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I suspect this is the Antenna up the flag pole. If so, That doesn't look like part 15 antenna.
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I suspect this is the Antenna up the flag pole. If so, That doesn't look like part 15 antenna.
I used Google Street View's feature that lets you go back over time.
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I suspect this is the Antenna up the flag pole. If so, That doesn't look like part 15 antenna.
This part of Banta doesn't get much love from the camera car---the only other photo is from 2007---nine years before the station went on the air. It is, as the kids would say, low-res AF , but it appears to show an antenna on top of the flagpole even then:
The most recent photo (2021):
What isn't visible in the 2007 shot is the cable running from the building to the antenna---but that doesn't mean it's not being used for some other purpose.
So........they have an actual antenna, connected to the building with a cable. (unless the antenna is being used for another purpose).
Whatever they are doing, they are well-programmed. Somebody understands how to program country classic hits in such a way that is reminiscent of driving up Highway 99 from the dusty farm towns of Modesto-Merced-Manteca, with endless fields of crops, stretching as far as the eye cans see. Somebody understands what country swing music used to sound like. And somebody has a considerable collection of old songs. I wonder who it is. -- Daryl
P.S. They reference 105.9 The Bull in Stockton as their "pardner", so maybe it's someone affiliated with that station. What a mystery.
1059thebull.com
Whatever they are doing, they are well-programmed. Somebody understands how to program country classic hits in such a way that is reminiscent of driving up Highway 99 from the dusty farm towns of Modesto-Merced-Manteca, with endless fields of crops, stretching as far as the eye cans see. Somebody understands what country swing music used to sound like. And somebody has a considerable collection of old songs. I wonder who it is. -- Daryl
P.S. They reference 105.9 The Bull in Stockton as their "pardner", so maybe it's someone affiliated with that station. What a mystery.
The NEW 105-9 The BULL - KSTN - Stockton,CA.
1059thebull.com
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And that happened!
Well, the building they imply they’re in (they’re not specific) has had an antenna outside it on a flagpole for at least nine years prior to the existence of the station.
Can’t prove it’s theirs or that they use it.
That looks more like a whip antenna, the kind that used to be used for a CB radio, or some other base-station-to-mobile application. Not intended for an FM, though if it's trimmed to the right wavelength and terminated at the correct impedance, it might be functional connected to the output of a low-power FM xmtr. It would stretch the intent of Part 15, but Banta looks so small that nobody's likely to care. In fact, this might be one of those situations where a pirate is providing a public service to a tiny community. But it's truly a "don't sneeze or you've miss it" situation, and I doubt the federales are coming to raid it with guns drawn.
A trucking company seems to be ran out of the offices, so that checks out. Some type of mobile radio.
I'm intrigued now. I'm going to write to them, ask them about their antenna, and see if they reply. ( This must be operated by someone either in radio or the music business, because they have access to so many old songs They are playing original Hank Williams music from the 40's. And some of the music sounds as if it was once on a scratchy vinyl record). They have a form on their website where listeners can send e-mail. -- Daryl Lynn
For years I used CB antennas that had a center vertical element and four "ground plane" elements of equal length slanted downwards around the base. I trimmed them to the frequency of my FM STL transmitters for my AM stations and got very decent omnidirectional coverage as well as enough signal at the AM sites to be totally reliable.
Of course, they used RG58 or RG59 (can't remember which) and had a lot of loss. But if I pushed about 50 to 60 watts into the coax, I could easily hear them in my car radio at as far away as 45 km.
The Cowpoke Radio thing would seem like its part 15 fm or just above those.. that looks liek it could be a crappy but useable FM broadcast antenna and form lookign at their website, they imply they have coverage in the immediate area.. and that mpa would suggest slightly above part 15 but not by much levels.
BTw, ive heard KSTN AM in both AK and WY.. oit was a regular sunrise visitor in WY.. and i even heard 105.9 once in WY
BTw, ive heard KSTN AM in both AK and WY.. oit was a regular sunrise visitor in WY.. and i even heard 105.9 once in WY
I've got a Part 15 FM xmtr, manufactured back last century when they were a little sloppier about staying within the 150 microwatt limits. I also have my Mac on a computer table with a metal frame. I once did an experiment, leaning the microtransmitter against one of the frame arms, and then streaming something* that I fed into the transmitter. I then drove the immediate vicinity of my house, which is in the hills. That signal got out over a quarter mile before being clobbered by normal resident on 88.1. So for a fleabite like Banta, that might be just enough ERP to cover the core of their community if done right, and that "tower" could be the HAAT that accomplished it.
