AM 990 to be silent Sep 30?

[davideduardo]

They were directed off the air in 1977---it was something illegal I am sure, but I forgot what happened. David?

They were investigated for double billing (typically, where a manufacturer shares cost with a local retailer or distruibutor, but the station gives higher cost fake invoices to the manufacturer so the local part pays less or gets a kickback) and the license revoked. Double billing has always been a cause for revocation.

The owner, Richard Eaton's United Broadcasting, also lost a license in DC, and had near-revocations elsewhere.

In the early 60's, the station was on Biscayne at about 12th or so (the curve just ahead of where the Omni would later be built), and then was on W. Flagler at, I believe 14th.

The initial investigation of the infraction was years before the revocation was final as the matter wound through ALJ hearings, etc.

 

[jmtillery]

You can wedge AM signals in as close as you want if you are willing to go to the expense of erecting enough towers to get the needed directional antenna pattern to make two stations such as 980 and 990 co-exist in each respective market areas. AM, unlike FM, is a matter of what can be wedged, squeezed or shoe-horned in any particular area, anyway you can get it to work. FM has a set minimum distance seperation requirement for co-channel, first, second and third adjacent channels. Fourth adjacent and up have no minimum spacing requirements on FM. Likewise 40khz (four channels away. Ex: 940khz and 980khz) and up have no minimum seperation or protection requirement on AM.

 

[cd637299]

As usual, the info keeps pouring in! Thanx.

BTW drt, you asked about closer adjacents.....how could I forget.....

In the LA area, there was KGFJ 1230 L.A. + 1240 KPPC Pasadena, until KPPC signed off in the 1990s, was it? Anyway, KPPC was only on the air certain times of the week, during church services I believe. KGFJ *had* to power down (too 100 watts??) to accommodate KPPC's 100 watts. Unusual situation that was!!

Yes, it's OT. Back to our regular programming.

cd

 

[jmtillery]

In the LA area, there was KGFJ 1230 L.A. + 1240 KPPC Pasadena, until KPPC signed off in the 1990s, was it? Anyway, KPPC was only on the air certain times of the week, during church services I believe. KGFJ *had* to power down (too 100 watts??) to accommodate KPPC's 100 watts. Unusual situation that was!!

cd

The station you gave reference that was only on the air certain days was most likely sharing time with another station in the area on the same 1240 frequency. This was common years ago in major cities. In New York there was once two AM stations, both licensed to New York and both operating on 1330khz. The stations were WEVD and WPOW and both shared time on the 1330 frequency yet they were two distinct and seperate radio stations and licenses. Eventully WPOW signed off the air, leaving WEVD as the sole licensee authorized to use the 1330 khz frequency in New York. The WPOW call letters eventually went to 96.5 FM Miami.

 

[cd637299]

Not so sure, Mark. There's a 1240 in San Bernardino, far enough I suppose to co-exist w/ KPPC....but in the 1970s AFAIK KPPC was not a share-timer...just a "close neighbor" to 1230 KGFJ.

I believe that a whole book was written on the saga of KPPC, but as usual, I may be wrong. Anyone in L.A. in the know?

Oh & most of us know the ol' 1240 Chicago that used to share *3* stations! As far as share-timers, Miami had (I think) one of only two share time *TV* stations in the US, WTHS (run by the local school board) & WPBT (national PBS). There was the other one, the ch 10 in Lansing MI, both until the 1970s.

cd

 

[davideduardo]

In the LA area, there was KGFJ 1230 L.A. + 1240 KPPC Pasadena, until KPPC signed off in the 1990s, was it? Anyway, KPPC was only on the air certain times of the week, during church services I believe. KGFJ *had* to power down (too 100 watts??) to accommodate KPPC's 100 watts. Unusual situation that was!!

That's correct. They were on separate frequencies, and KGFJ did have to cut to 100 watts when the Pasadena Presbyterian Church station operated.

 

[jmtillery]

I remember the two channel 2s that shared time in Miami years ago. WPBT finally won out and got the channel. I'm not sure about the L. A. situation. I just know it was common years ago for more than one station to share time on the same frequency; usully each station took alternating days. In Chicago, the 1240 saga was a mess...

 

[cd637299]

What was funny about 1240 Chicago----and this will be the last I'll say on this thread unless it's the Miami 990....---

I did not know this until I saw the Ayer/Gale broadcast guides---the three stations didn't even run consecutive times in the day! One would run maybe 3 hours, then the other 4 hours, the other 2.5 or so, two or three times per day! How would you like to be a CE of one of these? (I assume that 2 or 3 separate tower sites were used.)

cd

 

[tanner]

So why is 540 Orlando nulled towards Jacksonville to protect 550 yet 590 out of Clewiston causes problems for heritage 580 WDBO in Palmbay.

 

[Ai4i]

BTW...back in the day, WFAB was one of only two DA-1's in Florida, same directional pattern day and night, the other one was WDAE on 1250 in Tampa. They both ran 5KW full time. WFAB had five or six towers in line with deep nulls to the north (and south). We drove through them en route to the 1260/107½ site every day.