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1310 KEIN - 100 years old seeking new transmitter
- Thread starter 13KEIN
- Start date
Why would anyone want to do HD on an AM in 2024?
Good luck with frequency change if you ever find a used transmitter. Got a quote from GatesAir for over $13000 for parts to move a DAX1 40 kHz!! Didn't happen.
I get that these boxes are almost 20 years old, but a couple capacitors shouldn't cost half as much as a whole new unit!
Good luck with frequency change if you ever find a used transmitter. Got a quote from GatesAir for over $13000 for parts to move a DAX1 40 kHz!! Didn't happen.
I get that these boxes are almost 20 years old, but a couple capacitors shouldn't cost half as much as a whole new unit!
You're talking about switching power supplies switching at or above the station's carrier frequency and a lot of firmware making changes at a speed greater than the carrier frequency. We're not talking about a plate modulated tube rig here.
The quote was for a couple capacitors and a PROM. 10 years earlier the factory converted a similar unit a much larger frequency differential for just over $2500, including shipping.
That's a LOT of inflation. I clearly got the impression that GatesAir does not want to support their older gear anymore.
OOFTAH!! I get what you're saying now. This is the kind of stuff I work on for fun-
I had good luck with them last century when they were Harris.
By the way I looked at the FCC history cards for your station. Did I read it correctly and at one time you guys were 5kw directional nights?
I'm wondering why vitually all AMs have stopped running HD. The receiver penetration (in cars anyway) keeps increasing. It seems like just as it could be getting to critical mass everyone pulled the plug.
Same thing happened with AM Stereo. By the late 1990's CQUAM was the official and only allowed system ending any confusion. An increasing number of cars had it as standard equipment but stations ditched it so that by the early 2000's it was mostly gone. At the time some stations said it was to get ready for HD so I could somewhat see that argument but still - like FM Stereo these things take a long time to be adopted. FM stereo was approved in the early 60's and it wasn't until the mid to late 80's that it was standard in cars.
Because less people listen to AM now, there's not much upside in investing in AM HD and when the 20+ year old HD equipment breaks, it's hard/impossible to get parts for. Even some FM HDs have gone off air in the last few years.
In many higher end models FM was standard as early as the mid-70's. I bought a Mustang in 1973 that was such a model and it had FM with no added package or cost. The company cars I had from 1975 to 1980 all had standard FM.
When I changed an FM from Beautiful Music to the equivalent of Urban in market 14 in 1979, about 80% of all cars had FM; it allowed us to get as high as a 31 share in a 30-station market.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Even in smaller markets, this was a factor. Without looking up where I posted originally ...
In 1978 I was hired for the first time as a PD for a failing AM/FM simulcast in what is now market #124. The station was a complete no-show in the Arbitrons for a couple of years and we went to #5 in 12+ the first book after I installed one of the first Adult Contemporary formats in history. In shares, all but 0.2 of our listening was to the FM. 45 years ago.
And at the same station, I produced a spot using a co-op script for a local aftermarket car audio shop which emphasized that the manufacturer had gone to great lengths to improve reception in automobiles. So obviously that industry was contributing to the growing appeal of FM.
You never really saw that with AM Stereo or AM HD.
Honestly the money you invest in HD AM you'd be better off getting your 5KW nights back. And add an FM translator for the city of Great Falls itself.
Because AM HD doesn't work well while driving. Here in SoCal, KNX 1070 ran HD for awhile. The HD signal (great quality audio) kept cutting out, and reverting back to the poor-fidelity analog signal. Going constantly from great audio to poor audio was annoying. Had the same problem listening to KMZT 1260's HD.
Hi sorry for the delay, I had forgotten about the board......sad.
Anyway we are interested in going Digital to get better sound quality and because we can. We're not about the money so much.
As for getting our 5kw nights back, we are looking to re-engineer to try to become a super station if possible (50kw or higher).
I can't seem to find a translator for FM either but the station also was part of a fraud deal with the previous owner during the AM revitalization so I'm seeing if we can get an AM based on that. But if not, does anyone know where I can find a translator?
Anyway we are interested in going Digital to get better sound quality and because we can. We're not about the money so much.
As for getting our 5kw nights back, we are looking to re-engineer to try to become a super station if possible (50kw or higher).
I can't seem to find a translator for FM either but the station also was part of a fraud deal with the previous owner during the AM revitalization so I'm seeing if we can get an AM based on that. But if not, does anyone know where I can find a translator?
There is no "or higher" in the United States. 50 kW is the max for AM broadcasting under US law.
I don't think 50 kW is possible on 1310, especially in Montana, because of a treaty with Canada. The only 50 kW station on the channel in the US or Canada is in Ottawa.
It's not even clear what 50 kW would do for your business. Your current signal covers Great Falls pretty well day and night. Upping the power would get you a lot of square miles, but not a lot of people because of how rural northern Montana is.
You can certainly pay an attorney to plead your case, but this seems improbable. I can't think of any cases of the Commission granting a licensee a special allocation on the grounds that a licensee was unable or unwilling to participate in a previous FCC filing window.
By far, the simplest way to acquire a translator is to buy one already in/near your city from another broadcaster.
Its very possible actually to get the Translator granted. I can't get into details but there are courts involved.
50kw would be fine, I'll have to look into what licensing might look like or antenna modifications to prevent it from going into canada.
FYI, I have not been able to find a translator anywhere near me for sale.
And as for what it does for business. A lot. Again, I know people think we're in this for the money. The opposite is true actually. Money is a secondary effect.
You’re just doing a comedy format for laughs, right?
Basically, yea we get a lot of people who tune in for their daily anti-depressant, and that's really just fine for us. Don't get me wrong we do have our advertisers who pay but ultimately yea its more for the fun of radio and we also pay tribute to the radio greats by keeping this 100 year old station alive and sometimes doing special shows to honor the very reason radio and our country are still here and existing.