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KHAT 1210

SomeRadioGuy

SomeRadioGuy

The licensed site for KHAT 1210 Laramie, WY that isn’t currently in use. 10kw non directional days, 1kw directional 2 towers nights with an expire permit that was for 10kw daytime only. Currently running 10 watts on a short antenna from the roof of a building in downtown. ​


The site nor any access to it was included in the sale and the previous licensee didn't own the site and there are some technical problems beyond my understanding with it.

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If they have a "10 watt" STA from the FCC they get to keep the 96.7 translator "legal". I guess they could get one of the "traffic information units" and find a place to "park" it and indefinitely get STAs from the commission.

The translators for FMs really should have had a requirement on their AM stations that their parent AM make at least 85% of whatever their class D or C licensed power at least 75 % of a 2 year period. If you can't get parts for your transmitter then get a new one. If your business is can't a new afford a new transmitter (1 KW AM Dream 1000 is listed on the BW site for under $13,000) then you might consider a new line of work.

I don't believe the commission ever thought that the FM translators for AMs would allow AM operators to sell their land, trash their signal and become a zombie FM operators.

I hate to say this but "financial thinning of Radio stations" will happen one way or the other.
 
secondchoice said:
If they have a "10 watt" STA from the FCC they get to keep the 96.7 translator "legal". I guess they could get one of the "traffic information units" and find a place to "park" it and indefinitely get STAs from the commission.
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Thats what KHAT is operating with, an STA and 10 watts from a roof.
secondchoice said:
** If you can't get parts for your transmitter then get a new one. If your business is can't a new afford a new transmitter (1 KW AM Dream 1000 is listed on the BW site for under $13,000) then you might consider a new line of work.
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excuse you? Its not about afford, its about what makes long term financial sense
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
Thats what KHAT is operating with, an STA and 10 watts from a roof.


excuse you? Its not about afford, its about what makes long term financial sense
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IMHO: There is no excuse for a business plan doesn't account maintaining the transmitter plant. If the long term financial "sence" can't afford a piece of equipment that should last at least a decade and costs less than the expense of a full time fast food worker for one year then then do the financially responsible thing sell out: or cut your losses and turn in the licence.

Some of these translators were "virtually free*" to AM broadcasters when you take into account what a short spaced Class A FM would cost. A lot of these signals would never be a traditional FM allocation due to spacing rules but were allowed because you had an AM license. I wouldn't speculate on the FCC allowing these translators becoming some kind of stand alone Class A1

* After engineering, all one really needed was the equipment. A whole lot less expense, time and hassle than getting a Class A Commercial FM license assuming and allocation became available in your area.
 
I did forget the FCC had a "minimum" charge depending on when translator was licensed. I still believe a lot of translators most cost less than $100 K total, which was a deal considering what the future would be for an AM without the FM translator.

BTW if my mental math is correct there are some 150 + watt translators with antennas above 500 feet HAAT that could have coverage rivaling a Class A FM not counting interference from "real" Class A, B or C FMs
 
secondchoice said:
IMHO: There is no excuse for a business plan doesn't account maintaining the transmitter plant. If the long term financial "sence" can't afford a piece of equipment that should last at least a decade and costs less than the expense of a full time fast food worker for one year then then do the financially responsible thing sell out: or cut your losses and turn in the licence.

Some of these translators were "virtually free*" to AM broadcasters when you take into account what a short spaced Class A FM would cost. A lot of these signals would never be a traditional FM allocation due to spacing rules but were allowed because you had an AM license. I wouldn't speculate on the FCC allowing these translators becoming some kind of stand alone Class A1

* After engineering, all one really needed was the equipment. A whole lot less expense, time and hassle than getting a Class A Commercial FM license assuming and allocation became available in your area
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Youre really just out of touch with reality

The translator for KHAT is 250 watts at 135 but thats a misnomer because its using a 4 bay ERI antenna with radomes on top of a very tall hill. IT makes it 30-40 miles
 
Let's PLEASE try to refrain from unnecessary personal attacks. There's too much of that on the boards right now and it's really not acceptable. So back to the facts:

As someone who works with a lot of broadcasters trying to navigate the decline/demise of AM, the reality is this: there's really not much of a financial future left for a lot of these small AM stations that would justify the cost of not only a new transmitter but also (at least in this case) a new site. It could easily be a six-figure investment for a station that isn't worth half that on the open market these days.

In at least some cases, the translator can be freed up from the AM license and be fed by an HD subchannel from a sister FM station. Even when you figure in the expense of adding HD to an existing FM, it can end up being much more economical in the short and longer terms.

Many of these owners are operating on very tight margins and trying to put everything they can into content. If they can avoid an unnecessary expense of rebuilding an AM signal that nobody is actually listening to, I'm all in favor of letting them focus on what really matters to listeners.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
Youre really just out of touch with reality

The translator for KHAT is 250 watts at 135 but thats a misnomer because its using a 4 bay ERI antenna with radomes on top of a very tall hill. IT makes it 30-40 miles
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Did I say any about KHAT in posts #3,or #4? If there is a problem PM me. I know the reality. Even with flybush's efforts, a lot of AMs are going to bite the dust.
 


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