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KISM 92.9 Bellingham

I wouldn't be surprised if the Q has listeners right along the water between Edmonds and Everett (or within 1/2 mile of the water). And probably more in the San Juans/Port Angeles area.
Unless there's more competition now, I used to get a very weak CKKS (CFUN)-104.7 Sechelt BC (350w) at the Edmonds beaches years ago. They are 'Mountain FM' and relay CISQ Squamish. Sechelt is on the Sunshine Coast, over 130 miles away. When KXOT was off the air between their KUOW-2 and TVW days, I pulled in CKAY-91.7 Gibsons BC from that same beach. That's the Puget Sound amplifier at work.
Never could reel in Courteney BC on 97.3/98.9, nor CHWF 106.9, or The Lounge on 99.9 through the Seattle stations...even up on north Whidbey Island! CHPQ-99.9 is similar to KIXI, with a standards/AC format.
 
The New Chico said:
Hah! I get them all better than the Bellingham class Cs, and I am IN Bellingham according to the postal service. I do, however, live in a pretty deep valley with aboout 3000 (Lookout Mtn.) feet of basalt between me and Mt. Costitution/ Malahat. SO there's that.
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That definitely helps. When I used to live in Bellingham, I was on the east side of Sehome Hill. I used to listen to 104.3 all of the time on a radio I kept by my desk (this was around 2015 or so when they were classic hits). KAFE didn't cause any interference.
 
Andy Travis said:
I know for a fact there's people on Whidbey and the San Juans that prefer CKKQ to KISM.
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The Q is a really cool station, and it’s definitely on my presets. The playlist is wide, and they have a lot of unique “theme” weekends, which make listening fun.

I would say that I still listen to 92.9 the most. I like their variety, and as an American, it sounds more like what I’m accustomed to hearing on a classic rock station. I was probably overly verbose in the other thread about KISM versus KZOK, but I absolutely appreciate having a station that will play The Doors, Cream, Santana, The Cars, Billy Squire, Bon Jovi (and many others), all in one place. The variety is just right.

The Q can sound more “foreign” at times. I’ve gotten used to it, since I live on the northern side of the border, but I could see someone who isn’t familiar with cancon being confused by some of the music. With that being said, if a new listener gives it a chance, I definitely think they’d grow to like it. I kind of put 100.3 in the category of AAA in the sense that you tune in because you’re interested in hearing something different. I respect that.

The other Canadian rock station that’s listenable in the north sound would be Rock 101 from Vancouver. The overall presentation of this station isn’t my favorite, but I listen from time to time. They definitely have a good variety of classic hits and classic rock mixed in, even when you factor cancon out. Even if they are more “corporate,” variety isn’t lacking. I was listening on the way home the other day and heard a track from the Eagles and a track from Fleetwood Mac that would never see the light of day on KZOK.
 
Pattison's websites don't use RadioPlayerCA as the streaming engine so CKKQ is available in the US on the Internet. CKKQ has a solid signal - now I know why they do not run HD. For locals, CHBE 107.3 has a monster signal with 4 HD channels reaching down to Marysville, Washington HD3 and HD4 are duplicates - Pure Country. Having CFAX 1070 on HD2 is also nice.
 
I can see where some of the CanCon might be a minus to listeners unfamiliar with it, but I can also see why it's a draw. Depends on what you're looking for. I'll take either one over KZOK but The Q wins out for me a lot of the time especially when they're doing specialty weekends. They did a 90s one a while back and the imaging was hilarious. It's as much the flair they put on the imaging and features as the playlist, it just feels like Pattison invests more in it than most companies stateside do in their classic rockers. Still live 5:30 AM to midnight, as best I can tell.

Random fact, The Q actually was classified as a Triple A at some point in I believe the 90s, and leaned into it more heavily so some of that must still be in the DNA. A great guy named Rick Baverstock worked there as PD for a while and went on to be a broadcast instructor in Winnipeg and run a college FM, CKIC "Kick FM" which started in the Triple A format and then went towards a contemporary alt/indie mix. He later passed, but he was a big part of Q's success in those years and a brilliant broadcaster. Loved music and growing new talent.

https://soundcloud.com/westernbroadcasters%2Frick-everett-baverstock-ckkq930915

Rock 101 also does an interesting mix. I remember listening to old airchecks of it and it was a very "adult" AOR in its earlier days too. Something about rock radio in that region just has a different flavor, and I imagine it was more pronounced with Q before they signed on CJZN 91.3 to grab more of the alternative sound. It's also a good station, IMO. I dig what Pattison does in general, they always struck me as the company that had the money to do it right and took pride in doing it, and didn't look to cut corners. Love em for that.
 
