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New sports format launches on 97.3

So it looks like KODA has 4 translators.

So let me get this right on what each one is.
K231CN is KODA HD3.
K248CJ... Unknown - someone enlighten me?
K247CP is it's own station not on any of KODA's HD signals... Is that legal?
K287BQ, I'm not sure what originating station that one is.
 
BamaTX said:
I shouldn't be able to hear 98.7 in Humble...yet there it is. As a matter of fact, 98.7 should be close to completely faded in League City, South Houston, Downtown, Aldine, & Spring, yet the station booms in unfaced with KTJM right next door. That should not be happening. KTJM suffers from interference well within their protected service contour, plain and simple. Why LBI hasn't taken action is puzzling.

And just because you think KSBJ doesn't care isn't a reason to dismiss interference from these translators. Interference should be dealt with by the FCC.
Click to expand...

Maybe the other broadcasters are getting paid to keep quiet.
 
AnyHuman said:
So it looks like KODA has 4 translators.

So let me get this right on what each one is.
K231CN is KODA HD3.
K248CJ... Unknown - someone enlighten me?
K247CP is it's own station not on any of KODA's HD signals... Is that legal?
K287BQ, I'm not sure what originating station that one is.
Click to expand...

K287BQ is its own station as well. Along with its obnoxious interference with KTWL, not legal at all...
 
AnyHuman said:
Maybe the other broadcasters are getting paid to keep quiet.
Click to expand...

Well, the ones leasing their HD subchannels to these guys definitely have an incentive to stay quiet, but it's also not their signals being trampled.

It will be interesting to see what Cox does, if anything, about the interference to 97.1. That station's ratings have always outperformed its signal, but when it becomes unreceivable due to the interference, because there's essentially a class A FM, or possibly C3 right next door, I have to think they're not just going to throw in the towel.
 
How Cox handles this should be really telling. Up until now, the interference has really just been to the bit players in the market. Small stations in the small towns surrounding Houston.

With the 97.3 operation tearing up 97.1, they've essentially given one of the big bears in the market a nice, hard kick.

You never know. Gow might even do something. They've invested millions in 97.5, and as bad as it was on the west side, it's even worse now.

I tried 97.1 and 97.5 in Katy yesterday. Both were unlistenable, but 97.3 was crystal clear. The RDS was similarly perfect on 97.3, which is really telling.

The suburbs are the core of any country station's listenership, and they've basically lost all of the southern and western ones.
 
AnyHuman said:
Maybe the other broadcasters are getting paid to keep quiet.
Click to expand...

That's not happening. You're talking about paying off six different broadcasters, and that's after paying off their HD or AM rent. I doubt those translators make enough money to pay off that many broadcasters and still have enough to turn a sizable profit.
 
Are there any engineers on this board who want to take measurements on power levels from 97.3, 98.7 and 105.3 and report back?
 
AnyHuman said:
Are there any engineers on this board who want to take measurements on power levels from 97.3, 98.7 and 105.3 and report back?
Click to expand...

Measurements for FM require a $10,000 AUDEMAT *FM MC5 or comparable test gear that can record mobile GPS synchronized signal data and then plot it on a computer. It takes about a day to drive one or more rings around the known transmitter location.

In other words, very expensive project unless your station is being affected.
 
And I think we should add "depending on the point of that interference". Some that post here are upset a translator or LPFM is bumping in the 40 dbu. The thing that keeps popping up is the dial was not as crowded as it is now. If you took a map and laid out some radio station contours, you'd see some spaces where nobody is filling that space. Those little 'holes' as I call them are now being filled in. In the past you could hear this or that station because there was this hole or space between the circles. Some listeners feel the station they used to hear is being interfered with when in fact it never should have been heard at your location and could only be heard because there was an open area not occupied by a station before the translator/LPFM proliferation. Imagine two buildings side by side. A person on one side of the building might be heard on the other side of the building thanks to the space between the two buildings. Now the space between the buildings is filled and the person on the other side can no longer be heard. My point is the FCC has separation requirements on the books and you have to show in your application you will not interfere per their rules in order to get the license to operate the station. These separations have not changed. Sure, a few might 'overpower' their stations but in all reality, the few that do are full power, translator and LPFM stations. The vast majority live within the rules. Radio people are just regular people. Think of driving. Most people follow the rules and drive right but there's always a few breaking the rules of the road.
 
DavidEduardo said:


Measurements for FM require a $10,000 AUDEMAT *FM MC5 or comparable test gear that can record mobile GPS synchronized signal data and then plot it on a computer. It takes about a day to drive one or more rings around the known transmitter location.

In other words, very expensive project unless your station is being affected.
Click to expand...

Having a good look at their antennas isn't all that hard or expensive though. Anyone have a good pair of binoculars?

The parasitics (or lack thereof) would reveal a lot.
 
The problem is that will typically not get the FCC to investigate. If you bring them evidence, they do. Photos, power measurements on a calibrated unit by an engineer, especially if they're seen the name on other applications or know of the person really helps. In this day and age the FCC expects you to do some of the work to show your complaint is legit.
 
b-turner said:
The problem is that will typically not get the FCC to investigate. If you bring them evidence, they do. Photos, power measurements on a calibrated unit by an engineer, especially if they're seen the name on other applications or know of the person really helps. In this day and age the FCC expects you to do some of the work to show your complaint is legit.
Click to expand...

I'll try to snag some shots of the antennas for the translators on the ATC stick in Missouri City this week.

I don't have a dog in this fight at the moment, but the engineer in me is really curious to see how a 250W translator that is directionalized away from Spring has such a phenomenal signal there.
 
b-turner said:
Some that post here are upset a translator or LPFM is bumping in the 40 dbu.
Click to expand...

KTHT, KFNC, and KTJM are being interfered well within their protected contours by 98.7 and 97.3

KTWL starts battling the 105.3 translator right at the edge of their 60 dbu service contour.

These ain't some little translators "bumping" the fringes of other stations. They are a real nuisance to broadcasters and their listeners/advertisers.
 
Wow Houston is so different than San Antonio, we used to have lots of overpowered stations but now none that I'm aware of. There are a few with bad quality or off air or low power though.
 
BamaTX said:
KTHT, KFNC, and KTJM are being interfered well within their protected contours by 98.7 and 97.3

KTWL starts battling the 105.3 translator right at the edge of their 60 dbu service contour.

These ain't some little translators "bumping" the fringes of other stations. They are a real nuisance to broadcasters and their listeners/advertisers.
Click to expand...

No issues receiving KTHT here, but I am relatively close to their transmitter site.

KFNC, KTJM, and KTWL are getting blown out by the translators, in Spring near I-45 and the Grand Parkway.

At one point, KTWL was running advertisements for a concert at Main Street Crossing in Tomball... because of K287BQ, KTWL is no longer receivable at that location.
 
No sign of K247CP this morning, I was able to listen to KFNC with no issues on my drive to work.
 
You'd think the FCC would be worried about all the illegals - translators, that is, ones that do not conform to power or location of the actual transmitter.
 
Well perhaps they're reading these forums and playing with our emotions! Ha ha ha!
 
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