Some observations on coverage

[jd]

KNIN has had no facility changes in ages, but is a lot harder to get since there is now KEYR 92.9 Marlin-Waco.

You're right, Chip. Waco's "Star 92.9" (KLRK) gets out pretty well . Years ago I recall getting another set of "mixed signals" from those markets at my place in Irving; KLUR 99.9 in Wichita Falls usually won the battle with WACO-FM.

Many mornings in Dallas, KTDK is hard to hear and you hear KKUS Tyler bleeding in.

Not surprising since the 104.1 allocation for Tyler called for site restriction; their tower is 15 miles northwest of Tyler, 78 miles from downtown Dallas. I routinely hear "The Ranch" along I-20 at the Kaufman/Dallas County line and up 635 toward Town East Mall.

Before, there was nothing between KRBE and Dallas. Now, it has to overtake semi-local KTDK, KKUS, and KWOW.

Absolutely right. Traveling between Dallas and Houston years ago you could hang onto the DFW stations all the way to Conroe, and heading north most of the big FM's from Houston held up until Corsicana, about 50 miles south of Big D.

 

[stevenNOLA]

KLDE's analog is listenable through Beaumont and starts seriously degrading near Vidor for me. The HD on KLDE reaches well into the western parts of Beaumont and may reach to the "69 curve" on I-10. I'll have to check it out more carefully on Christmas week since I'm making a trip to Lafayette. KJMH is not in HD. There are no HD stations in LCH. The first HD signal is KRVS from Lafayette (and may be a good guinea pig for digital Vs. digital) so I'll see how KUHF & KRVS interact. My belief is they are spaced far enough apart so there will be no digital-to-digital interaction.

To add more confustion: KSMB-Lafayette sometimes kicks KTBZ's butt in between Winnie and Beaumont. The HD signal for KTBZ pops right through the mixing of stations in the area where it reaches. On the flipside...I live in south Katy, about 3 miles from Fulshear and on nights where there is enhancement, a station on 106.9 mixes with KHPT and sometimes prevents me from getting a lock on the HD signal. Your guess is as good as mine...

Steven

I don't understand why KJMH is beating up KHTC so badly in BMT. I can not find any change in facilities for KJMH since 1998 and I always had a good clean clear copy of KHTC 107.5 to where US69 connects with I-10 and all the way up to Silsbee, and I did that drive nearly for a month around 1999. That puzzles me.

Your other report on KSMB kicking KTBZ's butt from Winnie to BMT really is a puzzler. KSMB's antenna is NW of Lafayette just south of Church Point. The following is a comparision of KSMB and KTBZ signal strengths and KSMB should not even be a factor as the power is lower than most vehicle radios will pick-up, unless you have a high grade receiver. Even then the difference in signal strengths should have KTBZ override any signal from KSMB.

KSMB KSMB KTBZ KTBZ
Winnie................217.6km 22.1dbu 112.1km 52.1dbu
Beaumont............184.3km 27.6dbu 147.2km 40.8dbu

as you can see KTBZ is very much stronger. It really doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe CW can shed some light on why KSMB would be doing a number on KTBZ. Radio does some very strange things.

Mike O

Mike, thanks for all of the hard work. One thing we did learn is HD radio works down to about 45-48dbu.

 

[CW]

I don't understand why KJMH is beating up KHTC so badly in BMT. I can not find any change in facilities for KJMH since 1998 and I always had a good clean clear copy of KHTC 107.5 to where US69 connects with I-10 and all the way up to Silsbee, and I did that drive nearly for a month around 1999. That puzzles me.

Your other report on KSMB kicking KTBZ's butt from Winnie to BMT really is a puzzler. KSMB's antenna is NW of Lafayette just south of Church Point. The following is a comparision of KSMB and KTBZ signal strengths and KSMB should not even be a factor as the power is lower than most vehicle radios will pick-up, unless you have a high grade receiver. Even then the difference in signal strengths should have KTBZ override any signal from KSMB.

