FCC approves another ridiculous AM application

[jd]

Okay, there are pending applications to move KRCM 1380 from Beaumont to Shenandoah, with a paltry signal that would barely make it worth the effort, another to move historic KBRZ 1460 to Missouri City (deserting Freeport, their community of license), and Roy Henderson's dead-in-the-water effort to relocate KNUZ 1090 from Bellville to Katy.

But one that has been approved really takes the cake: it grants nighttime operation for KCHN 1050 Brookshire at a blistering 650 watts. So at sunset their power will go up, from the daytime level of 410 watts. Here's the supposed coverage www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KCHN&service=AM&status=C&hours=N but don't believe what you see. We all know that Radio-Locator's coverage maps are "generous," and in a couple of years we'll see how ridiculous this is going to be. Nighttime interference free zone? Yeah, right. Imagine the area code "overlay" maps for metro Houston, and think about the monstrous coverage from 150,000 watt XEG in Monterrey, Mexico. XEG will not only "overlay" KCHN, it'll eat it alive. Or as Mike_O might say, what a [EDIT]ing joke.

 

[ChuckTiller]

Jack, that reminds me when i was doing mornings on KIKR in Conroe. That's when it was on AM-900. We had a 117 watt pre-sunrise. Many mornings "Nuevay Doublay Oooooo" (phonetically written) with it's 250,000 watts pushed me right off in spite of meter readings reflecting that I was on the air. Both 1050 and 1090 are in my way.

If it wasn't for those two, I could float 1070 down the coast. (Thanks to CW for straightening me out on that one a couple of years ago) I thought 1070 KOPY Alice was the only obstacle, which would have to be purchased and shut off! Oh well, thats another story.

 

[Mediafrog+]

think about the monstrous coverage from 150,000 watt XEG in Monterrey, Mexico. XEG will not only "overlay" KCHN, it'll eat it alive.

Reminds me of the old jingle XEG used in the 60's when they ran English language religion at night:

"X-E-G
Your gospel station
One hundred thousand watts
That covers the nation!
X-E-G, Ten-fifty!"

Obviously the KCHN folks never heard that! The collision is going to be a mess, unless they figure out a unique and marketable target demographic in southern Waller county.

 

[Mediafrog+]

If it wasn't for those two, I could float 1070 down the coast. (Thanks to CW for straightening me out on that one a couple of years ago) I thought 1070 KOPY Alice was the only obstacle

Interestingly, the days are numbered for one of the dominant 50kw non-directional stations on 1070. CBA in Moncton, New Brunswick has applied to move to FM, and will be shutting down the AM operation in the near future. Many of the CBC stations in Canada have already made or will be making such moves. From what I understand, however, the to-be empty allocation must legally still be protected to a certain degree, unless international agreements are reworked.

 

[jd]

Jack, that reminds me when i was doing mornings on KIKR in Conroe. That's when it was on AM-900. We had a 117 watt pre-sunrise. Many mornings "Nuevay Doublay Oooooo" (phonetically written) with it's 250,000 watts pushed me right off in spite of meter readings reflecting that I was on the air.

Kind of like my first job at KTER 1570 (now KPYK) in Terrell, about 30 miles east of Dallas. Mexico's XERF, right across from Del Rio, was booming in when I began warming up the filaments, and was destroying our signal for the first hour or so. KTER's 250 watts were no match for XERF's 250,000. The Terrell station was later approved for nighttime operation at 6 (yep, six) watts, and probably less than half the small city qualifies as being in the NIF (nighttime interference free) zone: www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KPYK&service=AM&status=L&hours=N
Even though XERF has been running at reduced power (50,000 watts) for years now, many times KPYK is barely listenable less then ten miles from the tower. That's due in part to the higher frequency (borderline shortwave) which causes lots of fluctuation in the skywave. Despite being on a lower frequency it's likely that KCHN, even if it's going to be running considerably more power, will suffer a similar fate at the hands of XEG.

 

[snoman]

When CKLW (The Big 8) Windsor, Ontario (metro Detroit) and XEROK (X-Rock 80) Cuidad, Juarez (metro El Paso) were criss-crossing the country on AM 800, in the 70's, were any American stations assigned that frequency? I was just curious, because I've heard people say, where CKLW faded as you traveled out of the North and East, you could pick up XEROK in the South and West. I do know both were great stations at that time.

 

[jd]

When CKLW (The Big 8) Windsor, Ontario (metro Detroit) and XEROK (X-Rock 80) Cuidad, Juarez (metro El Paso) were criss-crossing the country on AM 800, in the 70's, were any American stations assigned that frequency? I was just curious, because I've heard people say, where CKLW faded as you traveled out of the North and East, you could pick up XEROK in the South and West. I do know both were great stations at that time.

That they were. I had a friend who worked at "X-ROCK 80" back then. But to answer your question, there were no U.S. stations at night on 800 until the late 80's. And don't forget about PJB in Bonaire, with its monster 500,000 signal. When it came along it made for an interesting mix, although here in Texas XEROK won the battle hands down.

 

[ChuckTiller]

Randy Hames aka Irv Harrigan, worked at Xerok during its heydey. In 1973 & '74, when I would sign off 1270 KIOX in Bay City at midnight, get in my '71 Plymouth Sattelite Sebring and listen to X-ROCK 80, like it was a local. Harrigan still has those large playback reels full with no edits of his show. They had to record the shows in El Paso a day in advance. They would take 'em over to the Juarez studio for playback the next day. It was recorded in real time, therefore, it seemed live. Due to some kind of restrictions, it had to be done in that manner.

What a station!

