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AM Stations with Directional Antennas in Hawaii

T

trusty

There are none. (At least I haven't found any.)

...and none are really needed, BUT consider this (from the Honest Question section of the Peanut Gallery):

WWL/NewOrleans is clear channel station with no need to have a DA system, but they chose to have one to amplify their signal along the Gulf Coast. Since Hawaii is a string of islands, roughly in a line, has any AM station considered building a DA system to amplify its signal over the islands?
 
Funny you should mention WWL, since the lone Hawaiian AM that had a DA was also on 870. KAIM used a DA for many years to shoot its 50 kW signal from Molokai out over Oahu. A few years ago, Salem moved KAIM to 880 and relocated it to Oahu as a non-DA. That saved the considerable expense of operating the DA on Molokai, and it made it possible for Salem to boost the power of its KRLA 870 in the Los Angeles market.
 
Thanks, Scott. I would also think real estate would also play into the situation. Do any of the Hawaiian stations diplex?
 
"Diplex"? :D

With land as expensive as it is, many of the Honolulu AMs are triplexed. I believe one is even licensed as a quad-plex, though I'm not sure all four stations are actually using the stick.

I need to go do some hands-on research...shame plane tickets from back East are so expensive! ;)
 
The Kewalo basin tower in Honolulu has five stations (a 5-plex!), soon to be four when KWAI moves over to the 1270 tower off of the Nimiz Highway and turns that into a quadplex. I think every other tower on Oahu has three stations, except for the KKNE/KRTR tower in Kunia.
The FCC monitoring station in Waipahu (next to Pearl Harbor) is the main restriction on power, at least on Oahu. The distances between the main islands means very little off-island listening occurs. That, as well as the geographic layout (mountains) cause most station coverage on Oahu to be directional north-south and away from the neighbor islands. Kaua`i has two stations, both do well to the east, and Maui is much the same as Oahu, having mountains on the east and west sides of the valley where the towers are, causing signals to do better north and south.
Land is very expensive, and electricity even more so. Here on Kaua`i, my last power bill showed a 48 cent per KWH rate. Oahu is better (about 30 cents per KWH), and Maui and the Big Island around the mid-30 cent range. So 10KW is about as big as the AM stations are, with the lone exception of KUAU on Maui, running 15KW on 1570. I would hate to see their power bill!
 
When I lived in Honolulu, (as a junior in high school) the excuse for the high electricity rates was that Electricity was produced by burning oil. If that's still the case, we all know where oil prices are heading, so those high rates can be easily explained. Why when I was there, gasoline was ridiculous at a whopping 38 cents a gallon.

That was 1965!

Back on topic, KAIM was non-directional on 870 and from Oahu, IIRC. I was up on the north shore one February night with my buddy in my mom's '62 Impala and WWL and WLS were both coming in, along with WBAP. KAIM was off....although the Koolau Mountains really trashed the Honolulu signals, so WWL could've made it in anyway. Also, as I've posted elsewhere, I was living in an apartment complex about three blocks from KPOI's former stick....which I believe at that time they had all to themselves on 1380 (plus their FM). KGMB's stick a couple of miles away, I think had one or two others on it....along with channel 9 TV (CBS).
 
cyberdad said:
KGMB's stick a couple of miles away, I think had one or two others on it....along with channel 9 TV (CBS).
Click to expand...

By 1965, I think KGMB-TV was on the self-supporter behind the Kapiolani Blvd. studios that's now in the process of being torn down.
 
Scott Fybush said:
cyberdad said:
KGMB's stick a couple of miles away, I think had one or two others on it....along with channel 9 TV (CBS).
Click to expand...

By 1965, I think KGMB-TV was on the self-supporter behind the Kapiolani Blvd. studios that's now in the process of being torn down.
Click to expand...

Exactly as I remember it. I remember the tower being self-supporting and behind the studios, but I couldn't offhand recall what street. But bingo! Indeed it was Kapiolani Boulevard. In our apartment we had to stow the rabbit ears to keep Channel 9 from overloading the TV (19-inch Sears portable).

And Scott....as the tower expert, would you happen to know when the KPOI tower of that era came down? When I revisited Honolulu (in '94) I recall that the stand-alone studio building was still there (but repainted white instead of the original brown) and used for a different purpose (doctor's offices?). I'm also pretty sure the tower was gone by then.
If memory serves, this was on Ala Wai Boulevard a block or two off Kalakaua Ave. (basically across the street from the canal).
 
What is now KUPA 1370 on Oahu was at one time a two-tower DA at the Millilani site where it is currently diplexed with KPHI 1170.

I believe that there is currently, (or at least was until recently), a CP for a 50 kW-d, 10 kW-N ND on the Big Island... That power bill ought to be challenging...
 
radiode said:
What is now KUPA 1370 on Oahu was at one time a two-tower DA at the Millilani site where it is currently diplexed with KPHI 1170.
Click to expand...
It was on 1380 back then, KIPO/Pearl City.

LF
 
cyberdad said:
Scott Fybush said:
cyberdad said:
KGMB's stick a couple of miles away, I think had one or two others on it....along with channel 9 TV (CBS).
Click to expand...

