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KRLD / 972-263 Exchange

D

DallasRadioFan

Guest
Okay ... so it's not your normal type of question.

So, why is it that KRLD is using the 972-263 exchange/prefix, versus the normal 787 prefix that (nearly) every other station uses?

Just wondering.
 
An possible scenario here: The 787 prefix is called the "choke" exchange. It is a special NPA-NXX (Area Code & Prefix) that is used for radio stations and other customers who have heavy inbound call traffic. Its purpose is to avoid "maxing out" or overloading a conventional NPA-NXX and central office (when a station runs a contest, etc.) which would disrupt normal telco traffic. Now to the guess work part: I'd bet money that SOMEONE in the wonderful, minimalistic, KRLD engineering department (do they still even HAVE a "department" or is Fred Flintsone all by himself now!) either forgot to place the change order with SBC in time for the move to Fitzhugh, or just plain screwed up in some other related fashion. It's possible of course that SBC goofed also. 972-263 is a metro (Grand Prairie) exchange that would allow for a wider calling scope than a 214-787 which is a Dallas only NPA-NXX. To find exactly what happened, call KRLD and ask for Erik! HA!



> Okay ... so it's not your normal type of question.
>
> So, why is it that KRLD is using the 972-263
> exchange/prefix, versus the normal 787 prefix that (nearly)
> every other station uses?
>
> Just wondering.
>
 
> An possible scenario here: The 787 prefix is called the
> "choke" exchange. It is a special NPA-NXX (Area Code &
> Prefix) that is used for radio stations and other customers
> who have heavy inbound call traffic. Its purpose is to avoid
> "maxing out" or overloading a conventional NPA-NXX and
> central office (when a station runs a contest, etc.) which
> would disrupt normal telco traffic. Now to the guess work
> part: I'd bet money that SOMEONE in the wonderful,
> minimalistic, KRLD engineering department (do they still
> even HAVE a "department" or is Fred Flintsone all by himself
> now!) either forgot to place the change order with SBC in
> time for the move to Fitzhugh, or just plain screwed up in
> some other related fashion. It's possible of course that SBC
> goofed also. 972-263 is a metro (Grand Prairie) exchange
> that would allow for a wider calling scope than a 214-787
> which is a Dallas only NPA-NXX. To find exactly what
> happened, call KRLD and ask for Erik! HA!
>

Wow. Even as a hard working radio person as I once was I never would have thought for one second that it made a lick of different what those three numbers were be it "787" or what. Thank you once again for educating me. You guys truly are nerds. (I keed, I keed)
 
> Wow. Even as a hard working radio person as I once was I
> never would have thought for one second that it made a lick
> of different what those three numbers were be it "787" or
> what. Thank you once again for educating me. You guys truly
> are nerds. (I keed, I keed)
>

Also, KRLD has had a 263- number for decades, LONG before the 1981 introduction of the 787- exchange. Not sure what it is now, but it was once 263-3283 and was used mainly as a metro number for FW callers. The main studio "request line" was once 634-1080, which was originally within the "switching office" for KRLD's 1970-94 home at 7901 Carpenter Fwy. I believe that number is still active, and it's simply call-forwarded (internally, at the switching ofc) to "follow" the station around to wherever it decides to move to.

And who was the first station to be switched to the new 787- exchange in 1981? It was KEGL, The (new) Eagle. 787-1000. No need for 10-digit calling then.
 
> An possible scenario here: The 787 prefix is called the
> "choke" exchange. It is a special NPA-NXX (Area Code &
> Prefix) that is used for radio stations and other customers
> who have heavy inbound call traffic. Its purpose is to avoid
> "maxing out" or overloading a conventional NPA-NXX and
> central office (when a station runs a contest, etc.) which
> would disrupt normal telco traffic.

