Hi All,
I met a local guy who is trying to form a local Ham
Club. After a little bit of conversation, his history came out. Perhaps a few of
you would enjoy a scattered bit of his experience working in the North
West. This spans a few decades I'm sure.... Interesting....
73- Doug
Albany, Oregon
I miss
DX...as I said...I did much..and the weird thing was when I was working at
(720)KFIR in Sweet Home...they are 1KW Day and 184 watts/Directional
night...because of KDWN...when we signed off at 7 pm on the weekdays...I would
hear KDWN in the studio monitor...the transmitter was 10ft away in the
studio..they still have a 1960 1kw Bauer Transmitter...but with 50%
efficiency...an oldie...they had it when I worked there in 1987-88 when they
were on 1370 but with 60 watts Nighttime...they had to add more tower...to match
720 from a tower that did 1370....by they way they are planning to go 10kw and
possible 2.5 kw at night...but where it is located 1 mile N of town...it has to
have 3 phase power...
I was
there that day when a freak storm hit hard...out of nowhere up to 100 mph
winds...there was no EAS alert...we get our primary form KOAC...then KWIL...so I
guess it rolled up from the coast..and zig zaged...hit Lebanon and ground zero
was Sweet Home...it was my night to turn off the station...so we kept on getting
calls from Foster Dam and asking about the high winds...they the NWS predicted
clouds and rain....where the station is...you really cannot see the town that
well....I had no idea what was going on....so from 4:46pm to 4:56pm we signed
off...10 times...the phones we had were really old...rotary phones with multi
lines....they ran on electricity power....we could call out...but there was no
ring in the studio...you had to pick up the phone to see if someone was
there...the only station on was KGAL/KSHO...I used to work for them too....they
had just bought a emergency generator three weeks before...they were off
for a few minutes...the ops mgr...lived down the street from the
station...that is how we got our news....
Our
boss would not give in for a generator...the funny thing is...we lease space to
KLVU-FM(107.1)9kw KLOVE from Sacramento...they have their automation/satellite
system up there...they pay bob 500.00 per month for rent...the stl feed goes
east where Bend cable has a tower up there...so KLOVE brought an generator to
run KLOVE...but KFIR was off the air for 5 days...why .....because he felt the
county owed him a generator....and he insisted KGAL got one from
them....BS.....KGAL told me they bought it...and KFIR insisted the power company
have priority to put them back on....they said we were down the list because we
were not 24 hours on the air...and Bob still signs off early...because he
said...no one listens to radio past 7 pm...no kidding...
There
were times we did not change the power at night still at 1kw....because of the
HS games.....I had to do that at KCKX...1460 in Stayton they were 1 kw .I think
14 watts at night....they still have the transmitter in Stayton....but the
studio is in Woodburn....with KWBY 940....but we could not monitor off the air
1460....and the only way we knew we were off if some one called us from
Stayton....I had to go to the parking lot and listen in the car....I would call
the engineer...I was a dumb jock...
The
funny thing was we never did any EAS tests....I was afraid to ask why...there
were times the public inspection file was locked...I had no key....radio is
weird....but in sweet home the town was a mess....I got locked out...and had to
get a spare set of keys....to shut things off....when the power came back
on....so we sat around for 5 days in the dark...no toilet....what ever...we
played cards....that was it....so finally we got a 3kw generator wit ha 60 watt
back up..it went far....very far...I had to tell that story...I could not get
home for 2 days because where I lived...timber had blocked the 1 mile 1 lane
road...to my house...I stayed in town....by the way...KFIR has a deal with KRKT
FM(Clear Channel)to put a 500 watt..I think FM TRANSLATOR...mounted on the AM
stick....just as long KRKT does not take advertising from Sweet Home.....and
today they still play records....yes they do and have old cart machines....It is
a live radio museum....no joke....
******************************************************************************************************************
I
worked for CC in Albany....that was my last gig before I retired....It was fancy
equipment...the top...I am from old school...carts and records and reel to reel
and yes cd....but what they had at CC...it was too much....I left...I worked for
KRKT AM FM..when they were local...it was on 9th across from Pings...and the
street went the other way...I loved the AM..was automated local....I ran mariner
games and I was on the FM...we got our feeds first via phone line from KVAN
1550...then KIRO...I would tune in their audio and I would hear the KIRO/CBS
Radio Mystery theater repeats....in the dark while eating my lunch...then I
would go to the FM...the AM was 250 day and I think 9 watts at night...I could
get them very far at night
Then I
worked for KXPC FM when it was in Lebanon..they changed from KIQY and the tower
was outside of Lebanon around 50kw....then they moved to Albany the Old KRKT
building...on 9th....then they moved the tower to Peterson
butte....
