New FM for AM Seattle translator apps

As an interested party, Roxanne tries to keep up with translator applications in the area.

The latest batch of apps has oozed out of the FCC. Here are some Roxanne found in the immediate area.

These are for existing AM stations that want to add an FM translator without paying for one by buying an existing property.

Capstar/iHeart has applied for 92.9 in Bellevue for KIXI. 99 Watts at 67 meters above sea level. Apparently not at the AM site, but on the hill just east of Factoria near the big water tank.

Seattle Sub License/Hubbard wants 96.1 for KKNW. Also 99 watts at 67 meters AMSL. Same site as KIXI translator.

Bonneville seeks 94.5 for KTTH. With 25 watts at 16 meters, that looks like a mast on the roof of the studio building. This is probably just the first jab at something with more coverage when all the new translator competition is known.

Bustos applied for 101.3 for KMIA at the 1210 AM site on Highway 18 in Auburn. 250 Watts at 24 meters.

The Clay Huntington Legacy has asked for 107.3 for KLAY. 250 Watts at 110 meters above sea level, apparently from the AM site.

In Mt. Vernon, J&J wants 102.9 for KBRC. 250 Watts at 30 meters above ground. Roxanne's guessing without looking that it's the AM site.

In Lacey, Iglesia Pentecostal etc. wants to put KLDY on 92.1 with 99 Watts. App specifies the massive KBRD/KLDY/KGTK AM erection, but as a previously unsuccessful applicant to use that tower, Roxanne believes this application is bogus for lack of permission of the tower owner, which is the KBRD organization. Roxanne was told that this tower lacks the guy wire length to handle more loading beyond the AM tower itself and associated lighting.

2 other apps for 'Way' in Blaine, plus more at Yakima, Tri Cities, Spokane, Centralia and so on. But this is the Seattle board, so I'll stop.

I thought K233BU was already simulcasting KTTH/770. I don't think that Bellevue 96.1 will fly with KXXO so close. And why 101.3 in Auburn...KPLZ is less than 15 miles away! Is there a complete database somewhere so I can see Eastern Washington applications? I know that KZTA/1310 and KDYM/1230 wanted new translators, and KYAK/930 just got a CP for 96.1 here in Yakima...

The 101.3 and 96.1 apps will be doomed to failure.

I always thought Bremerton should have their own FM translator here on the west sound, if not an LPFM. Maybe KBRO, since KITZ sounds like it would never flip to a music\full-service format (mix of music and talk)

Sorry Roxanne, you get a D-, please recheck your work. Lots of errors.

"Capstar/iHeart has applied for 92.9 in Bellevue for KIXI. 99 Watts at 67 meters above sea level. Apparently not at the AM site, but on the hill just east of Factoria near the big water tank."...Huh????? Hubbard owns KIXI, not iHeart is just one of your mistakes.

KTTH has been on the air for a while with their translator. More points off for this mistake. Your post is more like misinformation or "Fake News"

KTTH bought the current translator. This app is for the free one they're entitled to.

Thanks for the ignorant retort. This fake news was paid for by Russian agents to confuse the stupid. Thank you for playing. Couldn't be an honest mistake.

But this is the kind of viciousness that always happens on this board, so thanks for playing. Roxanne will keep her fake news to herself in the future, so as not to encourage the Russians in their destruction of America's radio freedoms.

Roxanne said:

Roxanne will keep her fake news to herself in the future, so as not to encourage the Russians in their destruction of America's radio freedoms.

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Roxanne needs to lighten up. Steve can be curmudgeonly at times but that happens when you're around RF all the time. Steve means no harm by it. And Rob laughed when he saw the name "Capstar".

True, Roxanne takes this stuff too seriously. Almost like a profession.

But take into consideration that the info offered isn't commonly available to those who don't do this boring work regularly. And taking an hour of squinting at transcribed notes and posting to this board is actual work for Roxanne.

Calling the work 'fake news' implies an ulterior motive and is extremely disrespectful, no matter how broken your personality might be. Roxanne also works among the wires, and needs to learn to ignore unhelpful comments from humans.

Since this is maybe Roxanne's 3rd or 4th handle here, it's not like the abuse is unexpected. It's a regular feature when posting technical information to the masses.

