Turning out the "Lite" in Brenham.

[purpledevil]

Apparently, Roy Henderson's 50kW upgrade of KLTR has been given new life as a new CP was granted on September 26th, allowing 94-1 to move from their current tower off of Hwy 50, northeast of Brenham, to a new location near Somerville. With the physical move comes a COL move as well, but not to Somerville, instead relicensing KLTR to Hempstead, where sister Henderson property KTWL calls home.

As I recall, the last time we heard about the 50kW upgrade to KLTR, it involved KTWL changing COL to Todd Mission and KULF relicensing from Bellville to Katy. I don't see either of those two CPs on file, maybe I missed them, but 1090 is no longer owned by Henderson, so I suspect its move is no longer a part of the equation.

Anyone want to shed some "Lite" on this?

Coverage of the new KLTR signal from the ever trustworthy radio-locator:
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KLTR&service=FM&status=C&hours=U

Edit to add: found the CP for KTWL. It does relicense 105-3 to Todd Mission, with an increase of power to 20kW, up from its current 9.2kW. KLTR's upgrade takes it from 6.4 to 50kW. Here's that map: http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KTWL&service=FM&status=C&hours=U

Devilish note: with the recent upgrade to KHTZ in Ganado and now these two, does anyone else get the feeling these three are about to hit the open market?

 

[Anonymouse]

He also recently upgraded another station. This one currently broadcasts a Texas music format known as "The Texas Renegade".


From RadioInsight's last FCC report:
"In between Houston and San Antonio, Roy Henderson’s 92.3 KNRG New Ulm, TX seeks to increase from a Class A to C3 with 12kW at 145 meters"
Here is the map. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=http...EW_ULM&state=TX.kml&output=classic&dg=feature

 

[Unregistered]

Wheres the money?

He's doing the same thing here in Michigan. But not long ago he claimed he was broke. Where's he getting all this money?

 

[rbrucecarter5]

If you ring a metro area with enough rim shots, you can cover the majority of it. I think that is what "The Ranch" did in the DFW area.

 

[Kent]

Marcos Rodriguez did it about 20 years ago with DFW's "Kick FM." Clear Channel tried it with "Kiss" on KHYS 98.5 and KJOJ-FM 103.3, and Lieberman has tried it on several stations, including the 98.5/103.3 simulcast it got from Clear Channel. The common denominator is that "we gotcha surrounded" tends to be a terrible strategy. There aren't many situations where it works. Of course, being a bit player in Houston could be worth more than a bigger player in a small or unrated market. In fact, it usually works that way.

 

[purpledevil]

You both bring up an interesting proposition, but the issue here is what ring?

KLTR, even upgraded, will barely reach Jersey Village let alone Houston. KTWL will provide service in the very same areas, only with a smaller footprint, and with an entirely different format. KHTZ is way too far west of the metro to ever be a player in Harris County, let alone Houston. Henderson's in the process of selling KROY, so there goes the southern portion of the ring, and he doesn't own anything at all going towards Beaumont or Cleveland. The model set up by KHYS/KJOJ is absolutely impossible with KLTR/KHTZ, KHTZ/KTWL, or KLTR/KTWL combined in a simulcasted situation. Besides, KLTR isn't upgrading in an attempt to serve Houston, it's being done so that it (and KTWL) will blanket Aggieland. You think Bryan Broadcasting wouldn't be interested in KLTR and KTWL with total coverage of B/CS? I'd wager they certainly would be.

That's why I have a hunch that he is building out the CPs in order to get the biggest return for the stations when he puts them on the chopping block. Let's face facts, Roy Henderson is in the twilight of his broadcasting career, and striking now while the iron is hot may be the most beneficial thing for him and his family.

 

[ContinuousWave]

Liberman (not Lieberman) bought 98.5 and 103.3 as well as 1230, 700,880 and 850 from the trust created when CC and AMFM merged (Patrick LMAed 700 for a number of years until he finally exercised a clause to buy it) . 98.5 was CC's first attempt at a Houston station when they upgraded Port Arthur's former KPAC (which had changed to KHYS as AOR) to a 2000 ft Class C and tried to make it as a rimshot for Houston. VP of Egr John Fox of CC swore he could cover all of Houston with 98.5's signal but after THREE antenna changes on the Devers tower, he was let go (while those of us in engineering in the Hou-BPT area could have told him it was a futile attempt). The simulcast of 98.5 and 103.3 covers Houston's suburbs BUT does not make it inside the Loop 610 area with a decent city grade (barely makes it with a 1mV)..You cannot hear 98.5 on the west end of Houston inside houses, etc on table top radios...cars hear it but its in stereo...the one signal off the original Devers stick that impressed me was 93.3, which was combined into the same antenna as 98.5 and 100.7 (107.9 had its own side mounted antenna due to a null requirement to the north....now on the new tower, 98.5 and 107.9 both combine....and Liberman sold the tower earlier this year to TallTowers, managed by former mgmnt of Richland Towers which sold out to ATC)...

