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New Sports Parking Lot

asugeorge1 said:
So the first day of the Fanatic is in the books and I was listening off and on throughout the day while at work. Still got some kinks to work out with the transmitter and production, but overall a good first day and it was nice to hear some old radio personalities back on the valley airwaves like Jeff Dean and Jeffry O'Brien. Of note, the owner of the station, "Radio Ron" as they called him, was on and he noted that the 1580 KHEP-AM transmitter is currently transmitting at "reduced power" as they rushed to get everything on air as soon as possible. He said that the 1580 transmitter is still being worked on and will not be up to it's full 50,000 watts for a "couple weeks" and until then, they will be powering down the transmitter at night (reminds me of the old Lumberyard with the Lamptimer!) He also even took some time to remark on the rich history of the 1580 signal including the Buck Owens era as KNIX-AM and the Radio Disney era as KMIK. He said that once the 1580 transmitter is powered up to it's full 50,000 watts, the station will be heard "statewide" from "Flagstaff to Tucson" (we'll see how accurate that prediction turns out to be). With regards to the 99.1 FM translator, he said that the translator should be up and running in a "couple weeks" and will serve listeners in the East Valley. Until then, East Valley listeners will have to listen at 1580 AM, daytime only.

Also of note, the 1580 KHEP-AM signal is broadcasting from the new transmitter site in Phoenix where 1280 KXEG-AM is broadcasting from near Indian School Road and Grand Avenue in Maryvale. Once the 50,000 watt transmitter is powered up, I have a feeling that the signal will blast the screens off of the nearby Glendale 9 Drive-In!
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50,000 watts on 1580 gives about the same signal strength as 5000 watts on 910 and 1060. Flagstaff-to-Tucson (that's hardly "statewide," but it does cover about 90% of the state's population) is a stretch, but if one has a good radio/antenna, I guess anything's possible. KUAZ 1550 Tucson is barely audible in the SE valley, and they run 50 kW ND, so at best, 1580 would be about the same.

And how is 99.1 supposed to serve the East Valley if it is highly directional to the west from Fountain Hills? Or did they buy out KFXY and will be using that in Mesa?
 
It's the first time that the KHEP transmitter shack sign has been correct since 1999 —*and yet the callsign is about to change anyway.
 
KeithE4 said:
50,000 watts on 1580 gives about the same signal strength as 5000 watts on 910 and 1060.
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The fairly standard formula is that 1 kw on 550 covers about the same as 50 kw on 1500. So 50 kw on 1580 covers about what 20 kw in the middle of the band might cover, given the same antenna electrical height and area ground conductivity.

Flagstaff-to-Tucson (that's hardly "statewide," but it does cover about 90% of the state's population) is a stretch,
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The usable 5 mV/m signal covers central Maricopa County and a tiny bit of NW Pinal County, or 3.7 million people out of over 4 million in the county. I think the owner thinks that having 50 kw is something special; it isn't at the top of the band.
 
DavidEduardo said:


The fairly standard formula is that 1 kw on 550 covers about the same as 50 kw on 1500. So 50 kw on 1580 covers about what 20 kw in the middle of the band might cover, given the same antenna electrical height and area ground conductivity.
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I was going by my own listening experience while driving between here and Lost Wages over the years. Back when then-KGME 1360 raised their power to 50 kW, they, KFYI, and KTAR covered about the same territory. All petered out by the time I got to Wikieup. Then-KMIK and KGME on 910 were worse. Both were fading equally by the time I got to the then-existing metropolis of Nothing.
 
asugeorge1 said:
Of note, the owner of the station, "Radio Ron" as they called him, was on and he noted that the 1580 KHEP-AM transmitter is currently transmitting at "reduced power" as they rushed to get everything on air as soon as possible. He said that the 1580 transmitter is still being worked on and will not be up to it's full 50,000 watts for a "couple weeks" and until then, they will be powering down the transmitter at night (reminds me of the old Lumberyard with the Lamptimer!)
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Lumberyard 15~Eighty, indeed! CRC dumped the carrier tonight at 6:31pm while in the middle of a replay, just like Gumpdusky used to do with 14~Forty. Thought local sunset was 6:15pm this month, so did the Nurse and I get it wrong, or has the Illegal Power Alien moved from Mesa to Tempe?

He also even took some time to remark on the rich history of the 1580 signal including the Buck Owens era as KNIX-AM and the Radio Disney era as KMIK. He said that once the 1580 transmitter is powered up to it's full 50,000 watts, the station will be heard "statewide" from "Flagstaff to Tucson" (we'll see how accurate that prediction turns out to be).
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To call 15~Eighty a "heritage station" is more than a stretch. And at that nosebleed portion of the dial, going from Flag to Tucson is another stretch. But all in all, the programming sounded pretty good for Day One.
 
KeithE4 said:
And how is 99.1 supposed to serve the East Valley if it is highly directional to the west from Fountain Hills? Or did they buy out KFXY and will be using that in Mesa?
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As an LPFM, KFXY cannot be sold to a for-profit enterprise. In fact, they are doubling down their presence at 99.1 and are trying to raise funds from listeners to move their transmitter.
 
