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Amarillo changes
- Thread starter txchipk
- Start date
Thanks!
Quote Originally Posted by blaster69
"W.J. Fairchild and Gary Fox were great in their day. Z-93 was quite the station at one time.
I'll second that. When it first hit the air (1976) Z93 was an astonishingly good station for the market size...far better than what you could get in much bigger cities. After a couple of years, they started screwing with the playlist, and could never really develop a consistent sound--It would lurch from decent to crap and back over a span of months. That was after Fairchild left for OKC (he did come back to help launch KLSF in the mid-80's, IIRC.)"
Gary Foxe and I thank you for the kind words. I googled Z-93 Amarillo the other day and ran across this thread for the first time. We worked hard to produce a good morning show and had a ton of fun doing it. I didn't expect anyone else to remember it though. Working in radio sometimes feels like your words or that killer segue or whatever leaves the tower at the speed of light never to be heard from or thought of again. We spun actual records back then. Many humble thanks for the shout out. All of us there loved that station and I was sad when times changed and the format was dropped. A lot of great people worked there over the years. I was fortunate enough to be there when it signed on in November of '76. At one point I was the MD and later the PD. I left in '79 for Lite FM in OKC, and picked up a First Class Radiotelephone license and became a Chief Engineer. In '82, I was hired back at "The Z" as their CE. In '84 Keith Adams hired me to physically build KLSF (Class FM or KLS as it was known). I did exactly one on-air shift on KLS when someone called in sick and that was the last time I ever DJ'd. I continued to contract engineer for Z-93, and about 8 other panhandle stations, until I left Amarillo to be a CE in Portland OR in '87. Thanks again for the mention. It means a lot. WJ
I'll second that. When it first hit the air (1976) Z93 was an astonishingly good station for the market size...far better than what you could get in much bigger cities. After a couple of years, they started screwing with the playlist, and could never really develop a consistent sound--It would lurch from decent to crap and back over a span of months. That was after Fairchild left for OKC (he did come back to help launch KLSF in the mid-80's, IIRC.)
Quote Originally Posted by blaster69
"W.J. Fairchild and Gary Fox were great in their day. Z-93 was quite the station at one time.
I'll second that. When it first hit the air (1976) Z93 was an astonishingly good station for the market size...far better than what you could get in much bigger cities. After a couple of years, they started screwing with the playlist, and could never really develop a consistent sound--It would lurch from decent to crap and back over a span of months. That was after Fairchild left for OKC (he did come back to help launch KLSF in the mid-80's, IIRC.)"
Gary Foxe and I thank you for the kind words. I googled Z-93 Amarillo the other day and ran across this thread for the first time. We worked hard to produce a good morning show and had a ton of fun doing it. I didn't expect anyone else to remember it though. Working in radio sometimes feels like your words or that killer segue or whatever leaves the tower at the speed of light never to be heard from or thought of again. We spun actual records back then. Many humble thanks for the shout out. All of us there loved that station and I was sad when times changed and the format was dropped. A lot of great people worked there over the years. I was fortunate enough to be there when it signed on in November of '76. At one point I was the MD and later the PD. I left in '79 for Lite FM in OKC, and picked up a First Class Radiotelephone license and became a Chief Engineer. In '82, I was hired back at "The Z" as their CE. In '84 Keith Adams hired me to physically build KLSF (Class FM or KLS as it was known). I did exactly one on-air shift on KLS when someone called in sick and that was the last time I ever DJ'd. I continued to contract engineer for Z-93, and about 8 other panhandle stations, until I left Amarillo to be a CE in Portland OR in '87. Thanks again for the mention. It means a lot. WJ
Gary Foxe and I thank you for the kind words. I googled Z-93 Amarillo the other day and ran across this thread for the first time.
WJ, thanks for the update. I actually met you once, when you were installing the original KLSF transmitter (a BE unit, IIRC) in 1985. The Amarillo radio market has changed quite a bit, as I've discovered on my travels through the city. I recall a time when you could count the number of Amarillo FMs on one hand; now there are over three dozen FMs in the market. AM radio there has apparently fallen into irrelevance, outside of KGNC 710.
Don't think I've had two posts 13 years apart in the same thread before...
Never said I wasn't slow
Had the recent occasion to hear an old cassette aircheck of myself on "The Z" in '79. Was reminded how much radio has changed. Working in the biz back in those days was a lot of fun.
Yes, KLS (KLSF) had a BE-FM30. Z-93 (KQIZ-FM) was running a McMartin BF-25K, purchased new in '76. Last I heard, they were still on with a newer exciter but that may no longer be the case.
Between AMs and HD2s, HD3s, etc. having translators, the FM band seems nearly full in all markets these days.
Had the recent occasion to hear an old cassette aircheck of myself on "The Z" in '79. Was reminded how much radio has changed. Working in the biz back in those days was a lot of fun.
Yes, KLS (KLSF) had a BE-FM30. Z-93 (KQIZ-FM) was running a McMartin BF-25K, purchased new in '76. Last I heard, they were still on with a newer exciter but that may no longer be the case.
Between AMs and HD2s, HD3s, etc. having translators, the FM band seems nearly full in all markets these days.
i was cheif engineer (on a contract basis) for KLS (KLSF) not long after WJFairchild left. I have to compliment him on the excellant job he did with the installation. Of the many radio stations where I have worked, his was by far the most organized installation I have ever seen. Between the shielded 33 pair cables run to 66 blocks and the excellant documentation he left, it made my job MUCH easier. When I oversaw the installation of KPUR and KPUR-FM after Keith Adams purchased all three stations and moved them all into the building with KLS (KLSF), I did my best to follow his excellent example. After the completion I parted ways with Mr. Adams and spent three years as chief engineer at KGNC AM & FM before moving away and leaving 22 years in radio & TV behind.
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