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This station that repeats 90.9...

A

AnyHuman

Guest
This station that's supposed to be repeating 90.9 from the DFW area currently sounds like a horrible space alien. http://fccinfo.com/CMDProEngine.php?sCurrentService=FM&tabSearchType=Appl&sAppIDNumber=1619095

Clip: https://www.sendspace.com/file/coc5z3


Also this noncommercial station, KQXE 91.1, was broadcasting just silence for several days at least, nonstop. It's just wasting their electricity so someone needs to fix KQXE... Before it wastes anymore of the owner's money...
http://fccinfo.com/CMDProEngine.php?sCurrentService=FM&tabSearchType=Appl&sAppIDNumber=1461715
I posted about KQXE and their sister station here. https://www.radiodiscussions.com/showthread.php?717908-KEQX-running-with-no-audio-processor
 
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Is KQXE running silent still? I noticed they don't have any underwriting and advertisers. Why are they running all that wattage on those stations with no advertisers? 14,500 watts + 12,000 watts (KQXE+KEQX) is a lot of electricity money that doesn't have any advertisers to support that.
The money for the stations has to come out of someone's pocket, and I'd hate to be the one paying the electric bill on stations that fail with their equipment and/or don't have any support from anybody but the owners. The CSSI group of stations probably have somebody else who's really, really generous and nice supporting them TBH.
 
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KQXE and the others under CSSI have a lengthy history. Charles Beard, the guy in charge, was kind enough to spend an hour or so talking with me many years back (I'm thinking more than 15 years ago or more). If memory serves me, Charles got in on the emerging cell phone technology before it was a thing. He had a certain geographic area or had his 'territory'. In short, it proved to be a financially rewarding venture. He was also involved with the local Mineral Wells stations, maybe as owner. At any rate, when the Mineral Wells stations pretty much became rimshots for Dallas/Fort Worth, he chose to establish a non-profit to apply for a couple of non-commercial FMs to serve the area now that there was no station doing local information.

The stations all began as small wattage affairs that eventually relocated with an increase in power. It could be Charles owns every tower his stations are on. Achieving higher wattage is a combination of bays and output power (bays are the antennas). For example, a 25,000 watt FM might have 5 to 7 bays but only output 4,000 to 5,000 watts to reach 25,000 watts ERP.

Charles struck me as a really good guy. If the station has been having issues, Charles might prefer no underwriting until the issues are resolved. I suspect most underwriting would be on the morning show and with the high school sports. I've listened to his stations in the past during the day. All were computer driven with liners (usually by local people or known names). I'd say they averaged 2 or 3 Underwriting units in an hour. The stations always seemed to do pretty well with listeners and in selling underwriting.
 
I just heard from their Sterling Communications consulting engineer when I asked about KQXE. He says that Charles and his network could use some bigtime help.
Things have gone on, some of them are getting sick in their older years, and a lot of their equipment was apparently stolen by someone (not gonna say who in case the thief is reading).
But if any of you feel like helping I'm sure Charles and his friends could use it.
 
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AnyHuman said:
Is KQXE running silent still? I noticed they don't have any underwriting and advertisers. Why are they running all that wattage on those stations with no advertisers? 14,500 watts + 12,000 watts (KQXE+KEQX) is a lot of electricity money that doesn't have any advertisers to support that.
The money for the stations has to come out of someone's pocket, and I'd hate to be the one paying the electric bill on stations that fail with their equipment and/or don't have any support from anybody but the owners. The CSSI group of stations probably have somebody else who's really, really generous and nice supporting them TBH.
Click to expand...

The electric bill is hardly the biggest expense of a lower power station.

A 14,500 watt FM using 6 ERI SHPX (that is not the one they have... but it's the easiest for me to calculate) antenna bays would need 3.8 kw input into the bays. So for a current technology transmitter, the consumption is less than 5 kw per hour, and at the commercial average electrical rate that is about $0.75 an hour for electricity. That's around $600 a month for the transmitter.

A handy calculator for this is at http://www.eriantennas.com/AntennaCalculator/FMCalca.htm Remember, there are other variables, such as bay spacing, tower facing, terrain, antenna model, etc.

Of course, a transmitter site has other gear, such as an Omnia or Optimod, the STL and remote control gear, maybe a UPS, alarm system, AC and heating, indoor and outdoor security lights and tower lights if not on a rented tower. But you'd have those expenses for any size station.

In case you are not aware, FM antenna systems have gain... that is, you put less power in than you get out. Simply stated, what they do is focus the power in a narrower beam that points out at the horizon, but without wasting power shot up in the air that would only reach airplanes and birds. Think of it like the nozzle on a garden hose... the narrower that you make the water pattern, the farther the narrow beam reaches, but no water is sprayed anywhere except that narrow "beam".
 
I suspect you talked to Danny. Charles would be getting up there in years but aged or not, at least he is still trying to serve his communities, problems or not.
 
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