Keep an ear on 94.9

[Mediafrog+]

Much talk on the Texas board about KVIC's move from 95.1 to 104.7 in the Victoria area. This will allow KHTZ to fire up its new 100kw transmitter on 94.9.

Supposedly KVIC is simulcasting on both 95.1 and 104.7 until May 6, when the old 95.1 transmitter will be shut down, opening the door for 94.9 which should make it into parts of the greater Houston metro area. Reception will probably be quite good when tropo kicks in.

More at http://radiodiscussions.com/smf/index.php?topic=233894.0

 

[DJboutit3]

94.9 will not make it into Houston you will need to be 25 to 30 miles south southwest of Houston to pick them up. Go to Wharton or Bay City you will have no problem picking up 94.9

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I'd look for KNDE College Station to attempt an upgrade / rim shot / move-in. 95.1 would be a third adjacent to two locals and should be able to move in with no problems.

As far as 94.9 goes, it is a second adjacent to a local, and in the same direction as the Missouri City towers from Houston. We wouldn't be looking at another KHJK situation, it wouldn't be receivable in Houston.

I get pieces of KLTY all over NW Houston. Not enough to be listenable, but impressive nonetheless. Put up any sort of outdoor antenna, and it booms in. The power of a good analog station with no HD!

 

[Mediafrog+]

94.9 will not make it into Houston you will need to be 25 to 30 miles south southwest of Houston to pick them up. Go to Wharton or Bay City you will have no problem picking up 94.9

Fort Bend and Brazoria counties should be able to get a signal from KHTZ. Never claimed it would be decent strength. However when tropo kicks in 94.9 should be easy to hear all over Houston metro.

KJOJ 103.3 has a similar facility and can blast in like a Missouri City stick when tropo is good.

 

[jras20]

Is any of his stations on the air? I believe 94.1, 99.7 are both off the air that I know of that he owns. I wonder if he will even do anything with 94.9?

 

[KTN Corp]

I'd look for KNDE College Station to attempt an upgrade / rim shot / move-in. 95.1 would be a third adjacent to two locals and should be able to move in with no problems.

But KHCB-FM is on the intermediate frequency. (95.1 + 10.6 = 105.7)

 

[Anonymouse]

Is any of his stations on the air? I believe 94.1, 99.7 are both off the air that I know of that he owns. I wonder if he will even do anything with 94.9?

It'll put a good station up if everything works out okay, hope it's not a satellite or strange format that I don't like. LOL.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I'd look for KNDE College Station to attempt an upgrade / rim shot / move-in. 95.1 would be a third adjacent to two locals and should be able to move in with no problems.

But KHCB-FM is on the intermediate frequency. (95.1 + 10.6 = 105.7)

I think the separation rule is only 20 miles, so it would still work. I doubt KHCB would care, they have virtually no listeners anyway - so there would be nobody to complain.

 

[purpledevil]

I doubt KHCB would care, they have virtually no listeners anyway - so there would be nobody to complain.

I'd love to see where you're getting your data, bruce. KHCB wouldn't have the amount of stations they do on the air with "virtually no listeners".

Back to the thread...94.9 should be fairly listenable in Houston. For some reason, that frequency really tends to travel down here as I've picked up KLTY-Arlington and KQUR-Laredo on the frequency quite often.

I can assure you KNDE is upgrading nothing, especially targetting anything near Houston.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I doubt KHCB would care, they have virtually no listeners anyway - so there would be nobody to complain.

I'd love to see where you're getting your data, bruce. KHCB wouldn't have the amount of stations they do on the air with "virtually no listeners".

Back to the thread...94.9 should be fairly listenable in Houston. For some reason, that frequency really tends to travel down here as I've picked up KLTY-Arlington and KQUR-Laredo on the frequency quite often.

I can assure you KNDE is upgrading nothing, especially targetting anything near Houston.

Where I get my data: http://mobile.****************/cgi-bin/rolmobi.exe/arb033 I don't see KHCB anywhere. All it takes is a few people that are willing to donate a lot of money to keep the clunker on the air. When those people die off, I expect to see the station for sale.

I've been getting KLTY in pockets all over NW Houston. But I have a car with a whip antenna, and a Pioneer Supertuner 3D. So - your average car with an inadequate antenna and barely adequate radio won't get anything. If there is any skip at all, I get KQUR instead.

If KNDE gets a whiff of money, and the possibility of covering parts of Houston as well, they will expand. Especially when they already have a decent signal in Fairfield. It wouldn't take much to cover big parts of Houston as a rim shot.

 

[ChuckTiller]

KHCB does not subscribe to Arbitron. If you don't subscribe, your station will not get listed. KRBE did not show up a year ago for the same reason. As far as this frequency is concerned, it will be a very weak rim shot at best.

