I've tried, both in Rio Rancho and in the Nob Hill neighborhood of central Albuquerque, to receive KIVA. I get no trace of it at all. I see a "reduced power notification" in the station's FCC filings dated last June, stating that it was operating at 1 kw instead of 10 kw, but even at 1 kw, I should be getting something at 1600. Something going on there?
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KIVA - off air?
- Thread starter Mark Roberts
- Start date
I stumbled across it...at 1660 kHz! It's not an image; it shows up on both Tecsun and Sangean radios This frequency for Albuquerque shows up in no listing. Mystifying.
That's funny.
Bet someone fat fingered the frequency on the kilowatt transmitter.
And, I guess, it is close enough to the licensed frequency that the antenna tuning unit accepts it and the transmitter does not kick off. Were it an old tube transmitter, the finals would be red-hot!!
i dunno about that. .a 3 tower array in Tennessee lost a tower.. and no one knew for 2 days because the transmitter kept on chugging along and it was only discovered when an employee drove by
My knowledge of transmitters is decades out of date, so I'm assuming from this response and the response by @boiseengineer that some transmitters are now frequency-agile. I had wondered about that. Fat-fingering something (1660 instead of 1600) was the only explanation I could come up with.
KIVA must either depend upon streaming or have unusually motivated listeners that will seek out the programming even if it's at the wrong "address". KIVA's programming seems to be mostly syndicated talk plus CBS (!) hourly news. It may be thoroughly automated.
KIVA must still be using its auxiliary transmitter with 1 kw. I was in Nob Hill and there was mild electrical interference under the signal, which wouldn't have happened with 10 kw given KIVA's site on South Broadway, roughly five miles away from my location at the time.
The station is nondirectional so that removes one potential complication.
It's back on 1600 although there's a bit of static in the background.
Will be back in the city next week - I noticed the static on 1660, too, when I was there earlier this week. Makes me wonder what the effective field strength is.
Station filed to temporarily operate at reduced power of 1K Daytime almost a year ago when the10K transmitter bit the dust. The 1600 signal has been poor since then and seems even worse now here near Intel. KDAZ (700) puts out a better signal to the north at their token 450 watts, and the FM translator offers good reception locally. KIVA lost their translator signal, and they promo the app and "Hey Alexa"
500 watts on 700 islike 10kw on 1600, youre comparing apples to ranges
Not sure how one compares an apple to a range. The point is the local station on 1600 apparently continues to operate at greatly reduced power, not 10kw, and the reception at my location is poor. They have also experienced some additional issues recently according to the station owner.
The point being that coverage per given power level is better at lower frequencies, notably so when there's a wide gap between the two frequencies one is comparing. That said, I believe Uncle Don is correct in believing that there's an issue at KIVA, even accounting for the less efficient frequency. I should have gotten noise-free reception at my location in Nob Hill just south of Lomas even with just 1 kw, which is what it's running on reduced power, but had noisy reception instead.
KDAZ is now licensed for 450 watts at 700 kHz, ND - it had been 1,000 watts at 730 with a DA but one of its two towers had recurring problems with copper thefts, according to the filing for STAs and ultimately a modification application.
KDAZ is now licensed for 450 watts at 700 kHz, ND - it had been 1,000 watts at 730 with a DA but one of its two towers had recurring problems with copper thefts, according to the filing for STAs and ultimately a modification application.
730 is "clearing out" in the west what with Medford OR & Boise ID turning in their licenses.
I think my point became disoriented in the messaging. Thank you Mark Roberts for your clarification. Of course, KDAZ does have a more optimal spot on the AM dial but was able to drop a tower and lower power while still putting out a listenable AM signal at my abt 11 mile distance from the tower. They had added a FM translator for fill which is especially beneficial at night. KIVA no longer has a translator. That is a disadvantage as the AM signal is now the only OTA choice which has been very poor for almost a year while using a backup transmitter that appears to have issues. Hopefully, that can be resolved.
Back in Albuquerque for a few more days, this time in the Academy area - yep, KIVA is back on 1600, and the signal up here is, well, not so great. What surprised me was that KDNF (ex-KFJA) from Belen is coming in as well as it does. KIVA must still be on reduced power.
What really sounds bad on AM right now is KRZY. I need to try it at the Academy location; near Nob Hill, it was barely audible, which was strange.
What really sounds bad on AM right now is KRZY. I need to try it at the Academy location; near Nob Hill, it was barely audible, which was strange.
There are four stations "diplexed" on the KRZY tower now (KNMM, KSVA, KKNS are the others). I wonder if that's having an effect on KRZY. I'm lodging about 4 or 5 miles away from that site at the moment but it sounds more like it's 40 miles away.
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