Lubbock Station KRBL Bankrupt - To Be Sold

[DG]

Re: 105.7 - Now Stunting

...I would be willing to bet the antenna and transmitter aren't that great either...

Unless the broadcast chain was upgraded, and I doubt it was, they were still using a BE FM-10B transmitter, and I think a 4-bay ERI. I don't remember what was in use at the tower site as far as processing goes, but it wasn't elaborate. Management refused the purchase of new or even rebuilt tubes, so full power was never an option. The only thing I ever replaced in that BE was the primary blower motor. Being off-air was the only thing that seemed to get the owner's attention.

...There really shouldn't be a reason to label this station a "turd" (as previously posted on here) if it was built correctly...

It wasn't built correctly. The FCC issued a cease and desist order shortly after the station began broadcasting. The approved tower site was along the approach path to the Lubbock airport, but the FAA couldn't find it at the licensed coordinates. When they did locate the tower site, it was several miles from where the filed CP said it was supposed to be. The station's early history is rife with legal entanglements with the FCC.

...Half of it's 60dBu signal covers half of Lubbock. It should technically sound pretty good in the market. Based on what I have seen just from their studios, they probably don't have the best antenna or transmitter or they didn't build the station properly. Somethings must be lacking somewhere.

The 60dBu contour for KRBL is generous at best. The original studios were in the old Lubbock National Bank and the microwave link to the tower site was a single hop of more than 12 miles. The bank was among the taller buildings downtown and that made the STL shot doable. I suspect they're not using microwave now but perhaps some sort of Audio over IP to get the signal out there. "Somethings must be lacking somewhere" sums up the station pretty well.

...Hopefully the new owner will invest a little and put in some new better equipment.

See, that's the funny part. Dave likes to save money when and where he can so it will be interesting to see what technical upgrades he makes, if any. I'm not surprised he bought 105.7. He's a savvy owner who has slowly built his radio holdings over the last decade, and he's turning a profit too!

-DG

 

[cspotrun]

i stand by my "Turd" comment, because as it sits now and as this station has operated(the last 2 posts said it best, it wasn't built properly) it IS a Turd! Now somebody can do it right, but it will cost money, and after all is said and done they will STILL have a Rimshot signal into Lubbock, unless the tower can be moved or something. if walker has bought it, i think he's been biding his time, for quite some time to pick this one up for a Fire-Sale Price, i guess the time was right.

 

[DG]

Listening to 105.7 right now.

I'm indoors at Texas Tech and am hearing the Beatles "8 Days a Week" through LOTS of static on my Radiosophy receiver.

I can barely make the signal out and no stereo pilot lit on my receiver.

Meanwhile 105.3 is booming in- it covers Lubbock MUCH better from Ropes then KRBL does from a mile west of Lorenzo.

-DG

 

[DMcCloy]

Looks like they're getting ready to launch. I turned it on to check in on it and all I hear is what sounds like clock ticking and I heard a computer voice say '35 minutes' and then back to clock ticking. That means as of the time of this writing, they're 15 or so minutes from launching.

 

[Anonymouse]

Looks like they're getting ready to launch. I turned it on to check in on it and all I hear is what sounds like clock ticking and I heard a computer voice say '35 minutes' and then back to clock ticking. That means as of the time of this writing, they're 15 or so minutes from launching.

Are they up yet?

 

[DMcCloy]

Yes. I turned them on and can get them just fine on my home stereo. Sound clean, too. Sounds like whatever problems the old station had with sound quality are gone here. Perhaps Walker spent some money for better equipment.

 

[cspotrun]

getting nothing today but crosstalk between 2 or 3 stations. signal is still bad, in lubbock. if they're on the air, they're broadcasting to cows and farmers who i'm sure will appreciate an "Alternative" format, when they hear it.

 

[EggsOverEasy87]

getting nothing today but crosstalk between 2 or 3 stations. signal is still bad, in lubbock. if they're on the air, they're broadcasting to cows and farmers who i'm sure will appreciate an "Alternative" format, when they hear it.

The signal has always been bad in lubbock. There was one time in the spring when the tropo was so powerful that the signals on 105.7 in Amarillo and KRNB in Dallas were coming in stronger than KRBL.

http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KRBL&service=FM&status=L&hours=U

I can listen best in my car (signal even fades occasionally in some spots when I'm driving too but it is listenable). I can listen in my apartment in West Lubbock too but I do have to move the antenna around to pick it up. I like the content though...it's something different for Lubbock and not just another boring country or CHR format. Too bad the signal isn't great.

 

[cspotrun]

who knows, a format like this might have a chance in lubbock, but first somebody has to HEAR it.. i think he could have bought a 99 watt repeater put it in the middle of town and covered more of the metro for less money.

 

[DMcCloy]

Come now, surely you're being a bit tough on them. I can get the station in my car without problem. I can scan it in most of the city, but not so much on Milwaukee and 82 and that area. My home stereo picks it up alright, not great and the tejano station on one side and 105.3 on the other can bleed over a bit on occasion. I think it's a bit overstated to say no one can hear it. My car picks it up just fine, and isn't that where most radio listeners listen?