KSMB KSMB KTBZ KTBZ
Winnie................217.6km 22.1dbu 112.1km 52.1dbu
Beaumont............184.3km 27.6dbu 147.2km 40.8dbu

as you can see KTBZ is very much stronger. It really doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe CW can shed some light on why KSMB would be doing a number on KTBZ. Radio does some very strange things.

Mike O

When it comes to enhanced propogation along the Gulf Coast, anything is possible!...Which is why FM is sometimes called "Freakin Magic!" Once when in Conroe (years ago), after 97.1 Cleveland had signed on, I was out near Willis....and found a hot spot I could hear 97.1 KEGL out of Dallas with Howard Stern on!!! It held for a good while before it finally faded out and the "local" 97.1 boomed back in.......Ahh the magic of radio....(cant get that off the Internet)
Numbers are numbers but Mother Nature cant read sometimes.....

 

[stan]

I have another comment about translators - 103.3 in Beaumont. Is this a translator for KKMY? If so, is it allowed to broadcast different programming than KKMY, like a HD channel would? I'm pretty sure the other day that it was for awhile, and it was not KBIU out of Lake Charles because it was too strong for that in Beaumont. In fact, it was identified as KKMY - the strange thing was that they were playing music that was very different from what is normally played on that station, and was different than what was playing on 104.5 at the time.

 

[johnqdoe]

Careful - posting any suggestion that HD screwed up KLDE's range is vigorously denied by IBOC Nazis!!! 106.9, the point, occasionally overrides "the ranch" in Plano, TX. But a translator in Greenville recently moved from 106.5 to 106.9 - so I doubt I will be able to hear the point any longer. At least not in the car.

In the 70's, KRBE had a strong signal into Dallas and Ft. Worth. I don't know what changed in the intervening years, but their once great signal has been degraded.

106.9 the Ranch is actually out of Corsicana or Kaufman. They are sisters with 95.9 the Ranch in FOrt Worth....95.3 The Range is the station in Plano.

 

[johnqdoe]

KNIN has had no facility changes in ages, but is a lot harder to get since there is now KEYR 92.9 Marlin-Waco.

You're right, Chip. Waco's "Star 92.9" (KLRK) gets out pretty well . Years ago I recall getting another set of "mixed signals" from those markets at my place in Irving; KLUR 99.9 in Wichita Falls usually won the battle with WACO-FM.

Many mornings in Dallas, KTDK is hard to hear and you hear KKUS Tyler bleeding in.

Not surprising since the 104.1 allocation for Tyler called for site restriction; their tower is 15 miles northwest of Tyler, 78 miles from downtown Dallas. I routinely hear "The Ranch" along I-20 at the Kaufman/Dallas County line and up 635 toward Town East Mall.

Before, there was nothing between KRBE and Dallas. Now, it has to overtake semi-local KTDK, KKUS, and KWOW.

Absolutely right. Traveling between Dallas and Houston years ago you could hang onto the DFW stations all the way to Conroe, and heading north most of the big FM's from Houston held up until Corsicana, about 50 miles south of Big D.

KKUS outta Tyler is alwaaaaays the last station to fade out when you are goin from E Texas to Dallas. I remember KLOL and KRBE both comin in around Diboll on the trip form E Tx to HOuston on 59 South. It seems those 2 were about the strongest FM signals....that I remember anyway. That was back before I was a radio nerd....

 

[CW]

I have another comment about translators - 103.3 in Beaumont. Is this a translator for KKMY? If so, is it allowed to broadcast different programming than KKMY, like a HD channel would? I'm pretty sure the other day that it was for awhile, and it was not KBIU out of Lake Charles because it was too strong for that in Beaumont. In fact, it was identified as KKMY - the strange thing was that they were playing music that was very different from what is normally played on that station, and was different than what was playing on 104.5 at the time.