 

[snoman]

Randy Hames aka Irv Harrigan, worked at Xerok during its heydey. In 1973 & '74, when I would sign off 1270 KIOX in Bay City at midnight, get in my '71 Plymouth Sattelite Sebring and listen to X-ROCK 80, like it was a local. Harrigan still has those large playback reels full with no edits of his show. They had to record the shows in El Paso a day in advance. They would take 'em over to the Juarez studio for playback the next day. It was recorded in real time, therefore, it seemed live. Due to some kind of restrictions, it had to be done in that manner.

What a station!

Yeah, it was said that the first couple of years or so, the only live programming they could broadcast (and had to broadcast) was when the President of Mexico spoke. I've heard a few airchecks of "The Sun City Streaker", it was awesome.

 

[missterled01]

I can recall as a teenager in 1974, coming back from Houston one morning, and hearing this big boomer XEROK on 800, as we traveled through SW Louisiana, without even a hint of even WSHO peeking in from New Orleans during post sunrise. For a number of days after, they were received from my locale just south of Hattiesburg MS, this was also about 7 years to the day before I would be exposed to CKLW.

 

[Seansvoice]

Jack, that reminds me when i was doing mornings on KIKR in Conroe. That's when it was on AM-900. We had a 117 watt pre-sunrise. Many mornings "Nuevay Doublay Oooooo" (phonetically written) with it's 250,000 watts pushed me right off in spite of meter readings reflecting that I was on the air. Both 1050 and 1090 are in my way.

If it wasn't for those two, I could float 1070 down the coast. (Thanks to CW for straightening me out on that one a couple of years ago) I thought 1070 KOPY Alice was the only obstacle, which would have to be purchased and shut off! Oh well, thats another story.

I remember a nighttime DJ who used to switch over from the MW-1 transmitter to the Vanguard so that he could crank it up to 1kw as opposed to 250 watts. Wonder what happened to that guy? :

 

[ChuckTiller]

Wishing he could find a way to make KNTH a 10KW at night. That cat got away with though, didn't he? (For all the good it did)

 

[Seansvoice]

Wishing he could find a way to make KNTH a 10KW at night. That cat got away with though, didn't he? (For all the good it did)

I remember one day at K-NUZ I was chapped about something, and flipped the mic open...making some comment to the effect of "1230 KNUZ...serving most of the area inside the loop 24 hours a day."

Three days later, Dave Morris stopped me in the hall and said "By the way, we serve 5 counties." He then walked off.

I always wanted to tell Dave that denial is not a river in Egypt.

 

[ChuckTiller]

Sean O'Neel call 5-5. 5-5 Sean 5-5!

 

[Seansvoice]

Sean O'Neel call 5-5. 5-5 Sean 5-5!

And I did.

Walking up those steps to his office was just like the steps to "The Penguin's" office in "The Blues Brothers."

 

[CW]

Wishing he could find a way to make KNTH a 10KW at night. That cat got away with though, didn't he? (For all the good it did)

I remember one day at K-NUZ I was chapped about something, and flipped the mic open...making some comment to the effect of "1230 KNUZ...serving most of the area inside the loop 24 hours a day."

Three days later, Dave Morris stopped me in the hall and said "By the way, we serve 5 counties." He then walked off.

I always wanted to tell Dave that denial is not a river in Egypt.

Well.....Dave may have been thinking daytime ...You can hear 1230 as far as Beaumont to the east during the day..
but at night 1230 is lucky to get outside the loop if even that....Of course, the antenna and ground system are part of the problem....They really need to move 1230 to a 220degree series radiator and put a decent signal into the ether.
Ahhh how many of us out there are former Dave emloyees? (I worked at the Beaumont KAYC/KAYD stations;where the mice would run around behind the AM console...and bit one DJ live on the air!)

 

[Seansvoice]

(I worked at the Beaumont KAYC/KAYD stations;where the mice would run around behind the AM console...and bit one DJ live on the air!)

Something worse than that happened to Charley Seay when he went to Beaumont...seems like some rednecks came down to the station, jumped him and essentially kicked his tail...I think they broke one of his legs in the process.

 

[Mediafrog+]

but at night 1230 is lucky to get outside the loop if even that....Of course, the antenna and ground system are part of the problem....They really need to move 1230 to a 220degree series radiator and put a decent signal into the ether.

The 1230 signal has deteriorated quite a bit in recent years. Used to be noticeably better at my Cy-Fair location (and I'm NOT talking about the synchronous transmitter days, either.) It is obvious that either the transmitter is not operating at full power, or the antenna system is not at full efficiency.

 

[jd]

The 1230 signal has deteriorated quite a bit in recent years. Used to be noticeably better at my Cy-Fair location (and I'm NOT talking about the synchronous transmitter days, either.) It is obvious that either the transmitter is not operating at full power, or the antenna system is not at full efficiency.

They need to put up a new tower out on Highway 6 south of I-10, like right next to The Dam Ice House and play nothing but biker music. (OK, I made up the last part, but it sounds like a good location.)

 

[CW]

but at night 1230 is lucky to get outside the loop if even that....Of course, the antenna and ground system are part of the problem....They really need to move 1230 to a 220degree series radiator and put a decent signal into the ether.

The 1230 signal has deteriorated quite a bit in recent years. Used to be noticeably better at my Cy-Fair location (and I'm NOT talking about the synchronous transmitter days, either.) It is obvious that either the transmitter is not operating at full power, or the antenna system is not at full efficiency.

1230 has two xmtrs...a Harris SX-1 and a Gates ONE....both solid state and 1KW out....the antenna system is the culprit. The sync xmtr site tower was still up last time I drive by....probably would have been a better site.