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rbrucecarter5
Guest
At least a week now. They have always been at the forefront of new trends - are they the first Houston FM to abandon the HD debacle?
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Doubtful. It's been down for more than a week before. IIRC, the aux site doesn't have IBOC, so if they're working on the main then the HD will be off.
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rbrucecarter5
Guest
I hope they get their main site back up soon. I miss the HD-2 oldies. The point was down for a day yesterday, it was back today. The thing that concerns me, though, is that if broadcasters simply don't care about HD - why should consumers? Its not like your average oldies listener gives a rodent's posterior about the analog / HD-1 format of KRBE. Same with the other HD-2 formats. They are either real radio stations or they aren't. And if they are real radio stations / revenue drivers, any outage should warrant immediate, extreme action to restore the station.
Yes, John...the AUX does not have HD......Senior Road has been going thru a complete inspection of the lines and antenna....some folks are still operating there at half TPO (and with half the antenna, thats 25kw ERP!!)....KRBE decided to stay on its full power aux site for now...eventually we will have HD there...probably after the new sold state Gates Air transmitter gets installed at the main sometime this summer (delivery date is projected sometime in August). The HD-2 is not sold locally and doesn't create any revenue because of that. Only reason it is on is because of the national Radiate spots sold by corporate..so the HD-2 is on only for that reason. If it saw an increase in ratings, then it would taken more seriously (I mentioned it would be nice to have some live jocks on it..hell I would love to do a show on it....but the $$$ is not there)
I'll post when the main is back on with the HD.....the HD-2 IS streaming if you want to listen there. I can post the URL...(Its not on the web site...go figure)
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rbrucecarter5
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I sure wish they would go back to the antenna bays they used to use. It was nice hearing them like a local in Austin. It was nice hearing them in South Dallas, and getting them all the way to halfway between Lafayette and Baton Rouge where a 104.1 in Houma took over. I can only imagine how great building penetration must have been in Houston itself. It seems like all the stations in town switched to different bays for HD and hobbled themselves. While 107.5 was testing years ago - I made several trips between Dallas and Houston. The antenna bay was the difference between good reception to Centerville, or crummy reception even in Huntsville. Given that building penetration is so important these days, I don't see how HD is worth the hobbling of the station's main signal, especially when it isn't a revenue producer.
The current antenna is an ERI wideband omni multibay....better in performance than the Harris CBR that was originally used (cleaner omni pattern)..the HD uses the left hand CP input to the antenna while the analogs run into the right hand CP input as normally done. This allows the two signals to be isolated by at least 20db and allow a cleaner operation than interlaced models. Building penetrations actually involves more signal downtilt than at the horizon...and thats where the listening/ratings audience are...to throw signal out to the horizon is a waste of signal....not good for advertising dollars when you look for office listeners during work hours. Nielsen doesnt care about drivers on I45/I10, etc outside the DMA.
HD is not hobbling the analog signal.....our coverage is no different today on the 100kw ERP aux vs being on Sr Rd with HD on....
HD is not hobbling the analog signal.....our coverage is no different today on the 100kw ERP aux vs being on Sr Rd with HD on....
Not a yearly thing......Our AUX is same ERP and antenna height as the main...should not be any difference
Actually, Nielsen PPM panelists that are "home" to the Houston MSA (there is no DMA for radio) are tabulated no matter whether they are in the metro or traveling outside of it within the area or even beyond.
But your point about optimizing the signal below the horizon in the populated areas is really valid. Putting the "beam" on the ground inside the metro may reduce the signal outside the metro, but that does not mean that adding HD had "hurt" the signal... it means that all the juice is being poured where the listeners are, not out where listening does not matter to Houston stations.
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He's probably referring to the annual shutdown and inspection of the Senior Road Tower by ERI, which typically happens over a weekend, usually in late June or early July.
In the past, HD for all stations would go off during the inspection weekend.
