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Activity at our favorite lamptimer

L

Legend City

As I was riding my bike along the canal, across from the lamptimer today, I saw a KSLX van parked out on the side, and two people loading up some promotional stuff (big plastic rainbows) into the building.

I was on the other side of the canal, so I don't think they heard me yell "Lamptimer", or if they did, they thought I was insane...

I uploaded 2 pictures here:

https://ibb.co/CnJHyYh
https://ibb.co/cvvf8ts
 
Nice to see SRP has replaced those leaking PCB transformers...wouldn't want any of the Goldminers injured!
 
I thought you were going to say they were loading up some leafy green stuff in the bong. :)

Would have fit with the plastic rainbows
 
They're using the transmitter shack as a storage room.

I thought they would have engineers in there converting to all-digital.
 
Legend City said:
As I was riding my bike along the canal, across from the lamptimer today, I saw a KSLX van parked out on the side, and two people loading up some promotional stuff (big plastic rainbows) into the building.

I was on the other side of the canal, so I don't think they heard me yell "Lamptimer", or if they did, they thought I was insane...

I uploaded 2 pictures here:

https://ibb.co/CnJHyYh
https://ibb.co/cvvf8ts
Click to expand...


Where is that located? I have probably rode past that a zillion times on my bike.
Also, for us that may not understand, what is meant by Lamptimer?
 
Billkex said:
Also, for us that may not understand, what is meant by Lamptimer?
Click to expand...

When KAZG 1440 was a daytimer (or before they started using their giant 52-watt night signal) they'd do some really wacky sign-offs, where they'd just cut power at the approximate monthly sign-off time--no sign-off announcement, not even a legal ID. And the time they'd cut power varied from day to day, where it drifted a couple of minutes from the previous day--as if they were using a cheap mechanical lamptimer. IIRC, the lamptimer comment was attributed to Michael Hagerty.
 
oldiesfan6479 said:
When KAZG 1440 was a daytimer (or before they started using their giant 52-watt night signal) they'd do some really wacky sign-offs, where they'd just cut power at the approximate monthly sign-off time--no sign-off announcement, not even a legal ID. And the time they'd cut power varied from day to day, where it drifted a couple of minutes from the previous day--as if they were using a cheap mechanical lamptimer. IIRC, the lamptimer comment was attributed to Michael Hagerty.
Click to expand...

Yep, as I recall correctly, it would drift about 20 seconds everyday and after a couple weeks, it would be a few minutes off before finally cutting the carrier. Then, someone would go to the famous shack you see in these photos and reset the Lamptimer back to the approximate sunset time for the month and reset the DOS computer feeding the “Goldmine” oldies to the transmitter. My favorite time in the history of the Lamptimer was when they started using their critical hours authorization for before sunrise in the winter time.

I also enjoyed the year or two when Sandusky first started using their 52 watts of night-time power and they would “power up” to the full daytime authority of 5,000 watts at 12:00 midnight. I used to be able to listen to them pretty clearly in the middle of the night out in San Diego during that time. Probably that drifting Lamptimer at work again!
 
catfish (lower case C) was C.E. for Gumpdusky back in the day when duct tape and baling wire no longer could keep the old xmtr working. That dinosaur was incapable of powering down to 52 watts, the sole reason they cut the carrier at local sunset. If you thought that was awkward, powering on at sunrise was equally bizarre - carrier on with music in progress. They didn't bother with a legal ID at sign on/sign off, just at the top of the hour. The lamptimer was retired (or tossed in the canal) when a new xmtr was installed. 5kw or 52 watts, no problema...and it stored all the power change times in memory! For those planning a visit to this Radio Discussions official Historical site, it's just east of 64th St along the canal bank on the south side of Thomas Rd in Scottsdale - look for oil stains on the road from a '76 Gremlin. And in case you're wondering, the name Lumberyard 14~Forty comes from the nearby Ponderosa Lumber Co at 6425 E Thomas Rd.
 
DrAkbar said:
catfish (lower case C) was C.E. for Gumpdusky back in the day when duct tape and baling wire no longer could keep the old xmtr working. That dinosaur was incapable of powering down to 52 watts, the sole reason they cut the carrier at local sunset. If you thought that was awkward, powering on at sunrise was equally bizarre - carrier on with music in progress. They didn't bother with a legal ID at sign on/sign off, just at the top of the hour. The lamptimer was retired (or tossed in the canal) when a new xmtr was installed. 5kw or 52 watts, no problema...and it stored all the power change times in memory! For those planning a visit to this Radio Discussions official Historical site, it's just east of 64th St along the canal bank on the south side of Thomas Rd in Scottsdale - look for oil stains on the road from a '76 Gremlin. And in case you're wondering, the name Lumberyard 14~Forty comes from the nearby Ponderosa Lumber Co at 6425 E Thomas Rd.
Click to expand...