Close BUT a choke exchange is more than that...in EACH CO that is in the local area, the choke NXX route table that sends calls to that CO with the choke exchange is limited to a certain number of call paths...Its NOT just the end CO but all COs within the local area that "know" the choke exchange.....thus only a certain number of calls from each CO is allowed through to the final CO that handles the choke exchange (and then that number is fwded out to the final destination where normal CO lines with special undialable numbers are terminated...IF it is all done right). Use of a choke line is NOT required but highly recommended (causing a CO switch to go down and interfer with 911 operations is a federal offense!!) CC in Houston is using their own NXX...not sure if its a Choke or not (713-212) where the normal choke is 713-390.
There are other stations that dont use choke lines and get away with it...but it is NOT a safe thing to do or they dont have that much voice tfc and can get away with it :)

(A nasty bit of history)
A certain engineer did choke down the Grand Prairie CO (where most Metro numbers come out of ) when he waited too long and couldnt get a choke number for a contest back in 1996....so he went and got a standard metro number...(48 appearances)....and sure enough, first night, the GP CO went crashing DOWN & so did a few others.....Later this was carried over to ATT Cellular....which had a cell phone fwded to the 48 end lines...Yep you guessed it....ATT's cell switch went down too...and after that ATT QUIT FREE forwarding (way to go dude....really screwed it up for everyone else! The paper bill weighed over 10lbs! But he is PROUD of doing such smartass things when proper planning would have avoided such.....oh well one day it will catch up)

> 972-263 is a metro (Grand Prairie) exchange
> that would allow for a wider calling scope than a 214-787
> which is a Dallas only NPA-NXX. To find exactly what
> happened, call KRLD and ask for Erik! HA!

787 is active in both NPAs...214 and 817....so it IS a metro number already...
when a 787 choke number is setup, both 214 and 817 NPAs are active....
so the 972-263 argument is moot point......bet someone just screwed up OR they cheaped out..
 
The 214-634-1080 number now appears to ring at Metro/Shadow/WW1 or whatever-the-hell they call themselves these days. It's answered "Krld Traffic." LNP (Local Number Portability, for which YOU pay for each month - a charge appears on every telephone bills)now allows the "moving" of all phone numbers to be almost transparent. Although since Infinity still owns Carpenter, forwarding would make some sense.

Suggestion/Prediction: Now that there are bright, shiny new studios on the 5th floor at Fitzhugh, move 105.3 over there, build a lockable (from the outside)closet on 12 to confine Kurt and his "Jack" within, disband TSN and then move KRLD, Jerry and his boys back to Carpenter...and SELL IT! And don't forget to make it a part of the deal with the new owners that Erik has to ge WITH the sale!!! Heck, they can even keep the old 634-1080 phone number...along with that wonderful SMELL that's permieated the structure since Maxwell Electronics Corporation first built it for KMEC-TV33 back in the late 60's.

> Also, KRLD has had a 263- number for decades, LONG before
> the 1981 introduction of the 787- exchange. Not sure what
> it is now, but it was once 263-3283 and was used mainly as a
> metro number for FW callers. The main studio "request line"
> was once 634-1080, which was originally within the
> "switching office" for KRLD's 1970-94 home at 7901 Carpenter
> Fwy. I believe that number is still active, and it's simply
> call-forwarded (internally, at the switching ofc) to
> "follow" the station around to wherever it decides to move
> to.
 
I know that Mix and the Edge always promote "214 or 817-787-XXXX" Some others may too but that's all I know for sure.
 
Wow! I defer to you sir. Thanks for the additional technical description. I knew that the choke thing was handled by a bunch of SS7 signaling, and that it limited the number of DS0 paths that could be tied up, but didn't know about the "undialable" numbers. What are they, trunk group appearances only?

