Say hello to Desi Radio 1250am

[xmtrland]

Just curios what the board thinks of the audio quality of KKDZ versus the other AM's that play music. I have to admit I take care of four 50KW transmitters that don't play music. The only chance I have to evaluate the musical quality on them is when the "Car's for kids" or the" O'Reilly auto parts" spot runs (Poor me).

I have to admit the Radio Desi music sounds bouncy and fun, would love to run it through on of the 50's and see what the Optimod could do. Or even, heaven forbid HD AM on the latest 50kw transmitter/Exporter combination with an Optimod 9400.

For what's on the air now on AM, who is doing it right in quality of the sound.

 

[semoochie]

Just Googled earth over the old night time site, now split up for building houses. I would say 500 watts or less from the West Seattle location.

KKDZ is allowed to operate at 1/4 power from their daytime site. That works out to 1250 watts. Hopefully, they can find a new nighttime site while they can still get their STAs renewed.

 

[xmtrland]

I would stay with 1250 watts from west Seattle. So simple, one transmitter lease, no messy directional antenna. No dual audio path or remote controls. Nice, Simple, cheap which is what you want for a 5KW station.

Building a new site for their directional would be a chunk of change and the ROI may never be realized. Even with duplexing off existing towers introduces double cost of program delivery and control and like I said above doubles or triples what you are paying for a transmitter lease.

 

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

I would stay with 1250 watts from west Seattle. So simple, one transmitter lease, no messy directional antenna. No dual audio path or remote controls. Nice, Simple, cheap which is what you want for a 5KW station.

Building a new site for their directional would be a chunk of change and the ROI may never be realized. Even with duplexing off existing towers introduces double cost of program delivery and control and like I said above doubles or triples what you are paying for a transmitter lease.

With Disney this would have been even easier. Probably not a whole lot of concern for signal strength when it is past your audience's "bedtime". Maybe current format would discount brokerage fees for programming on time slots with reduced signal.

 

[vchimpanzee]

"Desi" is a very uncommon nickname in Spanish... so uncommon that the only one I know of is Mr. Arnaz.

And his son.

 

[frankberry]

Desi's actual name was Desiderio Alberto Arnaz.
Desi Jr's name is Desiderio Alberto Arnaz, IV.

 

[Kelly A]

I would stay with 1250 watts from west Seattle. So simple, one transmitter lease, no messy directional antenna.

Don't forget to add: Barely existing ground system, terrible ground conductivity around site, inefficient tower. Other than all that, it's great!

 

[davideduardo]

And his son.

Right!

The show is one of three good examples of programs that went out while still on the top in the USA, but which had little success in the rest of the Hemisphere except Canada. The other two, The Andy Griffith Show and Seinfeld, seem to culturally and linguistically untranslatable elsewhere.

 

[xmtrland]

The ground system is a good point. An option for a transmitter site could be the KIXI Slew. Already two or three set's of towers to choose from. One set might provide an improvement in night coverage. Would be simple if they could stay ND day/night. 1250 may want an option because it looks like SRO sold the site in 2013 for $1,391.746.00 to GTP Structures. Looks like GTP is in the tower business but I can't help but wonder what would bring in more money, some Condo's/apartments or transmitters. Looks like GTP has several corporations in Washington. Would be interesting to see the lease for the 1250 site. GTP does not really need a ground system for other potential tenants on the tower. Or maybe they would improve the ground system if it meant losing a tenant. Again you need to see the lease to see who is responsible for what. KBLE uses the site too so I bet GTP is responsible for the ground system. I still say stay at west Seattle and get GTP to make improvements in the ground system (plan a) or if 1250 see's an improvement and ROI, move to the Slew (plan b). I can definitely think of two or three sites that they would not want to move to.

