1070 WKMB gets ratings

[westlife]

According to Arbitron's ratings for the Spring 2005 Part II trend, tiny little 250-watt gospel station 1070 WKMB had more listeners in Middlesex/Somerset/Union than 50,000-watt CHR/Pop station 94.5 WPST!

The only explanation for such a jump is the recent addition of Hurban-style Spanish religious music to the late afternoon hours, in lieu of the Black Gospel music (in English) which formerly occupied this time slot on WKMB. And it makes sense -- WKMB is the only station which directly targets the large Hispanic population in Plainfield, Bound Brook, and other central NJ cities.

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[fforte]

Any word on when they're getting their new transmitter?
I came across them the other day and they seemed spotty in Raritan / Somerville (Somerset County). I thought at one time Tony had said June?



> According to Arbitron's ratings for the Spring 2005 Part II
> trend, tiny little 250-watt gospel station 1070 WKMB had
> more listeners in Middlesex/Somerset/Union than 50,000-watt
> CHR/Pop station 94.5 WPST!

 

[cawasinnj]

> According to Arbitron's ratings for the Spring 2005 Part II
> trend, tiny little 250-watt gospel station 1070 WKMB had
> more listeners in Middlesex/Somerset/Union than 50,000-watt
> CHR/Pop station 94.5 WPST!

Isn't first-adjacent WFME an issue in that area?

 

[westlife]

> Isn't first-adjacent WFME an issue in that area?

It depends on how good your radio is. Generally car radios are better than anything else, but that's not always true. I have a JVC car radio that has lousy sensitivity & selectivity on FM (but yet it's excellent on AM... go figure!), and a 25-year-old GE clock radio (the kind that has mechanical flip-numbers, like a train station sign!) that can pick up 92.7 WOBM-FM crystal clear all the way up here in northern Somerset County, using only the line cord as the antenna.


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[tdee]

> I quit WKMB last week...they were using me and not even paying me for the equipment I purchased until I demanded it in cash and shut them off the air for 6 hours.I got my money turned them back on and walked out. They will never get a new transmitter, first they need a new building to house it and a engineer that will work for nothing... If it was'nt for me they would not even be on the air.( Pictures of my unfinished studio are on my website.) They also need a new ATU and ground system that's erroded. They need lots of money which they play that they got but don't, otherwise things would be done as the intial plan when I came to the calling to help them. so if your looking for a engineering challenge and want to finish my studio and not get payed GO FOR IT and call them.




Any word on when they're getting their new transmitter?
> I came across them the other day and they seemed spotty in
> Raritan / Somerville (Somerset County). I thought at one
> time Tony had said June?
>
>
>
> > According to Arbitron's ratings for the Spring 2005 Part
> II
> > trend, tiny little 250-watt gospel station 1070 WKMB had
> > more listeners in Middlesex/Somerset/Union than
> 50,000-watt
> > CHR/Pop station 94.5 WPST!
>

 

[OldiesJock]

The only reason WKMB is programming anything Hispanic is beacuse the time is brokered out. It's pay for play and reflects no great programming thought on their part. In the end it'll go dark.

 

[westlife]

> The only reason WKMB is programming anything Hispanic is
> beacuse the time is brokered out. It's pay for play and
> reflects no great programming thought on their part. In the
> end it'll go dark.

With the amount of urban area that WKMB's signal covers, I think the station will remain valuable enough to stay on the air, even if the equipment is in need of upgrading and repair.

That's the whole reason why WKMB was sold after Herb Michels' sons lost interest in running it; they could've just let it go dark, but they saw that they could get a better price by selling it as a station in operating condition (including airstaff), rather than just selling the land and equipment.

And even if WKMB does go dark, there's still a chance that someone will buy the license and revive it, just like what happened to 1170 WBRW (now WWTR) in Bridewater, which went dark in December 1990 and was bought back on the air in February 1997!

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[Neal]

If the Price was Right I would buy it and Fix it up.
But lets face facts. Once a church get hold of a station chances are It wont Be sold. I have found that there are 3 classes of Church run stations the First
are the Dreamers they barely afford to keep them Running and wish they could afford Improvements and pay staff. 2) are the stingy Penny pinchers that have the money and Dont spend a penny to make the Improvements and wont pay staff that they can afford to pay. 3)The HOGS those that have the money and have nice facilities and If they had the chance would buy up Every frequency in an area and Every station on the dial would Be Christian..
Funny thing I was down In Fla in april driving between Talahassee and Santa Rosa Beach (123 miles) I found on the AM dial 4 out of 5 stations were Christian. Must be a section of the bible belt.
On the trip back I didnt bother turning on the radio..

