Wait, STOP THE PRESSES!
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98.5 FM playing classic hits. Translator or pirate?
- Thread starter swhyde1980
- Start date
Wait, STOP THE PRESSES!
And the FCC database shows KARR-AM 1460 using several towers and 2.5 KW at night -- a situation that hasn't existed in a couple years. Next.
Ha Ha! Flashback alert!
I see that "Sunnylands" has filed to move the KARR translator to Capitol Hill. Perhaps they will be able to block out Victoria and, uh, Central Park (!) better this way? I dunno. Pretty crowded frequency.
And don’t forget Radio Free Olympia...which proudly broadcasts with 200 flamethrowing pirate watts on...according to their website, 98.5!
Either anarchists can’t agree on updating a website with a new frequency in the logo (but still run the station), they got busted (yeah right), or they are in the midst of one of the greatest exercises in futility with KNBQ running way more power right down the road from them for the past few years.
Either way, 98.5 has become a very congested frequency these days...
Ten years ago 98.5 in the Puget Sound was CIOC and ONLY CIOC, 'The Ocean.' And now look at how crowded that channel has gotten. KARR's translator moves to Capitol Hill, there will be plenty of picket-fencing between them and KNBQ and the aforementioned CIOC. I can just see the mess that channel will become, just within a few miles of Capitol Hill.
At some point here in Bremerton we're about to lose CKKQ, because KBRO 1490 has a construction permit for a translator on 100.3 FM. It'll mark their return to the FM band since they were on 106.9 FM many moons ago before I was even born.
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It will be too bad when the city of Bremerton becomes another hot spot for LPFM. Still, it's not nearly as bad as the Seattle metropolitan area has become.
Are you referring to the complaints about Canadian signals being covered up? As long as the U.S. and Canada keep covering up each other's signals, these complaints will continue. Yes, I do see complaints from DXers about domestic signals covering each other up, but it's far more common, at least on this board, to see complaints about signals from Canada being covered by stations nobody listens to. The only signal of any reasonable size from Victoria that hasn't been covered up yet is CHBE 107.3, which is the smallest of the commercial signals in that market. I am too far north to get the KPLU translator at 92.1, but I did notice a bit of a degraded signal from Victoria after that signed on. I'm a little surprised that KNBQ and CIOC don't clash more on 98.5 which I think is plenty of space, and I started an entire thread on one of the other boards after I found out what happened to 100.3. Can anyone think of a domestic situation where this has happened, particularly on the scale we're seeing? The only one I can think of, which I've already mentioned on this board, is Bill W's 106.1 interfering with KBKS in the Willapa Valley. Even then, most Seattle signals are DX-grade there anyway, and this is only one station, not the entire dial. If you count the new Astoria stations over the years, that's a few more, but in those cases I don't think many people in Astoria would think to listen to Seattle stations because of the distance. That being said, if you're in Astoria directly, Seattle stations do come in. In that case though, as soon as you get off the bridge into Washington, you lose them all, which isn't going to happen with local signals. You do also have KGHO-LP covering KISW, and you have translators covering Portland stations in Eugene. The Eugene case is one I need to study a bit better though, and is probably the closest domestic example I can think of.
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I can think of a few down in the Sacramento Valley. Flat land with two mountain ranges 60-120 miles apart. Due to the topography, stations that on paper should not interfere do just that. I can think of one that blankets the valley at over 5000’ from the mountains. They put a signal in the fringes of the Bay Area that prevents a local from being heard in the distant suburbs. But, it’s totally legal (even though this station has had a past history of playing loose with the rules on licensed power)
The fact is, there is nothing wrong with what they’re doing. We can totally pretend the land of poutine and Hockey Night in Canada doesn’t exist...we’ve been doing it for decades in non-radio matters anyway. Hell, if they can show no interference will end up in Metric Land, you can pretty much put something over an adjacent or the same channel! (see KPTZ and CJZM)
I do look forward to some of the local stations that do come out of this hot mess, but certainly miss some of the Victoria “flamethrowers” that end up north of downtown.
The fact is, there is nothing wrong with what they’re doing. We can totally pretend the land of poutine and Hockey Night in Canada doesn’t exist...we’ve been doing it for decades in non-radio matters anyway. Hell, if they can show no interference will end up in Metric Land, you can pretty much put something over an adjacent or the same channel! (see KPTZ and CJZM)
I do look forward to some of the local stations that do come out of this hot mess, but certainly miss some of the Victoria “flamethrowers” that end up north of downtown.
The fact of the matter is that radio stations are not spread out the way that they used to be a long time ago, and isn't limited to LPFM's in the USA. When CISF 107.7 signed on to serve the city of Surrey, some listeners in the lower mainland objected because they could no longer receive KNDD from Seattle. Similarly, CKKS operates a translator on 92.5 to serve Abbotsford, when there really doesn't seem to be that much of a need for it (though 104.9 does become multipathed as you head east). This translator in particular is dominate over KQMV in much of Whatcom County, including the city of Bellingham. Speaking only of US examples, I know that a lot of people were upset with the proposed FM translator for KKNW, as it would interfere with KXXO.
We all know that the business of AM radio is becoming increasingly tough. However, handing out FM translators comes with a cost as well. Additionally, I really don't understand the rationale for handing out some of these LP stations. 101.9 in Bellevue, for example, has already been hacked multiple times, and 95.3 in Seattle seems unwilling to follow some of the most basic of broadcast standards.
We all know that the business of AM radio is becoming increasingly tough. However, handing out FM translators comes with a cost as well. Additionally, I really don't understand the rationale for handing out some of these LP stations. 101.9 in Bellevue, for example, has already been hacked multiple times, and 95.3 in Seattle seems unwilling to follow some of the most basic of broadcast standards.
That KKNW translator was a ridiculous concept anyways. 96.1 has always been a flamethrower, and still is on Capitol Peak. According to the Seattle Times, nearly 57,000 people spend 90 minutes or more commuting one way to work in Seattle. I'm sure there's a nice chunk coming from Olympia and Thurston County. How many of those leave their radios on 96.1 the whole way?
Putting KKNW on 105.7 or 107.3 would have been a much better option.
Putting KKNW on 105.7 or 107.3 would have been a much better option.
When I was in Bellingham last year, I only received a very marginal signal from CKKS-2. Otherwise, Movin was dominant the whole time.
92.5 tends to be a mush of both in most of downtown Bellingham. You can hear KQMV, but not clearly enough to enjoy it. Same with CKKS-1. Perfect spot for another Bellingham LPFM.
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