 

[mimo]

Back when they were KKFX (K-FOX) they had really good sound and a decent signal that was listenable from my suburban Vancouver, B.C. location. Did they change sites since the 80's? My old boom box had up to 7.5 khz response on AM, and comparing the songs I'd hear on K-FOX compared to how they sounded on LG 73, there was definitely more you could hear, especially on the high end. Once I aquired an AM stereo tuner, K-FOX sounded no better than any other mono station. They didn't use C-QUAM, at least not when I lived in Vancouver.

 

[semoochie]

I would stay with 1250 watts from west Seattle. So simple, one transmitter lease, no messy directional antenna. No dual audio path or remote controls. Nice, Simple, cheap which is what you want for a 5KW station.

Building a new site for their directional would be a chunk of change and the ROI may never be realized. Even with duplexing off existing towers introduces double cost of program delivery and control and like I said above doubles or triples what you are paying for a transmitter lease.

KWSU may have something to say about that. By the way, I just noticed that the Pullman station has reduced night power to 2.5KW. They used to run the full five. Getting back to my point, an STA does not give you the right to broadcast with those facilities indefinitely. I'm sure that 1250 watts non-directional would interfere with KWSU, if not someone else on 1250 and there are other things to consider. Whatever they do will probably have to be directional.

 

[boombox4]

Just curios what the board thinks of the audio quality of KKDZ versus the other AM's that play music. I have to admit I take care of four 50KW transmitters that don't play music. The only chance I have to evaluate the musical quality on them is when the "Car's for kids" or the" O'Reilly auto parts" spot runs (Poor me).

I have to admit the Radio Desi music sounds bouncy and fun, would love to run it through on of the 50's and see what the Optimod could do. Or even, heaven forbid HD AM on the latest 50kw transmitter/Exporter combination with an Optimod 9400.

For what's on the air now on AM, who is doing it right in quality of the sound.

KKDZ sound better now than they did when they were R. Disney running IBOC. Their sound back then was a bit grainy and a bit overmodulated (?). KDZR in Portland sounded much, much better. When they yanked the IBOC they must have made some other adjustments because they sounded a bit cleaner. Now I think they sound pretty clean as Desi.

CKOR 800 Penticton sounds pretty clean, at least at night, and they play pop and AC music.

El Rey 1360 sounds OK -- I tuned them in a while yesterday while working out, on my GESR2, and was surprised at the sound.

 

[Kelly A]

Or maybe they would improve the ground system if it meant losing a tenant. Again you need to see the lease to see who is responsible for what. KBLE uses the site too so I bet GTP is responsible for the ground system. I still say stay at west Seattle and get GTP to make improvements in the ground system (plan a) or if 1250 see's an improvement and ROI, move to the Slew (plan b). I can definitely think of two or three sites that they would not want to move to.

Ground conductivity in the PNW is pretty poor to begin with, which really hampers decent AM broadcasting given an environment of increased noise from electrical and consumer devices. Besides having really bad ground conductivity on that hill in West Seattle, that site is land locked. There are practically no options for installing an adequate ground system, short of buying several homes around the site tearing them down and convincing the city to allow trenching under the street in front of the site, plus allowing ground radials to encroach into that old ACS property to the East. I suspect given the cost implications, none of the above would happen to keep a couple of AM tenants at that location. Besides, where in this day and age will an AM station move to? If their ownership's are smart, they should be looking five years down the road to determine what their next move should be to replace AM, not keeping all their eggs in the falling AM radio basket.

 

[boombox4]

Ground conductivity in the PNW is pretty poor to begin with, which really hampers decent AM broadcasting given an environment of increased noise from electrical and consumer devices. Besides having really bad ground conductivity on that hill in West Seattle, that site is land locked. There are practically no options for installing an adequate ground system, short of buying several homes around the site tearing them down and convincing the city to allow trenching under the street in front of the site, plus allowing ground radials to encroach into that old ACS property to the East. I suspect given the cost implications, none of the above would happen to keep a couple of AM tenants at that location. Besides, where in this day and age will an AM station move to? If their ownership's are smart, they should be looking five years down the road to determine what their next move should be to replace AM, not keeping all their eggs in the falling AM radio basket.

