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How many radio stations in LA have been downgraded for antenna power.
- Thread starter 30james
- Start date
710 (a lot of loss of SFV), 790 is up pwr, but TL moved, similar coverage, 930 (a bit loss w-SFV , some gain O.C. ), All L.A. signal changes.
Also honorable mention burbs: 740, 1370 gone- no site, 1500 gone- no site- Lic Del, 1510 gone- no site
1280?, 1390?
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K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
And, of course there are several FMs that had to lower power when they moved up to Wilson from lower elevations, thus mandating the ERP downgrade.
101.9 immediately comes to mind.
101.9 immediately comes to mind.
Ah, K-LIT. Memo to staff: anyone caught removing the hyphen from the letters on the front of the building will be fired.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Indeed. Not one of the late Bill Ward's best decisions about call letters.
But their ERP downgrade came under the original owner (Robert P. Adams) when the calls were still KUTE, the "side effect" of moving from Flint Peak to Mt. Wilson. That happened in 1969, IIRC.
101.9 shot to the top when they switched to a Spanish language format (if I say a format like "Regional Mexican" that would trigger the male Karen message board effect).
So then the signal really wasn't that bad after all? Or did it get an upgrade?
So then the signal really wasn't that bad after all? Or did it get an upgrade?
It was indeed "Regional Mexican" as opposed to our Hot AC format on KLVE (And talk on KTNQ).
It got one slight upgrade, but for Spanish it is a perfectly good signal as the fringe areas are not in HDHAs.
But wasn't it also really good for KUTE and their rhythmic format in the early 80s?
I think that the signal was good enough to carry a well done version of soft ac at that time, and with the rock, it was just the wrong format for the market.
It was around the same time as KT2.0 in New York, right?
Simply cases where there was an obvious format hole in the market but to maximize the insane potential, you needed to really research it and these 2, in markets 1 and 2 may have been the last really dead on example of a flawless, perfectly executed radio brand launch.
Just funny I guess, I don't think that the upgrades were that drastic, those excuses of "it's a bad signal" were bull, they just had a bad format and bad execution of it.
I think these 2 were the last two that debuted #1 and were able to sustain that success, although KTU seemed to be purposely deflated from the great station with perfect music when clear channel got them so that whtz and wltw would be stronger. Cluster strategy, but I will always believe that they could have made it all work with KTU being the market leader, or always top 3.
KSCA was looking bad recently, are they repairing now?
Prior to its time as La Nueva, 101.9 only topped a 3.5 on three occasions - a 3.6 in Jan/Feb 1979 and a 3.7 in Jul/Aug 1978. It was above a 2.0 share from Apr/May 1978 to Spring 1980, so yes, it did well during its disco era, even topping KIIS in several of those surveys. The third time was a 3.7 in May 1965. Other than those times, the station more often than not finished in the 1 and 2 share range.
KUTE was a crossover format, and not terribly good.
When we went over to the studios of KSCA "at the entrance to Forest Lawn" Bill Ward gave Richard Heftel, Bill Tanner and me a discourse on how he wished us luck but the bad, weak signal would not let us do well at all.
In the first full book, KSCA as "La Nueva" was #1 in the demos that mattered.
At Heftel, we saw to "worst to first" cases. KLVE was reformatted in early 1995 and in the Fall book it was #1. It had been mostly a 2-share sort of abominable mix of everthing from Spanish rock to salsa to pop ballads.
Then, a couple of years later, we did the same with KSCA and it took the #1 spot from KLVE. It only took one full book to get there.
It is an inferior signal, and has a hard time with indoor reception. It really does not have a great signal anywhere.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
As I recall, that upgrade happened when the FCC doubled the "at ground level" ERP for class A FMs from 3kW to 6kW, which KSCA took advantage of to apply for (and receive) the equivalent wattage for their HAAT.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
I can't really answer that, but I do remember that in the mid-70s, when KUTE ran a format they called "The Album World" which played long versions of R&B songs as well as songs that had not been released as singles, they were easily receivable in many parts of Ventura County (an hour or so up the 101) ... despite the incredibly low (630 watts, IIRC) ERP and KKDJ/KIIS-FM only four channels away at 102.7 with more than ten times the wattage.
I could still receive them fairly clearly on a portable radio/cassette recorder in 1980 when Humble Harve Miller was the PD.
You probably had the same talk when HBC bought KHOT in Phoenix, given its signal location and challenges.
1280 moved to Wilmington area from Seal Beach many years ago and switched from ND ant. to Directional ant. Improved coverage over LA basin area. 1390 is where its always been, along the LA River near Compton. 740 moved inland to Oak Flat in NE Orange County. Xmitter was originally on Catalina Island as a 10 kW Directional Daytimer. Now Daytime with 50 kW Directional, Night time with 120 Watts directional (not a typo). Daytime coverage is much improved over IE. Worse over the LA Basin and all parts West. Poor over much of SD county ( signal was near "local" in SD when xmitter was on Catalina). "Interference-free" nighttime coverage in the OC is restricted to just a few miles as, needless to say, interference from KCBS is catastrophic, as would be expected.
KUTE's 640 watt Mt Wilson signal was not good. Very poor in the N. San Fernando Valley, much of Orange County and in the various canyons that are part of the "greater LA" listening area. By comparison, the so-called "Superpower Class B" 82 kW signal from Flint was much better. Eventually 101.9 would be authorized to increase the their Mt. Wilson power to about 5 kW. The format change you referred to happened after that.
That is the one that had the antenna built inside a fiberglass fake saguaro cactus!
"removing the hyphen" Way funny! Even that sounds perilously close ...
Thanks for the responses, it seems like the topographical issues play a role that must be considered, but they were way over stated as to become an excuse for badly executed, and wrong formats for the various market conditions.
Worse to first always fascinated me. Now I realize that if my parents just footed the bill for a week long trip to LA in the 90s, I would've aced Spanish class and would most likely be bilingual right now. 😂
David, I can imagine that the feeling that you had seeing this so called bstrdized signal in North America's #1 market (revenue) premier at the top of the ratings with a list of the most cherished radio brands behind you must be beyond the world's most renowned drugs!
Worse to first always fascinated me. Now I realize that if my parents just footed the bill for a week long trip to LA in the 90s, I would've aced Spanish class and would most likely be bilingual right now. 😂
David, I can imagine that the feeling that you had seeing this so called bstrdized signal in North America's #1 market (revenue) premier at the top of the ratings with a list of the most cherished radio brands behind you must be beyond the world's most renowned drugs!
I thought you would have known more about the station since I think you were at HBC at the time they purchased the station. The cactus was just a proposal from its original owners, since it was/is licensed to the "ritzy" community of Paradise Valley, who did not want any tower on Mummy Mountain. The late Elliott Klein finally found a location in Fountain Hills that was more suitable.
Its signal, despite the coverage maps, is subject to multipath interference in many areas, and HBC built a booster on top of what was known as the Bank One Building (now empty) in Downtown Phoenix, which like many boosters, causes more interference to the signal in many areas (in my opinion).
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