Uh-oh, off the air mid-day Tuesday for extended period of time. Are Buck & Mickey upset with the move from Mesa to Maryvale?
 
That drifting lamptimer really missed the mark on Tuesday night as 15~Eighty took a carrier dump at 6:50pm. Sister station 15~Ten powered back correctly at 6:15pm, but the euphoria surrounding The Fanatic must have distracted the CRC engineering staff. At the Buckeye Media Hut, students are debating who has responsibility to keep the station legal: the LMA'er, or the Licensee? Some of the undergrads are coming down on CRC, while others believe Gabrielle has ultimate responsibility. We all will be listening tonight at local sunset (6:15p) to see if one or the other gets the sign off right this time...or at least reduces pow-pow-power to 95 watts. YIKES!
 
DrAkbar said:
That drifting lamptimer really missed the mark on Tuesday night as 15~Eighty took a carrier dump at 6:50pm. Sister station 15~Ten powered back correctly at 6:15pm, but the euphoria surrounding The Fanatic must have distracted the CRC engineering staff. At the Buckeye Media Hut, students are debating who has responsibility to keep the station legal: the LMA'er, or the Licensee? Some of the undergrads are coming down on CRC, while others believe Gabrielle has ultimate responsibility. We all will be listening tonight at local sunset (6:15p) to see if one or the other gets the sign off right this time...or at least reduces pow-pow-power to 95 watts. YIKES!
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Back when I studied at Ye Olde Media Hut, I was taught that the licensee must maintain control of the public file, EAS equipment, and transmitter when a LMA is in place.

Until the sale closes, someone at Gabrielle is responsible for the power change.

The licensee also must maintain a main studio with proper staff (2 full time employees, one managerial at the studio during business hours).

See 73.3540 and 73.1125.

The easiest way to handle operations when you're doing a LMA before closing is to set up a Tieline from Money Radio to KXEG's main studio. Pot it up in a studio at KXEG and leave it alone with the output of that studio feeding the STL. Put the EAS at the transmitter site and run it in auto. When the sale closes, you swap the input to the EAS from the feed coming from the KXEG building to the feed coming from KFNN's building. At closing you also deliver the public file to the buyer and give them the codes to dial into the transmitter remote.

Pass that tip along to the undergrads and they'll never get dinged for prior control by the FCC.
 
DrAkbar said:
That drifting lamptimer really missed the mark on Tuesday night as 15~Eighty took a carrier dump at 6:50pm. Sister station 15~Ten powered back correctly at 6:15pm, but the euphoria surrounding The Fanatic must have distracted the CRC engineering staff. At the Buckeye Media Hut, students are debating who has responsibility to keep the station legal: the LMA'er, or the Licensee? Some of the undergrads are coming down on CRC, while others believe Gabrielle has ultimate responsibility. We all will be listening tonight at local sunset (6:15p) to see if one or the other gets the sign off right this time...or at least reduces pow-pow-power to 95 watts. YIKES!
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You are correct great Doc, that drifting Lamptimer at 1580 KHEP-AM drifts more than the tires on your old Gremlin! Very reminiscent of the good ol' days of the Lumberyard, 1440 KAZG-AM, when the drifting Lamptimer would increase sign-off 8-10 seconds every night until someone reset the time on the DOS computer at the Lumberyard / Scottsdale Round-up Drive-in. Unfortunately, when the new Nautel transmitter came along and provided 52 massive watts of night-time pow pow power, the drifting Lamptimer disappeared. Now, with 92.7 FM K224CJ-Phoenix and 93.3 KDKB-FM HD-2, does anyone still listen to the Goldminers mining 14 in a row on 1440 KAZG-AM?

With regards to the Fanatic, today the new drifting Lamptimer at 1580 KNIX-AM... er I mean 1580 KHEP-AM, shut-down the transmitter at 6:32 P.M. right after a repeat of "Fouhy on the Fanatic." Still not the local sunset time of 6:15 P.M., but it's better than the 6:50 P.M. of last night and the 7:30 from Sunday night. The illegal alien power grab is on from Gabrielle Broadcasting or CRC Broadcasting Company (my money is on the later with their history at KFNN). The power coming from that transmitter is definitely more than 95 watts, but it's no 50,000 watts and what it is exactly, I have no idea.

And as a side note, I agree wholeheartedly with the other posters including the great David Eduardo that there is no way 1580 KHEP-AM, even with 50,000 watts, will be heard with any relative clarity from Flagstaff to Tucson. Tucson maybe, but in my visits to Flagstaff over the years, I never recall hearing KMIK-AM coming in. The only Phoenix AM's that come in was 550 KFYI-AM and 620 KTAR-AM, and even then they were very weak due to the poor ground conductivity from Phoenix to Flagstaff and the mountainous terrain blocking signals. So unless CRC Broadcasting Company intends to put a translator up in Flagstaff to relay the Fanatic (which, IMO, wouldn't be a bad idea if they intend to carry NAU sports), the Fanatic will not be heard in Flagstaff.
 
johndavis said:
Back when I studied at Ye Olde Media Hut, I was taught that the licensee must maintain control of the public file, EAS equipment, and transmitter when a LMA is in place.