By any chance would they be able to piggyback on another radio station's tower? Like the ones for 1420 KRIZ and/or 1620 KYIZ? I'm sure those stations, although they seem to be surviving OK, could use the extra income. Their tower (or is it towers? I haven't seen it in a while) is on a hill, but it's newer, I think, than the tower you're talking about in West Seattle.

 

[xmtrland]

So now Kelly you are saying stay where they are? Like I originally said? I think the Kixi Slew sites would make a good plan B. The Kixi Slew would put the antenna between Seattle and Bellevue. I would rather have that than Bainbridge and Seattle or Kent and Federal Way.

The Kixi Slew is the only place that makes sense if they were to look into moving. Central location and no ferry ride to the transmitter.

 

[Kelly A]

So now Kelly you are saying stay where they are? Like I originally said? I think the Kixi Slew sites would make a good plan B. The Kixi Slew would put the antenna between Seattle and Bellevue. I would rather have that than Bainbridge and Seattle or Kent and Federal Way.

I'm saying their choices are slim to nil. Duplexing to a 50kW KIXI site would be very expensive, especially if they want to use multiple towers of the existing KIXI array. Moving the station east would make their east protections that much tougher and would most certainly require a directional. if, or until the Commission decides to do away with the 'ratchet rule', any AM station considering a move, would be reducing their coverage even further in the process. Then if you consider the additional rent Hubbard would charge, no doubt more than they pay now, combined with the very high capital and legal expenses to combine with another facility (more than they paid for the station), chances are the idea would be dismissed very quickly.

This isn't the 20th Century anymore. AM is dying and the noise environment of the 21st Century isn't kind to AM signals. It doesn't make fiscal sense to move AM facilities when chances are better than not you will be in a worse position and your bank account much less when done.

 

[xmtrland]

Kelly it's always good to talk to you. So we kinda agree that KKDZ stays where they are. The cheapest route for now. GTP is getting a new leasee so they will be paying the site off a little sooner on the investment. Do you think their rent is below $2.5K or above. I'm sure the neighborhood would like it if the tower went away. Have you looked at the old KKDZ nite site or the old KARR tower site. Wonder how many lots they can make out of that west Seattle lot. Although a lot of the property between the ridge and Delridge way are undeveloped. But two or three choice lots could be sliced out of that transmitter site. They could also look at the 1050 transmitter site in the Slew or even 1560, couldn't be any worse than looking at sharing with 1420.

Leave it where it is and wait for the sun to set is the smart choice. Wonder if 1250 will make it to 100 years, only six years away.

 

[semoochie]

Kelly it's always good to talk to you. So we kinda agree that KKDZ stays where they are. The cheapest route for now. GTP is getting a new leasee so they will be paying the site off a little sooner on the investment. Do you think their rent is below $2.5K or above. I'm sure the neighborhood would like it if the tower went away. Have you looked at the old KKDZ nite site or the old KARR tower site. Wonder how many lots they can make out of that west Seattle lot. Although a lot of the property between the ridge and Delridge way are undeveloped. But two or three choice lots could be sliced out of that transmitter site. They could also look at the 1050 transmitter site in the Slew or even 1560, couldn't be any worse than looking at sharing with 1420.

Leave it where it is and wait for the sun to set is the smart choice. Wonder if 1250 will make it to 100 years, only six years away.

It sounds like they're going to lose their sunset to midnight site no matter what. Well, they got a few decades out of it anyway.

 

[bobdavcav]

It sounds like they're going to lose their sunset to midnight site no matter what. Well, they got a few decades out of it anyway.

I thought they lost that site a couple years ago.

 

[xmtrland]

Lose their sunset to midnight site? It's gone. Divided into 35 lots and a nice court yard and spec house already built. 35 lots at $172,000 each.