(* A 50-ish year old aircheck of WOR-FM. If any of my neighbors happened to have 88.1 on at that time, they must have been mightily confused, a voice from the distant past, since 88.1's normally a translator for one of the EMF feeds.)
(* A 50-ish year old aircheck of WOR-FM. If any of my neighbors happened to have 88.1 on at that time, they must have been mightily confused, a voice from the distant past, since 88.1's normally a translator for one of the EMF feeds.)
Suggestion, Daryl: when you write, instead of asking directly, ask if there's a number you could call to ask a question of them verbally. If you put something like that in writing, and they're foolish enough to respond, that could become evidence in some future FCC action. Since they've apparently been around a few years, he/she/they don't sound very stupid, and that might lead them to blow off your inquiry. Because, who knows, you could be a "narc".
That's a good idea ! I already wrote them a few hours ago and asked about their antenna, but I think you're correct. They probably will not respond via email. I told them that I was just a retired person who became interested in radio now that I have more time for a hobby -- but it is still very possible that they would think I'm some kind of official investigator. I bet they will not respond.Suggestion, Daryl: when you write, instead of asking directly, ask if there's a number you could call to ask a question of them verbally. If you put something like that in writing, and they're foolish enough to respond, that could become evidence in some future FCC action. Since they've apparently been around a few years, he/she/they don't sound very stupid, and that might lead them to blow off your inquiry. Because, who knows, you could be a "narc".
I'll give them a week or so, and then I'll call the number on their website. Thank you - I think your point is very well taken. -- Daryl
Again, guys----we have a photo (see above) of that antenna on top of that pole nine years before Cowpoke Radio even existed.
As for a phone number, it's on the home page of their website:
5362 West G Street
Banta, California 95304
209-573-6040
Our Hours:
All day, and all night, too.
573 is a Modesto landline prefix. Modesto's 25 miles away.
Increasingly, my bet is it's fantasy radio. Purely a web creation.
"Studios in the landmark Brichetto Building, right across bustling Seventh Street from the historic Banta Inn in downtown Banta, California, KWPX Cowpoke Radio broadcasts locally on AM and FM".
I could be wrong. If they're not funnin' us, the only way to legally be on AM and FM without an FCC license would be Part 15.
It's intriguing and fun---but not enough for me to drive 170 miles round-trip to find out.
As for a phone number, it's on the home page of their website:
5362 West G Street
Banta, California 95304
209-573-6040
Our Hours:
All day, and all night, too.
573 is a Modesto landline prefix. Modesto's 25 miles away.
Increasingly, my bet is it's fantasy radio. Purely a web creation.
"Studios in the landmark Brichetto Building, right across bustling Seventh Street from the historic Banta Inn in downtown Banta, California, KWPX Cowpoke Radio broadcasts locally on AM and FM".
I could be wrong. If they're not funnin' us, the only way to legally be on AM and FM without an FCC license would be Part 15.
It's intriguing and fun---but not enough for me to drive 170 miles round-trip to find out.
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Phone number also is on this site.
Nice work, speer360. It also shows an address of 4300 Finch Rd. in Modesto---which is a trucking company warehouse.
....and we may have our answer.
While the whois on Cowpoke Radio is redacted, it's not for WolfmanJack.us:
David Ferrell Jackson is Executive Director of the Bay Area Radio Museum, the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame, and the bayarearadio.org site.
David was also behind the rebirth of KABL online: Classic KABL 960 Radio
...which makes me lean a little more toward Cowpoke being a strictly web product with a solid hit of fantasy behind it.
I've never met David, but I worked for him. In the early-mid 90s, David launched radioinfo-dot-com, a radio news site with reporters around the country filing stories from their cities. He asked me to write about Phoenix, where I lived at the time. It was two cents a word and it only lasted a couple of years, but it was a lot of fun and David was a total pro.
While the whois on Cowpoke Radio is redacted, it's not for WolfmanJack.us:
David Ferrell Jackson is Executive Director of the Bay Area Radio Museum, the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame, and the bayarearadio.org site.
David was also behind the rebirth of KABL online: Classic KABL 960 Radio
...which makes me lean a little more toward Cowpoke being a strictly web product with a solid hit of fantasy behind it.
I've never met David, but I worked for him. In the early-mid 90s, David launched radioinfo-dot-com, a radio news site with reporters around the country filing stories from their cities. He asked me to write about Phoenix, where I lived at the time. It was two cents a word and it only lasted a couple of years, but it was a lot of fun and David was a total pro.
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Thanks!
David is a participant here---but fairly infrequently (his last post was in February). Can't wait for him to find this thread.
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