Transmitter site work at KGOW

[jd]

There's been a lot of activity at the Rosharon daytime facility, as detailed here on a request for extension of KGOW's STA: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/w...xt=25&appn=101450438&formid=911&fac_num=17389

So the daytime pattern isn't what it was, nor what it really should be, and 1560 is still operating "at variance" from their authorized parameters. The question is, has anyone noticed anything really unusual like signal reduction (or gain) within their coverage area?

 

[adguy]

In order for anyone to notice, there has to be a listener.

 

[radiogooroo]

In order for anyone to notice, there has to be a listener.

You've really done a 180 on KGOW. Weren't you their biggest cheerleader a while back? What happened?

 

[justsayin]

I always defended them as well, but truthfully they have become what they said they were against. I have listened less than a handful of times in the last month.

 

[jd]

I always defended them as well, but truthfully they have become what they said they were against.

I agree, and I was an early supporter of the Game as well. It just happens that most of the time I get to check them out is in the late afternoon and early evening, which is representative of the problem---having to hear about national topics instead of local. It's really sad.

 

[tomficker]

I always defended them as well, but truthfully they have become what they said they were against.

I agree, and I was an early supporter of the Game as well. It just happens that most of the time I get to check them out is in the late afternoon and early evening, which is representative of the problem---having to hear about national topics instead of local. It's really sad.

I agree with both of you but if this is what it took to stay in business, so be it. I prefer them to be on the air rather then off. I think they are still the second best sports station in the city.

 

[Rad10]

You guys say that it is just National Radio in the afternoons, but it really is skewed towards local more than you may think. All of the personalities are local guys. The content, organization and reliability of the Station is much better than in the past. The bottom line though is the station had to streamline to stay afloat. The designed signal is limited as far as city grade coverage for Houston, and that just doesn't make for good ratings. What do you guys think the answer is? Every sports radio station in Houston can't just cover the local teams all the time. There's just not enough content. 610 will always win as long as they have that giant coverage area. Please don't relate the current "Game" to the old game. I know that when they started, they were brash and cocky, but those people are all gone. Just a group of hard workers trying to survive.

 

[ThatVoice22]

KGOW has a Construction Permit for the daytime facility to go from 50 KW to 46 KW with what appears to be the same northeast directional signal. Maybe that explains the work going on, but not the reason for it.

 

[mrbeasley]

In the AM radio world that isn't a drastic change in power. Most likely the pattern is being modified to some extent. If you figure that the listenable signal goes darn near to Little Rock during the day, you have to ask if there isn't some power being wasted into an area they don't care about, that could be re-directed to cover an area they do care about. If it takes a slight power reduction to acheive that end, it's worth it.

On the flip side, most AMs never recover the expense of the change in terms of added revenue. So you have to wonder what the point really is. Given the history of the site and the characters involved in constructing it, they may just be trying to avoid a train wreck. They've already modified the tower bases and went to series-fed towers, as opposed to the problematic and unstable shunt-fed sticks. This may be another step in making the system more stable and maintainable, thereby lowering the operating costs.

 

[jd]

The construction permit dealt with shortening one of the towers, and a necessary reduction in power as a result, in an effort to reduce the amount of daytime skywave. No real change in the pattern was anticipated and the other work at the site was over and beyond what was first proposed.

 

[Mediafrog+]

The construction permit dealt with shortening one of the towers, and a necessary reduction in power as a result, in an effort to reduce the amount of daytime skywave. No real change in the pattern was anticipated and the other work at the site was over and beyond what was first proposed.

Always wondered how KGOW avoided having to go to a different power/pattern during critical hours, which is when the skywave issues would be happening.

During the initial facility tests a few years back the station was blasting into Illinois and Wisconsin around local sunset.

 

[jd]

That's a good point, but at the time they were able to convince the FCC that they were affording protection to WQEW New York. Since that's the only Class A on 1560 it's the only station that had to be considered for critical hours protection.

 

[ThatVoice22]

If this work was to reduce daytime skywave, the local impact should be nil, so "maybe" it was to help the groundwave reception for folks 50 to 100 miles distant, especially during critical hours?

 

[jd]

This afternoon a little after 3, the Travis Rodgers Show on KGOW was there with a seek-stopping signal on a car radio in the Tyler area, just over 200 miles from the transmitter site. In fact the skywave "problem" might be worse, at least in my opinion at that distance.

 

[Mediafrog+]

This afternoon a little after 3, the Travis Rodgers Show on KGOW was there with a seek-stopping signal on a car radio in the Tyler area, just over 200 miles from the transmitter site. In fact the skywave "problem" might be worse, at least in my opinion at that distance.

Skywave issues would now be enhanced at 3pm as we are back on standard time, so sunset is an hour closer. And the high end of the band often has residual skywave throughout the day during the weeks just before/after winter solstice.

Probably have said this before, but it is amazing KGOW doesn't have any critical hours reduction in signal/pattern.

 

[jd]

Skywave issues would now be enhanced at 3pm as we are back on standard time, so sunset is an hour closer. And the high end of the band often has residual skywave throughout the day during the weeks just before/after winter solstice.

This isn't about the time change, of which all of us are aware, so it doesn't matter what the clock says. In this case it's how much time remains in the "day."

The solstice is still well over a month away, and it would seem that it's simply too early for this kind of thing, if the last five years around this time is any indication. The strength of the signal---essentially like a local--- is what got my attention this time, and it was well over two hours before sunset.

 

[Mediafrog+]

The solstice is still well over a month away, and it would seem that it's simply too early for this kind of thing, if the last five years around this time is any indication. The strength of the signal---essentially like a local--- is what got my attention this time, and it was well over two hours before sunset.

Residual skywave on the AM band can vary from day to day. It is much like shortwave reception. There have been occasions where I've heard stations 1,000 miles away close to noontime, but nothing at the same time on other days the same time of year. The KGOW reception might have been a result of some good ionospheric conditions which probably don't usually happen at that hour.

 

[Pete Pyeatt]

Any chance of KGOW getting an FM translator? Like 99.7 on the southwest side or 107.9 in Brookshire?

 

[Mediafrog+]

Any chance of KGOW getting an FM translator? Like 99.7 on the southwest side or 107.9 in Brookshire?

The southwest translator (K258BZ) is now on 99.5 and is owned by KSBJ. They're not going to give it up.

The 107.9 in Brookshire is a LPFM (KBCP) and not a translator. You'd have to pry it away from the church that owns it.

 

[Rad10]

Any chance of KGOW getting an FM translator? Like 99.7 on the southwest side or 107.9 in Brookshire?

Not much help in those areas anyway. The night transmitter is just about 6 miles from brookshire, it does pretty well toward the south. translators don't go very far.