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Who's got the farthest reaching FM signal in S.F. Bay Area?

A

airpab

Overall, I'm guessing Alice 97.3 or 98.1 Kiss. I've been way up in the mountains near Tahoe and gotten both, loud and clear. Must have supreme tower height and power....Anyone know?
 
airpab said:
Overall, I'm guessing Alice 97.3 or 98.1 Kiss. I've been way up in the mountains near Tahoe and gotten both, loud and clear. Must have supreme tower height and power....Anyone know?
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One of the topics that James Gabbert discussed yesterday was the problems of FM in the Bay Area, and why it contributes to the success of stations such as KGO. He mentioned (from experience) that no FM station in the Bay Area covers all nine counties, including the most powerful ones (KIOI, KFRC, et al.).

Meanwhile, quite a few AM stations blanket the Bay Area and beyond.

Because of the terrain, you can sometimes get certain Bay Area FM stations in (for example) Tahoe or Santa Rosa or Stockton, while not being able to get a solid signal in Livermore or Pleasant Hill.

DJ
 
Having traveled to Yosemite many times, I can tell you that a lot of San Francisco FM stations come screaming into the Yosemite Valley like the transmitters are next door. We discussed that on this board a couple of years ago, but I don't remember the explanation. Perhaps a lot of the signals are directional to the east.

I remember that in the 80s and 90s, KMEL could be heard loud and clear up to 100 miles north of Sacramento, though not anymore...I think its being crowded out by another station near 106.1 on the dial. KWOD up there is at 106.5 - perhaps they were on a different frequency before, or increased power.
 
Well, from my location about a dozen miles NE of downtown Sacramento, KFRC burns in boiling hot in front of my house, but because of the distance, drive a few hundred feet and Sunny 106.9 in Reno takes its place momentarily. I'm right on the fringe of the two signals, so they "duke" it out, no morning show personality pun intended.
 
airpab said:
Overall, I'm guessing Alice 97.3 or 98.1 Kiss. I've been way up in the mountains near Tahoe and gotten both, loud and clear. Must have supreme tower height and power....Anyone know?
Click to expand...
Many variables in play here. Interesting that you mention you can receive those two stations in the same general area because I believe Alice and Kiss broadcast from the same location in Marin County with similar power of 82kw and 75kw respectively. Their antenna are about the same height too, at about 368 meters above sea level. However, one would think that K101 would clearly win this battle with a height of 418 meters and at 125 KW is the most powerful FM station in the western U.S. But they broadcast from a different location atop Mt. San Bruno further to the south.

Because northern Calif is so mountainous, it would depend on your listening location vs. the transmitter location, antenna height, and in some cases, but perhaps least of all, power. For example, I started my career years ago at a FM station that was a class B atop Mt. Oso at 3,300 feet and about 50 miles as the crow flies SE of SF. Although our directional array didn't allow our signal to travel West, our 1.5KW boomed into areas of Tahoe as if it were local.
 
K101 also has a directional FM antenna...something less common than directional on AM, which is quite common. There are 2 panels, and the signal is great in the path of those, but not so great in between (as there aren't complementary lobes like AM, not really nulls.)

Always wondered why Clear Channel didn't dial down the power on their station V101 in Sac, so they could get better coverage for the much more expensive commercials on K101.
 
When you get up towards between Winters & Red Bluff, both 97.3 & 98.1 will also be blocked by the Redding signals, too. 97.3 from Redding is one of the most powerful signals in the northstate, I think.
 
SFStatic said:
Always wondered why Clear Channel didn't dial down the power on their station V101 in Sac, so they could get better coverage for the much more expensive commercials on K101.
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KHYL does have a great signal, but they need it to cover the market as they are in Auburn, very far east of Sac.

I don't think any lowering of power by V101 would help Star. Their signal isn't interfering with K101 coverage in the key SF counties which deliver the ratings that Star sets their rates by. Even if the two were battling it out in the NE areas of Napa and Solano Counties, there isn't enough potential listeners to have a major effect on ratings. By far, the bulk of bay area population is in the counties just east and definately south of the city to Santa Clara.
 
