Country's back in Cali

AmpedNow · Post by **AmpedNow** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:50 pm

In L.A.

http://www.gocountry105.com/

In San Fransisco

http://www.957thewolf.com/

Big wins for Nashville...

Mark Hallburn · Post by **Mark Hallburn** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:18 pm

Here's more info:

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/11096162/detail.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17423125/

This is stunning news since Levine has LONG run jazz and classical formats against more commercially popular formats and refused to walk away from classical and jazz despite MANY opportunities. (Imagine your 80-year-old grandfather dropping Sinatra for Rock after 50 years of pushing Sinatra.)

I don't recall how strong the 105 signal is (Around 20,000 watts?) but I believe it was pretty strong... And with a Mt. Wilson transmitter will go for many miles... (It has been more than 15 years since I moved out of L.A.)

No doubt Levine will make a LOT more money with the country format... But few people in L.A. thought he would ever do so...

As for HD/Classical... I don't think there are that many people in L.A. with HD radios... I see them listening to satellite radio more than HD radio....

AmpedNow · Post by **AmpedNow** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 12:54 am

Class B

18kw @ 2889 ft.

That is easily a $200 million stick if he would sell it.

Supposedly, the classical format was billing only 12-15 million per year, with declining sales every year. KZLA was billing more than double that, even before they blew up the country format.

In LA, a station that bills under $30 million per year is considered a failure...

Mark Hallburn · Post by **Mark Hallburn** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:48 am

No doubt he will make more money with the country format.

But as I said, he has never shown much of a concern about making money in the past. He has had MANY opportunities to flip formats to bigger money makers.

The country music fans will support this format. The classic music fans can always switch to KUSC.

Dave Loudin · Post by **Dave Loudin** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:56 am

Almost(?) all of the FMs on Mount Wilson are grandfathered "way beyond B" stations. Back when the Media Bureau had a tool to calculate average terrain along 360 radials (and plot the resulting signal calculations) attatched to FM Query, I gathered HAAT data on the "biggest" FM sticks at the time. Jeff Miller still has that chart on one of his pages (can't see aol from work to give the link). You'll see many on the Mt. Wilson sites on the list.

Mark Hallburn · Post by **Mark Hallburn** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 2:39 pm

Mt. Wilson's higher elevation is a HUGE advantage... It allows you to get an FM/TV signal for MILES... The difference between Mt. Wilson and the lower Flint Peak (just west of The Rose Bowl) is signifigant.

Lester · Post by **Lester** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 2:58 pm

I might go check that out... Barstow is just one left turn onto I-40 for me.

(then go straight for 2,419 miles.)

AmpedNow · Post by **AmpedNow** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:11 pm

Here's the list:

http://www.well.com/~dmsml/wilson.html

KPFK(FM) 90.7 mhz (110,000 watts)
KBIG(FM) 104.3 mhz (105,000 watts)
KLOS(FM) 95.5 mhz (63,000 watts)
KTWV(FM) 94.7 mhz (58,000 watts)
KRTH(FM) 101.1 mhz (51,000 watts)
KCMG(FM) 92.3 mhz (43,000 watts)
KLVE(FM) 107.5 mhz (29,500 watts)
KCBS(FM) 93.1 mhz (28,500 watts)
KPWR(FM) 105.9 mhz (25,000 watts)
KLSX(FM) 97.1 mhz (20,900 watts)
KZLA(FM) 93.9 mhz (18,700 watts)
KMZT(FM) 105.1 mhz (17,600 watts)
KPCC(FM) 89.3 FM (600 watts)

At an average antenna height of 6,000 feet above sea level, 5,500 feet above metropolitan Los Angeles, and 3000 feet above average terrain, this is a superpower site, with typical coverage footprints of 5,000 square miles. The television stations here also have incredible reach because of the height of the site, along with very high effective radiated powers:

KCOP(TV) Ch. 13 (162,000 watts)
KTTV(TV) Ch. 11 (166,000 watts)
KCAL(TV) Ch. 9 (141,000 watts)
KABC(TV) Ch. 7 (159,000 watts)
KTLA(TV) Ch. 5 (44,700 watts)
KNBC(TV) Ch. 4 (44,700 watts)
KCBS(TV): Ch. 2 (36,300 watts)

Impressive.

