Two AM's will be sacrificed for KBRO's move to 1480.
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Make way for 1480!
- Thread starter KilowattKat
- Start date
I’m not sure I understand the point of this move. 1480 and 1490 have been notoriously bad signals in the area. If 1480 will simulcast the programming on 93.7, any potential listeners will already be on 93.7.
KARR has or had the superior signal out of the three, but then there is the issue of finding a new transmitter site to keep the same directional pattern with more than one tower. I suppose it was the only way to at least improve daytime coverage, by doing the 1480 upgrade. Nighttime coverage is already lousy with 1490, so they must only care about being heard during the day.
Well, the church is called the Pentecostal Church of the Eve of the End, so maybe they think it will all be over before nightfall.
Perhaps this will allow them to modify their 99.5 translator (K258BJ currently in Everett) to cover more of the market.
I saw an engineer in a Facebook group asking about a crystal for a move to 1480. Might be this station?
Wow. I could have counted the minutes until the usual doomsayers jumped on.
As I've said before, this company has a loyal following, and is quite happy with the AMs they acquire, frequently at very good rates.
With some formats, you could use a string and 2 tin cans and your listeners would find you. Such is the case with this group.
As has been noted with other stations, night coverage for some stations may not be worth the effort, but again... I just work on them. Some of this group's night signals cover their area well enough.
The question about looking for a 1480 crystal is possibly related, but I doubt it. The transmitters being considered just need different dip switch settings.
BTW... this group started with a couple of really crummy signals, a lot of bad advice and zero experience. To their followers, they've turned into reasonably decent broadcasters, with 3 formats and stations in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California. They're still learning and improving, and they pay their bills. It's too bad more of you couldn't give them the benefit of the doubt, since it probably doesn't affect you, one way or the other.
As I've said before, this company has a loyal following, and is quite happy with the AMs they acquire, frequently at very good rates.
With some formats, you could use a string and 2 tin cans and your listeners would find you. Such is the case with this group.
As has been noted with other stations, night coverage for some stations may not be worth the effort, but again... I just work on them. Some of this group's night signals cover their area well enough.
The question about looking for a 1480 crystal is possibly related, but I doubt it. The transmitters being considered just need different dip switch settings.
BTW... this group started with a couple of really crummy signals, a lot of bad advice and zero experience. To their followers, they've turned into reasonably decent broadcasters, with 3 formats and stations in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California. They're still learning and improving, and they pay their bills. It's too bad more of you couldn't give them the benefit of the doubt, since it probably doesn't affect you, one way or the other.
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A superior signal as compared to what? A 10W light bulb?
As compared to the other two, how else would you say it?
Given the ITU recommends a minimum field strength of 10mV/m to achieve a receivable signal over terrestrial noise floor, that low of power is completely useless. The translator will probably do better, but still won't cover much real estate.
1490 does not carry the 93.7 feed, though certain programs are simulcast.
I suspect the Everett translator will be left alone, as the South Mountain signals all start fringing as you head North of that area.
KARR's "superior signal" went away years ago, when they (and 1250) lost their Kirkland sites. KARR has been on (and off) an STA ever since, so any comparison is a distant memory.
Not sure where you could site enough towers to restore decent night service to 1480, but I would question whether the owners would take the project that far. The downgrade of 1210's night power from 10kW to 220 is probably a good enough example of how night service on AM is valued, given the cost to operate the (former) separate site.
I suspect the Everett translator will be left alone, as the South Mountain signals all start fringing as you head North of that area.
KARR's "superior signal" went away years ago, when they (and 1250) lost their Kirkland sites. KARR has been on (and off) an STA ever since, so any comparison is a distant memory.
Not sure where you could site enough towers to restore decent night service to 1480, but I would question whether the owners would take the project that far. The downgrade of 1210's night power from 10kW to 220 is probably a good enough example of how night service on AM is valued, given the cost to operate the (former) separate site.
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Even if there was suitable property, talk about throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars into a toilet.
You mean Iglesia Pentecostal Visperia del Fin? The group that had KEJI 91.5 Darrington on for years from an unlicensed location with nothing but dead air? The group that recently filed a License to Cover for the unbuilt and not authorized to be at the licensed location K20NF-D in Seattle?
That's what counts as a "reasonably decent broadcaster" these days?
Val
I think your characterization of D-KEJI is a bit of an exaggeration, Val. The station had been on an off-air STA since early 2017. However, around the time the STA was to expire, we learned that someone had turned the transmitter back on. Once that was brought to my attention, I flew up there and turned it off myself. During a subsequent meeting, the company decided the station wasn't viable, even as a donation, and the license was allowed to go dark. I flew back up and removed the equipment, which had been switched on again. This was one of my examples of the company, building a station with really bad advice and little practical knowledge. They had been told that the station would reach Everett. By the time I got involved, they had a CP to double the station's TPO from the existing antenna site. We didn't bother to build it out.
I have intentionally stayed out of their TV operations, so I can't comment on your statement there.
As for strict adherence to rules: I recall being roundly flamed here for pointing out that nobody seemed to find time to run over and turn KVI off when KOMO's power vault caught fire, leaving the station dead-carrier for what?... 2 or 3 days? As I recall, the responding person (a regular fixture here) more or less said that nobody at the FCC would have cared enough to make an example, in that case.
As you regularly flame Seattle-area LPs for constant dead air and poor quality audio, I might suggest a signal, hemmed in at the bottom of a mountain bowl with a population in the low hundreds and coverage that couldn't make it to Oso probably wasn't bothering anyone either... present company excepted.
I have intentionally stayed out of their TV operations, so I can't comment on your statement there.
As for strict adherence to rules: I recall being roundly flamed here for pointing out that nobody seemed to find time to run over and turn KVI off when KOMO's power vault caught fire, leaving the station dead-carrier for what?... 2 or 3 days? As I recall, the responding person (a regular fixture here) more or less said that nobody at the FCC would have cared enough to make an example, in that case.
As you regularly flame Seattle-area LPs for constant dead air and poor quality audio, I might suggest a signal, hemmed in at the bottom of a mountain bowl with a population in the low hundreds and coverage that couldn't make it to Oso probably wasn't bothering anyone either... present company excepted.
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R.I.P
A waste of electricity?
Seriously, I applaud Jim (I know you're reading this), for trying to keep an orphaned AM alive, out of his own pocket, for several years. Like everything, sometimes it's time to let go.How are any of my statements exaggerations? It was built out at a location other than the licensed location, a location that was obviously unsecured if "somebody" got in and turned on the transmitter twice so it could pump out 1500 watts of silence. This also means that it was operating, when it was operating, at that unlicensed location. There's a thread here, started by me, documenting all of this with dates, times and pictures. Nothing about any of that was exaggerated.
Regardless of whether or not this group knew what it was doing, they are still responsible for the license. This means operating within the licensed parameters and building the station as licensed including securing the facilities. We all know the FCC is a big joke these days but the rules are supposedly the rules. Your rationalization of the situation because the station was in a deep valley rings false. They put up what amounted to a pirate radio station and then just walked away from it. If you care enough to put this thing on the air go check on it once in a while.
And you are probably right to stay out of their "TV operations" such as they are. A bunch of dismissed or off-air construction permits around the state and one License to Cover for an unbuilt, unauthorized LPTV here in Seattle.
Iglesia Pentecostal Visperia del Fin are simply unfit to hold broadcast licenses.
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