Sorry for confusing the names of the holding companies. It was just a transcription error. Blame the spiral notebook. The data is the FCC's, not Roxanne's.

The final opinion is that none of the proposed Seattle/Tacoma market translators seem to be mutually exclusive (MX) to one another. But some of them are going to have a tough battle with the demon of cochannel interference to/from existing full power stations, such as KXXO 96.1.

The 94.5 signal from the roof of the Bonneville studio is an interesting application, not sure it will work. The one I'm sure will be granted is the 107.3 in Lakewood, not sure the others will though.

I just need to know where on FCC's website I can find this. Would like to know the CPs for Eastern Washington AMs and whether they could interfere.

Go to this page at the FCC:
http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_sear.htm

Fill in the following fields:
Service: FM TRANSLATOR
State: WA
Status Date: From 1/31/2018 to 1/31/2018

This should give you blind links to 23 applications across the state.

Engineering mods will undoubtedly be made to max out some signals, now that everybody knows what everybody else has asked for.

But I'm betting that those showing the existing AM tower as the FM site are probably sincere. Cheap rent and a decent view of the neighborhood from the tower top.

crainbebo said:

I just need to know where on FCC's website I can find this. Would like to know the CPs for Eastern Washington AMs and whether they could interfere.

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FCCData.org is my go to.

Thanks!
Now I'm seeing some eastern WA apps. Ingstad wants 102.5 in Selah for KTCR/980 (ESPN Deportes). There's a problem - KORD 102.7. Yes, I know, 75 miles away but they are a 100KW blaster here and can be heard clearly in the right spots. KIT wants 101.3 in Yakima, which isn't too bad. KGDN isn't that strong. But KBBO wants the same channel AND they're already on 104.5. It would transmit off Ahtanum Ridge like KATS and the Yakima TV stations.
Three owners want 98.7 in Tri-Cities, KVAN, KONA and KFLD. Do they even do an FM bandscan before they put these applications in? KMNA Mabton is way too close to the Tri-Cities for these apps to work. The Tri-Cities FM dial is basically too full for a market that size. Combine that with the rather flat ground out there + Walla Walla/Hermiston/Pendleton stations.
OK - off topic, back to our regular Western Washington FM discussion.

Roxanne said:

True, Roxanne takes this stuff too seriously. Almost like a profession.

But take into consideration that the info offered isn't commonly available to those who don't do this boring work regularly. And taking an hour of squinting at transcribed notes and posting to this board is actual work for Roxanne.

Calling the work 'fake news' implies an ulterior motive and is extremely disrespectful, no matter how broken your personality might be. Roxanne also works among the wires, and needs to learn to ignore unhelpful comments from humans.

Since this is maybe Roxanne's 3rd or 4th handle here, it's not like the abuse is unexpected. It's a regular feature when posting technical information to the masses.

Sorry for confusing the names of the holding companies. It was just a transcription error. Blame the spiral notebook. The data is the FCC's, not Roxanne's.

The final opinion is that none of the proposed Seattle/Tacoma market translators seem to be mutually exclusive (MX) to one another. But some of them are going to have a tough battle with the demon of cochannel interference to/from existing full power stations, such as KXXO 96.1.

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Ahhh, The Good Doctor. Welcome back.

Yes, the masochism is still here. Just like old times. After a while, you become numb to it by default.

Accidents happen. And data doesn't always translate well from analog to digital on older organic systems like ours.

But GOOD GRAVY! Just LOOK at this mess! 101.3 in AUBURN? I mean, who does the simplest of calculations on these things anymore?

This is going to wreck the FM band. And for what? Conservative Talk in Stereo only works with the right speaker only. So I don't get the point with KTTH on 94.5, either.

But is everyone really so desperate for a chunk of such a finite space on the FM dial? And what are the production levels of new traditional terrestrial home and portable radio sets in the last 20 years compared to mobile streaming? And that it's really not much fun listening to crosstalk from first adjacent/co-channels on FM. Or having the AFC on the old Soundesign ghetto blasters people still listen to radio on because of declining production of new traditional terrestrial home and portable radio sets in the last 20 years compared to mobile streaming, drift around aimlessly between each such close stations?

There just isn't enough room for everybody on FM. If this keeps up, the FM band will become a noisy, hyper-local, often-distorted, low-fi radio band.