For anyone who cares, what's actually happening at Senior Road right now is a once every 15 years replacing of the watchband springs on the bullets that connect all of the sections of transmission line going up the tower. The transmission lines expand and contract a bit with temperature changes, and eventually these components wear out. Their life expectancy is about 15 years.
The Senior Road facility that is home to 92.9, 94.5, 95.7, 96.5, 97.9, 99.1, 100.3, 101.1 and 104.1 has two 9" transmission lines. Each line feeds half of the antenna - upper and lower.
The Senior Road stations can broadcast from the tower while most of the work taking place now occurs, but must do so at roughly 1/4 power. With one of the transmission lines down at all times, and half the antenna disconnected, the stations choosing to broadcast from the site must reduce their transmitter power by half, and they have half the antenna gain they normally have, therefore they get 1/4 power out of the antenna.
KRBE has obviously decided staying on the air with superior analog reach and building penetration with near full power from their aux site is a better idea than keeping HD on at the expense of analog coverage and penetration.
AFAIK, the stations that have opted to bail out of Senior Road entirely during the work are 95.7, 96.5, 100.3, 101.1 and 104.1. 95.7 and 100.3 are actually on the air right now from the exact same antenna as 104.1, as they share a backup antenna at a nearby site owned by ATC.
Both 95.7 & 100.3 have HD on. I assume their backup facility has HD?
Yes, it does.
How much longer will the work on Senior Road take? I had noticed some subtle changes in the signals of those stations that use the site. Of course weather could slow things down.
You also mentioned a new GatesAir transmitter for KRBE. I have always been curious which transmitter brands are used by Houston FMs...I know that Nautel is also popular. Does someone have info on that?
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rbrucecarter5
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This is confusing to me - almost no workplaces allow people to listen to the radio. It is considered too much of a distraction. A couple of places I have worked actually went around to each desk and told people to take their radios home and not use them at work. All IT departments monitor for streaming and put a stop to it, too. Penalties include reprimands, loss of internet, and even termination. So I don't see how there are ANY ratings for people at work.
I beg to disagree about coverage. It is vastly worse than it was in the 80's and early 90's. Even in town. I get dropouts as close as 20 miles from the towers.
Something drastic changed. This is on multiple well maintained radios, multiple times.
Apparently, you haven't heard of smartphones and earbuds or worked in an office within the past 7 years.
There are some stations, like KODA, that get their biggest ratings during the traditional office working hours.
And there are all kinds of jobs like construction, delivery driver, loading dock or stockroom worker, where radio is often a constant companion. And many smaller offices where there are only a few employees and no IT department and a more friendly attitude.
It's funny that you are the only one noticing this. Most people don't have "well maintained" radios... they have what their car came with and it works just fine. Perhaps if you quit fussing so much and didn't worry about DX signals, you could actually enjoy listening (or get a streaming service where you pick your own music!).
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rbrucecarter5
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Been working for small companies for the past 7 years, they have contract IT. If anything, it is even more strict. I don't know what sort of workplaces allow radios, but none I've ever worked at in 40 years. Same with our suppliers and customers - no radios allowed anywhere.
As for streaming, if anything data restrictions on cell phones have gotten worse in the past few years - those unlimited plans start throttling data after a set limit. I know for a fact that earbuds in a factory environment, car repair, construction, etc. are a safety hazard because they can drop out and get tangled in something dangerous. And no boss is going to want an employee that can't hear them, the phone, or verbal communication. I doubt enough analysis has been done on this workplace scenario - if KODA has big daytime ratings, its people at home. Because I sure don't see it. I go to a store - no radios - maybe a few with muzak still. I go to a travel agent - no radio. I go to a doctors office - no radio. I go to a lawyer's office - no radio. NO earbuds anywhere either. People at work are being compensated for their attention to the JOB - not the radio or streamed music or whatever. I see no evidence of office listening - to anything. I'd frankly think it was unprofessional if I saw people distracted by the radio or music.