Andy Travis said:
I can see where some of the CanCon might be a minus to listeners unfamiliar with it, but I can also see why it's a draw. Depends on what you're looking for. I'll take either one over KZOK but The Q wins out for me a lot of the time especially when they're doing specialty weekends. They did a 90s one a while back and the imaging was hilarious. It's as much the flair they put on the imaging and features as the playlist, it just feels like Pattison invests more in it than most companies stateside do in their classic rockers. Still live 5:30 AM to midnight, as best I can tell.

Random fact, The Q actually was classified as a Triple A at some point in I believe the 90s, and leaned into it more heavily so some of that must still be in the DNA. A great guy named Rick Baverstock worked there as PD for a while and went on to be a broadcast instructor in Winnipeg and run a college FM, CKIC "Kick FM" which started in the Triple A format and then went towards a contemporary alt/indie mix. He later passed, but he was a big part of Q's success in those years and a brilliant broadcaster. Loved music and growing new talent.

https://soundcloud.com/westernbroadcasters%2Frick-everett-baverstock-ckkq930915

Rock 101 also does an interesting mix. I remember listening to old airchecks of it and it was a very "adult" AOR in its earlier days too. Something about rock radio in that region just has a different flavor, and I imagine it was more pronounced with Q before they signed on CJZN 91.3 to grab more of the alternative sound. It's also a good station, IMO. I dig what Pattison does in general, they always struck me as the company that had the money to do it right and took pride in doing it, and didn't look to cut corners. Love em for that.
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Pattinson Media strikes me as a very good media company. They obviously make prudent decisions to ensure that their stations are viable, but they don’t cut corners either. They retain talent (demonstrated by the fact that 100.3 and their country sister station in Vancouver on 93.7 have/had morning shows that lasted for decades).

Radio is a business, but I think it’s awesome to see a company that does so much more than the bare minimum. It seems like it pays off, as CJJR 93.7 is regularly a top rated station in Vancouver (and 100.3 does equally well in Victoria).
 
KISM-AUX still has great analog coverage. Driving around Snohomish County the last few days 92.9's signal is almost as good as full-power sister KAFE. Being out on Orcas Island I imagine mean-time-to-repair is a lot longer than the mainland sites when the transmitter burps.
 
I don't beleive it is the AUX. That one has little elevation and is pretty strictly in-town coverage in Bellingham. Probably just the main at reduced power or maybe just without the HD on.

And I bet you are correct- Orcas is going to add a bit of time to fix.
 
The New Chico said:
I don't beleive it is the AUX. That one has little elevation and is pretty strictly in-town coverage in Bellingham. Probably just the main at reduced power or maybe just without the HD on.

And I bet you are correct- Orcas is going to add a bit of time to fix.
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Yes, it’s way too strong to be the aux. I recently picked up my XHDATA travel radio, which just so happens to have a signal strength meter in dbu. Everything is totally normal. Even if they are running at reduced power, I hear them crystal clear up in my neck of the woods. Crisis averted.

It’s a nice luxury to have the studio be located on a hill in Bellingham (complete with an auxiliary facility). In a worse case scenario, Bellingham won’t lose reception. It’s not a perfect solution, but it works in a pinch. The one drawback is that they have many advertisers all around the north sound, so you couldn’t run it like that forever (if advertisers in Skagit and Snohomish county get static on 92.9).
 
It’s a nice luxury to have the studio be located on a hill in Bellingham (complete with an auxiliary facility). In a worse case scenario, Bellingham won’t lose reception. It’s not a perfect solution, but it works in a pinch.
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Actually, the Aux is not on the hill with the studios. It is on Sunset at the former studios (and still active 3 tower array) of KPUG. The three translators and the aux are all there. The studios on Yew St Hill are actually shadowed to the north since they are not quite on top of the hill...which would wipe out most of the local listenership since the population is mainly to the north of that location.