In other words, the AM band they're trying to escape from.

But KTTH is already on 94.5. This is the ex-KMIH Hot Jamz translator in White Center. It's all for the $$$!! All started 15 years ago with KAWZ/Calvary Chapel and their hundreds and hundreds of translator apps. I can hear them on two different channels here in Yakima, they only need one in my opinion. Then the other Jesuscasters joined in...and now the AMs want a piece of the pie too. This will drive a lot of people off the analog dials and onto streaming and iTunes, especially in some states where translators are being greenlighted 30-40 miles away from a full-powered station.
Speaking of 101.3, there was a 24 Hour Fitness in Auburn using that channel several years ago (they still might be doing it) to transmit TV audio. Way too close to KPLZ which is just 15 miles away on Cougar. Just because it doesn't have IBOC hash on its sidebands doesn't mean a translator will fit in just fine. Bustos failed to see the interference element.
And like I said, the distance from KMNA Mabton to the Tri-Cities is less than 40 miles. Townsquare/Cherry Creek etc. are insane if they want to put an AM on 98.7.

As someone who does these translator filings for a living, let me clue you in on a little bit of the strategy that sometimes goes into the choice of frequency.

What got filed in the January window was called a "short form 349" - it didn't require much in the way of technical details, just a frequency, power and transmitter location that are not checked by the FCC for technical viability. You could file for 101.5 in Seattle and it would be accepted for filing. The only purpose of the short-form frequency selection is to determine which applications are going to end up being mutually-exclusive (MX) to others, and thus require a settlement between applicants or (in the worst case) an auction.

The real technical filing will come in a few months when the FCC issues a call for long-form applications. At that point, applicants can make minor changes (up or down 1, 2, or 3 channels or +/- 10.6 or 10.8 MHz) from their original short-form frequency choices. So the applicant who filed for 101.3, which is not a viable channel in Seattle, could change to 101.1 or 101.9, which might be more viable.

Why do it this way? Because if the real goal was to get to 101.1 but someone else also applied for 101.1, this strategy allows for a second-choice move to 101.9 to avoid an MX.

It's not always as "insane" as it looks once you get under the hood of the filing process.

crainbebo said:

Thanks!
Now I'm seeing some eastern WA apps. Ingstad wants 102.5 in Selah for KTCR/980 (ESPN Deportes). There's a problem - KORD 102.7. Yes, I know, 75 miles away but they are a 100KW blaster here and can be heard clearly in the right spots. KIT wants 101.3 in Yakima, which isn't too bad. KGDN isn't that strong. But KBBO wants the same channel AND they're already on 104.5. It would transmit off Ahtanum Ridge like KATS and the Yakima TV stations.
Three owners want 98.7 in Tri-Cities, KVAN, KONA and KFLD. Do they even do an FM bandscan before they put these applications in? KMNA Mabton is way too close to the Tri-Cities for these apps to work. The Tri-Cities FM dial is basically too full for a market that size. Combine that with the rather flat ground out there + Walla Walla/Hermiston/Pendleton stations.
OK - off topic, back to our regular Western Washington FM discussion.

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On the "off topic" part of this ... just curious who has the towers that are visible from I-90 (South) ... as I recall they are near George. I figured maybe Yakima signal?

The AgFarmation sign? That used to be a TIS on 1610 khz. No longer operating. KZML and KWWW are based on Beezley Hills north of Quincy. You're probably seeing a cell phone tower.
So when this is said and done, I guess Auburn will have a 101.1 retransmitting KMIA. If it gets through and a CP is complete however. Auburn has a 102.1 (K271BS) airing KOMO/97.7, at Highway 167/Highway 18.

Roxanne, or whoever you are...you don't have to constantly repeat your name in your posts. Just remember, you don't have to leave on the red light.

Roxanne said:

KTTH bought the current translator. This app is for the free one they're entitled to.

Thanks for the ignorant retort. This fake news was paid for by Russian agents to confuse the stupid. Thank you for playing. Couldn't be an honest mistake.

But this is the kind of viciousness that always happens on this board, so thanks for playing. Roxanne will keep her fake news to herself in the future, so as not to encourage the Russians in their destruction of America's radio freedoms.

Click to expand...

Can you please leave you politics at the door when entering? Thanks.