton. That's 95 miles southeast on 71 Watts.

And that's despite the FCC requirement that we use directional antennas pointed 90 degrees and 180 degrees from San Diego.

I just find that remarkable.
Click to expand...

What are you playing on the station?
 
Nice to meet you, xmtrland. And may I introduce you to F.R.C. §73.816(c)(2) ?
"LPFM permittees and licensees proposing a waiver of the second-adjacent channel spacing requirements of § 73.807 may utilize directional antennas for the sole purpose of justifying such a waiver."
Thanks for playing.
 
ChannelFlipper said:
What are you playing on the station?
Click to expand...

Almost but not quite all-news mornings 6-9:20.
AAA middays.
Volunteer hosts play rock Tu-Fr 7-10pm.
Hard Drive Dump 60s-70s top 40 and FM rock, Sat night.
LA Phil or NY Phil and then INTERESTING and local public affairs Sun mornings.
The Big Kahuna plays surf music Fri Sat 3-6pm.
Locals Play Jazz Sunday and Monday nights.
Breaking news all the time.
Fire evacuation instructions when necessary.

You can always see our music log at
https://onlineradiobox.com/us/kbuulp/
 
975KBU said:
Nice to meet you, xmtrland. And may I introduce you to F.R.C. §73.816(c)(2) ?
"LPFM permittees and licensees proposing a waiver of the second-adjacent channel spacing requirements of § 73.807 may utilize directional antennas for the sole purpose of justifying such a waiver."
Thanks for playing.
Click to expand...

Yup, like with our CP for the booster.

Michelle rules! :)
 
QSL request from Julian from a regular listener - 144 miles -

KBUU-LP is sending out a QSL card to a nice man from Julian, Calif., 144 miles from our transmitter.
He reports his house has a mountain to the north blocking co-channel KGGI from Lake Arrowhead, and first channel adjacent XHMORE/Tijuana (98.9) and XHATE/Tecate and XHCOL/Tijuana (both 99.3).
 
If anything, in LPFM, a directional antenna limits radiation, not improve it. The antenna still has to have it's authorized ERP at the peak lobe. The directional antenna only means that a different TPO can be used in order to reach that authorized ERP. KBUU is on a DA because of a nearby structure that would not meet the second-adjacent requirements without it. The nulls are towards higher terrain.

Why KBUU does so well is because of foothill effect, the antenna placed in a spot that is considerably higher than the area intended to be served but lower than the surrounding terrain behind it. This reduces the HAAT meaning they can run higher power. There are several foothill effect LPFMs out there, like KBUU-LP in Malibu, KQLH-LP in Yucaipa, KWSV-LP in Simi Valley and KMGG-LP in Albuquerque, NM.
 
We have a pirate station in Salt Lake City that covers the entire valley (around 500 square miles) with what sounds like a City-grade signal. I'm not sure if it's Part-15 compliant, or not.
They don't ID. It's running continuous Spanish religious music (sort of like a K-Love format), but no talk. They ran a couple of live church services on Sundays before COVID, but not now. They have been on the air for more than a year.
 
kenglish said:
We have a pirate station in Salt Lake City that covers the entire valley (around 500 square miles) with what sounds like a City-grade signal. I'm not sure if it's Part-15 compliant, or not.
They don't ID. It's running continuous Spanish religious music (sort of like a K-Love format), but no talk. They ran a couple of live church services on Sundays before COVID, but not now. They have been on the air for more than a year.
Click to expand...


lol really? you answered your own quesiton.. "im not sure if its part 15 compliant".... not a fat chance!
 
kenglish said:
We have a pirate station in Salt Lake City that covers the entire valley (around 500 square miles) with what sounds like a City-grade signal. I'm not sure if it's Part-15 compliant, or not.
They don't ID. It's running continuous Spanish religious music (sort of like a K-Love format), but no talk. They ran a couple of live church services on Sundays before COVID, but not now. They have been on the air for more than a year.
Click to expand...

Grand Rapids, MI had a Spanish religious music pirate on 104.9 for a few years. It stopped not long after two Spanish religious LPFMs signed on
 
kenglish said:
We have a pirate station in Salt Lake City that covers the entire valley (around 500 square miles) with what sounds like a City-grade signal. I'm not sure if it's Part-15 compliant, or not.
They don't ID. It's running continuous Spanish religious music (sort of like a K-Love format), but no talk. They ran a couple of live church services on Sundays before COVID, but not now. They have been on the air for more than a year.
Click to expand...

I guarantee you that if it is a pirate and it covers the entire Salt Lake Valley, that it is definitely NOT Part-15 complaint. It’s a pirate!
 
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