> Also, I saw where East Texas Community Repeater Group has
> filed an app for a translator in Henderson. Could this mean
> KZQX-LP/Chalk Hill will be heard in Rusk County soon???
> (Sure hope so...)
>
> Comments welcome. Information appreciated. Thanks!
Yep, East Texas Community Repeater Group are some friends of KZQX's who filed for those translators during the "Great Translator Invasion." The thought was that Henderson ought to be a "slam dunk." Kilgore seemed vaguely possible, and Longview seemed totally out of the question, but what the heck, might as well file for it.
As luck would have it, Longview was the first to be awarded. It went on the air last September. Oddly, it's the only translator to be approved for that city so far, out of 8 or so applications. The rest are MX'd. Kilgore was awarded a few days later, but had to be re-filed, since the original tower location was not available after the CP was issued. It came on the air in January.
Henderson is MX'd with Houston Christian Broadcasters application for Longview. Right now, the FCC has a freeze on new translator CP's so it may be the “twelfth of never” before something happens in Henderson.
But not to fear. The Kilgore station broadcasts from KTPB's STL tower on the Kilgore College campus. A couple of weeks ago the college announced that they are going to demolish the KTPB building and tower to make room for a new dorm building. The good news is KTPB is getting new studios across the street, and everyone is getting a nice new (and higher) tower! Last week, the FCC approved the move for K287AJ. When the move happens it will run at 250 watts at 194 feet. That should be a huge improvement from the current 80 watts at 100 feet. According to engineering surveys, it should have a decent signal in Henderson and Longview. It may even make it to the South Loop in Tyler, assuming it is not subject to too much interference from 105.3 in Dallas. We'll have to see.
Unfortunately, the college has just moved up the demolition date, so there are going to be big problems in Kilgore during the transition. They'd like everyone off of the existing tower two or three weeks before the new tower is scheduled to be ready. And, have you ever seen any construction go "on time?"
A request for an “STA” (Special Temporary Authorization) is ready to be filed with the FCC to allow it to run it off the roof of a nearby building, until the new tower is up. Phone conversations with the FCC last week said it shouldn't be a problem, but the station's power will have to be cut during the transition.
I hope everyone is patient. Hopefully, the new signal will be worth it. The unfortunate part of this is this is a huge unscheduled expense. Just the FCC filings have cost more than KZQX’s first year’s operating budget. We'll muddle through, but we may need to go around and hit us a few more area merchants.
Thanks for asking.
Chuck
