VIBE Vegas 94.5 KVBE Transmitter

[Mid West Clubber]

Edger,, thats correct, im on engineer by trade, but I am in training and doing it as an apprenticship right now, plus I know plenty of Engineers... Not to be Cocky,,, I admit, im a nobody and probably will be for years to come, but a CO Channel Booster will keep people from having to switch channels all over town like the old Energy 927 and 5,,, and even yourself know that plenty of Phoenix couldnt receive either the 101.1 or the 92.7 10 watt flame thrower that overshot its target market by being up so high on south mountain.. I couldnt even pull in either KNRJ FreQ on a GE Superadio in the south west valley,, it went from 100.7 right to 101.5, and then 92.3,, then KKFR was so strong it spread right over 92.7.... I had to get North of South Mountain to get a decent signal on either channel... Now in Scottsburg,,, once of the places KNRJ had alot of adverts it did have a decent signal.... My point is,, the co channel booster wont make the signal go farther into California, but it will put a usable signal into Vegas... I think the fact that the U.S only uses odd Freqs is stupid anyway... Europe doesnt space stations apart like that... In London,, you have Shine 87.9 and 87.7 Hightz Fm located one mile apart, and yeah there is some intermodulation interference, but a decent car radio will pull the two apart..... USA Radios could be made much more selective and sensitive if the manufactures and the FCC would just let it happen.

 

[theedger]

Based on the KVBE-FM1 (booster) contour - it still doesn't cover Vegas.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

you gotta map to see this... could be true if the booster isnt that powerfuk

 

[nd2023]

A booster that doesn't blanket The Strip will actually cause more interference to KVBE in downtown. There's relatively nothing northeast of Vegas, and more casinos southwest of Vegas. Although it is nice to hear a dance station in the middle of the desert, it's better to have it heard in the heart of a city.
I wonder how a booster will receive the station over the air when it's transmitting on the same channel. The receiver would have to be several miles from the booster and linked by microwave. If the relayed signal isn't synced with the main signal, it will sound bad.

 

[theedger]

The strongest signal will win. The problem will be when they are equal. The radio will switch back and forth between the two. That's when they need to be in phase or it's messy.

MWC - FCC site has map.
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FB1237023.html

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Oh MY.... that doesnt cover the strip at all,,, they may get a listenable signal in the car, but boomboxes wont likely get much,,, Doesnt vegas have a 94.1????? In Europe that wouldnt be a problem, but with more sensitive radios and loosened FCC rules the station could be on 94.6 and be located much closer to Vegas, but with reduced power... I know that in Chicago the parts around the loop where the 92.7 Arlington heights and the Kankakess signal where equal it sounded distorted and bad even on a Pioneer Super tuner 3.... But out west the 92.5 signal blasted into the west burbs, but i bet it had more Rockford listeners than Chicago...

 

[e-dawg]

Speaking of KVBE 94.5. I cannot hear this station clearly along the Las Vegas Strip. 94.7 is bleeding into 94.5 signal.

 

[w9wi]

and then 92.3,, then KKFR was so strong it spread right over 92.7....

...I think the fact that the U.S only uses odd Freqs is stupid anyway... Europe doesnt space stations apart like that... In London,, you have Shine 87.9 and 87.7 Hightz Fm located one mile apart, and yeah there is some intermodulation interference, but a decent car radio will pull the two apart..... USA Radios could be made much more selective and sensitive if the manufactures and the FCC would just let it happen.

Bandwidth of an (analog) FM signal = 2x peak deviation + max modulating frequency. Peak deviation is 75KHz, max modulating frequency is 53KHz assuming no subcarriers/RDS/IBOC. That means an analog stereo FM signal is 203KHz wide. Which just happens to be the width of a channel...

You can narrow the channel by reducing the peak deviation or by reducing the maximum modulating frequency, or both. If you go mono & drop the L-R subcarrier, you can reduce the maximum modulating frequency to 15KHz and narrow the channel to 165KHz, not much of an improvement.

To get the channel width down to 100KHz you have to reduce peak deviation to 42.5KHz. (and go mono. Or reduce peak deviation to 23.5KHz and stay stereo.)

