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Post by CAwasinNJ on Oct 12, 2016 22:20:46 GMT -6
Zeta Holdings/Richard Morey owns KQMB and K244DH, both on 96.7. I've long maintained that they bought the Salt Lake translator to make sure that it didn't fall into the hands of someone who might be able to interfere with KQMB's signal and it's simply a buffer. The fact that it's been translating KPGR for years seems to back up that theory. KPGR in Salt Lake is no threat to anybody and it's probably free programming that keeps the translator warm.
But what about this. What if Zeta were to pick up a Salt Lake AM for a song, like say the long dormant KWDZ? I'm sure iHeart would love to get rid of that albatross. Then Zeta could put KQMB's programming on 910AM and use that as the primary station for K244DH. Since it would be a fill-in FM translator for 910 (at least on paper) they could coordinate the signals and functionally K244DH would be a booster for KQMB and let them get into the heart of the Salt Lake market for the first time and they could be heard from Davis County down to Salina.
Thoughts?
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Post by David on Oct 12, 2016 23:05:48 GMT -6
Does KQMB have access to an AM tower to carry out your idea? No doubt iHeart would love to unload KWDZ, but since they lost the 910 tower site to developers, KQMB would need to have a way to broadcast their signal on AM. That's the only problem I see. Constructing a new tower site in the Salt Lake area might be a problem--look at how long KRUZ has been trying to get back on the air since its tower collapsed in March 2015.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Oct 14, 2016 2:45:52 GMT -6
I wouldn't be too worried about finding a tower for KWDZ. I'm sure they can find somebody to diplex in with or someplace to build a site. Hasn't KTKK been running from a series of STA's since 1998 or something? Heck, they could probably string a longwire on somebody's roof and be done with it. Remember in this case the AM isn't really meant to be listened to, like with most AM's. It's just an excuse to program the translator. Coverage area is an afterthought.
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Post by David on Oct 14, 2016 12:54:29 GMT -6
According to Wikipedia, KTKK has been using KLLB's tower for a number of years, but the KLLB tower site may have to be demolished in the near future due to a housing development on the property a la KWDZ. How's that for irony? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTKKI'm not sure if the FCC rules for AM revitalization require the AM station to remain on the air once the FM translator is approved, although I haven't heard of a station turning off its AM transmitter and continuing with FM only. Moreover, I'm not sure that a longwire would be the best antenna in a state which frequently has high winds. I'm thinking we'll probably find that out if KRUZ 1230 manages to stay on the air now that winter is only a couple months away.  |
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Oct 15, 2016 4:32:42 GMT -6
The FM translator needs something to translate, so yes the AM would need to stay on.
In the early days of AM, stations all used longwires. It's really not that different physics-wise from electrical transmission lines, so it really won't be a problem.
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Post by David on Oct 16, 2016 12:52:51 GMT -6
The FM translator needs something to translate, so yes the AM would need to stay on. In the early days of AM, stations all used longwires. It's really not that different physics-wise from electrical transmission lines, so it really won't be a problem. DOH!! Thanks for pointing that out, CA. I'm having another birthday in a week, and I swear my count of premature senior moments is increasing with each day that passes. What I had in mind was that once an AM station gets approved for an FM translator, the AM programming could be duplicated on the FM side and the AM station shut down, but considering the low power of most FM translators that probably wouldn't work very well. AM still has its advantages even in the 21st century, and groundwave propagation is one of the biggest. I can hear KLGN in Ogden just fine on AM, but forget about hearing it on FM. Between the "splatter" from 103.1 and 103.5, there's no way I could hear KLGN (or KVNU, for that matter) on FM. |
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Post by drpepper on Oct 22, 2016 23:29:38 GMT -6
I haven't been able to confirm whether or not kqmb is still on the air. I'm guessing they are hence your idea, but I know the provo booster hasn't been used in quite a while and I haven't heard them when I've ventured south which isn't that often. Are they just broadcasting at really low power to stay on the air or are they even broadcasting anything?
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Oct 24, 2016 1:17:58 GMT -6
I don't know whether they're on the air or not, but if they don't have plans for KQMB they should have done something with K244DH.
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Post by amanuensis on Oct 24, 2016 9:32:13 GMT -6
On Saturday, I drove around Provo sampling the dial, and KQMB still seems to be not on the air. At least the translator clearly is not, since I could faintly pick up K244DH.
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