• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Bulletin: KSTN/1420 Shutting Down

KSTN-FM: The Final Moments...

If you're a hard-core foamer (unlike myself), here's a listen to the last few minutes of La Poderosa (KSTN-FM 107.3):

http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kstn/KSTN-FM_2010-02-19_Final_(Excerpt).mp3

While KSTN/1420 at least had a few words said over its body before the shovels came out, somebody simply pulled the plug on KSTN-FM's life support and shut her down...
 
built in 1949 by Knox LaRue, KSTN was the first music station in Stockton, playing the pop music of the day...with the advent of top-40 rock, KSTN just stayed with it, taking its place (altho unheralded as such) along with the Storz and McClendon stations as pioneers of the genre...it was the nucleus and testing ground of bill drake's format in 1962, and the alma matter for any number of jocks who went onto bigger things...

I understand the KSTN collins transmitter has historic value, something like being the oldest in on-going operation, etc...they also had a classic RCA 77 mic that hung in the production room back in my day there...would hope those artifacts are preserved, as well as the memories...thanks Knox for a wonderful ride...will continue to miss you and those great days at KSTN.
 
boogiebar said:
built in 1949 by Knox LaRue, KSTN was the first music station in Stockton, playing the pop music of the day...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the history lesson. New here? What can you tell us about KWG?
 
BossRadioDJ said:
The Stockton Record has a more detailed piece this morning about KSTN shutting down:

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100220/A_NEWS/2200313

[Robert] La Rue left open the possibility that KSTN might resume broadcasting on the AM frequency in the future.

"It doesn't mean it goes away forever. It could come back as something else, but nothing's been decided right now," he said.
Click to expand...
I am curious, How long will the FCC allow a station to be dark before they delete it? I can't see Robert LaRue reviving KSTN, let's say 2 years from now. After awhile, isn't LaRue supposed to surrender his license to 1420 if it remains dark for a certain amount of time?
 
Since K-Love is going to get 107.3 FM, will they build boosters thrioughout the Bay Area to fill-in coverage in spots where the 107.3 signal can't get to such as the parts of the East Bay are shadowed from the transmitter by the Berkeley/Oakland Hills? I could see them building a ton of them; some of the locations where a booster could be built for example are the SF Peninsula hills, the mountains that surround San Jose, Sutro Tower, the Berkeley/Oakland hills. I'm not sure if this would be necessarily possible though since there might possibly be short-spacing issues with 106.9 KFRC and 107.7 KSAN.
 
If KSTN-107.3 had to be Contemporary Christian Music, Why couldn't have been Salem leasing 107.3 instead of K-Love? I would have preferred having KSTN-FM become 107.3 The Fish instead of yet another K-Love!
 
Here is a thought? Robert LaRue should have donated KSTN-1420 to San Joaquin Delta College for their Broadcasting Classes. Have 1420 become a Student Run radio Station to compliment both their Internet programming as well as that puny KSJC-89.5. Just A Thought.
 
Madmansam said:
[I am curious, How long will the FCC allow a station to be dark before they delete it? I can't see Robert LaRue reviving KSTN, let's say 2 years from now. After awhile, isn't LaRue supposed to surrender his license to 1420 if it remains dark for a certain amount of time?
Click to expand...

It is my understanding - though there are likely exceptions - that if a station is perpetually off
the air for 90 consecutive days, then the license is rescinded to the FCC...

When I asked Mike Martindale, a good friend and engineer in SFO, he told me that "if they turn the
license in, the (FCC) will delete the allocation based upon reducing interference on the dial. As an operational facility, something could have been done with it. As a dark facility that will need to be completely reconstructed, the cost to do so is prohibitive in today's economy."

Stay tuned (?)...
--jay
 
Madmansam said:
Here is a thought? Robert LaRue should have donated KSTN-1420 to San Joaquin Delta College for their Broadcasting Classes. Have 1420 become a Student Run radio Station to compliment both their Internet programming as well as that puny KSJC-89.5. Just A Thought.
Click to expand...

Great idea, Sam! And not far-fetched, though some would wonder if younger people
would listen to an AM station...I believe they would give it a try...

And interestingly, ANOTHER 1420, in Coos Bay, Oregon, is run by a high school!!
< http://kmhsradio.cbd9.net/ >

So why NOT have Delta College broadcast on KSTN 1420?

They would have to get permission from the Colorado FM station to use the
KSJC calls, though, if they wanted to re-use those calls...
 
MR5229 said:
Since K-Love is going to get 107.3 FM, will they build boosters thrioughout the Bay Area to fill-in coverage in spots where the 107.3 signal can't get to such as the parts of the East Bay are shadowed from the transmitter by the Berkeley/Oakland Hills? I could see them building a ton of them; some of the locations where a booster could be built for example are the SF Peninsula hills, the mountains that surround San Jose, Sutro Tower, the Berkeley/Oakland hills. I'm not sure if this would be necessarily possible though since there might possibly be short-spacing issues with 106.9 KFRC and 107.7 KSAN.
Click to expand...