But that reduces interference immunity. And is incompatible with existing receivers. That 42.5KHz figure is 57% modulation on an existing radio. The 23.5KHz figure is 31% modulation. (back when there were still analog TV stations, did you ever hear the audio of a channel 6 station on an FM radio?* Peak deviation for analog TV sound was 25KHz. Which is why it sounded REALLY QUIET on an FM radio.)

Again, I'm talking about only stereo. Running subcarriers, or RDS, makes it even harder to stuff things into a smaller bandwidth. And a narrower channel would completely rule out IBOC/HD Radio.

So yes, you could use narrower channels. If you're willing to replace all the radios and convince stations to throw out their HD Radio equipment.

* I'm not talking about Pulse, who used a loophole in the LPTV regulations to operate with FM technical standards.

 

[nd2023]

You need a better radio. My Insignia portable HD radio was able to pick up The Vibe nearly static free along the entire Strip from downtown to Mandalay Bay, and I was able to pick it up on the crappy clock radio in my room. I think the 94.7 translator is on the top of the Stratosphere.
94.5 has a great signal from St George to Vegas, with a little interference where the main and booster signals overlap. 94.5 doesn't just serve the cactus in the Moapa Valley anymore. Speaking of that, the legal ID cleverly hides the COL of Moapa "This is 94.5 KVBE (whispered)Moapa...LAS VEGAS"
There were a few stores with the radio on 94.5, and I even heard it blasting out of cars.
I heard a lot more commercials, but I wish that there were a lot of club commercials. And they should advertise outside and broadcast from clubs to get their name out there. Instead of the Hot Babes truck, how about the Vibe truck driving up and down the Strip all day? Vegas is a party city, make people associate 94.5 The Vibe with clubbing.

 

[tomservo]

So yes, you could use narrower channels. If you're willing to replace all the radios and convince stations to throw out their HD Radio equipment.

So, are all the radios in use in Europe just different than ours? I was aware they use a different pre-emphasis on FM but I would think any modern radio could be used anywhere in the world. I have several radios capable of tuning 0.1 or 0.05 Mhz that are supposedly "world radios". Of course, I've never been overseas to see if the scan feature still works, but an old Kenwood I had years ago would stop on 87.75 exactly when scanning, and most car radios that tune that far down seem to have no trouble locking onto a TV audio signal there.

I guess what I'm wondering is if they use less bandwidth than the 200 kHz wide signal we have here. Obviously they use stereo extensively, as well as RDS. So that alone must make for a pretty wide signal.

 

[w9wi]

So yes, you could use narrower channels. If you're willing to replace all the radios and convince stations to throw out their HD Radio equipment.

So, are all the radios in use in Europe just different than ours? I was aware they use a different pre-emphasis on FM but I would think any modern radio could be used anywhere in the world. I have several radios capable of tuning 0.1 or 0.05 Mhz that are supposedly "world radios". Of course, I've never been overseas to see if the scan feature still works, but an old Kenwood I had years ago would stop on 87.75 exactly when scanning, and most car radios that tune that far down seem to have no trouble locking onto a TV audio signal there.

I guess what I'm wondering is if they use less bandwidth than the 200 kHz wide signal we have here. Obviously they use stereo extensively, as well as RDS. So that alone must make for a pretty wide signal.

I don't think their stations are significantly closer together on the dial, despite the validity of even channels. If this page: http://www.berlinfo.com/Lifetime/Services/media/radio/index.htm is to be trusted, stations in Berlin are no closer than 500KHz apart and in most cases separated by between 700 and 900KHz. Parisian stations seem to operate on 400 or 500KHz splits. (400KHz is considered adequate in many cases here in the U.S.) London stations seem to be fairly widely separated except in the cases of low-powered stations.

I'm not entirely sure why they allow even channels. I don't really see it allowing any additional stations, at least not in any given site.

