FCC approves another ridiculous AM application

[jd]

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.

CW, considering the location, could re-radiation be a factor as well?

 

[Seansvoice]

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.

CW, considering the location, could re-radiation be a factor as well?

If they are still using that Navigation street site, the antenna was (and probably still is) a random wire attached to the stick. Seems to me that the ground radial was always iffy, but only became worse when they went to the wire. And when we were using the MW-1 (this goes back to 1979-1984) everytime lightning flashed the MW-1 belched. We usually switched over to the Vanguard Xmitter, but if memory serves the efficiency was 28% at 1kw and 12% at 250 watts. The MW-1's efficiency was about 60%...the only reason I even remember this is because when KQUE's tower construction was going on in 1981, we had to use the indirect method when we took readings.

Incidentally, they pulled the old Horizontal/Vertical antenna bays down when KQ went from 280,000 watts to 100,000. You should have seen them...those bays had been zapped by lightning so many times that they looked as though they had been fired upon by an RAF flak gun.

Back to 1230 -- I had gone to KFMK by the time they tried that syncronous transmitter fiasco, but I remember trying to listen...there was a massive null at the 610-290 interchange.

Back in the day, when people asked Dave Morris why KNUZ's signal was so weak, he always said "well, there's so many people tuned in that it drains the signal down." (He REALLY told them that!) He spent so much time telling the stockholders that KNUZ had no signal problem that when ABC sold 1320, he had a chance to buy it fairly cheap. He told the board that "this move would aleviate KNUZ's signal problem." Their retort was "But KNUZ doesn't HAVE a signal problem." That nipped THAT in the bud quick!

 

[CW]

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.

CW, considering the location, could re-radiation be a factor as well?

If they are still using that Navigation street site, the antenna was (and probably still is) a random wire attached to the stick. Seems to me that the ground radial was always iffy, but only became worse when they went to the wire. And when we were using the MW-1 (this goes back to 1979-1984) everytime lightning flashed the MW-1 belched. We usually switched over to the Vanguard Xmitter, but if memory serves the efficiency was 28% at 1kw and 12% at 250 watts. The MW-1's efficiency was about 60%...the only reason I even remember this is because when KQUE's tower construction was going on in 1981, we had to use the indirect method when we took readings.

Incidentally, they pulled the old Horizontal/Vertical antenna bays down when KQ went from 280,000 watts to 100,000. You should have seen them...those bays had been zapped by lightning so many times that they looked as though they had been fired upon by an RAF flak gun.

Back to 1230 -- I had gone to KFMK by the time they tried that syncronous transmitter fiasco, but I remember trying to listen...there was a massive null at the 610-290 interchange.

Back in the day, when people asked Dave Morris why KNUZ's signal was so weak, he always said "well, there's so many people tuned in that it drains the signal down." (He REALLY told them that!) He spent so much time telling the stockholders that KNUZ had no signal problem that when ABC sold 1320, he had a chance to buy it fairly cheap. He told the board that "this move would aleviate KNUZ's signal problem." Their retort was "But KNUZ doesn't HAVE a signal problem." That nipped THAT in the bud quick!

To answer JD, the location could be causing that...downtown with the tall metal buildings does NOT help any!

And to Seans reply, the antenna is not a randon wire....the antenna is actually a ring of wire around the tower (used as a grounded monopole where the outside skirt is used as the actual antenna and the tower is the grounded support and it not used on the radiator). This construction is used on a lot of grounded monopole type antennas & allows the tower to be used for FM and other antennas without the need for isocouplers. The "antenna" is actually a 1/4wave in height and though only 6 or so wires are used, the cross section is better than a conventional tower and it is "supposed" to be wider in radius and thus provide better bandwidth and thus freq response...but I have seen most such usually dont radiate as good as a conventional series fed tower. Ennis street has 120 radials (though a number of them have been chopped up, etc over the years since the adj land got sold or similar)....not a single radial.

The MW1s always had a SWR problem from start....KAYC in Beaumont had one of the 1st MWs installed (Dave must have gotten a good group buy on them and it would dump off the air if any strike was within 10miles (the SWR circuit was the issue...I think they finally fixed it later on but the early models still suffered from it)...

As for the sync transmitter, funny you should mention 610 and 290...that would be about halfway between the Ennis St tower and the Sync site at Beltway 8 and 290!

 

[Seansvoice]

The MW1s always had a SWR problem from start....KAYC in Beaumont had one of the 1st MWs installed (Dave must have gotten a good group buy on them and it would dump off the air if any strike was within 10miles (the SWR circuit was the issue...I think they finally fixed it later on but the early models still suffered from it)...

Dave always had a "thing" about having technical firsts, and always had a big relationship with Gates/Harris. I was always told that KNUZ had some of the first cart machines anywhere, and apparently the CE at the time (late 50s) had at least some input on the development.

When I left KNUZ for KFMK...23 years ago this week, there were still plenty of the original shells floating around. The old-timers in the building still called them "blue boxes."

 

[dade921]

Chuck, I am aware of most of these stations and there owners, Most of them will be running a format other than english. I am thrilled, How about you? That was a joke for sure. I also saw you talking about the old 1270 KIOX Bay City. You are aware that there is and app to put this station back on the air. The format will not be english from what i am hearing. Strange stuff going on. Call me sometime when you get a time. Long time no talk to for sure.
Regards
Dade
http://www.dade.cc