Even 106.9s tower, which is closer to metro Houston than Devers is, has coverage issues and thus the 107.5 simulcast...but their signal penetration is better than 98.5/103.3 has.....Rimshots rarely pull decent ratings.....ABC realized that when it owned KHKS Denton...and filed to move the transmitter to Cedar Hill/DFW antenna farm...they were able to show with the rising ground level and signal from the antenna on the tower, they were able to make city grade in Denton (though if it had been flat land, the signal levels would have been lower than the 3.16mV required...) AND because of the move, KISS make #1 in the ratings almost all the time with its CHR format...

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Even 106.9s tower, which is closer to metro Houston than Devers is, has coverage issues and thus the 107.5 simulcast...but their signal penetration is better than 98.5/103.3 has.....Rimshots rarely pull decent ratings.....ABC realized that when it owned KHKS Denton...and filed to move the transmitter to Cedar Hill/DFW antenna farm...they were able to show with the rising ground level and signal from the antenna on the tower, they were able to make city grade in Denton (though if it had been flat land, the signal levels would have been lower than the 3.16mV required...) AND because of the move, KISS make #1 in the ratings almost all the time with its CHR format...

I don't think coverage was ever much of an issue with 106.1 over Dallas. I remember when they did the format change in the early 70's, KNUS 98.7 was concerned about the competition, but wrote them off because the old analog tuned radios usually had problems alignment on the high end of the FM band. KNUS was wrong! Within a year or two, they were complaining bitterly as 106.1's ratings were clobbering them! No way Gordon McLendon would allow them to move to Cedar Hill without a fight! Even out in Midland, 106.1 was one of the strongest DFW signals, easily receivable 24/7 with a yagi and even a modest tuner. They were a monster! I guess after McLendon got out of broadcasting, the opposition dropped and 106.1 could finally move to Cedar Hill.

 

[93QClassic.com]

... (Sorry, I'm deleting post. Was asked not to comment about stations owned by a certain person)

 

[davideduardo]

Don't forget that as KLTR is inched further north on the map, it allows 94.1 KJAZ (same owner) to approach Houston.[/COLOR]

KJAZ hardly becomes anything approaching a Houston rimshot. The new 65 dbu barely touches Matagorda County and hits none of Wharton County to the NE... and neither of those counties are in the Hhouston MSA which ends with Brazoria and Fort Bend counties. It's a Port Lavaca station and nothing more.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

KJAZ hardly becomes anything approaching a Houston rimshot. The new 65 dbu barely touches Matagorda County and hits none of Wharton County to the NE... and neither of those counties are in the Hhouston MSA which ends with Brazoria and Fort Bend counties. It's a Port Lavaca station and nothing more.

A lot of people, though, are moving to the Northwest side of Houston and I notice the coverage is reaching those new developments like Fairfield and Bridgeland. Coverage doesn't fall off a cliff, those people are going to hear the stations very well.

 

[dualux]

Are you actually hearing KJAZ in NW Houston?

 

[purpledevil]

Hardly. Anything north of Jersey Village produces the station this topic was created for, and that's KLTR. I've heard KQXY in northern Harris County and even in Austin county on a few occasions, but never KJAZ. Considering KJAZ is silent more than anything else, it seems even less plausible.

 

[93QClassic.com]

Hardly. Anything north of Jersey Village produces the station this topic was created for, and that's KLTR. I've heard KQXY in northern Harris County and even in Austin county on a few occasions, but never KJAZ. Considering KJAZ is silent more than anything else, it seems even less plausible.

Where'd you get the idea that KJAZ silent? There's no silent STA app or grant on the CDBS. Its on the air, albeit at extremely low power and far removed from its licensed coordinates. It's also live and streaming worldwide at www.JoeFM.net

 

[Unknowable]

He's letting you operate KJAZ in low power?