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Washington KXLE-FM downgrade

Based on Michi's comment it sounds like UW-Bothell can stay on 105.7 once KJET jumps to C0. The Bothell LPFM's 40 dBu F(50,10) only lands over part of Bainbridge Island. That's well- beyond the predicted 70 dBu contour for future KJET.

Mind you, both stations will see a mess in coverage in parts of Seattle.
 
crainbebo said:
They will have to kick K237GY off the frequency, as KRSE makes it to the Lower Valley. And there might be some type of contour that protects KPND, even though it's 3 hours driving distance from Yakima. They are also 100,000 watts.
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KZBD is 100,000 watts and its transmitter south of Spokane is closer to KRSE while KPND's transmitter is just east of the state line near Post Falls - and about 70m lower in elevation.

K237GY would probably be kicked off 95.3 -- perhaps they could occupy 105.7. KDIL-LP is 8W compared to K237DP's 34W from the same transmitter site above Kennewick.
 
Check our signal in Cle Elum...
 
I'll have to do that. I saw the booster added to the WTFDA database. That keeps Upper County in service, which I had hoped for!
Now that I can listen a lot more often, the music mix isn't too bad. I do miss the 'Earl Pitts American' segments, but I see that they were repeats as they are no longer new broadcasts.
 
crainbebo said:
I'll have to do that. I saw the booster added to the WTFDA database. That keeps Upper County in service, which I had hoped for!
Now that I can listen a lot more often, the music mix isn't too bad. I do miss the 'Earl Pitts American' segments, but I see that they were repeats as they are no longer new broadcasts.
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Earl Pitts is no more. Heck, I didn't even know that there really wasn't a real "Earl Pitts"to begin with.
 
bossbill said:
Earl Pitts is no more. Heck, I didn't even know that there really wasn't a real "Earl Pitts"to begin with.
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Gary Burbanks was big on WLW, created the "Earl Pitts" character, did it for years. He stopped new shows in 2020-2021. Ran repeats since then... finally stopped syndication in January of this year. Methinks most listeners thought he was real.
 
I will never understand why so little audio seems to be preserved from Burbank's WLW days. The guy was brilliant and ran a successful non political, comedy based show on a major station, and yet I can't find airchecks of it.
 
Now I know why he's no longer on the air at 4:45 every weekday. The syndication stopped. Thanks for clarifying, Bill.
 
RF101 said:
This is part of a sweeping chess game that ultimately gives KJET a C0 signal from South Mountain into the Seattle area. Someone on the PDXradio board highlighted the changes. (I copy them for your entertainment and education.):

* KRHR. Hood River/Odell. 95.1. Downgrades from C3 to A
* KXLE Ellensburg. Stays C3. Goes from 105.7 to 95.3
* KJET Union. Upgrades from C3 to C0 on 105.7. (slight site change too)
* KRSE Yakima. Stays C1 but is forced to move to 95.3 from 105.7.

Let the lawyers, accountants, and engineers fight this one. The FCC must order KRSE to move as part of the strategy. All the mods were filed today.

If you have been watching the Puget Sound area airwaves the groundwork started a few months ago with a little Sedro-Woolley station (KZGI) changing from 105.7 to 96.9, clearing the way for the bigger boulders to roll now.
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This was all approved by the FCC today.
 
KRHR is already on the air at 95.1. Oldies format. I can hear them (weakly) above Zillah and Granger but I haven't heard them in Yakima yet.
It will be strange to hear '95.3 the Hawk' and '105.7 KXLE' whenever I come back to Yakima to visit (as I am moving to Idaho this summer). K237GY will have to move or go silent, otherwise KRSE gets picket-fenced all over the Lower Valley and is wiped out by Sunnyside. I'm 95% sure they will find a way to move to 105.7 with a K289XX callsign, which may displace KDIL-LP in Kennewick.

Will KRSE and KXLE keep their power levels the same? With 105.7, they still have to protect stations in Vancouver BC (CBU) and Spokane (KZBD) so could they go above 1.7 KW? Can KRSE likewise put out 100KW on the new channel without causing interference with KPND out of the coverage area?
 
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No change with KXLE except the frequency, and K237GY wouldn't affect KDIL-LP if it moved to 105.7.

