-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Stations down from Beryl
- Thread starter HTX
- Start date
Let me guess, those EAS relays weren't from local authorities, but more likely just NWS alerts?
Again, this further highlights that the pipe dream that local radio has some Les Nessman waiting in the wings to jump on the air and save the day isn't based on reality. Real life isn't an old inaccurate TV sitcom about a fictional radio station.
As stations regain their footing and return to air, it will be interesting to hear reports about what local stations are doing in the aftermath.
Missing stations as of 7:45am check July 9:
AMs off the air: 610, 850, 900, 1070, 1110, 1140, 1230, 1400, 1460, 1480, 1540, 1590
AMs with dead air: 650, 880, 980, 1050, 1380, 1430, 1560
FMs off the air 88.1, 88.3, 90.1, 90.5, 92.5, 94.9 (KLVL), 95.1, 95.3 (KTTF), 96.1 (KSHJ), 98.3 (KMIC), 99.5, 100.7, 102.5 (KJFI), 103.3 (KNTH)
FMs with dead air: 97.5, 98.5, 99.9 (KRCM), 101.7 (K269GT), 107.9
AMs off the air: 610, 850, 900, 1070, 1110, 1140, 1230, 1400, 1460, 1480, 1540, 1590
AMs with dead air: 650, 880, 980, 1050, 1380, 1430, 1560
FMs off the air 88.1, 88.3, 90.1, 90.5, 92.5, 94.9 (KLVL), 95.1, 95.3 (KTTF), 96.1 (KSHJ), 98.3 (KMIC), 99.5, 100.7, 102.5 (KJFI), 103.3 (KNTH)
FMs with dead air: 97.5, 98.5, 99.9 (KRCM), 101.7 (K269GT), 107.9
KIOX was doing local updates while on the air provided good info.
One would think after TS Harvey radio and tv stations would be ready for flooding. Transmitter buildings, studios and generators with a weeks worth of fuel positioned at least above Harvey's flood level, STLs that will function even if the Internet goes down. (Old fashion microwave systems done properly could save a cable or phone company bill for Internet access at the transmitter site too.) And a plan for station personal to be able to get to work. I really don't know how national (KLove , Air1 etc.) can be of any service in a local emergency unless some in local government does an EAS.
There should be some kind of emergency planning committee that should fund or find grants for any station that will cooperate.
I guess it's like Blizzards up north you have time to plan. I always tried to live within "walkable distance" of the station so I never had to sleep at the station
There should be some kind of emergency planning committee that should fund or find grants for any station that will cooperate.
I guess it's like Blizzards up north you have time to plan. I always tried to live within "walkable distance" of the station so I never had to sleep at the station
What are you trying to accomplish exactly? I don't get it.
Under your obnoxious questioning, while parts of this market are still under water and suffocating from heat without ac, I think you actually have a partial point: a lot of smaller stations, mostly with niche audiences, do not have the resources or will to provide much if any custom information for their listeners nor do they have the resilient systems to stay on the air continuously during a disaster-type event. That's accurate and not just the case in the Houston market.
However, the large groups did pretty well here staying on the air and passing information (and maybe even a little normalcy through some regular programming too) to their audiences. While the total number of stations off the air or broadcasting dead is is substantial, I would guess looking at the reports here the stations that remained on the air serving their audiences is probably around 70% or more of total listening.
And if you think of radio as being a collective service as opposed to each station individually carrying all the burden, i think what radio groups and trade associations are pitching -- that radio is a valuable resource that often works when power, cell, and tv is out or inaccessible -- is not inaccurate at all.
Actually seemed like local. What I heard was a guy talking about the flood watch. Not the robotic voice you normally hear from NOAA.
All the big stations from the tower farm are fine. It’s mostly the eastern rimshots and small signals effected on FM
These are fair and legitimate questions considering the NAB and the radio industry still tout radio's indispensable value in emergencies as a constant lobbying tool and a way to promote themselves. It's also a recurring topic on this site.
Are the cell phone sites all down or have they remained at least partially operational?
There are many reports on the the internet, local tv outlets, and anecdotally from my own family in the area about having issues with cell service. Most of Verizon sites have generators, and many of AT&Ts do as well, but not all of them. T-Mobile, I believe mostly uses UPSs, which are going to be depleted after a short amount of time, which will then overload the working sites that do have power.
If you don't have power and cell service is spotty, off , or slow, you aren't going to be watching ABC 13, even though they have mostly been on the air and doing a good job.
KTRH and KUHF as two example (but there are others) have been on the air and providing a lot of information and with the former a forum to listeners who are rightfully frustrated.
I have AT&T. Back at my place in Conroe nothing loads. It usually doesn't work well during the day. At work in The Woodlands area it only works when I'm outside in a certain area. Yesterday I was trying to call some people and some I talked to the call failed after 30 seconds or so.
EMF- Klove/Air1 does have a news department and can push localized content to each station using the satellite reciever at the stations transmitter site. I heard it during the california wildfires a few years ago
K-Love used to have a nearly hourly newscast that was around two minutes or so that was done in house and done very well. They would cover a big story that was of interest and then mix in a positive story or two. This was probably killed ten years or more ago. I listen to K-Love only occasionally, so i can't remember for sure.
I’ve had no problems with calling or texting here in NW Harris County. However cellular Internet is very sluggish; my guess is that the system is loaded down during the daytime and evening hours by users that can’t use their home internet due to the power being out. I noticed cell Internet was behaving normally after midnight this morning when most people were asleep.
FCC’s status report today on communication outages due to Beryl: Hurricane Beryl Comms Status Report – July 9, 2024
>28% of cell sites in Harris County still out, mostly due to power outages
All TVs on
Two AMs still off; one full-power FM and one translator still off
>28% of cell sites in Harris County still out, mostly due to power outages
All TVs on
Two AMs still off; one full-power FM and one translator still off
That was most likely self preservation. I think they were still mostly in California at that time. Getting info to KLove for them to push through sat feed could be difficult.
For radio, I don't think the money is there anymore to have wall to wall coverage of storms.
The crazy part is that most of those "macro" sites have generators that have been neglected over the years. The other issue is the disruption in backhaul services, which keeps the towers offline. No power to their fiber providers is a massive problem.
- Status