 

[bturner]

I'd love to be running a station that has such a great audience as KHCB but it takes decades to get there. If you'll listen you don't hear the station itself run any pleas for money or any underwriting. I think it is twice a day they announce what their bills for the month are and how much has come in.

Granted the syndicated ministries do a 'share' on donations they receive from the zip codes that the station and KHCB's network of stations generate, but to choose not to run pleas for contributions and selling underwriting is notable. Few can survive this way but the long legacy of KHCB, it seems, has made that possible.

I have no idea the number of listeners KHCB might have but the important issues in radio have always been an efficient operation and paying the bills. KHCB continues to pull it off as it has for so many years. Best of all, being on a commercial frequency, they could sell the commercial frequency and purchase a non-commercial frequency of equal coverage and cover years of operation costs with the excess if they ever chose to do so.

The number of listeners is a non-issue. They get every dollar from their listeners directly or as their 'share' of what listeners give to the ministries on the station. The fact they pull it off and pay their bills is pretty much saying their listening audience is larger than we might suspect and certainly content with the programming to the point they'll put their money where there ears are tuned. For the rest of us, let's scratch our heads again in wonder.

How might I know this? I was at KYND when we were formatted as a Christian station. Part of my job was knowing what everyone in the format was doing so I might carve a niche out for KYND. They're nice folks at KHCB. In fact, nice enough I wanted to be sure I didn't step on their toes.

 

[purpledevil]

KHCB does not subscribe to Arbitron. If you don't subscribe, your station will not get listed. KRBE did not show up a year ago for the same reason. As far as this frequency is concerned, it will be a very weak rim shot at best.

Thank you, Chuck. This was part of my point. Just because KHCB isn't listed in the Arbs, doesn't mean it's not a viable station. There must be around 20 stations or so in the entire KHCB portfolio, and you can't accomplish that feat without a sizable listener base. I wish I knew who peed in your Cherios, bruce. Whether it be KSBJ, KHCB, or KHJK, you have a deep rooted disdain for Christian faith broadcasters in this City...and I just don't get why.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Thank you, Chuck. This was part of my point. Just because KHCB isn't listed in the Arbs, doesn't mean it's not a viable station. There must be around 20 stations or so in the entire KHCB portfolio, and you can't accomplish that feat without a sizable listener base. I wish I knew who peed in your Cherios, bruce. Whether it be KSBJ, KHCB, or KHJK, you have a deep rooted disdain for Christian faith broadcasters in this City...and I just don't get why.

KCHB had a preacher on in the 1980's that made really nasty comments about Christian rock music. Not even reasoned Biblical arguments. I would classify it as hate speech. No scriptural backup. If that is the quality of "ministry" on there, I won't be listening. I don't hate the folks at KHCB. Their programming is just irrelevant to me.

KSBJ started with a lot of promise. I donated heavily to them in their early days. It had creative music, on the edge of CHR and Christian Rock. I moved away from Houston in 1986. When I moved back, I found slow, boring praise and worship music. When Buddy Holiday was in charge, he pledged that KSBJ would always be the station for young people, and never sell out to traditionalists. I understand he was walked out of there by people who didn't share his vision. To KSBJ's credit, they have put NGEN on the air. NGEN is what KSBJ should have been all along, it is one of the most creative and effective ministry to young people out there. If I find there is a way to contribute to NGEN and have no possibility it will ever go to support praise and worship on KSBJ, they will find me quite generous. But I have been betrayed before - the money I donated to KSBJ in the 80's was NOT for their present format! I have nephews in the Houston area, if I wasn't living here, I at least wanted a Christian station here relevant for them. They are good Christians, but KSBJ was totally irrelevant to them after the Buddy Holiday era. They never listened and I don't blame them. I love NGEN - when I can get the signal. Sugarland 99.5 is deep fringe from Cypress, and covered up by the WOLF from Ft. Worth and San Antonio a lot of the time.

KHJK is great - they still play a lot of AC clunkers, but it is a breath of fresh air and I listen a lot. I sent them a nice donation. Like a lot of people, I miss the previous format. Unlike a lot of posters, I also like Air-1.

I am a Christian believer, and serious about it. I support ministries that care about young people, because young people are the future of the church. I absolutely despise preachers who are King James only, anti-CCM, etc. I absolutely despise slow, boring, lukewarm praise and worship music. Give me something with some life in it!