I think I heard 101.1 from Sacramento go towards either Red Bluff or Redding. I'm not sure. But this had happened while I going on a trip there from Oregon many years ago.
 
I always have trouble getting 106.9 near SFO. The dial either goes to Live 105 or KMEL, then skips to 107.7. In the central valley I can get Movin 99.7 really clear, all the way to Modesto, but not any other SF stations. I loose 98.1 through Livermore and turn to 100.1 Live 105 gets lossed after the Altamont.
 
Lkeller said:
Having traveled to Yosemite many times, I can tell you that a lot of San Francisco FM stations come screaming into the Yosemite Valley like the transmitters are next door. We discussed that on this board a couple of years ago, but I don't remember the explanation. Perhaps a lot of the signals are directional to the east.

I remember that in the 80s and 90s, KMEL could be heard loud and clear up to 100 miles north of Sacramento, though not anymore...I think its being crowded out by another station near 106.1 on the dial. KWOD up there is at 106.5 - perhaps they were on a different frequency before, or increased power.
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You're thinking 106X from Burney/Redding, which for years, was KARZ-FM.
 
I like KQED/88.5's signal for coverage...110k watts! They're on San Bruno, so the peninsula is covered better than Mt. Beacon...as well as the south bay. Here in Sacramento, 88.5 often comes in clearer and stronger than our local translator at 89.3! In terms of commercial stations...I'd probably side with 97.3 or 106.9. However, KOIT/96.5 is also a strong contender.
 
"Here in Sacramento, 88.5 often comes in clearer and stronger than our local translator at 89.3! In terms of commercial stations...I'd probably side with 97.3 or 106.9. However, KOIT/96.5 is also a strong contender."

I think it's just fantastic that listeners in Sacramento also get to "take the stress out of their busy work day" with 96.5 KOIT. I thought only we Bay Area residents were so lucky.
 
From Llew:

I think it's just fantastic that listeners in Sacramento also get to "take the stress out of their busy work day" with 96.5 KOIT. I thought only we Bay Area residents were so lucky.
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Unless you were within about a 4-to-5-mile radius of 16th and W downtown a few years ago, where a pirate named Will Major put his KNOZ on the air at 96.5 FM. Had advertisers, an ON AIR neon sign in the front window and everything (well, 'til some pesky people from a pesky agency known as the FCC came-a-peskily-calling one pesky day).

Now, downtowners can once again "take the stress out of their busy work day" IF they aren't already listening to 96.1, (sing it with me, now: Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiix Ninety Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiix....
 
Not to mention 94.5 K-BAY uses the same jingles from reelworld as Mix 96.1 ;D
also does KBAY have a repeater on 94.1 in Yosemity? cause it comes in SHWWEEETTT!!!!
 
NewsRadioFan said:
Not to mention 94.5 K-BAY uses the same jingles from reelworld as Mix 96.1 ;D
also does KBAY have a repeater on 94.1 in Yosemity? cause it comes in SHWWEEETTT!!!!
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Yup...according to Radio Locator, K232CQ-FM transmits to Yosemite Valley on 94.3 FM at a whopping 23 watts ERP! Just enough to cover the valley floor (although several Bay Area and Stockton area FM's are audible in much of Yosemite without a translator due to line of sight from the main tx).
 
Maybe you should check out the signal of KPFA.. 94.1, 59 kw, and a better look angle to the Bay area and the valley than any of the sites on the west side of the bay.

All nine Counties? No problem.
 
I think we are talking about viable signals, KPFA leftist communiss & social misfires
don't do Arbitron.
 
You really want coverage, though, go somewhere that's flat. FM is line of sight, so you take a KVIL/Dallas(Highland Park) with 100Kw at 1663 ft, and you're talking coverage! Here in the Bay Area, it's not just the hills and mountains, but the bay itself that make FM coverage flakey in many cases.
 
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