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KBUU Malibu Debuts KBU2 On FM 99.1 HD2

Z

zumabeachhans

71 watts ERP. Transmitter at 936 feet above sea level.
Listener reports from Julian, 144 miles out.
Regular listeners on the PV Peninsula, where terrain blocks KGGI from Lake Arrowhead.
KBUU/Malibu covers most of 22 miles of PCH in Malibu with a fair signal - a few terrain blockages to be sure.
And now ... we are launching KBU2 on 99.1 HD2.
KBUU is all news, 50 percent of it Malibu news, 7a to 9:30a weekdays.
Modern rock, with 2 underwriting announcements and 2 PSAs per hour, all day.
Locals play their picks at night Tues-Sat. NOW! With 50 percent more Pepperdine kids!
Locals play jazz Sun-Mon. Cool public radio stuff Sunday mornings.
On the all-new KBU2, soft launching now:
7-10a Continuous Surf Reports.
10-2 Malibu's Only Local News on a loop.
Not Bad Modern Rock From The 10s, afternoons and evenings.
Why HD?
We're building a pair of on-channel boosters at the east and west end of Malibu, within our theoretical contour but where cliffs block our signal.
We are installing GPS-synchronized digital transmitters, and the HD comes with the digital stuff.
The main signal streams at radiomalibu.net .
HD2 will stream at kbu2.net when we hook it up.
If anyone knows a site developer who wants a quick and simple job, contact us! [email protected]
 
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That is what a LPFM really should be!

Love the idea of local news on a loop so everyone can catch it. Is it streamed, too?
 
KBUU streams at www.radiomalibu.net .
The www.kbu2.net site will stream in a few days. We really need a website creator !
The morning drive surf report won the Golden Mic in LA last year, beating the big guys for best feature reporting. It airs every 5 minutes now ... mornings ... alternating with surf music from the Great Kahuna.
 
zumabeachhans said:
KBUU streams at www.radiomalibu.net .
The www.kbu2.net site will stream in a few days. We really need a website creator !
The morning drive surf report won the Golden Mic in LA last year, beating the big guys for best feature reporting. It airs every 5 minutes now ... mornings ... alternating with surf music from the Great Kahuna.
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Zuma, you have been working on this station in its various forms for many years. - RESPECT!! I have a client in Malibu I visit once a year, I will try to remember to tune in next time.
 
Thanks CF. Next time you're here, you would love the KBUU white knuckle mountain road transmitter tour. The doghouse has an actual lamptimer in it.

After the fire took out our power lines, we were running on generator-fed batteries. We gassed the generator at 4:30am daily, but when rain storms hit, we knew the road would be impassable the next nmorning,

We needed to save battery juice for morning drive, so we installed a lamptimer, signed off the programming at midnight, and the timer took the carrier down 12:05-4:55.

Once we heard carrier in the studio, we played the National Anthem and then resumed programming.
 
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zumabeachhans said:
Thanks CF. Next time you're here, you would love the KBUU white knuckle mountain road transmitter tour. The doghouse has an actual lamptimer in it.

After the fire took out our power lines, we were running on generator-fed batteries. We gassed the generator at 4:30am daily, but when rain storms hit, we knew the road would be impassable the next nmorning,

We needed to save battery juice for morning drive, so we installed a lamptimer, signed off the programming at midnight, and the timer took the carrier down 12:05-4:55.

Once we heard carrier in the studio, we played the National Anthem and then resumed programming.
Click to expand...
That is the commitment I am talking about. Awesome.
 
...aaaand for something very different. Check out KBUU-LP (99.1) HD3.
 
zumabeachhans said:
Thanks CF. Next time you're here, you would love the KBUU white knuckle mountain road transmitter tour. The doghouse has an actual lamptimer in it.

After the fire took out our power lines, we were running on generator-fed batteries. We gassed the generator at 4:30am daily, but when rain storms hit, we knew the road would be impassable the next nmorning,

We needed to save battery juice for morning drive, so we installed a lamptimer, signed off the programming at midnight, and the timer took the carrier down 12:05-4:55.

Once we heard carrier in the studio, we played the National Anthem and then resumed programming.
Click to expand...
Is this where the infamous Lamptimer from the Lumberyard ended up @DrAkbar?
 
This is the first I've heard about as far as an LPFM with a HD subchannel. Was Michi joking about an HD3? Now, that would be something!

It's grassroots, local, community involved radio like yours that restores my faith in the power of radio, and how it can be an important part of the community. People like you and your staff at KBUU are the best reason why LPFM's should continue to exist, and why they were created in the first place.
 
KilowattKat said:
This is the first I've heard about as far as an LPFM with a HD subchannel. Was Michi joking about an HD3? Now, that would be something!

It's grassroots, local, community involved radio like yours that restores my faith in the power of radio, and how it can be an important part of the community. People like you and your staff at KBUU are the best reason why LPFM's should continue to exist, and why they were created in the first place.
Click to expand...
There are three LPFM stations confirmed with HD:
1. 100.9 KVCB-LP Vacaville, CA
>> HD1 - Variety "VCS Radio"
>> HD2 - Student Produced Music
>> HD3 - Classic Radio Drama
>> HD4 - Community Radio
2. 92.7 WMXR-LP Miami, FL
>> HD1 - Hip Hop "Vibe 92.7 FM"
>> HD2 - Hip Hop "The Crib 92.7 HD2"
3. 99.1 KBUU-LP Malibu, CA (+ KBUU-LP-FM2 Zuma Beach)
HD1 - Modern Rock/Community "99.1 KBU"
HD2 - News "Malibu's Only Local Daily News"
HD3 - Japanese Pop "J1 Radio"

Two LPFMs (104.7 KXRN-LP Laguna Niguel, CA and 92.5 WGVV-LP Rock Island, IL) are authorized to transmit in HD in addition to the three listed above.
 
