What KGO should have done during the transmitter shutdowns
leansto...@democrat.com
transmitter was shut down. Just announce in the hour before turning
off the transmitter than the station would still be streaming. It
would be interesting to see the mix of callers.
Peter
<leansto...@democrat.com> said:
> I would have been interesting if KGO kept the stream going while the
> transmitter was shut down.
What was done during the most recent outage?
--
Peter Haas - Monterey Bay, California
+1 831 GArden 6-5482
Should you quote, please quote only the relevant text!
John Higdon
Peter <peter...@rattlebrain.com> wrote:
> On 2009-11-26 02:08:24 -0800, "leansto...@democrat.com"
> <leansto...@democrat.com> said:
>
> > I would have been interesting if KGO kept the stream going while the
> > transmitter was shut down.
>
> What was done during the most recent outage?
Last Friday's maintenance was to connect the #3 transmitter (Nautel
ND50) into the antenna switching matrix. Since the #3 position was
formerly for a 10KW rig, it had to be modified. In conjunction with that
was a test to determine if the non-directional switching capability was
fully operational.
Result of test: no. So, another 1AM shutdown allowed the connection of
the contactors (which apparently were never connected when the system
was rebuilt in 1990) and the tuning of the networks used for
non-directional operation.
All this was necessary to accommodate some daytime work to rebuild the
doghouses for each tower. Note on one of the recent pictures the ugly
rust the doghouse wall.
The system is now ready for action and the daytime work can proceed.
--
John Higdon
+1 408 ANdrews 6-4400
AT&T-Free At Last
leansto...@democrat.com
> On 2009-11-26 02:08:24 -0800, "leanstothel...@democrat.com"
> <leanstothel...@democrat.com> said:
>
> > I would have been interesting if KGO kept the stream going while the
> > transmitter was shut down.
>
> What was done during the most recent outage?
>
> --
> Peter Haas - Monterey Bay, California
> +1 831 GArden 6-5482
> Should you quote, please quote only the relevant text!
Off the air, but there is always a next time.
Peter
> In conjunction with that
> was a test to determine if the non-directional switching capability was
> fully operational.
I presume this is for the case of a catastrophic emergency, such as
loss of one or more towers in the array, as was the case in the Loma
Prieta Earthquake, as the station is licensed for DA-1 operation, not
for ND operation?
I also presume any ND operation, during such an emergency, would be 50
kW days and 10 kW nights, or 10 kW during all hours, upon proper notice
to the FCC?
As is usual, the center tower is the highest-powered tower, so perhaps
the center tower can operate at 50 kW ND, but the end towers, which are
the lowest-powered towers, probably can operate with only 10 kW ND, on
account of the ATU implementation?
Emergency planning for a Class I-B which is DA-1, and KGO and WWKB are
the only ones on record which operate this way -- KFBK operates DA-2 --
is much more involved than the usual case of a Class I-B which operates
at 50 kW ND during one mode.
Emergency planning for a Class I-A which is DA-1 can be more involved,
as WWL discovered. ND operations, during a national or regional
emergency, was approved with 10 kW days, but only 5 kW nights, on
account of newly added Class A stations in Central and South America.
Somewhat the same also happened to two co-located Class I-As, WFAN and
WCBS. ND operation was approved with reduced power, 35 kW, IIRC, on
account of the shorter auxiliary tower, and the greater interference
which would thereby be provided to co- and adjacent-channel stations.
As KGO has towers of equal height, the engineering is somewhat simplified.
John Higdon
Peter <peter...@rattlebrain.com> wrote:
> I also presume any ND operation, during such an emergency, would be 50
> kW days and 10 kW nights, or 10 kW during all hours, upon proper notice
> to the FCC?
The STA specifies 12.5 KW for ND operation.
BayAreaBroadcast
There's probably, at most, a couple of thousand of streaming
listeners at 1 a.m.
Although it would have been interesting to see if there would've been
a jump in the streaming listenership
had the station announced that it would go off the air but continue to
stream.
David Kaye
>Although it would have been interesting to see if there would've been
>a jump in the streaming listenership
>had the station announced that it would go off the air but continue to
>stream.
That would have been a fascinating experiment. After all, KGO assumes that
people have Internet service, given that they encourage emails and web visits.
So, why wouldn't people who visit KGO's website be unlikely to stream while
KGO is off the air?
I think someone there should make a note to try streaming the next time KGO
has to go off the air.
leansto...@democrat.com
Even better, set up a Skype line (PC to PC style) for the streamers. I
used to like listening to that whacked out woman in China that Bernie
would call the "station chief". She was a neocon's neocon of the high
order of neocons.
Peter
>
>> I also presume any ND operation, during such an emergency, would be 50
>> kW days and 10 kW nights, or 10 kW during all hours, upon proper notice
>> to the FCC?
>
> The STA specifies 12.5 KW for ND operation.
OK, the *usual* 25 percent of licensed power, without going through any
engineering which proves that greater power could be accommodated
without impacting other stations.
Any station can usually get 25 percent of the lower of its day or night
power approved on an STA basis, but more than that would require an
application for an auxiliary facility, and all the engineering which an
application implies.
