• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

KLBO in Monahans sold

I

icebreaker

Guest
KLBO-am 1330 in Monahans was sold today for $85,000!!!

I'm stunned about this, due to all the FCC violations the station has? It's licensed for 5000 watts daytime, and has been broadcasting at half that for 2 years! The night signal is licensed as a directional pattern, however they run non-direction, and yes at only half power?

An engineer buddy of mine in Odessa says it was about to go dark... than some local purchased it.

What's the story with this wild deal?
 
icebreaker said:
KLBO-am 1330 in Monahans was sold today for $85,000!!!

I'm stunned about this, due to all the FCC violations the station has? It's licensed for 5000 watts daytime, and has been broadcasting at half that for 2 years! The night signal is licensed as a directional pattern, however they run non-direction, and yes at only half power?

An engineer buddy of mine in Odessa says it was about to go dark... than some local purchased it.

What's the story with this wild deal?
Click to expand...

Good question. I noticed that they were operating under an STA a few months ago, so maybe that had something to do with the reduced power operation. Other than that, it sounds like a typical fire sale.
 
Well i can tell you all the details! The ground system was a mess due to some oil drilling and the transmitor would burn transistors like crazy so it was never easy to keep it at full power! Their was a few ppl interested in buying it but the owner was asking for way to much!
 
Yes indeed, KLBO was a mess. It's new name will be KCKM.
I'm one of the parties buying it. It was running 2200 watts thanks to blown mosfets in the Gates 5 PA cards and a couple PDM cards had trouble.
She's hitting on all cylinders again.
We are working on the night DA. The transmitter was moved to the base of the half wave stick but somebody forgot about phase line length etc. We have moved the tranny and phasor back to the original transmitter building again.
Current fun is replacing cut wiring to contactor switches etc.
No idea how long the tower lighting had been wacko.
Running several radials showed that the ground system problem wasn't as severe as it could have been. Luckily most of the disruption of the field is 10-15 degrees wide 130-150 from the tower. We sure won't have any problem meeting efficiency minimums with a half wave stick. Plus in an overkill they put in halfwave ground radials when they built the place in the early 60's.
Target date to return to the air is early August.
 
Thanks for the update -- Glad to hear that someone is saving a heritage AM at a time when several AMs in East Texas have gone dark and have even lost their licenses because of owner neglect.

Best of luck to you with KCKM.
 
1330 in Monahans is back on the air at full steam. Presently stunting the new format for the next 10 days to 2 weeks under the calls KCKM.
Thanks in part to Bill Enlow out of Lubbock, have RF bridge, will travel.
 
The format is classic country...the station sounds very good. Audio quality is better than when it was KLBO and the signal does seem to be fairly strong into the north Ector/Midland Co. area. By the time you get to the city of Midland though it has gotten too weak to really listen.
Only problem I have heard have been some satellite dropouts in the network programming. It seems to have a satellite country format sort of like Real Country but I like the personalities better. I like the AP network news and the local weather forecasts.
Also I heard an old-fashioned style KCKM jingle which I enjoyed hearing. Did you have that jingle newly made?
 
Thanks for the kind words. 1330 is runnning at full power for possibly the first time in years. Presently putting a .9mv into Odessa but surprisingly 1mv into Fort Stockton and a .2mv up in Carlsbad. Lot to be said for a half wave tower.
The jingles are a hybrid of the KCKN jingles with a resung "M".
KCKM is a mirror image of KCKN in Roswell using the same classic country format, simulcast in drive times and late night. Other local origination will be
high school sports, local news cast and a daily swap shop program.
The dropouts will be short lived as we're putting in a microwave link.
 
Today I was able to hear KCKM very clearly in Midland in my 1978 Mercury with Philco-Ford radio...these old AM car radios plus lack of computers/electronics in the old car really gives a lot better AM performance than in a "modern" car.
It's good to have some more AM music choices to listen to...I think I prefer the new KCKM over the competition (KRIL 1410 & KACT 1360)
 
TY for getting our radio station up and running.As a small West Texas town..we need it.
I'm hoping that your music selection will change as you get more accustomed with the ppl here.
(Yes I live in Monahans) Your location for the radio station was at first a bit unusual,but after some thought I have to say its brilliant.
This puts your station in a very envied position of becoming a huge part of our town. Monahans seems to be growing with all the jobs available.So you timing was perfect.
I'm sure you've noticed that the kids are up and down the street right in front of your radio station.This is a wonderful opportunity to have the kids directly involved with your station.Maybe tailoring some music directed at them..as well as maybe getting them directly involved with the music selection.(aka:guest DJ's)

Anyway..good luck with the new endeavor,and ty.
:)

PS: A web site would be great for those of us that have a dish.(cable here is horrible)
So we can listen on our computers.As well as the ppl that live away from home..
 
Even though this article has not been discussed for sometime I am thought I would add my four cents minus the governments five cents. Glad to hear that the station is still on the air. It has certainly had its ups and downs over the years ever since I first worked at the station back in the seventies and then again in the late eighties. I was the one that came up with KLBO, thought it sounded cool you know Lobo sports, etc. Hopefully, the new crew will keep it fit. I remember a many a time being on the air in the morning and having the wonderful thunderstorms go across knocking us off the air or having to give a nice little love tap to get the transmitter going. What fun! I have looked to see if they have a website so that I can listen to the Loboes starting tomorrow nite but I guess they don't for now. Hopefully they will. Always loved Monahans.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom