KBSZ A.J.

[oldiesfan6479]

Is it slow, or is it playing at normal speed while KOOL is playing it at +2%? You know how those games work.

Not really sure who's fast, who's slow, or if anyone is at normal pitch/speed.
You just use KOOL as the "standard" since it's the way you've heard the
oldies classic hits for so many years.

There was a time when KOOL was fast and it sounded horrible. This was
back in the early '90s when 94.5 actually had oldies competition. No, not
KOOL Gold 960 as the AM side did the older ('50s) oldies, but rather KPSN
96.9 ("Sunny 97").

Soon after KPSN came on the scene with a similar playlist and a splashy jock
lineup, KOOL decided it would "outrun" its upstart competitor by pitching up
the CD players by 2%, resulting in most songs sounding so bad. While this
may have worked for AM Top 40 stations in the '60s and '70s--where they
played 45s at 46 or 47 RPM and usually sounded brighter and more "up" than
the slow turntable guys down the street--it really bombed on FM.

KOOL finally stopped the practice, and IIRC this was even before KPSN flipped
to a '70s format, as something other than "Sunny 97." Does anyone remember
their new positioner...was it "Hot 96.9"?

 

[jeffinaz]

"KOOL finally stopped the practice, and IIRC this was even before KPSN flipped
to a '70s format, as something other than "Sunny 97." Does anyone remember
their new positioner...was it "Hot 96.9"?"

If I'm not mistaken it was "Eagle 96.9"

 

[EricStein]

KOOL finally stopped the practice, and IIRC this was even before KPSN flipped
to a '70s format, as something other than "Sunny 97." Does anyone remember
their new positioner...was it "Hot 96.9"?

They were known as "Hot Oldies 97" for a time in '93-94, then became KCHT...er...KHTC "K-Hits 96.9."

 

[michael hagerty]

KOOL finally stopped the practice, and IIRC this was even before KPSN flipped
to a '70s format, as something other than "Sunny 97." Does anyone remember
their new positioner...was it "Hot 96.9"?

They were known as "Hot Oldies 97" for a time in '93-94, then became KCHT...er...KHTC "K-Hits 96.9."

As someone who was there (part-time news/one-time jock):

It was Sunny 97. Then, after six months as an oldies station, one (of the two) consultant came back with research saying that "Sunny" equated to a soft, female-leaning A/C in people's minds (never mind that the station had shot from a 2.4 to a 4.2 and KOOL...admittedly in receivership...had done the exact opposite, 4.2-2.4)...so it became "Hot Oldies 97".

After two or three months, it was "Hot Oldies Sunny 97"...and then, a couple of months after that, "Hot Oldies Sunny 97 KPSN".

They blew it (and most of the staff, including Danny Davis and Steve Goddard) up in late '94 for K-Hits 96.9. The original call letters were KCHT. I passed along to Joel Grey the comment another PD in the market made to me...that the station had "gone from p***in' (PSN) to s**t (CHT)." Within 60 days, Bonneville swapped the calls for KHTC...the closest to "Hits" they could get.

Nationwide bought the station and flipped it to "Eagle 96.9" KGLQ in September, 1997. And I came back in, this time with Charlie Van Dyke (who had left Sunny only a couple of weeks before I started).

 

[johndavis]

KOOL finally stopped the practice, and IIRC this was even before KPSN flipped
to a '70s format, as something other than "Sunny 97." Does anyone remember
their new positioner...was it "Hot 96.9"?

They were known as "Hot Oldies 97" for a time in '93-94, then became KCHT...er...KHTC "K-Hits 96.9."

As someone who was there (part-time news/one-time jock):

It was Sunny 97. Then, after six months as an oldies station, one (of the two) consultant came back with research saying that "Sunny" equated to a soft, female-leaning A/C in people's minds (never mind that the station had shot from a 2.4 to a 4.2 and KOOL...admittedly in receivership...had done the exact opposite, 4.2-2.4)...so it became "Hot Oldies 97".

After two or three months, it was "Hot Oldies Sunny 97"...and then, a couple of months after that, "Hot Oldies Sunny 97 KPSN".

They blew it (and most of the staff, including Danny Davis and Steve Goddard) up in late '94 for K-Hits 96.9. The original call letters were KCHT. I passed along to Joel Grey the comment another PD in the market made to me...that the station had "gone from p***in' (PSN) to s**t (CHT)." Within 60 days, Bonneville swapped the calls for KHTC...the closest to "Hits" they could get.

Nationwide bought the station and flipped it to "Eagle 96.9" KGLQ in September, 1997. And I came back in, this time with Charlie Van Dyke (who had left Sunny only a couple of weeks before I started).

Wasn't it AC as Sunny 97 KPSN before it flipped to Oldies? If I recall how the 5 way AC battle royale (KKLT, KESZ, KPSN, KMXX, KVRY) went down, KPSN was the first to flip and found far more success against KOOL. KMXX went next when Jorgy came in and flipped Mix to AAA KZON. KVRY hung on for a few more years before it reverted to KZZP. Finally, somebody turned out the Lite.