103.3 is licensed as a translator for KKMY...and LEGALLY, it can only rebroadcast the signal from orginating station (104.5) BUT CC is not legal with 103.3, it is NOT a real translator but a LPFM of sorts....it has its own exciter and is fed from the same stereo generator of 104.5...thus, 104.5 can go off the air and 103.3 would be on (thats against Part 73)!! A change in the composite feed from another stereo processor and yes, they could have a separate audio feed on 103.3, but THAT TOO IS NOT LEGAL! CC gets away with it since there is no longer a FCC office in Beaumont (ahh Barry Nadler, where are you??)
I cannot see WHY they need 103.3 anyway.....104.5 covers quite well....and if they wanted to, they can upgrade 104.5 to full C1 status (right now it is only 500ft or so, not 981)..I would put it on the 4 tower along with 106.1, but Cheap Channel wont spend the money to do it right.
Heck they still wont fix the audio on 92.5 OR KLVI (a former Chief there mentioned that at breakfast gettogether this morning....we both confirmed it is NOT any of the other CC stations...so where is it coming from?)

 

[ShaneofTexas]

I have another comment about translators - 103.3 in Beaumont. Is this a translator for KKMY? If so, is it allowed to broadcast different programming than KKMY, like a HD channel would? I'm pretty sure the other day that it was for awhile, and it was not KBIU out of Lake Charles because it was too strong for that in Beaumont. In fact, it was identified as KKMY - the strange thing was that they were playing music that was very different from what is normally played on that station, and was different than what was playing on 104.5 at the time.

103.3 is licensed as a translator for KKMY...and LEGALLY, it can only rebroadcast the signal from orginating station (104.5) BUT CC is not legal with 103.3, it is NOT a real translator but a LPFM of sorts....it has its own exciter and is fed from the same stereo generator of 104.5...thus, 104.5 can go off the air and 103.3 would be on (thats against Part 73)!! A change in the composite feed from another stereo processor and yes, they could have a separate audio feed on 103.3, but THAT TOO IS NOT LEGAL! CC gets away with it since there is no longer a FCC office in Beaumont (ahh Barry Nadler, where are you??)
I cannot see WHY they need 103.3 anyway.....104.5 covers quite well....and if they wanted to, they can upgrade 104.5 to full C1 status (right now it is only 500ft or so, not 981)..I would put it on the 4 tower along with 106.1, but Cheap Channel wont spend the money to do it right.
Heck they still wont fix the audio on 92.5 OR KLVI (a former Chief there mentioned that at breakfast gettogether this morning....we both confirmed it is NOT any of the other CC stations...so where is it coming from?)

I never understood why KKMY uses 103.3 either! I think, in my opinion, they are intentionally doing that to cover up KBIU 103.3 in Lake Charles. If CC isn't doing this legally then I'm surprised that its not off the air yet.

 

[CW]

I never understood why KKMY uses 103.3 either! I think, in my opinion, they are intentionally doing that to cover up KBIU 103.3 in Lake Charles. If CC isn't doing this legally then I'm surprised that its not off the air yet.

103.3 was originally put on the air over a decade ago...by then chief engineer Patrick Parks of Gulf Star (when the Hicks owned the stations and before AMFM became an entity)...He had the translator at the old KLVI studios on Sawyer street in Beaumont and used the STL tower (downed by Rita). Originally 103.3 was rebroadcasting something else and not 104.5 iirc, After all the mergers, etc (and Pat had left SE Texas and moved to ElPaso at the time), 103.3 was taken over by CC and thus used to rebroadcast 104.5 in Beaumont because "KKMY cannot be heard in offices very well"......KBIU was on 103.7 at the time and thus not a problem. When Cumulus bought 103.7 in Conroe and moved it to the 2000ft tower in Devers as a Laporte/Houston station, KBIU had to be moved to clear the freq...thus 103.3 was picked....because of this, the 103.3 translator had to be powered down from 250watts to ~80watts at its current location....BUT again, it is not being run as a legal translator....IF 104.5 xmtr goes off because of power outage, etc, 103.3 stays on (and THAT is in clear violation of Part 73!!!) I HAVE heard this myself and know how/why they are doing it; BUT it aint legal and I wish CC would get FINED for it. Myself, I would have put the translator on 104.7, 104.9 or even 105.1 if possible (depending on the rules..I would have to see if those channels are available in Beaumont for such).....closer to 104.5 and easier for an AFC in a Walkman or or tabletop radio to lock onto while tuning for 104.5....but thats too logical...

