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Kansas City talk FM stations in stereo

0

011nerve

Guest
Why are many of the talk stations in Kansas City broadcasting with stereo signals?
*KCUR 89.3
*KMBZ-FM 98.1
*K257DZ 99.3
*K268CF 101.5
*K279BI 103.7
*K284CH 104.7
I know 89.3, 99.3 and 104.7 sometimes play music so that makes more sense.
It's funny because some of the music-playing stations are mono.
*KCPZ-LP 95.3
*KPPZ-LP 98.5 (when on)
*KOJH-LP 100.5 (when on)
*K291CN 106.1 (Their stream is mono too)

Is it cheaper to operate mono? Maybe that's why so many LPFMs do it. I know in some cases mono can eliminate static, so maybe that's why.

It doesn't explain the news/talk stations in stereo though.
 
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I wondered about this too, my idea is that it could be the advertisers - they produce their ads in stereo and they want them broadcast in stereo.


Kirk Bayne
 
How about 106.1, why is their stream and FM signal in mono? Doesn't make sense, they're Urban Gospel most of the time but they do have occasional talk/preaching.
 
AFAIK, 106.1 is a translator for (mono) AM KPRT 1590, could be advertisers again, they don't expect stereo on KPRT so they don't expect it on the stream or FM translator either.


Kirk Bayne
 
I thought of that but I don't think it's the advertisers who decide to use mono. Probably the engineers.
 
011nerve said:
Is it cheaper to operate mono? Maybe that's why so many LPFMs do it.
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Not really. Back in the day (1970s and before) when AM ruled the world you had plenty of broadcast equipment that was mono only. But it would be hard to find new mono equipment these days.

kfbkfb said:
I wondered about this too, my idea is that it could be the advertisers - they produce their ads in stereo and they want them broadcast in stereo.
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Unlikely. I have never heard of an advertiser demanding stereo. Many ads are not even produced in stereo.

KPRT's FM translator is probably in mono on account of never purchasing stereo equipment for their studio. Small stations like that may well have equipment over 50 years old.
 
Of course, we can thank the FCC for selecting an FM stereo method that needs (IIRC) ~23dB more signal than a mono signal for the same noise level (too bad they didn't also add a simple compression/expansion analog noise reduction system to the "stereo" difference signal back in ~1961).


Kirk Bayne
 
Some of those small transmitters for home use have a stereo/mono toggle. I've heard them with both mono and stereo, and if I want hi-fi I'd use mono because of the stereo-only static.
 
Processors nowadays can switch to stereo when there's stereo content, then back to mono when there isn't.
And no, there's no difference in power consumption between mono & stereo.
 
Most modern car radios have such aggressive stereo blending on FM that you only hear the signal in stereo when it's extremely strong. It's not like 1980s radios which would be constantly jumping between hissy stereo and clean mono in fringe areas. So the coverage disadvantage of stereo is not nearly as much as it used to be.

However, I don't think any modern car radios have a stereo indicator on FM. So it's not like 30 years ago when every other FM station would light up the bright red ST indicator and listeners might think there's something wrong with your station if it doesn't.
 
Probably due to inattention more than anything else.

Outstate, Moberly's KRES was well-known for turning the stereo pilot off during Cardinals baseball broadcasts and other sporting events. In Columbia, KFRU's FM translator is broadcasting in mono.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
KPRT's FM translator is probably in mono on account of never purchasing stereo equipment for their studio. Small stations like that may well have equipment over 50 years old.
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KPRT, KPRS & Carter Broadcast Group definitely don't have equipment over 50 years old. They aren't some rinky dink operation.

In fact, I know the KPRT studio got a replacement board 20+ years ago because the old one started smoking & they decided to replace it rather than try to fix whatever happened to it. I was told this by someone who worked there at the time, since it happened after I had stopped working there. I don't remember the brand of the board that was replaced, but it looked like the one in this photo of a different station:
radio-room-Ice-Radio.jpg


Other people can probably tell just by looking at it who made that board & what time frame it's from. I'm guessing it was an 80's/90's board & would've been 10-20 years old at the time.
 
You're not really helping their case. A company who replaces their equipment only when it literally catches fire is the definition of rinky-dink. :ROFLMAO:
 
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PTBoardOp94 said:
You're not really helping their case. A company who replaces their equipment only when it literally catches fire is the definition of rinky-dink. :ROFLMAO:
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I don't know how often they replaced their other equipment, but I'm guessing it didn't take catching fire to do so. A lot of the people who were there at the time I was, had been there since the station was near Crown Center and probably before that (like Chris King). If it was a rinky dink company, they wouldn't have stayed that long.
 
They did fix the processing a little on 106.1, it's mono but the volume seems a lot more consistent, so maybe they stopped acting rinky dink and installed a processor.
 
95.3 is still mono now but has lots of trebble with the volume maybe too high so it sounds a bit like a waterfall.
 
KCMO-AM's repeater on 103.7 is now mono. KMBZ 98.1 is still stereo though...

Also Hot 103 Jamz is now mono audio with a stereo transmitter, they said their audio board blew out during the storms Friday night so I imagine they need a new one.
 
KPRS is still mono audio with a stereo transmitter, but now the balance is slightly right.

106.9 is currently using what sounds like an internet feed suitable for a dial-up connection. Hopefully when they upgrade it, they improve the quality. At least it's stereo audio.
 
KCMO's translator on 103.7 is back to stereo transmitter with mono audio, just like Hot 103 Jamz is still. LOL is this the new ttrend or are they just using the same engineer making the same mistake on both? :p
 
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