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A day in the life of a lamptimer

oldiesfan6479 said:
I think the best answer would be that any boost from 52 watts/night could only
occur if KAZG got approval to install a DA-N, and that's not likely to happen for
a couple of reasons:

1) No room at the lumberyard for more towers.

2) A new XMTR site is highly improbable as the needed acreage--if it was available
and there were no NIMBYs, or spotted owls, to scuttle it--would be too expensive.
The cost of building such a site would take forever to recoup with a 5 kw near the
high end of the dial saddled with multiple nulls. Unless Gumpdusky could really raise
the heck out of its rate card for half-hour colon blow infomercials. ;)
Click to expand...

Because Lumberyard 14~Forty is a Class D Ancient Modulation station, they don't have to worry about putting a decent nightime signal into Scottsdale. Voila, problem solved as they could buy a piece of land big enough for multiple sticks and hit Scottsdale daytime with their 5kw non directional authorization. Gumpdusky could also diplex with co-owned Sports Parkinglot 10~Sixty and their three sticks. Who knows, there might be enough acreage for a bunch more!

But all this is nothing more than an excercise in radio self gratification. The real issue is what to put on Lumberyard 14~Forty with it's current 5kw D and 52 w N authorization that could make some $$. Oldies it aint. Nurse Jeff and I have long recommended brokered colon blow; religion; Spanish, or anything else along those lines.
 
pberger said:
What I don't get: if their nightime power is 52 watts, why should th PSSA be anything less? Makes no sense.
Click to expand...

Here is a possible theory, and I invite our engineering buddies (paging wattsup!)
to clarify and correct as needed:

The PSRA dates back a long time, the PSSA came along later. These were tools
for daytimers to get a little extra airtime in winter months, albeit at flea power.

KAZG probably had at least their PSRA on the books when they finally obtained
nighttime authorization (the 52-watt "lowtorch").

I'm not sure if they have to use one or the other during the PSRA/PSSA times, or
if they can switch to the higher power of the two. These multiple power switches
may also require something more sophisticated than the 1973 K-Mart lamptimer, or
a live person--and we know that's not gonna happen at Gumpdusky, unless they
dump it in the laps of the K-Slacks jocks to perform multiple power changes from
a remote control point at the Londen Tower studio.

The capability of the XMTR to switch to various wattages may also factor in, and if it's
an older rig (RCA Ampliphase anyone?) it may be able to handle just day and night power.

Dr. Akbar--I hadn't thought of piggybacking at the 1060 site until you mentioned it,
as long as KAZG's DA-N didn't need more than three towers. Of course, KDUS has its
own drifting lamptimer problem there... ;D
 
oldiesfan6479 said:
Dr. Akbar--I hadn't thought of piggybacking at the 1060 site until you mentioned it,
as long as KAZG's DA-N didn't need more than three towers. Of course, KDUS has its
own drifting lamptimer problem there... ;D
Click to expand...

There's probably enough land at Sports Parking Lot 10~Sixty for more than three sticks as none of them have to be that tall for 14~Forty. Just think...one lamptimer could do both stations! Other locations for a diplex arrangement are scattered throughout the Valley. Look what KFuNN 15~Ten has done piggybacked on 9~Sixty's towers and they miss Mesa by a mile many miles at night!
 
oldiesfan6479 said:
KAZG probably had at least their PSRA on the books when they finally obtained
nighttime authorization (the 52-watt "lowtorch").
Click to expand...

A lowtorch... Naah maybe a matchstick - small impact lighter.
 
justthenumbers said:
(December 1)...today's Sunrise time is 7:14.
It is 7:23 7:27...and I'm not hearing KAZG - should it have signed on by now?
Click to expand...

Lumberyard 1440 popped on at 7:27:55, juuuuust a bit early (see below), but then
it is a Gumpdusky lamptimer we're dealing with. ;)

Sign-on/off times are set up for each month, using one set of times for the entire
month. These times are calculated based on the actual sunrise and sunset times
on the 15th of each month (the 14th is used for February, IIRC) using the lat/lon
coordinates of the transmitter site.