Larry
grease the diodes.... whats the big hub-bub. You think it was the end of the
world 'cause KGO was off for an hour or two.
"John Higdon" <hi...@kome.com> wrote in message
news:higgy-DB5EDB....@news.announcetech.com...
John Higdon
> Sheesh! So the station had a bit of down time to oil the transistors and
> grease the diodes.... whats the big hub-bub. You think it was the end of the
> world 'cause KGO was off for an hour or two.
Gee, I'm sorry. Some of us like to sometimes talk about what makes radio
work. Take heart: I've come to realize that radio is in truth nothing
more than political discussion.
Larry
It just seems to me some have made KGO greater than life. It is a radio
station station. nothing more. Some hate it because it is succesfull year
after year after year. Some may hate it because of its politics.. But love
it or hate it it is the 700 pound Gorilla in the room and as far as I can
see it will continue to be.
Ocassionally a station goes down for an hour or two. Sometime planned
sometimes not. In this era of solid state down time isn't near as often as
it use to be, or as long. It almost seems that some feel KGO should offer
gross apologies for doing something that ultimately enhances their
reliability and is a part of the radio business.
"John Higdon" <hi...@kome.com> wrote in message
news:higgy-D2A12C....@news.announcetech.com...
John Higdon
> It just seems to me some have made KGO greater than life.
It may seem that way, but the fact is that KGO is one of the very few
stations in this market that matters. Rather than spend a few minutes a
day dealing with things that matter to the audience it serves, it deals
with them all throughout its broadcast day.
It is big station in every sense. Many talented people are involved
producing its programming. It is complex operation, from its personnel
structure to the technology that implements it. It is a trendsetter in
the industry, for which it constantly gains recognition. Anyone involved
with that station can be legitimate proud of his employer.
No, KGO is not the only station in the Bay Area, but it is certainly
important enough to bring up its programming, its facility, and its
people on a recurring basis. I don't work for KGO, but I mention it far
more than I do the stations I work for. Are my stations insignificant?
Absolutely not, especially to the members of the audience they serve and
serve well.
But KGO has the scope (heard solidly throughout the Bay Area and
beyond), the listeners (#1 for over thirty years), and the influence (at
how many stations do news makers just "pop in" and go on the air with
real, substantive issues?) to have what might appear to be by some
inordinate attention.
I'm at this moment sitting at KKUP (probably the antithesis of KGO: a
community-supported FM) working on the details of a recent studio move.
But who would care about that? So, here I am talking about KGO!
> Ocassionally a station goes down for an hour or two. Sometime planned
> sometimes not. In this era of solid state down time isn't near as often as
> it use to be, or as long. It almost seems that some feel KGO should offer
> gross apologies for doing something that ultimately enhances their
> reliability and is a part of the radio business.
It is certainly a testament to how rarely KGO is not on the air serving
its audience. That some find that unusual or distressing is a major
compliment to KGO and its staff for providing a valuable service, and
for providing it reliably.
Patty Winter
In article <higgy-D2A12C....@news.announcetech.com>,
John Higdon <hi...@kome.com> wrote:
>In article <heq08s$hcu$2...@aioe.org>, "Larry" <lv...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> Sheesh! So the station had a bit of down time to oil the transistors and
>> grease the diodes.... whats the big hub-bub. You think it was the end of the
>> world 'cause KGO was off for an hour or two.
>
>Gee, I'm sorry. Some of us like to sometimes talk about what makes radio
>work. Take heart: I've come to realize that radio is in truth nothing
>more than political discussion.
I don't think Larry was directing his comments at you, John. You weren't
the one who made a big fuss about KGO going off the air at midnight.
Patty
Larry
I have no issues with John. In fact I feel he's probally the most sane
here.... Except for me of course! :-)
"Patty Winter" <pat...@wintertime.com> wrote in message
news:4b10a257$0$1610$742e...@news.sonic.net...
Patty Winter
In article <heq7ul$nsh$1...@aioe.org>, Larry <lv...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>Absolutely right Patty.
>
>I have no issues with John. In fact I feel he's probally the most sane
>here.... Except for me of course! :-)
:-)
Ah, well, I'll let you two fight over that... :-)
Patty
David Kaye
>It may seem that way, but the fact is that KGO is one of the very few
>stations in this market that matters.
To some people, and unfortunately, a diminishing number of folks. One case in
point is when I mention Dr. Dean Edell. The people who know his name know him
from KGO-TV, not KGO Radio, even though he's been on radio for what, 30 years?
Neil
> I don't think Larry was directing his comments at you, John. You weren't
> the one who made a big fuss about KGO going off the air at midnight.
>
No, I was the one who originally, in an earlier thread, asked the
question. But I wasn't making a "big fuss" over it. I tuned in in the
middle of the outage, and Inquiring Minds just wanted to know.
...Neil
Phil Kane
wrote:
> But love
>it or hate it it is the 700 pound Gorilla in the room and as far as I can
>see it will continue to be.
I thought that it was the 810 pound gorilla... :-)
--
Phil Kane
Beaverton, OR