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10 yrs later, another set of firings at KGO

Politically, KGO is one of the last place's on the dial you would find me.

With that said, I did listen to most of the hosts ( Gene Burns, Bill Wattenburg, Bernie Ward, Gil Gross, Chris Clarke, Pete Wilson (God rest his soul), Karel, and for a good yelling at the radio, Ray Taliaferro. ). I liked a few of these hosts, but most just got me so frustrated, especially Taliaferro. Karel was extremely funny and entertaining, but I certainly did not agree with his politics. Bill was very informative and knowledgeable. Gene Burns always seemed to be neutral. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the old KGO personalities.
 
formula72 said:
Politically, KGO is one of the last place's on the dial you would find me.

With that said, I did listen to most of the hosts ( Gene Burns, Bill Wattenburg, Bernie Ward, Gil Gross, Chris Clarke, Pete Wilson (God rest his soul), Karel, and for a good yelling at the radio, Ray Taliaferro. ). I liked a few of these hosts, but most just got me so frustrated, especially Taliaferro. Karel was extremely funny and entertaining, but I certainly did not agree with his politics. Bill was very informative and knowledgeable. Gene Burns always seemed to be neutral. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the old KGO personalities.
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I was still living in the area there when the station changed. They cleaned house and many of the favourite people got shown the door.
 
Signal Geek said:
I don't believe KCBQ or KECR were ever at the Highway 52 transmitter site. That was KFMB-AM for decades, then after I-Heart bought it, they changed the calls to KGB. Now, I-Heart has proposed diplexing KOGO at the KGB-AM site.
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I'm pretty sure that KFMB being at the Highway 52 site goes back to when they moved to 760 from 540 in the early 1960s.
 
K.M. Richards said:
Yeah, I knew it was somewhere around that time. Part of the breaking up of the clear channel frequencies, a process that began in 1961, if I'm not mistaken.
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No, actually it was moved to 760 as part of a final treaty negotiation of NARBA with Mexico. 540 was a joint Canadian and Mexican clear, and Mexico did not want anything on 540 that could be heard inside their border. To satisfy that requirement, KFMB was moved to the "best possible" near equivalent that would fit.

Putting KFMB on 760 actually had some KBRT overlap, and was a close call on other protection requirements but since the move was mandated by an international treaty, it had to be accepted... sort of like how WHAM had to accept Radio Martí on their channel due to "inside the Beltway" situations overwhelming or overruling more mundane ones.

The breakdown of the clears began in the late 60's after the final attempts by the clear channel broadcast group to get reconsideration of efforts to increase power to the 500 to 750 kw range.
 
DavidEduardo said:
The breakdown of the clears began in the late 60's after the final attempts by the clear channel broadcast group to get reconsideration of efforts to increase power to the 500 to 750 kw range.
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There are some who believe that decision was the beginning of the end for that kind of radio. It started a long slow death that takes us to where we are today.
 
DavidEduardo said:
No, actually it was moved to 760 as part of a final treaty negotiation of NARBA with Mexico. 540 was a joint Canadian and Mexican clear, and Mexico did not want anything on 540 that could be heard inside their border. To satisfy that requirement, KFMB was moved to the "best possible" near equivalent that would fit.
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I thought I had read an article in Broadcasting (wonder where I saw it? ;)) that said other Class I-A frequencies were proposed for co-tenancy in the early 1960s. Probably my faulty memory.
DavidEduardo said:
Putting KFMB on 760 actually had some KBRT overlap, and was a close call on other protection requirements but since the move was mandated by an international treaty, it had to be accepted... sort of like how WHAM had to accept Radio Martí on their channel due to "inside the Beltway" situations overwhelming or overruling more mundane ones.
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Ah. Never occurred to me until I read that ... this is why KFMB (now KGB) has significantly higher nighttime power!
 
K.M. Richards said:
I thought I had read an article in Broadcasting (wonder where I saw it? ;)) that said other Class I-A frequencies were proposed for co-tenancy in the early 1960s. Probably my faulty memory.

Ah. Never occurred to me until I read that ... this is why KFMB (now KGB) has significantly higher nighttime power!
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Back in the day, KBRT's xmitter was on Catalina Island and its 10 kW directional signal was aimed right at the OC and San Diego. The water path essentially allowed a local type signal over San Diego. KFMB was authorized a 5 kW Non Directional daytime signal "to serve the San Diego metropolitan area" and there was generally no problem in the local metro. However, in North SD County listening to either station on certain AM receivers that had a "wide band" mode there actually was significant interference that ordinarily would not be permitted. Needless to say, since KBRT was a daytimer, at local sunset KFMB could crank the power up to a kidney shaped pattern at 50 kW with the major null aimed at WJR Detroit. Much of that signal goes out over the Pacific, but there's a nice ERP of about 90 kW which can be heard up and down the West Coast.
 
TomásEstefan said:
Back in the day, KBRT's xmitter was on Catalina Island and its 10 kW directional signal was aimed right at the OC and San Diego. The water path essentially allowed a local type signal over San Diego. KFMB was authorized a 5 kW Non Directional daytime signal "to serve the San Diego metropolitan area" and there was generally no problem in the local metro. However, in North SD County listening to either station on certain AM receivers that had a "wide band" mode there actually was significant interference that ordinarily would not be permitted. Needless to say, since KBRT was a daytimer, at local sunset KFMB could crank the power up to a kidney shaped pattern at 50 kW with the major null aimed at WJR Detroit. Much of that signal goes out over the Pacific, but there's a nice ERP of about 90 kW which can be heard up and down the West Coast.
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Well here’s my chance to bring this back to San Francisco. I remember as a kid listening to KFMB on the Peninsula at night. I was DXing a lot back then.
 
michael hagerty said:
Came in like a local in Ukiah, 100+ miles further north.
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Was a regular visitor to Quito, Ecuador, in the later 60's, too. Easiest CA station to DX then.
 
TomásEstefan said:
Back in the day, KBRT's xmitter was on Catalina Island and its 10 kW directional signal was aimed right at the OC and San Diego. The water path essentially allowed a local type signal over San Diego. KFMB was authorized a 5 kW Non Directional daytime signal "to serve the San Diego metropolitan area" and there was generally no problem in the local metro. However, in North SD County listening to either station on certain AM receivers that had a "wide band" mode there actually was significant interference that ordinarily would not be permitted.
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Yet in most of the rest of the Hemisphere, from Mexico on to the South, AMs in the same market were allocated every 20 kHz in many cases. 690, 710, 730 in Mexico City is one example. I even owned a 570 and a 590 in Quito, Ecuador in the 60's. There was never any problem with them.
 
Indeed prior to the mid 1980's in this country the FCC permitted AM audio freq response was 15 kHz creating a protected occupied bandwidth of 30 kHz, requiring local station allocations of more than 30 kHz, usually 40 kHz or more. Audio response has since been cut to 10 kHz for those stations wishing to be as "high fidelity" as is possible, but today most AM stations shape the sound around voice frequencies and try to use just enough compression to get the best s/n ratio possible. Audio response usually sounds like it's just beyond 5 kHz or so even in wide band tuners.
 
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