I do recall they kept the Sunny name when they changed the music. After all, they had just bought all those inflatable suns...

 

[michael hagerty]

KOOL finally stopped the practice, and IIRC this was even before KPSN flipped
to a '70s format, as something other than "Sunny 97." Does anyone remember
their new positioner...was it "Hot 96.9"?

They were known as "Hot Oldies 97" for a time in '93-94, then became KCHT...er...KHTC "K-Hits 96.9."

As someone who was there (part-time news/one-time jock):

It was Sunny 97. Then, after six months as an oldies station, one (of the two) consultant came back with research saying that "Sunny" equated to a soft, female-leaning A/C in people's minds (never mind that the station had shot from a 2.4 to a 4.2 and KOOL...admittedly in receivership...had done the exact opposite, 4.2-2.4)...so it became "Hot Oldies 97".

After two or three months, it was "Hot Oldies Sunny 97"...and then, a couple of months after that, "Hot Oldies Sunny 97 KPSN".

They blew it (and most of the staff, including Danny Davis and Steve Goddard) up in late '94 for K-Hits 96.9. The original call letters were KCHT. I passed along to Joel Grey the comment another PD in the market made to me...that the station had "gone from p***in' (PSN) to s**t (CHT)." Within 60 days, Bonneville swapped the calls for KHTC...the closest to "Hits" they could get.

Nationwide bought the station and flipped it to "Eagle 96.9" KGLQ in September, 1997. And I came back in, this time with Charlie Van Dyke (who had left Sunny only a couple of weeks before I started).

Wasn't it AC as Sunny 97 KPSN before it flipped to Oldies? If I recall how the 5 way AC battle royale (KKLT, KESZ, KPSN, KMXX, KVRY) went down, KPSN was the first to flip and found far more success against KOOL. KMXX went next when Jorgy came in and flipped Mix to AAA KZON. KVRY hung on for a few more years before it reverted to KZZP. Finally, somebody turned out the Lite.

I do recall they kept the Sunny name when they changed the music. After all, they had just bought all those inflatable suns...

John:

Yes it was...for six months in 1992, I believe. And it came in dead last in that first five-way A/C book despite having Charlie Van Dyke, Steve Goddard and (I thought) the best overall sound.

I think the Mix-Zone flip was '93...KVRY became KZZP again in '96...and K-Lite became The Peak Memorial Day weekend 2004.

And John, you'd know....wasn't this actually a six-way race? In '92, wasn't KOY-AM still live, local and A/C?

 

[johndavis]

John:

Yes it was...for six months in 1992, I believe. And it came in dead last in that first five-way A/C book despite having Charlie Van Dyke, Steve Goddard and (I thought) the best overall sound.

I think the Mix-Zone flip was '93...KVRY became KZZP again in '96...and K-Lite became The Peak Memorial Day weekend 2004.

And John, you'd know....wasn't this actually a six-way race? In '92, wasn't KOY-AM still live, local and A/C?

KMXX to KZON was 1992. Sundance bought KOY and moved to 840 N. Central in 1993.

In 1992, KOY-AM was on the bird with Westwood One's "AM Only" nostalgia format. As I recall, when KOY blew up KQYT in 1986 the AM simulcast the FM except for nights where the AM did a talk show and the FM played music. That didn't last long (6 months to a year maybe); the FM became Adult CHR Y-95 and the AM went on the bird with nostalgia. Gary told me he wanted to keep the AM live and local (I think they tried going local talk for about a week), but Valley National Bank saw things differently. They did the AM live assist with board ops swapping out carts until after I got there.

Incidentally, almost everyone on the air at Westwood One's AM Only when I was there came from KOY. So while they were mostly the same jocks from before the switch, they'd been fired, rehired, and moved to Valencia, CA.

From what I remember, when KOY (AC) was moved to 95.5, Tim Hattrick was brought in to youthen up the Bill Heywood show. After KOY-FM became Y-95 and Heywood exited, Hattrick's partner on the Y Morning Zoo was some guy named Glenn Beck.

 

[ironbear]

From what I remember, when KOY (AC) was moved to 95.5, Tim Hattrick was brought in to youthen up the Bill Heywood show. After KOY-FM became Y-95 and Heywood exited, Hattrick's partner on the Y Morning Zoo was some guy named Glenn Beck.

As a fan of Tim 'n Willy's podcast, I've been delighted to hear Hattrick hilariously riff on Beck, correctly identifying him as 'cuckoo' and a 'trainwreck'. I believe Beck's descent into some sort of a clown shoe obsession was the last straw.

 

[billyg]

Sounds like a fun station to listen to :

BTW KBSZ has a app for going to 3500w daytime, still stuck with 50w at night. Anyone know more about this?

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?list=0&facid=11217

 

[asugeorge1]

Sounds like a fun station to listen to :

BTW KBSZ has a app for going to 3500w daytime, still stuck with 50w at night. Anyone know more about this?