Sorry my second question came up first, but to add below, how about the sound quality especially for the HD4?
 
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dx_sphere said:
There are three LPFM stations confirmed with HD:
1. 100.9 KVCB-LP Vacaville, CA
>> HD1 - Variety "VCS Radio"
>> HD2 - Student Produced Music
>> HD3 - Classic Radio Drama
>> HD4 - Community Radio
2. 92.7 WMXR-LP Miami, FL
>> HD1 - Hip Hop "Vibe 92.7 FM"
>> HD2 - Hip Hop "The Crib 92.7 HD2"
3. 99.1 KBUU-LP Malibu, CA (+ KBUU-LP-FM2 Zuma Beach)
HD1 - Modern Rock/Community "99.1 KBU"
HD2 - News "Malibu's Only Local Daily News"
HD3 - Japanese Pop "J1 Radio"

Two LPFMs (104.7 KXRN-LP Laguna Niguel, CA and 92.5 WGVV-LP Rock Island, IL) are authorized to transmit in HD in addition to the three listed above.
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Are the HD's able to have the same power limit (100 watts) as the main channel? My concern would be the difference in coverage of an HD signal compared to analog, and already at low power how this effects the signal distance. At that low a level of power, I would think sticking with analog would be better to reach more listeners...or maybe the difference isn't enough to even matter.
 
KilowattKat said:
Are the HD's able to have the same power limit (100 watts) as the main channel? My concern would be the difference in coverage of an HD signal compared to analog, and already at low power how this effects the signal distance. At that low a level of power, I would think sticking with analog would be better to reach more listeners...or maybe the difference isn't enough to even matter.
Click to expand...
From KBUU-LP's Digital Notification
Effective Radiated Power:
Analog:0.071 kilowatts
Digital: 0.007 kilowatts
Transmitter Power Output:
Combined (for low-level combined systems): 0.061 kilowatts

I don't think it really matters though.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
i cant access j1hd.com there is something about your webhost that my ISP doesnt like.
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This is a SSL certificate issue. This is one of my to-do's for this weekend.

Edited to add: It should be working now. You can also use the main J1 URL: https://j1fm.tokyo

J1 also operates three internet only channels for the different "eras" in modern Japanese history:
J1 HITS - Reiwa era - (CHR, Current hits & releases after 2019).
J1 XTRA - Heisei era - (Retro, 90s, 00s, 10s)
J1 GOLD - Showa era - (Oldies, 60s, 70s, 80s)

J1 HD is a mixed bag from mostly the Reiwa and Heisei eras with a "Showa memory" inserted at the bottom of the hour as well as some music not heard on the other three J1 channels.

HITS, GOLD and XTRA provide bilingual localized (train) travel and weather information for the Tokyo area where J1 HD provides English train travel, road traffic and weather information for Southern California. All, using automated text-to-speech systems that I designed. While J1HD is connected to the local EAS as required by the regs; HITS, GOLD and XTRA is connected to Japan's Earthquake Early Warning system, and while not 100% effective in providing an early warning, is one of the first places that will tell the world about a significant earthquake in the country.
 
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KilowattKat said:
Are the HD's able to have the same power limit (100 watts) as the main channel? My concern would be the difference in coverage of an HD signal compared to analog, and already at low power how this effects the signal distance. At that low a level of power, I would think sticking with analog would be better to reach more listeners...or maybe the difference isn't enough to even matter.
Click to expand...
Digital ERP is anywhere from 4% to 10% of the analog ERP based on whether there are any nearby first adjacent stations. This is better explained in our page about HD Radio for LPFM Stations.
 
Based on field testing of KBUU-LP, we are finding that the digital signal with 10 dBc (10% digital power) is pretty much duplicating the analog coverage. In addition, 99.1 also has several other LPFM stations on it as well as a more distant full-service FM. We have found that the digital signal has been able to get over the analog noise floor and has been heard in places where the KBUU-LP analog signal is very weak or subject to co-channel interference. KBUU-LP also takes advantage of a so-called "coastal effect" that allows the station (both analog, but especially digital to be heard in the western facing beach communities of Southern California. 6159ebfc9abca[1].png

Not shown on this map is the coverage area for the recently activated KBUU-LP booster which provides additional coverage to the west of Malibu. The new booster, which is also HD, provides coverage along Pacific Coast Highway west of Zuma Beach to the Los Angeles/Ventura county line. Another booster, in the area marked "Malibu Beach" on the above map has been authorized by the FCC and is still in the works will provide an additional fill-in service to provide more continuous coverage along PCH. The Malibu area does provide some very interesting terrain challenges.

While the orange "challenge zone" is based on a Longley/Rice prediction of coverage, we have already received confirmed HD reception reports from Hermosa Beach, the Westchester area around LAX and in Santa Monica. This is where the "coastal effect" comes into play.
 
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