 

[purpledevil]

Now I understand where you are coming from. I never would've imagined 105.7 airing any type of hateful speech. That is a shame. I'm not an avid listener of KHCB, but know of several others that are. Over the years, anytime I have listened to KHCB, I have found a solid message being delivered by an informed and seemingly passionate messenger. Never have I heard anything derogatory or hateful from the station, in my personal experience. I can understand your displeasure given the experience you've had with one of the broadcasts being aired. With regards to KSBJ, I'm still a bit confused. Isn't KSBJ a Christian Contemporary? I would assume that with the launch of N-Gen, this would be the reason that KSBJ would steer clear of the more up tempo Christian Rock hits that you desire. I'd like to see N-Gen on at least a rimshot myself. 99.5 is a no go in north Houston as well, covered most of the time by Gator 99-5 from Lake Charles.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Isn't KSBJ a Christian Contemporary? I would assume that with the launch of N-Gen, this would be the reason that KSBJ would steer clear of the more up tempo Christian Rock hits that you desire. I'd like to see N-Gen on at least a rimshot myself. 99.5 is a no go in north Houston as well, covered most of the time by Gator 99-5 from Lake Charles.

CCM is a broad category with several sub-genres. The Hosanna Integrity folks started really pushing their brand of bland CCM about 18 years ago, I'd call it praise and worship because it sounds more like something you would get in a church on Sunday morning. It pretty much supplanted the adult contemporary or AC genre. Most newer listeners have never heard AC CCM, because praise and worship is "safe" and doesn't produce any controversy. It also doesn't excite or inspire young people and young professionals, who pretty much defected away from CCM when this stuff came to dominate the airwaves. In my opinion it was a poor trade, because it may stop kooks from calling the station complaining about Christian rock, but it also pretty much guarantees nobody under 40 or so is going to listen. NOT good for developing a sustainable audience in the future. As for KSBJ differentiating - they changed to praise and worship in the early to mid 90's from what I can tell. I'd visit Houston every few months, and remember driving in to some really creative stuff like a Christian oldies show. The Rock of Love was an old favorite of mine, I don't know when it went. I do know one of those hateful anti-Christian rock types assailed me (and the station) and call it the "love of rock". I think he was a Swaggart disciple. That didn't work out very well for him I guess. Anyway, I can sort of sympathize with the way the station thinks - they misinterpret the old "eating meat offered to idols" scripture and shrink away from anything controversial. This is digressing a bit, though - the point is the changes at KSBJ were early on in the 90's - HD and NGEN were more than 15 years away. I'd like to think NGEN is a genuine attempt to reach the younger audience, and it probably is in part. But I suspect a lot of it was to shut up people like myself that don't like praise and worship. There must be a lot of us, because KHJK is one of the bigger Air-1 success stories. I will endeavor to think that NGEN is a genuine attempt tp reach young people, and support it enthusiastically. I am only 58 - I grew up with rock music - not old enough for hymns and praise and worship yet! Give me Christian rock and Christian hip-hop, I'll be happy.

What a difference a few miles make! North Houston is Lake Charles on 99.5, while Cypress gets the Wolf from Ft. Worth! The stations from Dallas / Ft. Worth are much easier to get in Houston than the stations in Houston are to get in Dallas, because the antenna farm for DFW is on the south side of the metroplex, while Houston's stations are South of town. From my former Plano location, only KKBQ was reliable from Houston, but several Dallas stations come in down here at the least bit of provocation. I've even decoded HD from a couple of them! NGEN has fueled an appetite for HD radios in my house, but it still takes a substantial yagi to bring it into the house. Car is pretty reliable, but I have trouble at the far point of my commute - I-10 and grand parkway, which is almost exactly 50 miles from the KSBJ tower. KSBJ is somewhat short towered, KGLK HD goes at least 70 miles in every direction in my car. It is too bad that the only signals in Houston worth getting seem to all be on HD. I've wondered if that is by design, or are stations sending old / unwanted / inconvenient formats to HD to die. In NGEN's case, it definitely refuses to fade away - I know a lot of fans around town. A love for up-tempo, creative music seems to bring together diverse age groups!

 

[93-3TheSurge]

La Kalle 95-1 out of San Antonio/Comfort has been booming into Cuero/Victoria.

In Cuero it sounds like a local; in Victoria it contains static at times but is still very listenable.

 

[purpledevil]

La Kalle 95-1 out of San Antonio/Comfort has been booming into Cuero/Victoria.

In Cuero it sounds like a local; in Victoria it contains static at times but is still very listenable.

San Antonio was blasting into north Houston this morning as well. Usual suspects: KISS, KSMG, KXXM. However, there sat little KZAR next door to local KBXX at 97.9, and it was listenable. Come to find out, there's quite the delay between KZAR and KHJK. KZAR had to have been around 10 seconds behind KHJK.

 

[rageradio]

Wonder if that delay has anything to do with the distance the signal had to travel before you received it.

 

[rageradio]

What's going on with 94.9? I was scanning the dial and my radio stopped at 94.9. Heard some kind of techno music for a few moments and then it stopped and remained silent. Are they testing?