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KMRE Bellingham 88.3
- Thread starter RF101
- Start date
You are correct.
SPARK Museum- Bellingham KMRE was started by the Museum of Radio and Electronics. Hence the calls. They played public domain radio shows from the 20s through the 50s. Transitioned to a community station some years back. The museum is well worth visiting if you are up this way- now called the SPARK Museum.
SPARK Museum- Bellingham KMRE was started by the Museum of Radio and Electronics. Hence the calls. They played public domain radio shows from the 20s through the 50s. Transitioned to a community station some years back. The museum is well worth visiting if you are up this way- now called the SPARK Museum.
CBU 88.1 is HD, so will definitely whack them further north. They are going to still (for now) be on top of the Herald building. Next step is to move over to King's Mountain which will help them a lot. The Herald Building is five stories tall, but on the side of a hill which shields a lot of the population. Still, going from 100 watts to 2000 is no small potatoes.
"The Effect" satcaster is still blasting away on the 88.3 frequency at the moment. They have a CP to move up the dial a bit but apparently are waiting until the very last minute.
"The Effect" satcaster is still blasting away on the 88.3 frequency at the moment. They have a CP to move up the dial a bit but apparently are waiting until the very last minute.
At the KMRE website this notice...
ALERT Sunday, June 11, 9:00 p.m.: Due to equipment malfunction during our signal changeover from 102.3 to 88.3 FM, our signal power has been lowered. Programming continues on 88.3M in a limited area. We are working on the issue and hope to restore service soon. In the meantime you can still listen to our regularly scheduled programs online via our “Listen Live” button or on the TuneIn app (search for “KMRE”). Thank you for your patience.
ALERT Sunday, June 11, 9:00 p.m.: Due to equipment malfunction during our signal changeover from 102.3 to 88.3 FM, our signal power has been lowered. Programming continues on 88.3M in a limited area. We are working on the issue and hope to restore service soon. In the meantime you can still listen to our regularly scheduled programs online via our “Listen Live” button or on the TuneIn app (search for “KMRE”). Thank you for your patience.
Drove around town tonight. They are on very low power on the new frequency. VERY. The 7 watt satcaster has not relinquished the frequency yet so it was a battle of gnats, and the 7 watt gnat on the mountaintop was most definitely winning. I was hearing KMRE in the clear for about a 5-6 block radius around the transmitter. SO definitely not running the old 100 watt transmitter they had on 102.3.
First time I have heard 102.3 The Wave out of Nanaimo BC- at least the first time I have heard it locally. It's only a class A and quite a ways away, but pretty much nothing but salt water between here and there.
First time I have heard 102.3 The Wave out of Nanaimo BC- at least the first time I have heard it locally. It's only a class A and quite a ways away, but pretty much nothing but salt water between here and there.
Update- the 7 watt satcaster has moved out from 88.3 over to their "upgraded" 91.1 location. They upgraded form 7 watts to 8 LOL. Though they did thank their listeners for the contributions that allowed them to make the upgrade. And of course they asked for more as well, because why not? Lemons...lemonade.
Clear that KMRE is still on very low power as the station still cannot be heard except within a few bocks of the tower.
Clear that KMRE is still on very low power as the station still cannot be heard except within a few bocks of the tower.
Upgraded 91.1 location. Which will get truncated by KROH within 5 miles of the transmitter. Better to just redirect listeners to effectradio.com. How many listen to that little pip-squeak translator vs. Praise 106.5 anyways?
You might be able to pick up a weak K202DS Port Angeles on high hills (yes, another satcaster, CSN this time). I think this is the same station that USED to be on 102.3 in Sequim.
You might be able to pick up a weak K202DS Port Angeles on high hills (yes, another satcaster, CSN this time). I think this is the same station that USED to be on 102.3 in Sequim.
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Turns out 91.1 is a definite improvement. The Effect is doing a good job of covering the Bellingham area with those 8 watts at elevation, I would guess at least listenable for around 100,000 folks. Now if more than 5 are actually listening...
KMRE filed for a temporary 460 watts while they get a replacement element shipped in and installed. Not sure they are at 460 yet, but they are better than they were that's for sure. They really need that 2000 watts as CBU's HD is just chewing them up in parts of town right now.
KMRE filed for a temporary 460 watts while they get a replacement element shipped in and installed. Not sure they are at 460 yet, but they are better than they were that's for sure. They really need that 2000 watts as CBU's HD is just chewing them up in parts of town right now.
CSN filed to move their K202ED Mt Vernon translator from 88.3 to 90.3. This was done because their 40dBu interfering contour spilled into KMRE's new coverage area.
CSN came out fine. They also propose a power increase from 4 to 10 watts from their mountaintop site southeast of Mt Vernon.
CSN came out fine. They also propose a power increase from 4 to 10 watts from their mountaintop site southeast of Mt Vernon.
Sure hope this hasn't been a horrible boondoggle on the part of KMRE. They have now filed to move to King Mountain. Funny thing though. They are not moving up to the top of King Mtn. (where the various NPR translators live) but rather moving to an AM tower on the side of said mountain. And they are dropping power to 120 watts. So moving from an LPFM to a Class A NCE has resulted in the following:
Power has gone from 100 watts to 120
The antenna will indeed be higher than before but also somewhat removed from the center of the listening population
By being on the side of the mountain the signal will be terrain shaded to the north and east
Most importantly, the former frequency of 102.3 was relatively interference-free, with a Class A co-channel way up NW on Vancouver Island (Nanaimo.) The new frequency is just crushed by the HD of Class C CBU Vancouver.
We will see, I suppose. The CBU HD signal is crystal clear throughout the KMRE service area, so I have my doubts.
Power has gone from 100 watts to 120
The antenna will indeed be higher than before but also somewhat removed from the center of the listening population
By being on the side of the mountain the signal will be terrain shaded to the north and east
Most importantly, the former frequency of 102.3 was relatively interference-free, with a Class A co-channel way up NW on Vancouver Island (Nanaimo.) The new frequency is just crushed by the HD of Class C CBU Vancouver.
We will see, I suppose. The CBU HD signal is crystal clear throughout the KMRE service area, so I have my doubts.
With KMRE now shielded to the south I suspect even CSN Mt. Vernon could move back to 88.3. Other than saving on the power bill this latest filing did not seem to be a smart move. The whole Washington State-BC border region remains chock-a-block with tons of signals and plenty of shortspacing.
Got that right. It is super tight up here (or down here, depending upon your orientation.) I don't know if this is the final move or just a step along the way for KMRE. All I can tell you is don't believe the contour maps on this one as the interference really hits hard here.
This seems like a pretty big oversight on the part of KMRE. I’m not sure what the logistics would have been, but they would have been better off trying to use the KUGS tower on top of Sehome Hill. On paper, this move looks pretty good, but in practice, they’re going to need all 2,000 watts to overcome the interference.
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