We're missing a regular...

[purpledevil]

I haven't seen one of our technical gurus in awhile. What has happened to jd?

 

[jd]

I haven't seen one of our technical gurus in awhile. What has happened to jd?

Thanks for the interest.

Much has happened to jd. And I won't go into all the details, except that I lost internet access for a while and was under the radar. But for the moment I'm back.

I'm not sure if the term "guru" actually applies, since I'm not a practicing engineer, but I've spent many years coming up with "what if" scenarios. My first involved stations around Dallas-Fort Worth that was worth well over $100 million in today's dollars. That was followed by a proposal in Austin that preceded the arrival of a new full-powered station on 94.7, but unfortunately for me that lined someone else's pockets. I currently have two proposals in the Houston area; one involves a substantial power increase and adding nighttime operation for KTEK 1110 (along with improvements for other stations), and the other would result in really meaningful coverage for the latest move-in, KRCM 1380 in Shenandoah.

 

[purpledevil]

Well guru or not, it's good to see you back on the board again. Since you mentioned KRCM, I have heard a signal on 1380 several times in the last 2 weeks that had to be KRCM. This from the north end of Houston near IAH. Has KRCM actually begun testing this early in? Or is this still coming from Beaumont? I don't remember ever hearing KRCM very well anywhere in Houston, until recently and only now it's sporadically.

 

[jd]

You're getting an idea what 250 watts from way up north sounds like, which isn't much. Likewise the 1,000 watt signal from the temporary tower they've been using over in Beaumont hasn't been that efficient, as you might imagine, and the STA for that expires in January. So they needed to hurry with construction at the new site in Tamina, obviously wanting to get something on the air with hopes of better coverage later on. As I see it the key is clearing a path for KRCM to eventually move to another site, away from the piny floodplain, with a directional antenna and higher power. By getting approval to change a couple of other things it could work.

 

[CW]

You're getting an idea what 250 watts from way up north sounds like, which isn't much. Likewise the 1,000 watt signal from the temporary tower they've been using over in Beaumont hasn't been that efficient, as you might imagine, and the STA for that expires in January. So they needed to hurry with construction at the new site in Tamina, obviously wanting to get something on the air with hopes of better coverage later on. As I see it the key is clearing a path for KRCM to eventually move to another site, away from the piny floodplain, with a directional antenna and higher power. By getting approval to change a couple of other things it could work.

Last time I was up near the Tamina site, I didnt see any tower....The temp tower in Beaumont you cant even see from 69/96/287 (which is just down the road)....How they could file for higher power/directional is beyond me...if they could do that, I am wondering why previous owners didnt in Bmt??? I remember when it was KJET and only a daytimer..(egads Im really showing my age Of course the FCC seems a bit more liberal nowadays (hmmm with a "conservative" slant of its members, you would think the opposite)