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KMIC off the air ---

R

rbrucecarter5

Guest
Are they just fixing their signal, or were they one of the half dozen or so affiliates that Disney unloaded?
 
rbrucecarter5 said:
Are they just fixing their signal, or were they one of the half dozen or so affiliates that Disney unloaded?
Click to expand...

I really don't know what's happening, because I haven't seen any news about a sale. But wasn't it last year that a similar thing happened and the engineer assured everyone that they really were on the air?
 
That would be resident poster, dragrage. He is the engineering guru. While we're diagnosing problems, KCOH is still open carrier at night, and KYOK is distorted heavily. When KYOK is on the air. A quick check this morning at 8:00 yields no KYOK, no carrier, nothing.

Here he comes to save the day.....
 
KMIC has had severe signal problems since I moved here. At one time, I could get them daytime in Plano, TX with a really good setup - a really good trick since there were closer 1590's. Their coverage has eroded slowly over the years, and at night their coverage doesn't even reach beyond highway 6, much less than their radio-locator maps would indicate.

I guess IBOC has really helped their coverage - and it really saved six RD affilates from the axe ----
 
KMIC's audio has been in question for awhile too. I believe it was when the IBOC was installed that their audio became very bass intensive. You have to turn the volume higher and drop the bass lower in order to listen to KMIC as opposed to pretty much any other spot on the dial. I've noticed the signal dropping over the years as well. KYOK when at 1590 used to blanket Houston and the surroundings very well, but now as you stated, Radio Disney doesn't enjoy the same range at all.
 
As for KCOH dead carrier at night, that was the call of the GM, not mine. As for KMIC not KYOK, i am out of town, the problem seems to have surfaced on Friday. There was a couple of problems there. I thank you for the heads up, but man you guys are as hard on a guy as possible. Whenever theres a slip up, you guys are always the first on the scene to give a good kick in the side. As for the Audio quality, that was the side effects of turning on the IBOC. I have the analog up as high as i can. If there is anything else you need me to address, please let me . It would be nice if you could let me know when a kick is coming.
 
Dragrage said:
As for KCOH dead carrier at night, that was the call of the GM, not mine. As for KMIC not KYOK, i am out of town, the problem seems to have surfaced on Friday. There was a couple of problems there. I thank you for the heads up, but man you guys are as hard on a guy as possible. Whenever theres a slip up, you guys are always the first on the scene to give a good kick in the side. As for the Audio quality, that was the side effects of turning on the IBOC. I have the analog up as high as i can. If there is anything else you need me to address, please let me . It would be nice if you could let me know when a kick is coming.
Click to expand...

No kick intended --- a station off the air, though, requires attention! Is it possible that ground radials on KMIC have deteriorated in the same manner than WLS ground radials have - too much development nearby? The range issue is severe, even ten miles away it is acting like a 5kW station 100 miles out, the least little bit of powerline swamps it. Not what I remember from the pre-Disney days, that is for sure! That 1590 used to be a local blowtorch, I can't believe all of the degradation is due to IBOC, although that inevitable counts for some of it. The nighttime signal is a real shocker, wiped out by chatter from other 1590's completely outside of Hwy 6 / 1960. I think that problem has been going on for some time - I remember not being able to hear it in Galveston at night. I know some people don't like the mouse - but if you have a teenage daughter like I do, it is a big deal to them. I like the format myself - if only the audio wasn't hobbled by the IBOC
 
They are back on the air as of yesterday - I don't know if they got their range back.
 
No kick intended --- a station off the air, though, requires attention! Is it possible that ground radials on KMIC have deteriorated in the same manner than WLS ground radials have - too much development nearby? The range issue is severe, even ten miles away it is acting like a 5kW station 100 miles out, the least little bit of powerline swamps it. Not what I remember from the pre-Disney days, that is for sure! That 1590 used to be a local blowtorch, I can't believe all of the degradation is due to IBOC, although that inevitable counts for some of it. The nighttime signal is a real shocker, wiped out by chatter from other 1590's completely outside of Hwy 6 / 1960. I think that problem has been going on for some time - I remember not being able to hear it in Galveston at night. I know some people don't like the mouse - but if you have a teenage daughter like I do, it is a big deal to them. I like the format myself - if only the audio wasn't hobbled by the IBOC
[/quote]

The ground system at 1590 was completely rebuilt during 1999, IIRC...either that or 2000, but there was a ton of work done at that site including the installation of a (then) new Nautel 5kw transmitter, new ground system, new ATU cabinets, new guy anchors, etc, etc. The place was a real mess when the Mouse bought it, but it was cleaned up substantially. Dragrage can go into more detail.
 
TexasTuner said:
The ground system at 1590 was completely rebuilt during 1999, IIRC...either that or 2000, but there was a ton of work done at that site including the installation of a (then) new Nautel 5kw transmitter, new ground system, new ATU cabinets, new guy anchors, etc, etc. The place was a real mess when the Mouse bought it, but it was cleaned up substantially. Dragrage can go into more detail.
Click to expand...

That would explain the reception in the DFW area in the early 00's. The nighttime pattern seemed to be much better a couple of nights ago, I had them at Fry and 529. Still a lot of chatter underneath, but at least KMIC was punching through except for power lines. I'll check daytime North in a month or so ---
 
TexasTuner said:
No kick intended --- a station off the air, though, requires attention!
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. While a station off the air, sounding bad or whatever might cause the armchair quarterbacks on this board to freak out, it may not create the same type of urgency for its owner.

Over the years I've been instructed by corporate masters at a few different companies to ignore all sorts of problems, many of which were certain to create an off the air situation at some point in the near future.

Fix the leaky roof on the transmitter building? Naah. We'll wait until it leaks INTO the transmitter to do that!
 
I have noticed for several days they KMIC has been leaving its IBOC on at night. They
have been putting in an unusually good signal at my location near Richmond/Hillcroft
at night which is unusual for them. Wonder if they are switching to night-time pattern/power.


Old Chicago
 
OldChicago said:
I have noticed for several days they KMIC has been leaving its IBOC on at night. They
have been putting in an unusually good signal at my location near Richmond/Hillcroft
at night which is unusual for them. Wonder if they are switching to night-time pattern/power.


Old Chicago
Click to expand...

They are listed as 5kW day and night, directional at night. You are actually fairly close to them, so you should be getting a really good signal day and night. What surprises me is that a few years back I had problems in Galveston. Their nighttime pattern is straight down that way over the Gulf. So something has been wrong for quite some time. Maybe they were off the air doing much needed repairs. Actually, a 5kW station even on 1590 should do a lot better than the coverage map indicated.
 
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