[IRCA] Misc from Doug Pifer

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....

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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...