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Takin' a Ride

C

caveman-97

Guest
I'm surprised that nobody else has mentioned the upgrade by KRDE-94.1. They program an alternative country format and now have a weak signal over a vast geographical area. I was able to hear them all over Phoenix and with a good radio they also cover Tucson. New community of license is San Carlos but the station doesn't seem to have the slightest interest in the Apaches. A week ago they were claiming to have 100,000 watts but that claim isn't entirely honest. Most of the advertising seems to be for the Globe area. Will the upgrade do them any good?
 
caveman-97 said:
I'm surprised that nobody else has mentioned the upgrade by KRDE-94.1. They program an alternative country format and now have a weak signal over a vast geographical area.

I can just hear some NFVG doing a liner for The Ride - "Alternative Country with a weak signal over a vast geographical area". Grab a hump...if you can find one ;)
 
Not sure what he meant by not entirely honest. KRDE is running 100,000 watts, period.
They have a strong signal over Phoenix (at least as good as anyone else in the tall
buildings). They also cover most of AZ from Wickenburg to Safford, from edge of
Payson to Tucson and beyond. Covers more than most station and definitely has
a better format, not the same 20 songs over and over again. They are more
oriented to the East Valley, but starting to grow beyond that. Definitely NOT just
a Globe-Miami-SanCarlos station, even though the try to cover information on all
of Central Arizona.
 
oldiesfan6479 said:
Then where is the documentation of this (100 gallons) on the FCC site?
It shows KRDE San Carlos to be running 4.7 kw ERP:

I don't want to get too scientific, but KRDE's stick is very high above average terrain (about 3400 feet), so they can run 4,700 watts and claim they're 100,000 watts (it's a Class C1, which allows 100,000 watts maximum at 980 feet HAAT). They should cover the same area - if not a few extra square miles - as KCDX.
 
From a quick look at a map, they may go from Wickensburg to Stafford, but by golly its gotta be hard to listen to it there.
A C1 is only protected to 72.3 KM, a C0 to 83.4 KM, and a C to 91.8 KM
Obviously its not a very Powerful station, but not weak either. Technically it is licensed up to 100 kW, but its not, although HAAT will make it equal that.
Not sure how strong it could be in Phoenix, its Protected Contour doesn't reach it, but if there's nothing else on the frequency it should be ok.

But hey, I bet if they do local community coverage they should do alright :)

You Phoenix folks would know better than I though ;)

but, KRDE is no KAZG ;D
 
A few words about "equivalent power". The FCC's predicted contours are all based on a concept that the Commission invented perhaps sixty years ago. It's all based on "average terrain" which is computed using the elevations of land within ten miles of the station's tower. Nothing beyond ten miles counts. In the Great Plains the predicted contours are fairly accurate but in mountainous areas they can be a far cry from reality. You can have two stations with the same class and one has vastly better coverage than the other. Often the required power reductions caused by increasing the height above average terrain can be so severe that the station would be better off with higher power and lower elevation. My company learned that lesson the hard way when we went to the top of a mountain and ended up with only 600 watts. Our engineer believed the FCC's equivalency notions. We would have been much better off going 200 feet lower on the mountain and getting 3,000 watts. Get line of sight and maximum power. Go higher and you get the weak signal over the vast area. Weak signals are a bear to sell.
 
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