Comments on: Journal flip flops AM formats

By: DON SCHLOGEL

DON SCHLOGEL — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:42:04 +0000

ALL I WANT TO DO IS COMPLIMENT KCID ON TRULY PLAYING THE FINEST MUSIC OF OUR TIMES. WE HAVE 4 RADIOS THROUGHOUT OUR HOME, ALL ON 1490. THANKS FOR THINKING OF FOLKS WHO ENJOYED MUSIC WHEN IT REALLY WAS!!

By: Jim Hilliker

Jim Hilliker — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 03:05:56 +0000

I also hear KSRV-1380 well here in Monterey, CA at sunset skip time, and heard it also quite a bit when I lived about 350 miles south in Anaheim, near Los Angeles in the 1980s, and got a QSL letter from KSRV after I sent them a reception report and cassette tape.

KSRV comes in here all the time, since our 1380-AM in Salinas, CA wen dark at the end of 2004.

Jim Hilliker

By: Peabody

Peabody — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 22:35:27 +0000

KCID has an amazing signal for thier power output. In contrast, that short little tower that KBKR has doesn’t seem to help out thier signal much. Ground conductivity might not be as good there either.

(Something else I’ve noticed: the FM antenna for KKBC 95.3 is strapped on to that short tower. Doesn’t seem like the best place for an FM site. Given, it covers the area within the city limits of Baker quite well, but about .02 miles southwest of Baker you can’t even hear it. And even to the North, where the terrain is flat, the signal starts to turn into multipath soup at about 10 miles.
OK, enough aimless tangents for now.)

Might the KKBC FM antenna also reduce the efficiency of the KBKR AM tower? KCID used to have one of those FM antennas too. I don’t really know if it’s removal noticably improved the signal quality of KCID AM or not.

By: RDS

RDS — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 17:27:13 +0000

The height of a tower does affect the groundwave – skywave ratio quite a bit, and it is a fairly complex relationship probably too detailed for this forum. Simply put, the taller KCID tower improves their coverage on the ground considerably over a shorter tower, but incoming skywave interference at night will still swamp the signal beyond about 10 miles. 1490 is one of six frequencies that at one time were called local channels. These frequencies are offered no protection from other channels on the same frequency other than simple mileage between the stations. They were intended to serve their immediate community, so once you go out more than about 10 or 12 miles the signal can be pretty boarderline. With talleer tower, KCID’s signal in the dayatime, when it does not suffer from skywave interference, is fairly decent.

By: RadioActive

RadioActive — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 03:43:27 +0000

Good point on the KBKR signal. Although I have only been able to hear that station when I am a few miles out from Baker City on the freeway. The KCID AM tower is pretty tall- does the height factor into the size of the skywave or is that just have to do with the height of the quarter wave on that particular frequency. Perhaps an engineer in our midst could better educate us all on AM signal theory and practicum. I always enjoyed the KCID Radio Building with its globe and windowed studios when it was owned by the previous owner and located in the downtown section. It looked like a radio station building should look- like it had a presence and a place in the community- Not just off in some suite in a ugly generic office complex. Perhaps someone out there could post a photo or two of the that station the way it was a few year ago and give us some history on KCID?

By: Peabody

Peabody — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 23:49:02 +0000

One possible reason why KCID doesn’t come in clearly in Eastern Oregon is because there is another 1KW station on 1490 (KBKR) in Baker City OR. Those two sites are only about 100 miles apart. At night, forget about it. There are so many 24hr omnidirectional stations operating on that frequency, that interference restricts the KCID signal to the Nampa-Caldwell area.

By: RadioActive

RadioActive — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 10:49:44 +0000

KIOV AM 1450 has been off the air for sometime now, thanks to the boys that own the license wanting to make a Boise station out of it. Last anyone heard it no longer has a place on the Runkle stick on Clay Peak. You can check out their new broadcast antenna that is located next to Interstate 184 past the truck stop heading towards Caldwell going from the Idaho Oregon border. At night its the one with the flashing beacon in the middle of the tower instead of at the top. I dont think it has had much use so far. Rumor is that the license is tied up with the FCC after some creative engineering paperwork on the part of the owners. Glad to see the FCC is doing its job. The KCID signal hitting California does not surprise me. One time back in 1993, a DXer from Norway stopped by the KSRV AM station in Ontario. He was an accountant for KMPG-The Accounting Firm on a visit to the US. He stopped by to let us listen to a tape he made of the KSRV AM legal ID. He wanted to personnally confirm the ID. AM signals can do some strange propagation at times. But KCID does not come in well in the SRV- Western treasure valley unless you have a good long wire type antenna or a very sensitive receiver. 73’s.

By: Jim Hilliker

Jim Hilliker — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 02:12:28 +0000

KCID-1490 wimpy? Well, maybe the groundwave doesn’t get out well in your local market, but the skywave does well…I’ve heard KCID-1490’s 1 kw signal several times here in Monterey, California! Mostly when I hear the legal ID at the top of the hour.

Jim Hilliker
AM DXer in Central California

By: Oh for Pete's sake You thought I was a troll...

Oh for Pete's sake You thought I was a troll... — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 11:39:47 +0000

I don’t think so but I didn’t look very hard when I went to the TV shop. I will look again. About all that is left of KIOV is that antenna on Clay Peak.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:33:39 +0000

Well I think Elvis deserved more than 1000 watts too, and since he is the King he gets the bigger station!