And let us not forget that the transmitter sits on the site of the old Scottsdale Round-Up Drive-In! Very appropriate I think for an oldies radio station playing 60’s music. I can only imagine how the buzz from the old KPOK transmitter interfered with the metal speakers!
 
DrAkbar said:
catfish (lower case C) was C.E. for Gumpdusky back in the day when duct tape and baling wire no longer could keep the old xmtr working. That dinosaur was incapable of powering down to 52 watts, the sole reason they cut the carrier at local sunset. If you thought that was awkward, powering on at sunrise was equally bizarre - carrier on with music in progress. They didn't bother with a legal ID at sign on/sign off, just at the top of the hour. The lamptimer was retired (or tossed in the canal) when a new xmtr was installed. 5kw or 52 watts, no problema...and it stored all the power change times in memory! For those planning a visit to this Radio Discussions official Historical site, it's just east of 64th St along the canal bank on the south side of Thomas Rd in Scottsdale - look for oil stains on the road from a '76 Gremlin. And in case you're wondering, the name Lumberyard 14~Forty comes from the nearby Ponderosa Lumber Co at 6425 E Thomas Rd.
Click to expand...

And, on the other side of the canal, near the Lamptimer, there is a great monument that few people even notice. It is a marker at the site where the German POW prisoners of war exited from their long tunnel they dug to escape from the POW camp that is now the National Guard. Long story, good read. And a good bike path, take it all the way to the Marquee theater in Tempe, and either go east along Tempe town lake all the way to Mesa, or to the greenbelt and turn north, or take the new trail west all the way to 18th ave and I-10.
 
DrAkbar said:
catfish (lower case C) was C.E. for Gumpdusky back in the day when duct tape and baling wire no longer could keep the old xmtr working. That dinosaur was incapable of powering down to 52 watts, the sole reason they cut the carrier at local sunset. If you thought that was awkward, powering on at sunrise was equally bizarre - carrier on with music in progress. They didn't bother with a legal ID at sign on/sign off, just at the top of the hour. The lamptimer was retired (or tossed in the canal) when a new xmtr was installed. 5kw or 52 watts, no problema...and it stored all the power change times in memory! For those planning a visit to this Radio Discussions official Historical site, it's just east of 64th St along the canal bank on the south side of Thomas Rd in Scottsdale - look for oil stains on the road from a '76 Gremlin. And in case you're wondering, the name Lumberyard 14~Forty comes from the nearby Ponderosa Lumber Co at 6425 E Thomas Rd.
Click to expand...

If I recall, when GJ was Chief the old DOS computer could never keep proper time, it would float causing the weird time of the power changes. Also at one point there was an actual lamptimer was doing the work before the update, catfish can confirm due to my faulty memory.

I do miss the Cookie CD that was used during maintenance.
 
the original lamptimer thread is 12 years old and 193 pages long probably the longest thread on here devoted to one station
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
the original lamptimer thread is 12 years old and 193 pages long probably the longest thread on here devoted to one station
Click to expand...

One station with maybe 193 listeners on the Ancient Modulation side. Maybe.
 
DrAkbar said:
Well, there's Nurse Jeff and me. Now who are the other 191?
Click to expand...

Then there's me. 92.7 doesn't make it to NE Mesa (I have HD radios at home, so I can listen on 93.3-HD2). Three down, 190 to go. :D
 
Thanks for the recent pics of the shack. The exterior looks white and bare ... maybe a friendly muralist could decorate them with appropriate imagery: a lamptimer, a catfish, an Arizona Gold(tm) bar, and so on.

Whenever I visit Phx on vacation, I do tune in to KAZG and I do use the AM frequency. 92.7 does not reach my vacation location; 1440 does.
 
AuxRSS said:
Thanks for the recent pics of the shack. The exterior looks white and bare ... maybe a friendly muralist could decorate them with appropriate imagery: a lamptimer, a catfish, an Arizona Gold(tm) bar, and so on.
Click to expand...

And lest we forget, a tribute to Edd "Kookie" Byrnes.

Whenever I visit Phx on vacation, I do tune in to KAZG and I do use the AM frequency. 92.7 does not reach my vacation location; 1440 does.
Click to expand...

Guess that gets us down to 188 listeners to go. If the Nurse and I can come out of the Lumberyard closet, so can you!
 
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