By 1965, I think KGMB-TV was on the self-supporter behind the Kapiolani Blvd. studios that's now in the process of being torn down.
Click to expand...

Exactly as I remember it. I remember the tower being self-supporting and behind the studios, but I couldn't offhand recall what street. But bingo! Indeed it was Kapiolani Boulevard. In our apartment we had to stow the rabbit ears to keep Channel 9 from overloading the TV (19-inch Sears portable).

And Scott....as the tower expert, would you happen to know when the KPOI tower of that era came down? When I revisited Honolulu (in '94) I recall that the stand-alone studio building was still there (but repainted white instead of the original brown) and used for a different purpose (doctor's offices?). I'm also pretty sure the tower was gone by then.
If memory serves, this was on Ala Wai Boulevard a block or two off Kalakaua Ave. (basically across the street from the canal).
Click to expand...
That famous address was 1701 Ala Wai Blvd. I was watching the new Hawaii 5-0 last week and was pointing out to my wife where the tower stood when I worked there back in the early 70's.
Also, if my failing memory serves me, KGMB AM was duplexed on the K-POI AM 1380 tower back then, I dont think any AM signals were on the TV tower over on Kapiolani Blvd. I was just a DJ then but I seem to remember one of their engineers in the back of our building from time to time.
I recall when they were building the hotel or condo on John Ena Road and Ala Moana Blvd with one of those big cranes on it. When the bucket went up and down the meter readings on the transmitter would go all wacky and kick the thing off the air several times a day. I wasnt there when they build 1717 Ala Wai right next to the tower, but I bet that was an exciting time RF wise!
 
I always stand to be corrected, but I'm pretty certain that KPOI had the tower on Ala Wai Boulevard all to itself (plus the FM) when I was there as a high school junior during the winter of '64-65. I also think KGMB was on the TV tower, but I'm less certain about that. Could be that the diplexing came along after I left. Hopefully someone reading this board can clear this up.

One thing I remember is one day talking to an engineer who who had worked at KGMB. The story, IIRC, is that back in the late 50s/early 60s, a station on the big island (I forget which one) was a sister station to KGMB and relaying programs from KGMB's over-the-air signal. Problem was the 5kw 590 in Spokane (now KQNT) managed to occasionally play havoc with KGMB's nighttime signal.
 
Cyberdad, I corresponded with an engineer that did some work for KGMB radio back in the day and he confirmed that KGMB AM was duplexed on the KPOI stick at 1701 Ala Wai. And, yes, KPOI-FM was on that tower too. He also confirmed that the self supporting tower at KGMB TV on Kapiolani Blvd did not have the AM on it at anytime he was aware of, and clearly there was no room for an AM ground system there, although that didnt seem to stop Alan Roycroft at some of his AM tower sites. ::)
 
Nostalgia said:
Cyberdad, I corresponded with an engineer that did some work for KGMB radio back in the day and he confirmed that KGMB AM was duplexed on the KPOI stick at 1701 Ala Wai. And, yes, KPOI-FM was on that tower too. He also confirmed that the self supporting tower at KGMB TV on Kapiolani Blvd did not have the AM on it at anytime he was aware of, and clearly there was no room for an AM ground system there, although that didnt seem to stop Alan Roycroft at some of his AM tower sites. ::)
Click to expand...

As of yesterday, the old KGMB tower is gone. They were digging up the concrete foundation, and carting away the last remnants. The building is next, I am sure.
 
Nostalgia said:
Cyberdad, I corresponded with an engineer that did some work for KGMB radio back in the day and he confirmed that KGMB AM was duplexed on the KPOI stick at 1701 Ala Wai. And, yes, KPOI-FM was on that tower too. He also confirmed that the self supporting tower at KGMB TV on Kapiolani Blvd did not have the AM on it at anytime he was aware of, and clearly there was no room for an AM ground system there, although that didnt seem to stop Alan Roycroft at some of his AM tower sites. ::)
Click to expand...

Thanks! As I said, I always stand to be corrected. And it HAS been over 40 years! :eek: At least I remembered KPOI-FM correctly. And I almost remembered the address. A little sad to hear about the KGMB-TV tower/site being bulldozed.
 
cyberdad said:
When I lived in Honolulu, (as a junior in high school) the excuse for the high electricity rates was that Electricity was produced by burning oil. If that's still the case, we all know where oil prices are heading, so those high rates can be easily explained. Why when I was there, gasoline was ridiculous at a whopping 38 cents a gallon.

That was 1965!

Back on topic, KAIM was non-directional on 870 and from Oahu, IIRC. I was up on the north shore one February night with my buddy in my mom's '62 Impala and WWL and WLS were both coming in, along with WBAP. KAIM was off....although the Koolau Mountains really trashed the Honolulu signals, so WWL could've made it in anyway. Also, as I've posted elsewhere, I was living in an apartment complex about three blocks from KPOI's former stick....which I believe at that time they had all to themselves on 1380 (plus their FM). KGMB's stick a couple of miles away, I think had one or two others on it....along with channel 9 TV (CBS).
Click to expand...

The Koolau Mountains weren't a barrier to skywave as I heard WLS, WBBM, and WWL on the Honolulu side of Oahu in November of 1978.
 
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