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590 KLBJ Files to Change Transmitter Sites

jras20 said:
I see on Radio Locator KLBJ-AM has a Construction Permit now.
Click to expand...
Looks like the CP was (finally) granted on November 30. Appears the only changes from the original application are a slight reduction of the night power from 380 to 350 watts, and a tower that is six meters shorter.

The site is right next to U.S. 183, so easy to drive by and check on progress.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
Looks like the CP was (finally) granted on November 30. Appears the only changes from the original application are a slight reduction of the night power from 380 to 350 watts, and a tower that is six meters shorter.

The site is right next to U.S. 183, so easy to drive by and check on progress.
Click to expand...

Might be kinda hard to tel lwhat they're doing as theyre going to diplex it with KVET... so unless you stop park and look you might not notice much
 
Mediafrog+ said:
KLBJ will be using a new, separate tower at the KVET site, so no diplex as there are no shared towers.
Click to expand...

Ah, i looked up the coordinates and saw there was towers there, so i assumed since i cant get the engineering exhibit to open up
 
Mediafrog+ said:
The site is right next to U.S. 183, so easy to drive by and check on progress.
Click to expand...
If they are diplexing and not adding towers, there is not much to see. The work is inside where the combiner / rejection network will be installed, unless they separately feeding the tower(s) and then doing the ATU/rejection system at the base. In that case, there will be one or two engineers, probably with some antenna measurement devices.
 
DavidEduardo said:
If they are diplexing and not adding towers, there is not much to see.
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As I noted upthread, KLBJ is adding a tower at the KVET site for day and night omnidirectional operation. No shared towers, no diplex. Anyone driving by will easily see the new tower going up…I’ve driven by the site a zillion times.
 
Is klbj am on low power? I can hardly pick them up in Lavaca county
 
To jras20:

I don't know if this answers your question, but I think that the KLBJ-AM signal seems weaker than usual (at night). I think, it MIGHT, be weather related. That is just a possible explanation and I have no facts to present to confirm this.
 
I know about nighttime but this is today and yesterday daytime
 
Ok, I checked KLBJ-FM and had my volume set at "20" on my receiver and it was loud.
I switched to KLBJ-AM (with the same volume setting) and it was "barely" audible. I could hear it but the volume was a LOT less (at 12:49 PM on 12/26/2022) if that helps you.
 
After thinking about this for "over 30 seconds" [I am just a listener and not in the radio industry] I think my "experiment" has no meaning because the AM and FM towers are probably located in different areas (although I did not research that).
 
Could they of been running night time power during the day? It got much better when got to Gonzales. I don't know how night time does down in Houston, but in Lavaca county it seemed to be the same power in the day as night.
 
Ryan Williams said:
In a filing made this morning, Waterloo has applied to change KLBJ from a 5 kW/day nondirectional 1kW/night directional to a 5 kW/day nondirectional 380 W/night nondirectional by erecting one new tower on the site currently used by 1300 KVET in North Austin. Obviously this is a deal involving the real estate of the current 590 site which is relatively close to the new Tesla Gigafactory/HQ in SW Austin.

The daytime signal on-paper should improve because of the more central location. On paper the new nighttime signal appears to be close to a wash with a loss in some places to the west and south but an improvement in the Round Rock/Cedar Park area due to being closer and nondirectional.

I'm personally very skeptical that 380 watts at night AM, even on a low frequency like 590, will get the job done. Truthfully, the current 1 kW isn't adequate either.

KLBJ has historically been one of the billing leaders in the market and is also the LP-1 station for the Austin area under the current EAS plan.

I still think KLBJ programming on 93.3 makes a lot of sense longterm unless Lucy really takes off, perhaps even returning to the Bertram site, if they are willing to run it in mono.
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KIXL has a bigger nighttime coverage area than KLBJ when I drove from Jarrell to Luling. I did drive on the eastern outskirts of Austin (TX130 and US 183), but still, I never thought this would be the case.
 
I was in North Austin earlier this week and drove by the KVET site on Metric. Still no signs of any site prep work or construction for the new KLBJ single tower or a transmitter shelter.

I hope I am wrong because I like AM, but I suspect this will never actually be built and 590 will eventually move to a full-power FM.
 
Ryan Williams said:
I hope I am wrong because I like AM, but I suspect this will never actually be built and 590 will eventually move to a full-power FM.
Click to expand...

Looking at the translator network already built in that cluster, that doesn’t seem like a big leap. Seems the groundwork for a move like that is already there.
 
Ryan Williams said:
I was in North Austin earlier this week and drove by the KVET site on Metric. Still no signs of any site prep work or construction for the new KLBJ single tower or a transmitter shelter.

I hope I am wrong because I like AM, but I suspect this will never actually be built and 590 will eventually move to a full-power FM.
Click to expand...
I’ve been wondering if the deal to sell the legacy 590 transmitter site is still in place. Land values have been dropping in Austin recently, and a potential buyer may have gotten cold feet if there was an agreement for a higher price.

Would be nice to have some info from Waterloo Media if this transmitter move is still going to happen, or
perhaps a Plan B is in the works. Maybe an actual diplex with another station?
 
Whatever they do, I just hope they can still give me my 2 mV/m here in San Antonio during daylight. Except for 11AM-2PM weekdays where they duplicate WOAI, they provide a nice alternative. The proposed tower at KVET would seem to limit the signal to San Antonio considerably.
 
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