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Major Changes Coming to KZAR/KMLR

  • Thread starter Deleted member 108832
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Deleted member 108832

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EMF has filed to modify the license of KZAR McQueeney/San Antonio, changing its operating channel from 97.7 to 106.3. This moves the facility closer to SA, but comes with a considerable overall downgrade from the current C1, all the way down to a C3.

KMLR Gonzales, the current occupant of 106.3, would move in reverse to 97.7, as a 100kW C1, basically replicating the coverage of the current McQueeney facility..

I have but one question. Why?

Details here:

KZAR

KMLR
 
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Effectively, they are switching the callsign and community of license on the two existing facilities and then modifying 106.3 to a directional pattern which will be transmitting from between New Braunfels and San Marcos instead of it's current location near Luling.
 
Exactly, but what is the purpose? Unless they flip formats on the two, 97.7 will become K-Love, and 106.3 becomes Air 1. Seems like a lot of trouble to go through, if getting K-Love on the bigger signal is the end game. I got the last move in SA. It didn't hurt Corpus at all, and it netted a new in town signal for San Antonio. This one, however, is a head scratcher.
 
rosecitymedia said:
Exactly, but what is the purpose?
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This will greatly improve their coverage in Comal and Hays Counties which are two of the fastest growing in the nation. Currently Air 1 is on 97.7 which is an okay signal and K-Love is on 106.3 which isn't great. The new 106.3 signal will put a 70 dBu over basically all of this corridor.

This swap allows 106.3 to relocate because it is no long serving Gonzales. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a second part of the move involving 97.7. Gonzales currently has an AM, a NCE FM, two more NCE apps, and KMLR/KZAR. So they could move somewhere else.

Originally, I believe there was a plan for 97.7 to move all the way downtown SA (it started life down in Cuero), but it required a number of additional station moves (including KAJA) and it eventually fell apart.
 
If I remember somewhat correctly, close to 20 stations would have been involved. 97.7 would have been on the Tower of the Americas, 96.9 the new home of KJ97 and a new 97.3 in Austin.

The 106.3 move will fill in a slight gap in the 91.3 (Lytle) and 105.9 (Austin) coverage in two high growth counties. The 103.7 in San Antonio doesn’t make it up to Canyon Lake, so 97.7 is the current Air1 option.

97.7 as K-Love and 106.3 as Air1 (factoring in the tower move) would essentially do the same thing coverage wise.

I haven’t listened to 97.7 since their 977Rock days, but the signal (at least here in Canyon Lake) was better than expected.
 
dlf1 said:
If I remember somewhat correctly, close to 20 stations would have been involved. 97.7 would have been on the Tower of the Americas, 96.9 the new home of KJ97 and a new 97.3 in Austin.
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I know it would have been hard to move the SA 96.9 LPFMs and Austin 97.1 and 97.5 translators. Also 97.3 in Austin probably wouldn’t be too strong with 97.5 KWTX in Waco
 
HTX said:
I know it would have been hard to move the SA 96.9 LPFMs and Austin 97.1 and 97.5 translators. Also 97.3 in Austin probably wouldn’t be too strong with 97.5 KWTX in Waco
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It’s actually not hard. LPFMs and translators are class d facilities and can be displaced with the move or addition of a full powered facility.

KWTX was supposed to be moved into Austin anyway as part of the plan.
 
I can kind of see the point in moving KMLR but not KZAR, Why not just change KZAI to K-love?
 
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HTX said:
I know it would have been hard to move the SA 96.9 LPFMs and Austin 97.1 and 97.5 translators. Also 97.3 in Austin probably wouldn’t be too strong with 97.5 KWTX in Waco
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97.3 was supposed to replace KWTX-FM 97.5. Seems like there was another Waco move-in that was supposed to replace 97.5, and the KWTX-FM programming would likely have found its way there had everything gone according to plan.

97.5 had to leave Waco because another step in the process involved moving KLAK 97.5 into DFW.

Seems like what ultimately derailed the whole thing was a couple of proposed moves on the perimeter didn’t respond to FCC mailings. Ultimately, a few pieces of the big shift happened, though some, like KLAK, didn't quite upgrade to the facilities they wanted. None of the southern end of the changes ended up happening.
 
Lance Venta's RadioInsight.com teased that there are "two stations; two grants for KLUV Call Letters" in his 7/16/2023 FCC Report.