I think every Dallas / Houston gypsy - and from what I can tell there are hundreds, maybe thousands making the trip Sunday evenings and Friday evenings - are acutely aware of coverage issues with stations in both cities. Anybody who travels a lot - Houston has a lot of people going out to remote locations for pipeline work, electrical work, remote monitored facilities - they are probably aware of coverage differences, too. As for KRBE in Austin, it was UT students in the late 70's that clued me in. Just another "local" station on their presets. I am surprised if it didn't show up in the ratings in the late 70's and early 80's. I talked about well maintained radio so nobody would raise the straw man argument "your radio is bad get another radio". Rather insulting to say the least. Just seems like KRBE is a shell of its former signal. I go in the that 2 foot dip on Tuckerton, every time KRBE just about drops. Same with those 50 overpasses on the Katy freeway. Same with the new overpasses on 290. Bad signal, multiple dropouts or at least HD dropout to analog. I lived in Houston in the 80's. KRBE was never that bad. It peeled paint. KRBE and the others never used to drop completely as you go down to timeshares on Lake Conroe. It does now! I got better car radios than most people and I have problems. It is probably worse with those shark fin antennas, my daughter's car has high end system with a shark fin and dropouts are terrible with it.
I just switch to satellite because HD is a no go with her car radio. IT has it, it drops so badly it isn't worth the trouble. Same with her ex's truck. I told him about HD radio. Doesn't work reliably. And his truck has a whip antenna. Maybe that beam tilt idea isn't so great after all! Real listeners, real scenarios. I expect to be ignored or marginalized, which is too bad because there are PROBLEMS. If I were an engineer and listeners reported problems, I'd get my posterior out of my office and be all over it with field strength meters, drive tests, and corrective action. Coverage = ratings and if coverage is compromised, so too are ratings.
Nope. Ratings separate at home and away from home.
Your universe is 1 person.
A few thousand people in a market of 6.9 million is not significant. As long as the signal inside the metro is good, that is all that matters. And that is why antennas are designed with things like beam tilt to avoid sending too much signal towards the horizon and, instead, sending it where it does more good.
Most people are not DXers and most college students in the 70's and 80's listened to AOR, not Top 40. In any case, the station could care less if they had listeners in Austin. No use whatsoever for them.
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rbrucecarter5
Guest
Probably agree with you on that. Two things we can agree on - well maybe one. Most people don't give a ___ about DX. The kids in college - admittedly in engineering - didn't care about whether the station was in Houston or Austin. It played music, and it was dependable. End of story. The people I visited in South Dallas listening to KRBE - the way they had their dipole crumpled on the floor, KRBE came in. KDNT or whatever the station was that competed locally - didn't as an accident of antenna configuration. So what if its in Houston? It was dependable and played the right music. End of story.
Same with the kids in Midland and KOMA at night. They didn't give a ___ about DX or where the station was. It played the right music. End of story.
The other thing we can probably agree on - or not - is that people don't care whether or not they are counted in ratings. They don't know how ratings are done, and they don't care. They just want to turn on the radio and hear what they want. So what if the ratings are dismal like WRR in Dallas? the people listening just care whether it plays their music. It stops - they stop listening. They aren't going to ask "what is the highest rated station - I want to listen only to stations with high ratings". Not going to happen.
You - and KRBE can dismiss my concerns about reception, but you know me well enough to know I am a careful and conscientious DX'er who knows when a signal is good and when it is not. I may be a universe of one, but I don't think beam tilting is doing what they expect it is.
And I have no idea what sort of businesses allow people to listen to the radio in numbers significant enough for ratings. Not any normal ones I go to through the day. I asked my daughter if they allowed radios at her graphic design business - she's worked for two. Nope. Unprofessional to clients who come in. I did find one person listening to pandora where I work now. Since he helped found the company 25 years ago, he can do what he wants.
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