KZQZ 50kw yet?

[Potts]

Was wondering if KZQZ 1430 ever upgraded to 50,000 red hot watts and how they were sounding around the St. Louis metro if they had indeed raised their power?

 

[radio lover]

I can hear them sometimes in Terre Haute, IN druing the late afternoons usually.

 

[klutch00]

Was wondering if KZQZ 1430 ever upgraded to 50,000 red hot watts and how they were sounding around the St. Louis metro if they had indeed raised their power?

Moreover, I heard they were reducing service to daytime only. Is that true?

 

[johntherogger]

Was wondering if KZQZ 1430 ever upgraded to 50,000 red hot watts and how they were sounding around the St. Louis metro if they had indeed raised their power?

Moreover, I heard they were reducing service to daytime only. Is that true?

THAT would be DUMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[1stclassradio]

I don't suppose that anyone else has noticed that KXEN, the only other 50kw station in town (besides KMOX) applied for and was granted a 6 month STA (special temporary authority) to downgrade from 50kw/500w all the way to 350w/125w in July. That is one HUGE daytime power reduction and a pretty noticeable nighttime reduction, too.

The reason given in their application to the FCC was that the parcel of land on which their towers stood was sold to a developer who plans to develop the land as a commercial site rather than as a radio tower site.

They plan to multiplex with co-owned WGNU, but the best they can manage doing that on an emergency basis is 350w power in the daytime and 125w at night. I haven't checked lately, but it should be quite obvious when they start operating under their STA.

 

[busterluck]

This is a stupid move on KXEN. Running 335 watts for six months or more will lose most of the dollar a holler prechers who only buy KXEN for the wide coverage over rural areas. KXEN is very profitable because of very low overhead. Even if the sale price of the land is between 5-6 million, the loss of evenue, maybe forever, and the cost of bulding a new 50KW tansmitter plant will eat up much of the profits from the land sale. Also the FCC "Ratchet Clause" will result in a loss of coverage for 1010.

 

[1stclassradio]

This is a stupid move on KXEN. Running 335 watts for six months or more will lose most of the dollar a holler prechers who only buy KXEN for the wide coverage over rural areas. KXEN is very profitable because of very low overhead. Even if the sale price of the land is between 5-6 million, the loss of evenue, maybe forever, and the cost of bulding a new 50KW tansmitter plant will eat up much of the profits from the land sale. Also the FCC "Ratchet Clause" will result in a loss of coverage for 1010.

Actually, it is 350 watts, for whatever difference that makes. But you may be right about the loss of coverage, at least at night. I don't think that you get any protection at night unless you run at least 250 watts. And they admit that 350 watts is not enough to cover their city of license (St. Louis) under current standards. I don't know how long they can renew their STA, however -- I suppose that they could renew it and/or perhaps get a 3-year construction permit for facilities similar to what they now have. But that would probably result in quite a loss of revenue for a long time. Perhaps they would do better selling their station to a company that might be better able to finance a high-power CP, like one of the newer sports networks. Maybe CBS Sports or NBC Sports could use a high-power station in St. Louis.

By the way, I can't tell who owned the property under the KXEN towers before it was sold from the way the STA application is worded. So it's as clear as mud (to me, at least) whether KXEN made any money at all from the sale of that land and/or its change of use, or whether KXEN itself brought about its own emergency or whether someone else did.

 

[gabigley1]

KXEN tells me they are still at 50KW now and may not even make use of that STA. That is all...

 

[radio lover]

Noticed that am 630 is 1kw daytime. Weren't they a 50 kw daytimer?

 

[1stclassradio]

1stclassradio

Even if KXEN isn't goint to use the STA for 330 watts, it is still unclear to me whether they owned the property on which the towers are located or not. Thus, it also remains unclear whether or not the STA was an emergency of their own making or of someone else's making. I don't mean to imply anything sinister by that. It's just not clear (to me, at least) from the FCC filings whose property was sold that created the need for the STA. More power to them, figuratively at least, if they can manage to keep their 50KW/500w signal.

As far as 630 AM is concerned, it is my understanding that that frequency has been licensed for 5KW full-time in St. Louis since 1940. To my knowledge, it has never been licensed at any different power level since then and has never been a daytime station (at least on the current frequency). So, unless you are speaking of 690 AM, which, to my knowledge, is currently and has been since 1948, a 1 KW daytimer, it is not clear what the station is to which you refer.

 

[spiritof67]

Back to the original topic, I called KZQZ last week and was told that the station was still waiting on FCC approval for a power upgrade.

 

[Potts]

I didn't think anything had changed, at least regarding nighttime power or directional pattern. I still lost them about mile marker 9 along I-64 on the Illinois side near the Caseyville exit. Glad To be able to pick them up regularly from their web stream and Tune-In Radio. Exceptional station if you happen to like Golden Oldies.

 

[johntherogger]

Back to the original topic, I called KZQZ last week and was told that the station was still waiting on FCC approval for a power upgrade.

Did they indicate if they were only upgrading the daytime signal or if they were going daytime only?

It would be such a shame for them to go daytime only, I listen at night!

 

[spiritof67]

The power upgrade is for the daytime signal, and I suspect the nighttime signal will remain the same.

 

[gabigley1]

The only change is a Daytime power upgrade to 50 KW Daytime. Their Nighttime power and pattern will stay the same according to their app. on file with the FCC here:

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS...?appn=101395844&qnum=5110&copynum=1&exhcnum=2

Radio-Locator has their new 50 KW daytime coverage map here(for entertainment purposes only):

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KZQZ&service=AM&status=C&hours=D

Radio-Locator has their old 5 KW daytime coverage map here(for entertainment purposes only):

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KZQZ&service=AM&status=L&hours=D

 

[1stclassradio]

I would like to see them get that upgrade soon. I like what they play. I think I may have heard them testing at 50kw a few times, but it is hard to tell without a signal strength meter. It may be that they have improved the ground system at the station or just that I used a better radio than I usually listen to at the times when I thought they were testing.

There are just two unfortunate things about KZQZ:

(1) They don't have the rights to the old WIL call sign, and probably never will, and

(2) There is probably no chance that St. Louis will ever get a second full-time, full-power AM station, so it is very unlikely that they will be able to significantly upgrade their nighttime signal, which is weak where I live.

Maybe the time will eventually come within our lifetimes when the AM band is such that a new 50kw full-time station becomes possible in St. Louis. But the reason that may happen is more likely to be the bankruptcy of large numbers of stations rather than the commercial feasibility of a second powerful full-time AM station in St. Louis.

 

[1stclassradio]

Good news - as of Oct. 8, 2012, the FCC granted program test authority until December at 50,000 watts during the day. I suppose that KZQZ is already operating (albeit not necessarily all the time) at this power during the day, and I would guess that in due time, they will be at 50KW/5KW full-time.

 

[justin032188]

i spoke with Ray Diamond today over at the Q, still testing at fifty thousand watts, its a long process he said with the FCC. I am picking them up in Farmington Missouri Loud and Clear on the GE Super Radio 2 which I couldnt do before.

I asked about the possibility of an evening DJ up until around 11 p.m, he said no plans right now, but they will discuss it in the future, so I think theres some things about to start happening over at the Crazy Q.

I forgot KLOU, got a Clue, and switched to the Crazy Q.

 

[Potts]

KZQZ 1430 sounds like they have access to more gold than Ft. Knox. Best oldies station I've ever heard.

 

[skippertthomas]

If they ever do go live evenings, would I bite at the bit.... Miss doing oldies! But, having fun doing THREE formats in a day... Three of our five stations here in the prairie... I compete against myelf in the afternoon!
;D