Link: FCC Report 7/16: Two Stations; Two Grants For KLUV Call Letters - RadioInsight

He only mentions on the free, available side that EMF applied for a pair of changes between Austin and San Antonio,
which has been mentioned and discussed in the posts above.
***** ***** *****
EDIT: The call letter grants are for other non-related facilities elsewhere. Already being discussed on the Dallas-Ft. Worth forum (see below), refers to KDNT Oakwood TX which filed for and was granted the KLUV calls on 7/13/2023. The calls had already been granted to EMF (as part of the 98.7 KSPF change) and they've been parked on EMF's unbuilt 89.7 Huron, SD. Thus, the 2 facilities with same calls, for now. The second application will likely be dismissed.


Sorry for the false alarm.
***** ***** *****
 
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I've been comparing maps to what 106.3 would become and what it is and I see that the APP is tied to fact that 106.3 would no longer cover Gonzales due to moving to the west. So I guess swapping the facilities made more sense then trying to find a way to still provide service to Gonzales with 106.3 and the 97.7 facility covers Gonzales fine so thats why. I guess swaping frequncies was easier to apply for than simply moving 106.3 since it would need a new COL.
 
I can't belieeve EMF never thought to snatch the KLUV calls while they still could... Goes perfect with the station name.
 
RadioRonnie285 said:
I've been comparing maps to what 106.3 would become and what it is and I see that the APP is tied to fact that 106.3 would no longer cover Gonzales due to moving to the west. So I guess swapping the facilities made more sense then trying to find a way to still provide service to Gonzales with 106.3 and the 97.7 facility covers Gonzales fine so thats why. I guess swaping frequncies was easier to apply for than simply moving 106.3 since it would need a new COL.
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We have a winner! That's exactly why the move was done this way.
 
RadioRonnie285 said:
I've been comparing maps to what 106.3 would become and what it is and I see that the APP is tied to fact that 106.3 would no longer cover Gonzales due to moving to the west. So I guess swapping the facilities made more sense then trying to find a way to still provide service to Gonzales with 106.3 and the 97.7 facility covers Gonzales fine so thats why. I guess swaping frequncies was easier to apply for than simply moving 106.3 since it would need a new COL.
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I'm still not entirely sure why EMF swapped the facilities when it could've just swapped COL's between the two stations and upgraded one. Seems to me like it could've swapped COL's and moved 106.3's tower. I don't know enough about FCC filings to know all the nuances, but I suppose it could've needed three applications to swap COL's and move 106.3's tower and was able to do this in only two. Then again, also possible is that doing it the way they're doing it was just as easy as the other way. I wouldn't have thought to do it that way, at least not initially, though. Since Gonzales has two other stations licensed to it, I suspect, at some point, EMF will try to move 97.7. I'm not sure where it would go, though. I don't think it can move closer to Austin on its current frequency as it has to protect KVET-FM and may also have trouble due to being adjacent to KWTX-FM. It can't move any closer to San Antonio either with KAJA being on 97.3. Corpus Christi would also be a no go with KFTX being at 97.5.

011nerve said:
I can't belieeve EMF never thought to snatch the KLUV calls while they still could... Goes perfect with the station name.
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EMF did. It applied to put them on a station in South Dakota. The Texas station most likely got them due to a glitch at the FCC online filing system. It won't get to keep them.
 
Kent said:
I'm still not entirely sure why EMF swapped the facilities when it could've just swapped COL's between the two stations and upgraded one. Seems to me like it could've swapped COL's and moved 106.3's tower. I don't know enough about FCC filings to know all the nuances, but I suppose it could've needed three applications to swap COL's and move 106.3's tower and was able to do this in only two. Then again, also possible is that doing it the way they're doing it was just as easy as the other way.
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A change in CoL is typically slower and held to higher scrutiny. This will be processed more like a minor technical modification I suspect.

As to your question, if you look at the current KMLR 106.3 signal the 70 dBu contour which is required to cover the CoL... does not reach McQueeny. So just a straight CoL swap was not possible. They were going to have to move 106.3, which also just so happens to benefit them because they are going to cover more people with a stronger signal in a super fast growing area.

It's also might provide more options for 97.7 in the future. As you point out there are multiple other stations licensed to Gonzales and 97.7 already has more maneuverability as a function of being a Class C1 with a wider protection area (although that maneuverability involves downgrading classes). You are correct though that with 97.3 in SA and 98.7 in Austin the current options appear to be nill.
 
Everything is still the same on the signals. Same TOTH
 
See they got the Construction permit on radio locator.
 
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