 

[Chris_Hammond]

It's a shame that WKMB was sold to what appear to be a bunch of crooks. Why can't pay your engineer? Hmmmm. I wonder what kind of suits the good reverend is wearing and what kind of car he's driving. This studio and trasnmitter upgrade should have been done already. I've heard the blind are leading the blind over there. Well, when the old transmitter fries again it should fry for good. For a station run by a church, this place is a sin.
I wish I had the money to buy it. I think I'd just say to the church, name your price. I'd love to tell them, "You have 15 minutes to clear out your desks and hit West 7th street." TDee is a good engineer. His abilities will be missed at KMB. With no air conditioning in the transmitter shed, and an old tube trasnmitter, another failure can't be far away.

 

[DG02816]

> First thing I'do if I owned the place would be to look at the transmiter site. I'd repair the ATU, put an air conditioner in there, and get the CCA box out of there. A Nautel Jazz 1000 or Armstrong X 1000 would be the rig I'd put in. I'd inspect the ground system and tower as well. Would also look at the license and see why the short tower and low power? Just wondering if that is to protect cochannel CBA-Moncton NB and WKOK Sunbury PA? Wonder too if overlap with KYW is also an issue. Would also see if post sunset authority could be granted. I'd then finish the studios, change automation to ENCO, install a decent console such as one of the Audioarts boards, and put an Optimod 9200 in as the audio processor. Ah well, one can dream....



Dave Gardiner

WVCH 740

Chester/Philadelphia

 

[westlife]

If I owned WKMB...

> First thing I'do if I owned the place would be to look at
> the transmiter site. I'd repair the ATU, put an air
> conditioner in there, and get the CCA box out of there.

If I owned WKMB, the first thing I'd do is bring back "Stirling Country".

That being said, somehow their CCA transmitter has lasted 33+ years in that wooden shed. If an old tube rig can last that many summers without melting, then why would a modern solid-state transmitter need A/C? Of course it would be highly recommended, but when you're running on a shoe-string budget, it's one less bill to pay. I know in 1170 WWTR's trailer, their little B.E. transmitter sits in a corner of the studio room and just uses the room's ambient climate control, which may not be running all the time unless people are in the trailer.

> Would also look at the license and see why the short
> tower and low power? Just wondering if that is to protect
> cochannel CBA-Moncton NB and WKOK Sunbury PA? Wonder too if
> overlap with KYW is also an issue.

Way back in 1980, WKMB was granted an FCC Construction Permit to upgrade to 2500 watts with a directional array. But they never did the upgrade, and the CP was cancelled in 1982.

> Would also see if post sunset authority could be granted.

WKMB already has pre-sunrise/post-sunset authority, for 50 watts, but they haven't used it since the demise of the Country format. I don't know why, as 50 watts would be enough to get a clear signal into Plainfield most of the time. On a good night, WKMB's post-sunset signal could be heard all the way in New Brunswick.

> I'd then finish the
> studios, change automation to ENCO, install a decent console
> such as one of the Audioarts boards, and put an Optimod 9200
> in as the audio processor. Ah well, one can dream....

I'd bring back the cart machines and the Rontimod. Even with only 250 watts, that little homebrew processor could really burn a hole in the dial!

<a target="_blank" href=http://www.amstereo.audio-stream.net/amstereo/files/upload-here-please/1070wkmb.mp3>http://www.amstereo.audio-stream.net/amstereo/files/upload-here-please/1070wkmb.mp3</a>

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[radioboy]

Re: If I owned WKMB...

> > First thing I'do if I owned the place would be to look at
> > the transmiter site. I'd repair the ATU, put an air
> > conditioner in there, and get the CCA box out of there.
>
> If I owned WKMB, the first thing I'd do is bring back
> "Stirling Country".
>
> That being said, somehow their CCA transmitter has lasted
> 33+ years in that wooden shed. If an old tube rig can last
> that many summers without melting, then why would a modern
> solid-state transmitter need A/C? Of course it would be
> highly recommended, but when you're running on a shoe-string
> budget, it's one less bill to pay. I know in 1170 WWTR's
> trailer, their little B.E. transmitter sits in a corner of
> the studio room and just uses the room's ambient climate
> control, which may not be running all the time unless people
> are in the trailer.
>
> > Had to chuckle at this one..maybe you can get by without A/C in N.J. but down in the South, no way..

The station I worked for (a small independent)leased tower/transmitter space to Cumulus for their AM when they lost their AM tower site. Cumulus box was
a brand new sold-state Gates 5; ours, a '79 Harris MW-5A. The A/C quit one day and the outside temp every day was between 95 and 100 degrees. The MW-5A
never missed a beat; Cumulus' box had components that started to melt. Needless to say, a new A/C was quickly installed..

Also, several years ago, another 5kw-AM (now owned by CC, but I don't think they owned it then)had its transmitter site vandalized. One of the items stolen was the window A/C that was in the building. They went off the air within hours due to the transmitter overheating and failing.

As a previous ops manager, I';d have to say, this is not an area to cut corners in.