KSTN is a grandfathered high-power signal, with 8.1 KW at 491 meters above average terrain. A full-power class B FM at that height (if licensed today) would have substantially less ERP - about 3.8 KW. So K-Love would only be able to add boosters in the shadowed areas covered by that imaginary lower-power signal. However, there is nothing to prevent them from calling those boosters "translators" and extending the coverage of a non-commercial FM. Commercial FM's cannot establish boosters or translators outside their predicted coverage area, while non-comm's are not subject to that restriction.

Dave B.
 
djj said:
Madmansam said:
Here is a thought? Robert LaRue should have donated KSTN-1420 to San Joaquin Delta College for their Broadcasting Classes. Have 1420 become a Student Run radio Station to compliment both their Internet programming as well as that puny KSJC-89.5. Just A Thought.
Click to expand...

Great idea, Sam! And not far-fetched, though some would wonder if younger people
would listen to an AM station...I believe they would give it a try...

And interestingly, ANOTHER 1420, in Coos Bay, Oregon, is run by a high school!!
< http://kmhsradio.cbd9.net/ >

So why NOT have Delta College broadcast on KSTN 1420?

They would have to get permission from the Colorado FM station to use the
KSJC calls, though, if they wanted to re-use those calls...
Click to expand...
Not on AM- there is currently no KSJC-AM, I looked into it while at Delta College
 
radioman925 said:
Not on AM- there is currently no KSJC-AM, I looked into it while at Delta College
Click to expand...

To use calls already in use by a station in a different service in a different market / community, it is necessary to obtain permission (usually with a payment) from the heritage user of the calls.
 
djj said:
Madmansam said:
Here is a thought? Robert LaRue should have donated KSTN-1420 to San Joaquin Delta College for their Broadcasting Classes. Have 1420 become a Student Run radio Station to compliment both their Internet programming as well as that puny KSJC-89.5. Just A Thought.
Click to expand...

Great idea, Sam! And not far-fetched, though some would wonder if younger people
would listen to an AM station...I believe they would give it a try...

And interestingly, ANOTHER 1420, in Coos Bay, Oregon, is run by a high school!!
< http://kmhsradio.cbd9.net/ >

So why NOT have Delta College broadcast on KSTN 1420?

They would have to get permission from the Colorado FM station to use the
KSJC calls, though, if they wanted to re-use those calls...
Click to expand...
Is EMF going to have the exclusive rights to the call letters of KSTN in their lease of 107.3? Reason I am asking is that Delta College can continue to use the KSTN calls if they were to operate the station. Another cool idea would be to have Delta College lease the KSTN facility on Ralph Avenue and move the Broadcasting Classes there instead of that small studio on the campus.
 
And yes, I do know that the area around there is pretty crappy (especially around Airport Way/8th Street intersection). Just the idea of having students learning the craft in an actual radio station sounds like a cool idea. Don't know if it is practical but it does sound like fun!
 
Before you all go crazy with all these donations plans for 1420 it would be wise to stop and take a breath. The reason is simple, we have not heard for sure (what's really going on behind the scenes) with the ownership squabbles in the La Rue family and between them and any partners the family may have had in the stations. The whole story has not been told and there's still the possibility that someone or some company may walk through the door with a check that is too good to be refused rendering all these talks moot.

This whole fiasco sounds like nothing more than a game of one-ups-mans ship within the La Rue family as they continue to fight over who gets what from daddy's estate. To just turn this station off and turn in the license to the FCC to be deleted is just not going to happen. Somebody will end up with the license and the station equipment and we will all know well before the first ninety days ever passes who or what that entity will be.

It's like the classic battle we've all heard before many times. One person may own the land and the other group may own just the equipment which leads to the old line "fine you don't want to do what I want, then I'm just going to turn it off and take it and put it all into storage!" Leaving the other with just a patch of land which may not be that bad for that party! Time will tell, as all the lawyers get involved in this situation.
 
I agree with you Radiostar. What i mentioned was just a pipe dream. Nothing More And Nothing Less. I didn't expect LaRue to donate 1420 to Delta College. Just a crazy idea that I thought would be interesting.
 
Does anyone know if the LMA with EMF is a LMA to eventually buy or is it a temporary LMA until the LaRue's find a buyer?
 
Noting that, as of 7 AM on Monday morning, 107.3 FM is still off the air.
 
BossRadioDJ said:
Noting that, as of 7 AM on Monday morning, 107.3 FM is still off the air.
Click to expand...
Almost 10:AM, and still off the air.
 
Hmmm ... just noticed: FM carrier back on at 12:30 PM. Not sure how long it's been on (maybe ten minutes)...
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom