East Texas' QX-FM extends its reach

[jd]

Congratulations to our friend and fellow poster, Chuck Conrad, whose popular low-power FM from Chalk Hill has added another translator. K250AJ 97.9 Tyler was transferred to the East Texas Repeater Group, which operates translators in Kilgore (105.3) and Longview (101.9). The newest one is licensed for 250 watts at about 100 feet, from a tower just off Glenwood and West Houston in Tyler. QX-FM also streams at www.kzqx.com

 

[jd]

I should add this correction (disclaimer) to the above: as of now, the sale is pending FCC approval. While that's virtually assured, the actual transfer of ownership has yet to occur.

 

[C414B]

Congratulations to our friend and fellow poster, Chuck Conrad, whose popular low-power FM from Chalk Hill has added another translator. K250AJ 97.9 Tyler was transferred to the East Texas Repeater Group, which operates translators in Kilgore (105.3) and Longview (101.9). The newest one is licensed for 250 watts at about 100 feet, from a tower just off Glenwood and West Houston in Tyler. QX-FM also streams at www.kzqx.com

Barring anything upsetting the proverbial apple cart, congrats to the ETRG and to QX-FM for adding a nice chunk of terrestrial real estate to the equation there.

I'm glad to see a local LPFM making a good run at it.

On a technical thought, any idea how the TYR translator is receiving a signal? The Kilgore translator goes south just before the east loop on 31 heading into TYR from Kilgore. Deep fringe antenna, anyone??

As an aside, I know that the translator has to receive an off-air signal since it's not originated in the NCE section of the band.

 

[Chuck]

Just to clarify, East Texas Community Repeater Group is owned by friends of KZQX, but there is no cross-ownership connection. They own the license and equipment, but we have an agreement to broadcast our signal on their repeaters.

Part of the deal on this one is the station will have to be moved because the tower owner is holding the current licensee hostage for a lot more money. We're looking right now. Does anyone know of reasonably priced (and available) tower or rooftop space in Tyler?

 

[Chuck]

Barring anything upsetting the proverbial apple cart, congrats to the ETRG and to QX-FM for adding a nice chunk of terrestrial real estate to the equation there.

I'm glad to see a local LPFM making a good run at it.

On a technical thought, any idea how the TYR translator is receiving a signal? The Kilgore translator goes south just before the east loop on 31 heading into TYR from Kilgore. Deep fringe antenna, anyone??

As an aside, I know that the translator has to receive an off-air signal since it's not originated in the NCE section of the band.

That depends where you are in Tyler. I can get it on my car radio most of the time on but there is a lot of co-channel interference from two other stations. With a very good antenna up high enough, and with the right receiver, you can receive the Kilgore translator in Tyler. It is a challenge, and may turn out to be a huge problem to make it reliable. We'll see.

 

[jd]

Part of the deal on this one is the station will have to be moved because the tower owner is holding the current licensee hostage for a lot more money. We're looking right now. Does anyone know of reasonably priced (and available) tower or rooftop space in Tyler?

Well, I'd have no idea about the price, but here's the tower that the KERA translator uses in downtown Tyler: http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/AsrSearch/asrRegistration.jsp?regKey=624996
And this one, around the corner at KLTV (maybe they'd like to help out a worthy cause and cut you a deal): http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/AsrSearch/asrRegistration.jsp?regKey=613948

Maybe those options were already checked out when the original application was drawn up, but in any event I hope you can find something that works out. Keep us posted.

 

[C414B]

Barring anything upsetting the proverbial apple cart, congrats to the ETRG and to QX-FM for adding a nice chunk of terrestrial real estate to the equation there.

I'm glad to see a local LPFM making a good run at it.

On a technical thought, any idea how the TYR translator is receiving a signal? The Kilgore translator goes south just before the east loop on 31 heading into TYR from Kilgore. Deep fringe antenna, anyone??

As an aside, I know that the translator has to receive an off-air signal since it's not originated in the NCE section of the band.

That depends where you are in Tyler. I can get it on my car radio most of the time on but there is a lot of co-channel interference from two other stations. With a very good antenna up high enough, and with the right receiver, you can receive the Kilgore translator in Tyler. It is a challenge, and may turn out to be a huge problem to make it reliable. We'll see.

Your car receiver must have better sensitivity. What brand is is???

Co-channel can be a trick. I remember one Sunday morning going from Henderson to Gladewater and flipping on the 105.3 in Kilgore only to hear KBUS 101.9 out of Paris overtaking the Longview translator and Kilgore had it by default.

I know you'd be fighting KLLI out of Dallas, but who's the other one?

 

[Chuck]

Your car receiver must have better sensitivity. What brand is is???

It's a factory GM-Bose radio on a 2007 Chevy Tahoe. I can usually get 101.5 fairly well in downtown Tyler, if you are in the right place. Move a few feet, and you get KLII from Dallas. Sometimes you get an unidentified country station. That actually relates quite closely with the Longley-Rice predictions for the Kilgore translator's coverage area.

I know you'd be fighting KLLI out of Dallas, but who's the other one?

I don't really know, but it is "modern country." I've never heard a station ID. When I go to Tyler, I usually leave the radio on 105.3. Usually, just about the time I've become interested in whatever they are talking about on KLII, Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn or somebody similar kicks in just to be overcome by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, or whatever is coming from Kilgore.

At a location on the top of one of the high-rise buildings in downtown Tyler, K287AJ, Kilgore is not hard to get. Height is everything in the land of FM. The intent is to move this translator to the east side of town so it will be easier to get to work properly. That's up to the lawyers, engineers and the FCC at this point.

One of the big problems with translators is they have to receive the signal off the air. Per FCC rules, these translators have "loss of carrier" systems, which will shut off the transmitter if the receiver actually loses a carrier. The problem is, they seldom lose carrier. It's just that the carrier may not be the intended one. That is a common problem for many translator operators.

Skip can be really fierce in East Texas. Further, there are lots of other sources that can play havoc with translators. Satellite radio modulators and iPod FM modulators are huge offenders. Lots of NCE stations have had this problem with their translators. A nearby modulator can capture a translator, causing it to rebroadcast whatever the modulator is transmitting. Some of the disciples of Pirate Radio think it is great sport to take their Ramsey transmitter and place it near the translator's receiver, broadcasting their own programming on the translator.

The original idea of the "signal must be from off the air" stipulation was with good intent. It was to prevent the expansion of nation-wide satillator networks. Translators originally were intended to expand or fill in voids in local broadcast environments. Obviously, they have gone way past that. Perhaps the rules should be amended to allow whatever means is necessary, as long as it is at least possible that the station being relayed could be received at the translator location.

I'm not wild about rebroadcast someone else’s' signal, but when things work fine 99.9% of the time, and the other 0.1% is truly an act of God, there is little that any translator operator can do about it.

 

[C414B]

Your car receiver must have better sensitivity. What brand is is???

It's a factory GM-Bose radio on a 2007 Chevy Tahoe. I can usually get 101.5 fairly well in downtown Tyler, if you are in the right place. Move a few feet, and you get KLII from Dallas. Sometimes you get an unidentified country station. That actually relates quite closely with the Longley-Rice predictions for the Kilgore translator's coverage area.

I know you'd be fighting KLLI out of Dallas, but who's the other one?

I don't really know, but it is "modern country." I've never heard a station ID. When I go to Tyler, I usually leave the radio on 105.3. Usually, just about the time I've become interested in whatever they are talking about on KLII, Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn or somebody similar kicks in just to be overcome by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, or whatever is coming from Kilgore.

At a location on the top of one of the high-rise buildings in downtown Tyler, K287AJ, Kilgore is not hard to get. Height is everything in the land of FM. The intent is to move this translator to the east side of town so it will be easier to get to work properly. That's up to the lawyers, engineers and the FCC at this point.

One of the big problems with translators is they have to receive the signal off the air. Per FCC rules, these translators have "loss of carrier" systems, which will shut off the transmitter if the receiver actually loses a carrier. The problem is, they seldom lose carrier. It's just that the carrier may not be the intended one. That is a common problem for many translator operators.

Skip can be really fierce in East Texas. Further, there are lots of other sources that can play havoc with translators. Satellite radio modulators and iPod FM modulators are huge offenders. Lots of NCE stations have had this problem with their translators. A nearby modulator can capture a translator, causing it to rebroadcast whatever the modulator is transmitting. Some of the disciples of Pirate Radio think it is great sport to take their Ramsey transmitter and place it near the translator's receiver, broadcasting their own programming on the translator.

The original idea of the "signal must be from off the air" stipulation was with good intent. It was to prevent the expansion of nation-wide satillator networks. Translators originally were intended to expand or fill in voids in local broadcast environments. Obviously, they have gone way past that. Perhaps the rules should be amended to allow whatever means is necessary, as long as it is at least possible that the station being relayed could be received at the translator location.

I'm not wild about rebroadcast someone else’s' signal, but when things work fine 99.9% of the time, and the other 0.1% is truly an act of God, there is little that any translator operator can do about it.

Ah...GM/Bose.

I smelled an east side location for the translator in Tyler. Question is, how much will that cut into the coverage area for Tyler?


In any event, best wishes on the QX-FM expansion!

 

[jd]

I know you'd be fighting KLLI out of Dallas, but who's the other one?

Maybe KNCB (classic country) out of Vivian LA? It's roughly 60 miles from Kilgore. Can't speak from experience in Tyler itself, but it's a pretty easy catch on a car radio north of Longview sometimes.