It is then rounded up or down to the nearest quarter hour, similar to how 4.5 to 5.4
is rounded to 5 in math--if sunrise on December 15 is between 7:23-7:37, then 7:30
is used for the month.

For most AMs in metro PHX, the December daytime period is 7:30am-5:15pm, however
the two Tolleson-licensed stations (KXXT 1010 and KNUV 1190 whose sticks are in the
far west metro) are 7:30am-5:30pm.

Each station's listing in the FCC AM Query (http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/amq.html)
has its "monthly" sunrise/sunset times.

BTW--in addition to KAZG mentioned above--KDUS 1060 powered up at 7:20:25, so
their lamptimer is still about ten minutes off from where it should be.
 
Our 14 in a row Goldmine had another hiccup this morning starting at 9:30 A.M. I don't know how long it lasted, but it was going on 30 minutes strong when I finally had to leave my car at 10:00 A.M. Surprisingly, there was no 9:00 A.M. infomercial, but there might as well have been because of the 30 minutes of dead air. What are those clowns doing down there at the Lumberyard? ;D

Whatever they're doing, why not do it before they power on the blowtorch in the morning or after the lamptimer abruptly shuts everything down in the evening? There is no rhyme or reason for how the Lumberyard is run over there at Gumpdusky and Cactus Radio. Without Gumpdusky's antics, though, we wouldn't have anything to talk about regarding everybody's favorite true oldies station, the Lumberyard! :D
 
This (December 1) afternoon, both lamptimers continued the same
"minutes off" scenarios from this morning for their 5:15pm targets:

KDUS powered down at 5:05:24.

KAZG signed off (in its usual fashion) at 5:12:51.
 
Nurse Jeff and I were fuming in the Gremlin Monday morning (must have been somethin' we ate) waiting oh so patiently for Lumberyard 14~Forty to fire up at 7:30am. We caught traffic and weather together for Santa Maria, CA and enjoyed the strained strains of Ranchera music while thinking we'd been gyped by Gumpdusky. Lumberyard 14~Forty could have used their Pre Sunrise Authorization of 490 watts beginning at 6am. Had they done that, then we would have heard multiple plays of 14 in a row in the ensuing 90 minutes. And how ironic that the first song played in its entirity after sign on was Fun, Fun, Fun.
 
Dr. Akbar said:
Nurse Jeff and I were fuming in the Gremlin Monday morning ....
Click to expand...

"Fuming" and "Gremlin" are redundant in the same sentence.


Gumpdumpsky! Gumpdumpsky! Gumpdumpsky! Gumpdumpsky!
 
justthenumbers said:
What exactly is Cactus Radio, and what is its affiliation with Gumpdusky?
Click to expand...

Various subsidiaries/holding companies (or other dba-type categories)
of Gumpdusky whose name is on the actual license:

Cactus Radio, Inc. = KSLX-FM Scottsdale / KAZG Scottsdale
Tempe Radio, Inc. = KDUS Tempe
Mesa Radio, Inc. = KDKB Mesa

I guess "Scottsdale Radio" was either taken or they thought it was too
"hoity-toity" for the two Scottsdale COLs (kind of like "...presented in
KAET HD...in selected homes" ;)).

Along these same lines, there are a number of Cheap Channel stations
who are still listed as "Jacor" and "AMFM" on their licenses.
 
oldiesfan6479 said:
Various subsidiaries/holding companies (or other dba-type categories)
of Gumpdusky whose name is on the actual license:

Cactus Radio, Inc. = KSLX-FM Scottsdale / KAZG Scottsdale
Tempe Radio, Inc. = KDUS Tempe
Mesa Radio, Inc. = KDKB Mesa
Click to expand...

