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Nobody Home at KGTK 920

F

fordranger797

Not really a station that most people think about anymore, but it was recognizable in the "KQ" days. It seems that they've been running dead air on 920 for quite some time now (possibly a year). They also appear to have a translator on 101.1 which is also running the same dead air. It seems that the translator is picking up a signal directly from 920, as it sounds like AM static on the FM dial.

Someone is obviously paying the power bill, so perhaps they are still trying to get 920 running again. What is the FCC policy with a station like this (and will they eventually be forced to leave the air)?
 
Extraordinary that it's still going on. I was able to hear this '101.1' at the summit of Thorp Mountain last August, on the lookout balcony. I wonder if it's been going on for a long time and if they just blame 'covid' for it.
 
crainbebo said:
Extraordinary that it's still going on. I was able to hear this '101.1' at the summit of Thorp Mountain last August, on the lookout balcony. I wonder if it's been going on for a long time and if they just blame 'covid' for it.
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I agree 100%. I heard that translator a long time ago, and just assumed it was a LPFM. This wouldn't be the first time that we've seen LPFMs go off air for extended periods of time or source their audio from low bandwidth streams, so it seemed to make sense.
 
Not sure what the logistics are, but the best part about this operation is the FM translator on 101.1. Looking at the technical data on the FCC database, that translator emerges as a fairly strong asset. KGTK and KITZ are pretty much forgotten about.
 
But I wonder what they could put on it other than the conservative/Dave Ramsey talk they have now? Most of the main FM music formats are covered down there in Olympia, including the translators feeding KRXY's HD subs.
 
crainbebo said:
But I wonder what they could put on it other than the conservative/Dave Ramsey talk they have now? Most of the main FM music formats are covered down there in Olympia, including the translators feeding KRXY's HD subs.
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That is true. Olympia has always been its own unique market, but it's not that big of a market and you can only sell so many formats.
 
fordranger797 said:
Someone is obviously paying the power bill, so perhaps they are still trying to get 920 running again. What is the FCC policy with a station like this (and will they eventually be forced to leave the air)?
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They may not be paying the bills. Since COVID, most electrical utilities are forbidden, or certainly discouraged, from disconnecting customers for non-payment. If there is a dead carrier for weeks or months, chances are nobody is paying attention.
The only requirements that would be violated which could merit an inquiry from the Commission would be:
* No station ID for days or months.
* Nobody monitoring parameters, let alone the ability to shut the station down within 3 hours should the station go out of parameters.
* Not complying with EAS requirements. (no RWT or RMT's)
* Running the AM at a full 3kW day power at night for consecutive nights.
* Running the AM at night power (7W) during day mode longer than ten days without an STA.
 
Isn't this station owned by a couple of non-profit pro-second amendment groups? I think they had an idea of using it to promote gun ownership and conservative politics, and that's about it. No real radio ownership experience.
 
TheBigA said:
Isn't this station owned by a couple of non-profit pro-second amendment groups? I think they had an idea of using it to promote gun ownership and conservative politics, and that's about it. No real radio ownership experience.
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No clue, but that area would be a prime zone for fans of the Second Amendment.
The problem is, how do you come up with enough pro-gun or nutty right-wing conspiracy progamming to keep an audience willing to send you money, let alone advertisers?
 
Kelly A said:
The problem is, how do you come up with enough pro-gun or nutty right-wing conspiracy progamming to keep an audience willing to send you money, let alone advertisers?
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There is a sequence in recruiting advertisers: first, gun shops. Then bail bondsmen. Finally, defense attorneys.
 
It's been a while, but the last time I checked out the AM stations, there was modulation, but it was down in the mud. Right now, they're streaming.
 
Wasn't 920 one of Don Whitman's stations a few decades ago? KITI Chehalis, KITN Olympia.
 
I was actually impressed that 1400/KITZ has a media kit on their website. For that matter, I was impressed they have a WEB site. And it appears they moved from once being housed in Silverdale to a strip mall/office center in Port Orchard -- so maybe they are trying to make a go of the business? That station was once a staple in Tacoma when owned by the News Tribune (KTNT-AM), and later they started KTNT-FM (97.3) which became KNBQ which became KBSG which became KIRO-FM.
 
I know it's a total simulcast with 1400 and 920. Indeed owned by a 2nd amendment outfit locally. The "Silverdale" signal is radiated from a stick in the county fairgrounds in East Bemerton. The single 920 stick is off of Sleater-Kinney in N Lacey, surrounded by new developments so it's only a matter of time on that one. They run mostly the conservative yackers that the KVI, KTTH, and Salem folks have passed on, so 4th tier at best. And I believe a daily one hour syndicated gun show, with a couple gun shows on the weekend. And Dave Ramsey, for some reason.

101.1 Oly has been rebroadcasting KGHO-LP from Aberdeen for some years. Didn't realize that arrangement had changed. Looks like they also are possibly translating on 92.9? That signal will largely be obliterated if/when the "Napavine" station gets on the air.
 
There seems to be some incorrect information surrounding the 92.9 translator. That particular translator appears to be a HD sub-channel of KRXY. The 101.1 translator was previously utilized by KGHO, but as I recall, that operation had its fair share of technical issues. Notably, an issue came up where the translator ended up rebroadcasting KISW on 101.1, which is probably the result of a receiving antenna getting bumped.

Supposedly, the 1400 offices are located in a mall in Port Orchard. I have personally been inside this mall, and can attest to the fact that I never saw any office space for the KITZ operation. It's likely just a location for their PO box or an unmarked office for a public file.

It's hard to tell if there are any FCC violations with the 101.1 translator specifically. The audio quality is so unbelievably muddy that I can't make out a single word when I come across it. If you don't listen closely, it just sounds like AM static. That translator isn't terrible, and actually covers the Olympia area fairly well with limited bonus coverage into parts of Pierce County. Nevertheless, it doesn't help the situation when nobody would bother to listen to it.
 
fordranger797 said:
Supposedly, the 1400 offices are located in a mall in Port Orchard. I have personally been inside this mall, and can attest to the fact that I never saw any office space for the KITZ operation. It's likely just a location for their PO box or an unmarked office for a public file.
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Now that the local studio rules have been eliminated, and public files moved on-line, a lot of groups are shedding the leases of office or studio space. Can't see as I blame them.
fordranger797 said:
It's hard to tell if there are any FCC violations with the 101.1 translator specifically. The audio quality is so unbelievably muddy that I can't make out a single word when I come across it. If you don't listen closely, it just sounds like AM static. That translator isn't terrible, and actually covers the Olympia area fairly well with limited bonus coverage into parts of Pierce County. Nevertheless, it doesn't help the situation when nobody would bother to listen to it.
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No law against sounding crappy. Over the years I've seen a lot of stations who were technically compromised, thinking if they could just stay up and running, someday they could afford to fix the quality. Like any business, the ultimate success or failure is directly tied to the quality of your product.
 
As for anyone buying 920, I know someone who would, but then again, that person would buy a 10 W day 3 W night 1240 in Wilkeson if such a thing existed. As for KGHO, do they still have any translators, or did they get rid of them all?
 
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