K237GY currently shares a channel with K237DP Kennewick. Both signals make it a ways outside their service contours, but not toward the other station.
  • K237GY can be received from east of Union Gap to some high elevation west-facing slopes along the I-82 corridor, but its strongest signal reaches south towards Boardman and north towards Vantage. I've never received it in Moses Lake.
  • K237DP can be received across virtually the entire Tri-Cities metro, from east facing slopes west of I-82 to rural Walla Walla County before being taken over by either KPND or K237DM Walla Walla, but its strongest signal reaches south towards Hermiston and north towards Othello and Connell before KPND takes over. I can occasionally get K237DP in Moses Lake, but generally both KPND and KXLE are dominant there on 95.3.
KDIL-LP has a weak signal in comparison, generally only being received in the Tri-Cities and rural Franklin County until either KRSE or KZBD take over (around Connell/Othello). I have occasionally received KDIL-LP in Moses Lake, but it's weak.

If K237GY moved, it might displace KDIL-LP in northwestern Franklin County, but likely not in the Tri-Cities itself.

I very much doubt KPND and KRSE would clash much - they might on Manastash Ridge though - I've already locked in KPND-HD from there before. In both the Kittitas and Yakima valleys, KRSE would very much be dominant, while KPND would continue to dominate from Moses Lake east.
 
There is another ongoing scenario regarding the KJET-KRSE-KXLX-KRHR complex chess match. KRSE's legal team filed for reconsideration , offering up a plan to downgrade KRSE to C2 while maintaining the same frequency , but from a different location. The meat is in the second URL:

Pleadings « License Modernization « FCC

FCC License Modernization
enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov

where you will find "SMG - Yakima Petition for Reconsideration (as filed).pdf"
 
RF101 said:
There is another ongoing scenario regarding the KJET-KRSE-KXLX-KRHR complex chess match. KRSE's legal team filed for reconsideration , offering up a plan to downgrade KRSE to C2 while maintaining the same frequency , but from a different location. The meat is in the second URL:

Pleadings « License Modernization « FCC

FCC License Modernization
enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov

where you will find "SMG - Yakima Petition for Reconsideration (as filed).pdf"
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Could KRSE move to the location KARY is based (near the Silver Dollar Cafe, Hwy 24?) Does that clear enough distance for 105.7 Union to target Seattle?
 
RF101 said:
There is another ongoing scenario regarding the KJET-KRSE-KXLX-KRHR complex chess match. KRSE's legal team filed for reconsideration , offering up a plan to downgrade KRSE to C2 while maintaining the same frequency , but from a different location. The meat is in the second URL:

Pleadings « License Modernization « FCC

FCC License Modernization
enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov

where you will find "SMG - Yakima Petition for Reconsideration (as filed).pdf"
Click to expand...
This makes me wonder: in a world of declining station values, if this is a way to monetize this situation for SMG?

If KRSE changes frequencies but retains the same facilities, KJET has to pay for new equipment, promotional items, etc for two stations. If KRSE downgrades, KJET will have to pay some amount that equates to equipment costs plus a fee for downgrading the signal.

The cost for either option may be the same to bossbill, the difference is KRSE gets to pocket some money off the situation while still covering the Yakima area nearly as well. Considering the state of FM radio in that neck of the woods, a fee to downgrade the signal might prop things up a bit and keep another local broadcast job or two paid for a couple years.
 
seattlesarchiebunker said:
KJET has to pay for new equipment, promotional items, etc for two stations. If KRSE downgrades, KJET will have to pay some amount that equates to equipment costs plus a fee for downgrading the signal.
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The only expectation is for covering the technical cost of the frequency change. Nobody is getting rich from a forced move.
seattlesarchiebunker said:
The cost for either option may be the same to bossbill, the difference is KRSE gets to pocket some money off the situation while still covering the Yakima area nearly as well. Considering the state of FM radio in that neck of the woods, a fee to downgrade the signal might prop things up a bit and keep another local broadcast job or two paid for a couple years.
Click to expand...
But the reality is; a fair number of listeners won't move frequencies in spite of advanced promotion. I went through one a few years ago and our estimates were we lost about 20% of the audience that didn't transition, and several advertisers who 'thought you guys weren't around anymore.'
I know Bill is doing what's afforded under the rules, but forced moves suck for the station being displaced.
 


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