 

[thefoxxman]

I know this is going back a while - but in the Wikipedia for KFSZ it says The FCC approved the deal on April 18, 2008, but as of August 4, 2009 (2009 -08-04)[update] the transaction has yet to be consummated." for apparently the parent of KVBE to purchase KFSZ. Has this deal, in fact, gone through or still in limbo?

Vibe Vegas is sounding fresh and hot still - now lets get some ads on that station so it can survive! The new imaging has grown on me and I'm glad they have kept some of the old imaging which was exceptional. I love the TOH where they Whisper MOAPA behind LAS VEGAS... hehe... tricky..

What do you really want to know? I'll fill you in on all of the good stuff.

Are we making a profit. Nope.

Are we making any money? Not yet.

Are we still planning on the new stick in Vegas? Yep. Soon. VERY soon.

Do we all love the bail bond ads? Don't ask.

Our "other" station is KFSZ 106.1 in Flagstaff. www.my1061fm.com

Lots of new music on the station. Never fear... I'm still tweaking the library.

Also, many new mix shows are coming. It's just been a bit of pain to coordinate with the DJs while I have some other "behind the scenes" stuff going on.


Rob

 

[nd2023]

Not that I want the Vibe to go away, but what other format could possibly work better for that part of the Moapa Valley? Vegas seems to have all formats covered.

I don't know if the ads are heard on the stream, but when I was in Vegas last week, I heard one or two stopsets an hour during the day. They need some on air DJs and mixshows too. Right now its only expense is the 100000 watt electric bill.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

This stations sounds absolutely sick right now,, their music music mix makes them one of the best dance stations in the USA, and by default they are really the only 24/7 thats a COM station... Right now the school stations and DANCE FACTORY CHICAGO sound just marginally better,, but DF is only on at night,, otherwise DF would be just like Energy 927&5 my favorite dance station ever..... Anyway, yeah I give Vibe Vegas 5 stars,, the PD-owner or whoever seems like a nice down to earth guy free of Ego's, and he is willing to take any suggestians. Vibe Guy Holla if ya here me..... As long as they keep their Mitch Craig imaging, im cool with whatever they do with imaging. i really dont care if they have jocks or not,, I just want them to get some more ads so the station can make money and stay on air.

 

[nd2023]

I'll never forget the experience of walking down the entire strip from the Stratosphere to the Mandalay Bay listening to 94.5 The Vibe.

 

[thefoxxman]

I think this station is one that is so under-estimated.

I mean, how many of us would do ALMOST anything to do what you just did? Walk down the street or jump into your car, and tune to an FM station that plays the music we love! Most other stations are mixed with horrible pop-remixes (BPM!) or CHR, but this station is a TRUE-PURE-DANCE station..

Vibe... keep doing what you're doing and get out there and sell some ads damnit! Odd saying that we want to hear commercials isn't it?

I'll never forget the experience of walking down the entire strip from the Stratosphere to the Mandalay Bay listening to 94.5 The Vibe.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Ads are a nessasary evil,, i dont mind hearing ads if it means the station is making money and gonna stay on air and make money,, therefore ads dont really bother me.

 

[nd2023]

I think this station is one that is so under-estimated.

I mean, how many of us would do ALMOST anything to do what you just did? Walk down the street or jump into your car, and tune to an FM station that plays the music we love! Most other stations are mixed with horrible pop-remixes (BPM!) or CHR, but this station is a TRUE-PURE-DANCE station..

Vibe... keep doing what you're doing and get out there and sell some ads damnit! Odd saying that we want to hear commercials isn't it?

I'll never forget the experience of walking down the entire strip from the Stratosphere to the Mandalay Bay listening to 94.5 The Vibe.

I used to be able to do just that right at home before October 30, 2009. :-(

 

[BJSteigner]

The ratings are in... 0.4 and the cume is gaining....

I hope they get 100,000 people by next booking.

 

[nd2023]

The ratings are in... 0.4 and the cume is gaining....

I hope they get 100,000 people by next booking.

When Pulse's ratings were at the 0.4/300K cume level, there were a lot of advertisers.

I did notice The Vibe being played on the streets and I did my best to spread the word about 94.5 when I was in Vegas 2 weeks ago.