Until the sale closes, someone at Gabrielle is responsible for the power change.

The licensee also must maintain a main studio with proper staff (2 full time employees, one managerial at the studio during business hours).
Click to expand...

This kind of knowledge demonstrates why you graduated Magna Come Gremlin from the Buckeye Media Hut! Congratulations from the staff and mismanagement.

Wednesday night 15~Eighty took their carrier dump at 6:32, which was better than Tuesday's dump, but still not quite kilowatt kosher! Several of our brighter students at the Hut speculate that because Tempe is further west than Mesa, they get to stay up an extra 15 minutes. Sister CRC station KFNN, Mesa, reduces pow-pow-power at 6:15pm. It's an interesting theory, but we're still working on whether the Gumpdusky lamptimer is at the bottom of the Cross Cut Canal, or was sold to another Valley station.
 
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asugeorge1 said:
And as a side note, I agree wholeheartedly with the other posters including the great David Eduardo that there is no way 1580 KHEP-AM, even with 50,000 watts, will be heard with any relative clarity from Flagstaff to Tucson.
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In the Old Pueblo (not to be confused with the Old Gringo) The Fanatic 15~Eighty will be sandwiched between that 50kw waste called KUAT 15~Fifty and 1kw KXEW 16~Hundred. Good Luck with that! As far as Flagstaff, no one listens to Ancient Modulation there anyway.
 
Carrier dump on 1580 KHEP-AM today was just slightly better at 6:31 P.M. so each day, the drifting Lamptimer is getting better and better. Before long, it will be at the correct time of 6:15 P.M.!

Also I have a question for those who are wiser than me: if the main carrier station is shutting down at 6:30ish, can the 99.3 FM translator still operate through the night even if 1580 AM is silent? Or does it need to be transmitting something, say 1 watt, just to be "legal" with regards to the translator?
 
asugeorge1 said:
Carrier dump on 1580 KHEP-AM today was just slightly better at 6:31 P.M. so each day, the drifting Lamptimer is getting better and better. Before long, it will be at the correct time of 6:15 P.M.!
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Nurse Jeff and I caught their sign on this morning....7:02am, which is correct for MST. The station on the same frequency was pretty strong, but vanished once The Fanatic powered up. And just like the old days of Lumberyard 14~Forty, no legal ID at sign on and sign off.
 
Here on the west coast the mode change time for AM Stations for February are 7:15am and 6:30pm. Another thing to consider is if there is any pre sunrise authority for a daytime station.
 
xmtrland said:
Here on the west coast the mode change time for AM Stations for February are 7:15am and 6:30pm. Another thing to consider is if there is any pre sunrise authority for a daytime station.
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It depends where you are on the west coast. There are even cases of stations in the same market but with significant distance between transmitter sites that have different sign on and sign off times due to slight differences in the mean sunrise and sunset times at their exact geographic coordinates.

Each station's license specifies the sign on and sign off (or pattern change times) for each month based on the coordinates of the transmitter, not the city of license.
 
DrAkbar said:
Nurse Jeff and I caught their sign on this morning....7:02am, which is correct for MST.
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The February power up/down times for 1580 (both the old license for 50/50 DA-N and the new CP for 50/.95 ND) are 7:15 AM to 6:15 PM. In March, it changes to 6:45 AM to 6:30 PM. This is from the FCC AM Query, under sunrise/sunset times for KHEP Tempe.
 
oldiesfan6479 said:
The February power up/down times for 1580 (both the old license for 50/50 DA-N and the new CP for 50/.95 ND) are 7:15 AM to 6:15 PM. In March, it changes to 6:45 AM to 6:30 PM. This is from the FCC AM Query, under sunrise/sunset times for KHEP Tempe.
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That is correct oldiesfan6479, 7:15 A.M. is the correct sign-on time and 6:15 P.M. would be the sign-off time (as long as they are not using their night-time authorization). So 1580 KHEP-AM appears to be doing a 15 minute power grab before sunrise and 15 minutes after sunset. Not really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, but the rest of the stations are following the rules AFAIK. Just listen to 620 KTAR-AM, they are almost always right on the nose with their transition from the day-time pattern to the night-time pattern. There is a noticeable two to three seconds of silence in the evening on KTAR-AM when they switch from a one tower non-directional array to a two tower directional array. I don't know what transmitter KTAR-AM uses, but it must be an older one as the new transmitters don't appear to have that delay.

Btw, sign-off today for KHEP-AM was 6:30 P.M. right on the nose. Each day is one minute closer to the legal sign-off. Close, but no cigar!
 
asugeorge1 said:
Btw, sign-off today for KHEP-AM was 6:30 P.M. right on the nose. Each day is one minute closer to the legal sign-off. Close, but no cigar!
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Based on the Media Hut high speed abacus, even if the 15~Eighty lamptimer gains a minute each day, they still won't be compliant with the February sign off time by the end of the month! The Old Gringo's comment about sign on/sign off times being based on the transmitter's location is true. So maybe the xmttr move from Mesa to Maryvale allows The Fanatic an extra 15 minutes as the sun migrates its way westward to Buckeye and points beyond.
 
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