P.S. I'm glad 'KMB has the CCA and no station here does..you'll be off the air for ages trying to get them fixed..
>
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[fforte]

Re: If I owned WKMB...

> budget, it's one less bill to pay. I know in 1170 WWTR's
> trailer, their little B.E. transmitter sits in a corner of
> the studio room and just uses the room's ambient climate
> control, which may not be running all the time unless people
> are in the trailer.

WWTR has A/C in the trailer. There's a fan that runs continuously and an A/C unit that's temperature triggered. Its was usually quite comfortable in there. I do remember some spring days when it got warm and the A/C hadn't been turned on yet for the season -- you would walk in and it would be hot. I can't imagine running a tube TX with no A/C. The only thing I can think of -- does the KMB building have windows? Even with blinds, the sun still beat in and warmed the Bridgewater station up. Maybe no windows would help a little?


Frank

 

[DG02816]

Re: If I owned WKMB...

Solid state rigs do pretty well under most conditions but best by far is having the building air conditioned. Transmitters are much happier with cool, filtered air. Less dirt, leading to less maintenance from dust arcovers and such. Does the station own its transmitter site? Would it be in a place such that you could put up a building and move the studio there? Just curious...


Dave Gardiner

WVCH 740

Chester/Philadelphia

 

[westlife]

Re: If I owned WKMB...

> Does the station own its transmitter site? Would it be
> in a place such that you could put up a building and move
> the studio there? Just curious...

Here's what WKMB has now... pics taken by Tony Dee:

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[westlife]

Re: If I owned WKMB...

> WWTR has A/C in the trailer. There's a fan that runs
> continuously and an A/C unit that's temperature triggered.

Here's my idea of how to cool a transmitter:

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[edbeckdotcom]

Re: If I owned WKMB...

> > You would go bankrupt with Stirling Country on the AM band. Besides, Harvest Radio is the best thing to happen to that community in more than 10 years. Putting country of all things on 1070 would be a left-handed smack in the
face for the Queen & Brick Cities (Plainfield & Newark). Jesse Carrol gave them the ol' right-handed smack with WERA 10 years ago. Now tell me, where is that station NOW? - He, like you played the "What If I Owned" game and shoved it
right up Park Avenue.

ed

 

[tdee]

Re: If I owned WKMB...

> >
Unfortunaly the Rontimod was destroyed in the move from Stirling to Plainfield, It had no cover on it and had 30 years of dust in it that you could'nt see any components,it's amazing it worked. I took it home and washed it in the sink and let it dry in the hot sun and it looked like some kids science project. It was all solder tack together on breadboards. I have a picture of it and I could send it to you via your email since I don't know how to attach it to this site. I gave it back to Ron who work's for Anadigits in Warren. I told him if he could fix it I would reinstall it. It's being replaced by a CRL-400 and Harris compressor.

Email me a tonydeeradio.com


First thing I'do if I owned the place would be to look at
> > the transmiter site. I'd repair the ATU, put an air
> > conditioner in there, and get the CCA box out of there.
>
> If I owned WKMB, the first thing I'd do is bring back
> "Stirling Country".
>
> That being said, somehow their CCA transmitter has lasted
> 33+ years in that wooden shed. If an old tube rig can last
> that many summers without melting, then why would a modern
> solid-state transmitter need A/C? Of course it would be
> highly recommended, but when you're running on a shoe-string
> budget, it's one less bill to pay. I know in 1170 WWTR's
> trailer, their little B.E. transmitter sits in a corner of
> the studio room and just uses the room's ambient climate
> control, which may not be running all the time unless people
> are in the trailer.
>
> > Would also look at the license and see why the short
> > tower and low power? Just wondering if that is to protect
>
> > cochannel CBA-Moncton NB and WKOK Sunbury PA? Wonder too
> if
> > overlap with KYW is also an issue.
>
> Way back in 1980, WKMB was granted an FCC Construction
> Permit to upgrade to 2500 watts with a directional array.
> But they never did the upgrade, and the CP was cancelled in
> 1982.
>
> > Would also see if post sunset authority could be granted.
>
>
> WKMB already has pre-sunrise/post-sunset authority, for 50
> watts, but they haven't used it since the demise of the
> Country format. I don't know why, as 50 watts would be
> enough to get a clear signal into Plainfield most of the
> time. On a good night, WKMB's post-sunset signal could be
> heard all the way in New Brunswick.
>
> > I'd then finish the
> > studios, change automation to ENCO, install a decent
> console
> > such as one of the Audioarts boards, and put an Optimod
> 9200
> > in as the audio processor. Ah well, one can dream....
>
> I'd bring back the cart machines and the Rontimod. Even
> with only 250 watts, that little homebrew processor could
> really burn a hole in the dial!
>
http://www.amstereo.aud> io-stream.net/amstereo/files/upload-here-please/1070wkmb.mp3
>