 

[cspotrun]

all i'm saying is whatever they do in terms of a format, they will start off with a DISADVANTAGE and attracting an audience is hard enough without a weak signal, or no signal.

 

[EggsOverEasy87]

all i'm saying is whatever they do in terms of a format, they will start off with a DISADVANTAGE and attracting an audience is hard enough without a weak signal, or no signal.

This might be a disadvantage but honestly, I'm listening to this station over any other Lubbock station right now. It is fuzzy in some parts of town but more than listenable. While the station may not sky rocket to the top in the ratings, I love that Mr. Walker is not afraid to try something different out here.

He brought in our first Texas country station and now our first alternative station. It's about time something different comes out here instead of just another duplicate format that the market does not need.

 

[DMcCloy]

[quote I love that Mr. Walker is not afraid to try something different out here.
[/quote]

Agreed. While I admit the signal isn't the best, it's good enough for my car. It's nice to see someone actually trying something different in Lubbock instead of a carbon copy of formats that Lubbock has always had.

I hope it will do well. If nothing else maybe it'll shake up the market a bit.

 

[cspotrun]

RADIO is still a Business, Not An Art Form or Charity... lets see its a Niche/Boutique Format with no broad based appeal, on a station that takes some effort to recieve(if you can)... to make money its got alot going against it, but good luck to you dave.

 

[DMcCloy]

RADIO is still a Business, Not An Art Form or Charity... lets see its a Niche/Boutique Format with no broad based appeal, on a station that takes some effort to recieve(if you can)... to make money its got alot going against it, but good luck to you dave.

I'm not sure I'd call alternative a niche/boutique format. It's in every major market in the country.

DG said earlier that Mr. Walker is turning a profit with the two 'boutique' formats he already has on the air. If he can turn a profit with those, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I could be wrong, but I imagine he isn't putting this on the air with doing his homework.

 

[cspotrun]

"ALTERNATIVE" by Definition is a "Niche" format, ALTERNATIVE from WHAT? THE NUMBER 1 MASS APPEAL STATION IN TOWN? i don't know one market where it is #1. that doesn't make it BAD, it just makes it a "NICHE" format, the kind of station that might have a LOYAL but small audience, the radio landscape is littered with stations like this. College radio stations do this kind of thing best, because they don't have to make a huge PROFIT(the students work for free) they don't have to answer to the MEGA GROUP board of directors & stock holders. RADIO IS STILL A BUSINESS. the truth will come, when we see how long walker can ride this horse. remember 'Jack'? it lasted for about a year until he found something more mass appeal... COUNTRY, albeit in a market SATURATED WITH COUNTRY.

 

[stevensonair]

Don't get too hung up on the word "alternative."

Modern rock is a mainstream format and sends songs to CHR with increasing frequency lately. I'm not sure why you feel the need to yell about it, but college radio/indie is different than the modern rock format. A format that could be a smarter choice for Walker than yet another country station.

And since Walker isn't a "mega group" your point there doesn't hold up. I'm sure he wouldn't have launched this if he didn't see a business model for it. Let's let the new format find its audience, if there is enough of one. Good luck to them.

 

[cspotrun]

Don't get too hung up on the word "alternative."

i wasn't the one who called it Alternative so, ok, Now its "Modern Rock" whatever...

Modern rock is a mainstream format and sends songs to CHR with increasing frequency lately. I'm not sure why you feel the need to yell about it, but college radio/indie is different than the modern rock format. A format that could be a smarter choice for Walker than yet another country station.

yes, too many country stations here already.

And since Walker isn't a "mega group" your point there doesn't hold up.

it holds up even more so, walker doesn't have the kind of pockets that a ClearChannel, Townsquare has, he can't affort to keep a loser, and if it doesn't make money quickly he will drop it like a bad habit and move on, he has no choice.

I'm sure he wouldn't have launched this if he didn't see a business model for it.

a fool can find a "Reason" to do anything, maybe its foolish, maybe not, like i said lets see if it makes it past a year
.
Let's let the new format find its audience, if there is enough of one. Good luck to them.

yes, good luck.

 

[Anonymouse]

I'm not sure why you feel the need to yell about it, but college radio/indie is different than the modern rock format.

On a sidenote KSAU 90.1 in the Lufkin / Nacogdoches area sounds cool, I'm in the area for a couple days and it's modern / alt rock and it's a college station from what I can gather! They include lots of heavy mainstream rock as well as lots of indie-sounding stuff.

 

[DMcCloy]

it just makes it a "NICHE" format, the kind of station that might have a LOYAL but small audience,

remember 'Jack'? it lasted for about a year until he found something more mass appeal... COUNTRY, albeit in a market SATURATED WITH COUNTRY.

Your point about Walker is completely backwards. Jack was a mass appeal format playing mass appeal music. Walker's country station is Texas country, an extremely niche format. Seems he has done better with a niche format than a mass appeal format.