And yes, I do indeed seem to remember the incident you cite. Whu WAS that masked engineer? Is he still in the business locally? Reminds me of an incident back in the late 60's in the Bay Area. Mother PacBell decided to have a huge rate increase. The folks at KFOG decided to "raise community awareness" about said increase by asking all listeners to simply take their phone off the hook at midnight on a certain night. You can imagine what happened! The batteries at all the CO's boiled over and every switch (probably step or crossbar that far back) CEASED to function. Take THAT Ma Bell!!!

And CW...are you in Houston?

> Close BUT a choke exchange is more than that...in EACH CO
> that is in the local area, the choke NXX route table that
> sends calls to that CO with the choke exchange is limited to
> a certain number of call paths...Its NOT just the end CO but
> all COs within the local area that "know" the choke
> exchange.....thus only a certain number of calls from each
> CO is allowed through to the final CO that handles the choke
> exchange (and then that number is fwded out to the final
> destination where normal CO lines with special undialable
> numbers are terminated...IF it is all done right). Use of a
> choke line is NOT required but highly recommended (causing a
> CO switch to go down and interfer with 911 operations is a
> federal offense!!) CC in Houston is using their own
> NXX...not sure if its a Choke or not (713-212) where the
> normal choke is 713-390.
> There are other stations that dont use choke lines and get
> away with it...but it is NOT a safe thing to do or they dont
> have that much voice tfc and can get away with it :)
>
> (A nasty bit of history)
> A certain engineer did choke down the Grand Prairie CO
> (where most Metro numbers come out of ) when he waited too
> long and couldnt get a choke number for a contest back in
> 1996....so he went and got a standard metro number...(48
> appearances)....and sure enough, first night, the GP CO went
> crashing DOWN & so did a few others.....Later this was
> carried over to ATT Cellular....which had a cell phone fwded
> to the 48 end lines...Yep you guessed it....ATT's cell
> switch went down too...and after that ATT QUIT FREE
> forwarding (way to go dude....really screwed it up for
> everyone else! The paper bill weighed over 10lbs! But he is
> PROUD of doing such smartass things when proper planning
> would have avoided such.....oh well one day it will catch
> up)
>
> > 972-263 is a metro (Grand Prairie) exchange
> > that would allow for a wider calling scope than a 214-787
> > which is a Dallas only NPA-NXX. To find exactly what
> > happened, call KRLD and ask for Erik! HA!
>
> 787 is active in both NPAs...214 and 817....so it IS a metro
> number already...
> when a 787 choke number is setup, both 214 and 817 NPAs are
> active....
> so the 972-263 argument is moot point......bet someone just
> screwed up OR they cheaped out..
>
 
Yes he's still down there searching for his long lost love... and trying to trash the "gang of three" every chance he gets... he MUST be bored!
 
214 634 1080 is the KRLD traffic tip line, that goes to Metro not KRLD.
 
> An possible scenario here: The 787 prefix is called the
> "choke" exchange. It is a special NPA-NXX (Area Code &
> Prefix) that is used for radio stations and other customers
> who have heavy inbound call traffic. Its purpose is to avoid
> "maxing out" or overloading a conventional NPA-NXX and
> central office (when a station runs a contest, etc.) which
> would disrupt normal telco traffic. Now to the guess work
> part: I'd bet money that SOMEONE in the wonderful,
> minimalistic, KRLD engineering department (do they still
> even HAVE a "department" or is Fred Flintsone all by himself
> now!) either forgot to place the change order with SBC in
> time for the move to Fitzhugh, or just plain screwed up in
> some other related fashion. It's possible of course that SBC
> goofed also. 972-263 is a metro (Grand Prairie) exchange
> that would allow for a wider calling scope than a 214-787
> which is a Dallas only NPA-NXX. To find exactly what
> happened, call KRLD and ask for Erik! HA!


Watson, I need you!
 
> Wow! I defer to you sir. Thanks for the additional technical
> description. I knew that the choke thing was handled by a
> bunch of SS7 signaling, and that it limited the number of
> DS0 paths that could be tied up, but didn't know about the
> "undialable" numbers. What are they, trunk group appearances
> only?