I feel sterile just looking at those pics...

SHOCKLEY · Post by **SHOCKLEY** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:15 pm

You can get cancer just from looking at that..

djMatty · Post by **djMatty** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 12:22 am

WOW! That is some impressive hardware!!!!!

Zak Tyler · Post by **Zak Tyler** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 6:20 am

djMatty wrote:WOW! That is some impressive hardware!!!!!

tower envy?

contracteng · Post by **contracteng** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 6:28 am

Just think how many towers would go down if just one fell.

Zak Tyler · Post by **Zak Tyler** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 6:49 am

contracteng wrote:Just think how many towers would go down if just one fell.

ok, now you're just getting dirrty....

GlenBrannon1 · Post by **GlenBrannon1** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:31 am

{Rookie Engineer going to site for first time}

Ok, is that the first tower on the left, or the second tower on the right????

Mark Hallburn · Post by **Mark Hallburn** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:02 am

I believe they are more concerned about forest fires on Mt. Wilson than falling towers.

Also, when did KPWR move up the mountain? Didn't they used to be on Flint Peak?

Incidentally, the ridge on Mt. Wilson where the towers are located is NOT the highest peak... There is one a few hundred feet higher but I am told it was not as accessible.

Speaking of fires, here's what a brusher did to one of the towers at KECR outside of San Diego....

http://earthsignals.com/add_CGC/Images/ ... Down_1.jpg

In 1998 I was fired for suggesting that they cut the brush back from the towers and the stabilizing wires... I also owned a part of an insurance agency and have quite a bit of risk management training... They told me I was a troublemaker...

In 2003 they learned what happens when you don't practice proper brush control.... And apologized to me.....

The People's DJ · Post by **The People's DJ** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:05 am

Mark Hallburn wrote:They told me I was a troublemaker...

Hmmm....didn't learn anything I see.

Mark Hallburn · Post by **Mark Hallburn** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:15 am

The first year I was in West Virginia I worked for a Charleston insurance agency... (Year 2000) We worked up a quote for Rock 105... But when I inspected the towers for Rock/Fox11 and their AM in St. Albans, we backed away from the table because we were concerned about the tower's stability. I notified the former GM but never heard back from him... They eventually replaced the AM tower, I understand.... Mother nature took care of the FM/Fox 11 tower.... Most of us remember that collapse...

Radio station managers seem to make a living cutting corners... Sometimes those cuts bite them in the a$$......

I was told by a former KECR employee that their insurance claims manager found the paperwork with my warnings and my termination and refused to pay the claim... What bothers me most is that the station is a listener supported religious station.... While people are sending in their money "for God's work" stupid station managers cost the company HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS because they refuse to mow the brush....

genlock · Post by **genlock** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:19 am

My God, Mark is a Structural Engineer too.

The People's DJ · Post by **The People's DJ** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:27 am

Mark Hallburn wrote:The first year I was in West Virginia I worked for a Charleston insurance agency... (Year 2000) We worked up a quote for Rock 105... But when I inspected the towers for Rock/Fox11 and their AM in St. Albans, we backed away from the table because we were concerned about the tower's stability. I notified the former GM but never heard back from him...

My God, Mark is a Structural Engineer too.

No...just still holding a grudge...

Mark Hallburn wrote: They told me I was a troublemaker...

Hmmm....didn't learn anything I see.

Zak Tyler · Post by **Zak Tyler** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:54 am

Mark Hallburn wrote:they learned what happens when you don't practice proper bush control

ya, i knew a chick like that once too.