It's really wierd that all of the AMs in this town have towers on top of hills- most places have them near water and low to generate more ground wave. All of the AM towers were once on low, flat ground, but the properties became too valuable so they all moved out of town up to the hills.
 
The New Chico said:
It's really wierd that all of the AMs in this town have towers on top of hills- most places have them near water and low to generate more ground wave. All of the AM towers were once on low, flat ground, but the properties became too valuable so they all moved out of town up to the hills.
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It makes you wonder why the owners of KBAI did not attempt to diplex the station on one of their other towers instead of completely pulling the plug.
 
The New Chico said:
Actually, the Aux is not on the hill with the studios. It is on Sunset at the former studios (and still active 3 tower array) of KPUG. The three translators and the aux are all there. The studios on Yew St Hill are actually shadowed to the north since they are not quite on top of the hill...which would wipe out most of the local listenership since the population is mainly to the north of that location.

It's really wierd that all of the AMs in this town have towers on top of hills- most places have them near water and low to generate more ground wave. All of the AM towers were once on low, flat ground, but the properties became too valuable so they all moved out of town up to the hills.
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Thanks for the correction. I was under the impression the aux site was co-located with the KGMI site (which I believe IS on the actual property of the current studios).

You bring up a good point about the AM tower sites being located on some of the hills around Bellingham (as opposed to in low locations near the water). It seems like AM struggles a bit around town. I can get KPUG 1170 in the lower mainland decently well, but KGMI sounds pretty rough. I’d say the coverage for both stations is limited to the city limits. This is where having a stable HD signal for both KGMI and KPUG comes in handy.

I know that some people aren’t thrilled with HD coverage in 92.9, but it’s definitely helpful for extending the coverage for these AMs.
 
RF101 said:
It makes you wonder why the owners of KBAI did not attempt to diplex the station on one of their other towers instead of completely pulling the plug.
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I guess they figured that any listeners who were interested in KBAI were already listening on 98.9 at that point. 930 was already the weakest AM in town, so it doesn’t seem like investing in an engineering solution would have gotten them very far.
 
Where the KBAI two tower array was located is now in a higher end devlopment on Kings Mtn. When the towers were moved out there back in the 80s there was practiacally nothing there. It was a matter of time before a combo of NIMBY, land value, and lack of AM listeners on a low powered signal would wipe out any reason to keep the AM lit. Saga fulfilled their obiligation with the feds and it certainly is easier just to "feed" the translator with an HD channel. (Yes, I know it is fed via microwave, but you get the point.)

It was an old daytimer, originally liceensed to Ferndale. Has been a 1kW omni day and 500w directional at night for a long time. If the AM had more than a handful of listeners towards the end I would be shocked.

The towers still stand but I see there is one of those signs up establishing a rezone etc. It will be higher end houses by 2026/7.
 
KGMI does get out pretty well to the south. In fact, I was DXing AM on the day the plane crashed into the Hudson River and it was KGMI that I first heard about that on.
 
RF101 said:
One big FM signal in Northwest Washington is KISM 92.9 from Mt Constitution, Orcas Island. ..... Right now the HD is down and perhaps it's on lower power as well.
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Of course, KISM has been back in HD for quite some time. However, now it looks like KWPZ Praise 106.5, from the same mountain, temporarily has dropped HD service. While their listeners might not like it, the fault does allow CJNY "The Journey 106.3" in Vancouver to be heard south of the border. That station has a nice, deep rock selection. (As a bonus CJNY streams on the Internet - even for the American audience.)
 
I am not sure you will see HD come back on 106.5 I could be wrong, of course. But Crista has really cut back on secondary programming. At one time both 106.5 and Seattle's 105.3 ran 3 different locally generated programming sources on their HDs. Now the Seattle operation is down to Spirit on HD1 and a simulcast of their AM on HD2. And 106.5 had no HD2 programming on before the HD signal dropped off. So we will see.
 
Reliable sources informed me that the missing HD is just a technical fault. KWPZ is in analog-only for now but will return in HD. Enjoy CJNY while you can do so.
(Too bad KWPZ won't consider asymmetric HD - this would be a good case for that mode.
 


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