The return of the KVAN calls to the air has now happened. In late January the Oldies formated station licensed to Burbank, Washington began operation rebroadcasting KLTB Pilot Rock, Oregon as "Oldies 92.1, Eastern Oregon's Goodtime Oldies". KVAN 1560kHz is 10KW day & 700 watts nights. Burbank is a suburb of the Tri-Cities, close to Pasco. Nice to see those great calls being used again and so close to its last dial position!

Now we just need to get them back to VANcouver

K-V-A-N, Burbank.

Nah, doesn't work for me.

Do the KVAN calls serve any kind of promotional purpose? For instance, do they have a hippy-sounding guy who says, "Hey man...Hop on the VAN!"

If the VAN is a rockin', don't bother ... oh, my gosh, I can't believe I was actually going to write it.

As far as I can determine, KVAN is simulcasting "Oldies 92.1" so the only time you would hear the calls is at the I.D. I hope they have plans on using them more in the future. They beat the hell out of KLTB (Keep Loving TuBerculosis).

I kinda like the idea of an All Willie Nelson format for KVAN. This given that the station is probably more famous for being Willie's "birth place", than the home of San Francisco-style Underground radio.

One problem: the obvious "All Willie, All the Time" slogan could get them in trouble....

I wonder why "Oldies 92.1" picked up the KLTB calls. (When Boise's 104.3 "K-Lite" picked up KLTB, it stood for "KLiTe Boise".)

Thought I'd throw this on the thread. I run into interesting stuff all the time while viewing newspaper microfilm. Found this last November while researching the KXL history. Was just looking at it again trying to find a place for it in my files.

The Oregon Journal December 7, 1953 "KVAN-TV"

"Fred Chitty, Manager of KVAN has purchased the old Coke building plant in Vancouver for studio headquarters for KVAN-TV channel 21. As for the transmitter, KVAN has a site lease from KPAM-KPFM on Healy Heights. Plans are to erect a 500 foot tower. What's holding KVAN-TV up is equipment. The target date is for a test pattern by February 1, [1954] and programs by the 15th. KVAN is buying a DuMont transmitter and has priority with DuMont, having ordered the transmitter long ago. However there are 258 stations being built in the country and they're all fighting for the equipment."

KVAN was granted a TV license on September 23, 1953. (107KW visual, 62KW aural). Of course KVAN-TV was never built but it's interesting to note that years later KLOR channel 12 did build their transmitter tower at the KPAM-KPFM site in 1955.

The great number of failed or never built UHFs is a story in and of itself. There were literally hundreds of them in the 1950s and early 1960s right? I think there was supposed to be a KOOS Channel 16 in Coos Bay,and an earlier stab at 16 in Eugene courtesy of the long gone KASH,among what surely must be many others

KASH never got a CP for 16. They applied first (around late 1979 or early '80), then at least two other parties filed mutually exclusive applications. The KASH proposal was cheap with only a five person news staff and minimal local programming, while the other parties promised the moon with lots of public service programming. To substantially speed the FCC selection process the two other parties combined, KASH dropped out knowing their proposal wouldn't win anyway, then a CP was issued. KMTR 16 signed on October 4, 1982.

In 1975 Lane Community College obtained a CP for educational channel 28. For some reason the college didn't fund it and it was never built until OPB filed for the channel many years later. KEPB 28 signed on in the 1990s. The 1998 edition of Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook says, "Not on air, target date, September 27, 1990."

"There were literally hundreds of them in the 1950's and early 1960's right?"

Greenway: Absolutely right!

Here are more examples:

October 1, 1953 Oregon Journal article excerpt - KPIC channel 24 Salem owned by Westways Broadcasting Co. of Torrance Cal. hopes to be on the air in late October or early November.

October 22, 1953 Oregon Journal article except - The C.P. for KTVF Eugene was withdrawn yesterday. Eugene Television, Inc. said it would begin broadcasting by February 1. [1954 KVAL].

Other C.P.s & Applications from The Television Factbook, Spring 1958:

Coos Bay, KOOS-TV Ch 16, KOOS, Inc.
Coos Bay, Ch 11, Pacific Television, Inc. c/o KVAL. [KCBY]
Eugene, KEED-TV Ch 9, KEED, Inc.
Eugene, Ch 9, Northwest Video.
Eugene, Ch 9, Liberty Television, Inc. [KEZI]
Portland, Ch 2, Fisher Broadcasting Co. [KATU]
Portland, Ch 2, Tribune Publishing Co. License of KTNT-TV Tacoma.
Portland Ch 2, KPOJ-TV, KPOJ, Inc.
Portland Ch 27, Trans-Video Co. of Oregon [KHTV]
Longview Ch 33, KBAM-TV, Altru Broadcasting Co. "Altru" was a combination of owners last names: Gordon W. Allen & John Truhan.

KLTB is Let Er Buck! Slogan for roundup days in Pendleton