That upgrade would really help Rock and Roll 1260 cover the entire valley, at least during the day. That night-time signal is barely strong enough to cover Apache Junction!

On a side note, KBSZ is doing their first EVER themed weekend. For the Memorial Day Weekend, Rock and Roll 1260 is doing an all 50's and 60's weekend. That's right, not an all 70's weekend like our friends over at KOOL, but an all 50's and 60's weekend.

KOOL please take note that you too can also do an all 60's weekend sometime in the future instead of all those 70's themed weekends! ;D

 

[oldiesfan6479]

KOOL please take note that you too can also do an all 60's weekend sometime in the future instead of all those 70's themed weekends! ;D

Whasamatta asugeo--you don't like yet another Block Party Weekend on KSLX KOOL? ;D
I don't know, K-Slacks might be doing one too.

Note to readers:
We'll now reserve the next "reply" space for the Old Gringo to remind us that KOOL doing
an all '60s weekend would be deadly for its demos. Think "geezer."

 

[MarkAndrews]

Excuse me while I cut in for a moment...

This is one olphart that getting a kick out of 1260's special weekend presentation! However, I DID catch a couple of 70s violations in there, too.

Can somebody send a REAL version of the Righteous Bros.' "Soul & Inspriation" to KBSZ? They have a re-recorded version in a lower key than the original...something about being able to sing on-key in their later years...

Sounds to me like the 50w nighttime signal runs at about a 12 to 15 mile radius. I'm one of the privileged that gets to hear it at night, although in some locations of my yard my Part 15 yardcaster comes in better...If they get a higher daytime power, they'll have to use a new antenna...My understanding is the Valtrex flagpole is only able to go to just over 1kw...

 

[ironbear]

Valcom makes a portable, emergency model good for 2kW. However, the model specified in KBSZ's CP is rated for 5kW.

 

[billyg]

Can somebody send a REAL version of the Righteous Bros.' "Soul & Inspiration" to KBSZ? They have a re-recorded version in a lower key than the original...something about being able to sing on-key in their later years...

I know a few AM and small town FM oldies stations that play those cheap K-Tel remakes they got from the $4.99 CD rack at Wallyworld.
And when I've email/phone to complain they (usually a DJ or program/music director who was born in 1980) didn't know they were playing the remake version and don't give a dang, even when I offered to bring over or send them the original version. :

Valcom makes a portable, emergency model good for 2kW. However, the model specified in KBSZ's CP is rated for 5kW.

http://www.valcom-guelph.com/products/V-33085AM-CL2.html
It's a little stick - but I bet cranking 3.5kw through it is highly inefficient compared to a folded dipole.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

The Big BSZ did sort of a "Lumberyard-in-reverse" this evening.

Per the monthly sunrise/sunset page in the FCC AM Query for KBSZ...

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/srsstime?dlat=33&mlat=22&slat=56.00&dlon=111&mlon=32&slon=9.00&tzone=C

...June (and July) power-down is 7:30 PM, but it took until almost 7:40 for
the signal strength to drop off of the table. They were however starting to
get hammered in the 'Tuke by other 1260 signals a bit before 7:30.


The KBSZ website is now showing some signs of life--several links to sub-pages
now work, including the "contact us" page which has the boss line number.

Looks like they will again program weekends as the anti-KOOL, with the website
promo-ing the next as a '50s and '60s Weekend featuring Elvis.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

KBSZ has sounded rather weak today, in several listen checks.

The signal strength (on the Sangean 909 meter) has been normal
in the 'Tuke, but the audio seems to be at "half-volume or less."

 

[billyg]

BTW they just started streaming online at http://www.rocknroll1260.com/
Except for the morning show, it sounds like a Ipod on random play.. and they think they're gonna make a little money? ???

 

[landtuna]

The signal strength (on the Sangean 909 meter) has been normal
in the 'Tuke, but the audio seems to be at "half-volume or less."

I've been listening online tonight and about every 3rd or 4th song the volume drops by a noticeable amount. Otherwise the music is great with just a few little bleeps and blips between songs.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Yesterday (Friday) and earlier this morning was still sounding like Thursday--typical
daytime signal strength at my location but audio levels quite low.

Now it's carrier on but no programming as of 9:08 AM (don't know when this started).

While the dead carrier exists on air, over on the KBSZ website, "listen live" activates
from the home page but there's nothing on the stream. Strange also that when I'm on
the contact us page and then go to listen live, I get the placeholder ("live streaming
coming soon").

Still carrier only on 1260 as of 9:26 AM.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

The "carrier on but nothing else" continues into the 11 AM hour.

Strangely enough, at 10:00 several PSAs and a sweeper/legal ID played,
then it was back to the sounds of silence (sans Simon & Garfunkel).

At 11:00 it was two PSAs and a sweeper, but no ID.

The KBSZ Silence Is Deafening Weekend continues. ???