Well not really...they can be one line or more...so not a trunk group per se.
I am trying to recall the last one I dealt with....I'll have to dig through my notes but I remember not being able to dial it manually from the outside..
and if I called out on it, the CALLERID showed the actual number, not the choke
exchange number. Its not the DS0 that are limited....its actually connections in the CO switch itself....thats the limiting factor....it DOES eventually limit the number of DS0s on a digital circuit out to the next Class 5 (or Class 4 toll if its in line) switch...so the effect is the same. Everything is handled by SS7 signaling nowdays....even calls across Dallas between different COs (has been for over 15 years when SS7 took off....earlier versions of SS have been around since the 1970s)

> And yes, I do indeed seem to remember the incident you cite.
> Whu WAS that masked engineer? Is he still in the business
> locally?

From all accounts (and they get MIXed up sometimes ;) yes.......If you work at Fitzhugh, it is probably someone you know....(May even be you!?!?!)

Reminds me of an incident back in the late 60's in
> the Bay Area. Mother PacBell decided to have a huge rate
> increase. The folks at KFOG decided to "raise community
> awareness" about said increase by asking all listeners to
> simply take their phone off the hook at midnight on a
> certain night. You can imagine what happened! The batteries
> at all the CO's boiled over and every switch (probably step
> or crossbar that far back) CEASED to function. Take THAT Ma
> Bell!!!

That should not have done anything to the batteries...the 48V 200+amp chargers would pull up the slack (and the batteries would not boil over...they would evenutally lose power if they ran down but thats it).....Also, there is a limit to the number of phones per CO that receive dialtone...if ALL users (or a majority) on a CO try to go offhook at the same time, some of them will NOT get dialtone (there are only so many connections to the dialtone generator...which is why you get error or offhook tone then quiet after leaving a phone off hook for too long...eventually, even DC talk battery is disconnected to preserve the current capabilities of the switch...even the older pre ESS switches had those features.

>
> And CW...are you in Houston?

Nope...
 
> I know that Mix and the Edge always promote "214 or
> 817-787-XXXX" Some others may too but that's all I know for
> sure.
>
There's also Jack's "comment" line (don't you DARE call it a request line! :) ) -- "214-787-1-uh-oh-3"<P ID="signature">______________
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." - Robert Heinlein

dan</P>
 
> > And yes, I do indeed seem to remember the incident you
> cite.
> > Whu WAS that masked engineer? Is he still in the business
> > locally?
>
> From all accounts (and they get MIXed up sometimes ;)
> yes.......If you work at Fitzhugh, it is probably someone
> you know....(May even be you!?!?!)
>
>

FlyOnWall - you're safe... he DOESN'T know who you are... carry on :p
 
The "comment line" for all JACK-FM stations
should be NPA-522-5633.

;-)
 
Re: KRLD / 972-263 Exchange--CORRECTION

> And who was the first station to be switched to the new 787-
> exchange in 1981? It was KEGL, The (new) Eagle. 787-1000.
> No need for 10-digit calling then.
>

Oops, I've been told since that KVIL was the very first with a 787- number, dating back to 1978. I'd guess that the stations with the most active request/contest lines probably got their 787- numbers first. Before that, KVIL's number was the somewhat uninventive 526-8666.
 
972-263 shows to be an SBC/Grand Prarie 'exchange'

> Okay ... so it's not your normal type of question.
>
> So, why is it that KRLD is using the 972-263
> exchange/prefix, versus the normal 787 prefix that (nearly)
> every other station uses?
>
> Just wondering.
>


Looks like that is 'assigned' to SBC at a switch out in
Grand Prarie according to the 'report' info available
here:

Utilized Codes Report - State and NPA

I also looked at an old 2002 Utilized Codes Report NPA report and it
still showed assignment to SBC and Grand Prarie ...

Regards, _Jim
 
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