All owned by Sandusky Newspapers, Inc of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Nurse Jeff and I are still rersearching why Gumpdusky didn't use "Lumberyard Radio, Inc" for KAZG.
 
Dr. Akbar said:
Nurse Jeff and I are still rersearching why Gumpdusky didn't use "Lumberyard Radio, Inc" for KAZG.
Click to expand...

LOL!

Or "Why We Forget The -FM Suffix In Our Legal ID Radio, Inc." for K-Slacks. ;D
 
oldiesfan6479 said:
This (December 1) afternoon, both lamptimers continued the same
"minutes off" scenarios from this morning for their 5:15pm targets:

KDUS powered down at 5:05:24.

KAZG signed off (in its usual fashion) at 5:12:51.
Click to expand...

I was not prepared today for our beloved Lumberyard to go off the air at 5:12:51. I had planned my trip to Safeway perfectly to catch the end of 14 in a row according to the November sign-off time of 5:27. When I went in the car and turned on 1440 at 5:15 P.M., it was already off the air! The sun had not yet set, but the static on 1440 was sounding loudly with a faint sound of coastal California in the background. 8)

So with the earlier sign-off times, later sign-on times and the 30 minutes of dead air, fans of the 14 in a row Goldmine are getting screwed! Don't forget the stellar weekend the Lumberyard just had with ASU Women's basketball games and the 6:00 P.M. Friday night high-school football special. Before we know it, the Lumberyard will stop blazin' our all-time favorite hits and will turn into KDUS 2 (The actual deuce)! Needless to say, I will suffer through Gumpdusky/ Cactus Radio's antics just to get a delectable taste of what our 14 in a row Goldmine has to offer. I continue to wish that someday, maybe not in this decade or the next, Gumpdusky will use their night-time power and blaze the 52 watts of oldies all over South-central Scottsdale and North Tempe. Come on Cactus Radio!
 
Perhaps if we sat down with the PD of Lumberyard 14~Forty some of our concerns about KAZG would be addressed. Does anyone know the PD's name and has his/her direct phone number? Nurse Jeff and I are unsure as to the actual whereabouts of the "14 In A Row Goldmine"...is it at 44th & Camelback or under the Tower of 52 watts Power transmitter site? This is more confusing than figuring out who becomes the next Secretary of State when Jan Brewer moves into Nappy's office next month!
 
oldiesfan6479 said:
Or "Why We Forget The -FM Suffix In Our Legal ID Radio, Inc." for K-Slacks. ;D
Click to expand...

...because they don't need it. You only need to tack on the -FM if there is an AM station with the same call sign. There is no AM station with the call sign KSLX, therefore KSLX-Scottsdale is a perfectly legal ID for 100.7.
 
johndavis said:
oldiesfan6479 said:
Or "Why We Forget The -FM Suffix In Our Legal ID Radio, Inc." for K-Slacks. ;D
Click to expand...

...because they don't need it. You only need to tack on the -FM if there is an AM station with the same call sign. There is no AM station with the call sign KSLX, therefore KSLX-Scottsdale is a perfectly legal ID for 100.7.
Click to expand...

As in Dana Carvey doing John McLaughlin on SNL: wrong!

KSLX-FM is on their license. Check their page in the FCC FM Query:

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?stat...&slat2=&NS=N&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&EW=W&size=9

While they could have had it removed after the AM side dumped the KSLX calls,
Gumpdusky never has. Guess if they can't get a lamptimer that works properly
for Lumberyard 1440 (and 1060 as it turns out), they're also too cheap to do a
call letters change filing to drop the suffix. ;)

K-Slacks isn't the only station--earlier this year I noted the same thing occurring at
KYOT-FM, however I heard a TOH there recently and they are now IDing properly.
Same for Cloud 95 in Tucson (someone there hates me referring to them by the old
positioner ;D), while they say KMXZ Tucson, it's really KMXZ-FM. You can look it up.
 
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