 

[stevenNOLA]

Re: Some observations on coverage (west)

I've finally had to opportunity to make some observations on Houston HD coverage to the west and here we go:

KTBZ--Longest reaching FM station...consistently present as far west as Seguin on my return trip and out to Bastrop on the way out to Austin.
KTBZ/KHMX/KODA/KLOL/etc...HD available out to Schulenburg
WOAI-1200 HD--Covers out past Schulenburg, about 85 miles east of San Antonio. Much longer distance than KISS-HD, the farthest reaching HD FM signal from San Antonio. Also, WOAI-HD reaches into Austin.
KPRC-HD--Rock solid out as far as Sealy
KHPT-HD--Dies after passing Sealy

Steven

 

[DJboutit3]

Remember in August 03 about 12am I was going to school in waco listening to 97.9 dallas all of a sudden 97.9 KBXX came in like a local for 5min was nice they went away quick.
97.9
102.1
104.9
All have crappy reception to the north to the south & south west the havey decent reception. 104.9s range does not make it 30 miles outside the city limits but they do cover the area they target well.

 

[schmave]

Just got back from a trip to Houston and made a few observations there and on a trip to/from Dallas Thursday and Friday:
- Friday morning, even in the rain, KTRH was very listenable in Ennis, just 40 or so miles south of Dallas. With its directional pattern I was shocked. 610 wasn't listenable until nearly Buffalo and possibly past, I believe because it was covered by hash from Dallas' 620.
- Last night driving to IAH I experienced major reception problems on 790 The Sports Animal. Right near the terminal it was nearly covered by skywave. I don't know exactly where the tower is, but IAH must in be a northern null.
- Also driving home from Dallas, 106.9 blasted in well north of Huntsville. I've read on here that it could be heard almost to Dallas at one time, and judging from the strength of what I heard I'd have no problem believing that.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

KHTS (formerly KLDE) continues to have major coverage issues. My sister in law in Cypress complained all the time - her car radio (which is no slouch, it has a 31 inch whip, too) had noticable dropouts all over Houston. One thing I did notice - her radio has RDS - so RDS is compatible with IBOC.

Yes, the Point overrides the Ranch (or did) several places in the metroplex. Same spots on my commute into Plano. But a translator in Greenville changed to 106.9, wiping out both.

That 620 hash surprises me - their pattern is directional and they are generally pretty weak to the South. But wiping out 610 half way to Houston? Scary stuff!

I can get KTRH in Plano, mixing with Tulsa. I also get some crosstalk with 730, but not bad.

The other direction - I continue to find hot spots in NW Houston for 94.9 KLTY. Major hotspots in Cypress, loud and clear in some parking lots along 290.

 

[CW]

Last weekend while driving back from Lake Charles, I noticed the FM band was OPEN bigtime..on 103.3, KJOJ-FM was covering up KBIU by the time I got to the Texas state line...AND was still there until I got within 5 blocks of the KKMY 103.3 illegal low power FM transmitter (licensed as a translator!) I was somewhat shocked..If the fog had not been there, I could have seen the tower at CC Beaumont where the 103.3 is...yet, I was hearing KJOJ-FM in stereo with NO interference until I crossed over the railroad tracks on I10 in east Bmt (about 5 blocks to the east of CCs studios) To the west, it was the same story...wow!!! KSMB was blasting over KTBZ and yet KHTC was covering up the 107.5 out of LA.