I
worked for KWBY when it was only 940 and old country..they cracked me 250 day
and I think 220 at night...we were in a old office complex....then I worked for
KCKX 1460..it was in a old house....half station half house...we were ABC
Satellite country and local news....I was the News Director...they paid someone
to go to the transmitter(on Washington)outside of town....I do remember
that...they had to change it to 14 watts....that blew my
mind...
Then
when the owner got killed.....Don Coss owner of KWBY put in KCKX....in the same
building and the transmitter for KCKX is in Stayton still...We could not monitor
it...KCKX...was automated locally....and country then...
I had
a stint at KGAL before KSHO..it was KGAL AM/FM..oldies on FM...they sold it
and got KSHO..the switch....when we did games(blazers)the older people
would call us up and ask to play music instead or ask for Wink Martindale or
Gary Owens...we could not tell them they were syndicated....they thought they
were really there...
I like
KDWN as well...about KWIL...I was there nice stuff....I did the FM 12-8 am
KHPE...and ran KWIL automation via a small apple computer...we had 10" reel to
reel scully tapes...and carts...I had to change them...they still have their old
transmitter...I knew the CE well...we would go to the FM xtr then on Vineyard
Mtn...during the winter...they shared it with KRKT then another Corvallis FM...I
think KFAT..all on the same tower...the building was small...but cool....it had
chicken wire around it..or some kind I was told for RF reasons....it was a nice
drive....I love to drive past KOAC...neat building...I do remember the rooster
crow from KFIR...on the dot at 6 am...it is an old cart...still use it...and old
KFIR jingles....those were the days...
I
worked at KORE 1050...KLOG 1490...yes in true AM stereo..the joke was there were
only 5 AM stereo radios in town we had 4 of them....we got many QSL cards from
Norway....I worked at the Old KAAR in Vancouver..I was the last jock there...it
was KVAN 1480...the studio/transmitter was in a house that had no
bathroom...it was the KAAR transmitter site...yes we were 1kw day and 2.5kw
night...because they were granted a special authorization in 1980 because of
Mt.St.Helens....for emergencies...they had a tight pattern.....weird....we were
in a shopping mall....that was fun...they were KVAN. 67-80...then KARO...they
broadcasted from a strip mall outside of Vancouver...then 83-87 KAAR...we had
all the programming on tapes....we ran wolfman jack..he did custom liners and
local commercials...many thought he was really there...we did fool them....we
would say he is in the can.....or one of us would impersonate him that worked
too...the owner Kenny would monitor the station 7/24 via phone line
connection..he would.. from Vegas....he would call us up and go over what we did
wrong..it was funny....we would disconnect him...I did a stint at KMHD-FM
89.1...my first gig was at KKEY 1150...and at the same time I did some stuff for
KGAR 1550...they went from 1kw to 10 kw in 1976...then they changed it to KVAN
country...that was fun...
I ran
a part 15 here in town on 1610..I got some old equipment from KWIL..I had some
of my own too...I played old country and I had some former jocks I worked with
do liners for me ..it was automated...I moved it to downtown Albany at
flinns...then I signed off....I shared the same building with the remote studio
of KGAL 1580...that was bad RF there...no matter what freq you operated on...and
only in the building..it was really bad...so I moved it to 1680...then 1700 then
640....and the ops mgr had a problem me being there....no one else from KGAL had
no problem.....their receiver went up to 1640...but I was still bleeding on
them...only in the building not in the street....so my 100 mw station caused
heck....I got the fcc involved...they asked me to move the freq...I did....it
was a fight I could not win....I had advertisers....
So I
moved it back...we lost 1200.00 in our lease....we paid for a year...we will
never see it...So I did the county from 1927-90 all on computer here..with
liners I had....classic country 1610...was my ID...the FCC knew I had it and
they had no problem....I was going to move to 1670....but not many know about
expanded band,,,so I kept it on 1610...I was close to 1600 out of Eugene...but
they had no complaints....I was ok..I did a freq search for 2 months....it paid
off...and 1610 was ok...even at night.....did not go far,,,but it was good....I
even had a radio network as a barter...to fill programming...I had about 6,000
songs...about 1600...KWIL owned KEED...and did Christian country and then
simulcasted KWIL..they leased a 5kc line to there...and sold it not long ago I
guess....
WHEW!!!!!...SORRY...
Jerry
73...I am trying else to remember where I worked....12 or 13....but never in
Colorado....the market was too hard to get in so I worked for HP..and I had a
recording studio and did liners for stations...then my syndicated oldies
show....that is another story....Jerry take care Doug...sorry for the
boredom...
|
_______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list IRCA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://arizona.hard-core-dx.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx