Sunday, November 18, 2007 - 12:16 pm
Reading about KFBK Sacramento for another thread, I realize that I don't understand why they, and so many other clear channel stations, EVER had to have a directional pattern in the daytime.
And it doesn't seem to be merely a relic from the past, as a new station on 1200 KHz near Vancouver (Canada) has to protect WOAI San Antonio with both their day and night patterns.
This is obviously an international treaty issue, not just an FCC or CRTC regulation. Could anyone enlighten me?
Sunday, November 18, 2007 - 3:51 pm
Possibly to put a stronger signal into a desired area... or less signal in an unpopulated area.
Sunday, November 18, 2007 - 4:20 pm
I remember back in the day KPNW had a chance to go non-directional but it would have taken a different tower array (read more money) At the time Charlie Wilson said no way and stayed directional 50kw...lucky to hit 52nd street in Springfield to the east. They protect another station in St Louis (KMOX?).
That is the story as told to me years ago.
Sunday, November 18, 2007 - 6:04 pm
How are things going Dan ?? Any leads on jobs ?
You and Nancy are missed in the morning.
Sunday, November 18, 2007 - 8:05 pm
not too bad..kickin back a bit..got a few things in the works..not quite ready for retirement yet. still wake up at 3:45 every morning.
Sunday, November 18, 2007 - 8:32 pm
The clears above 1500 were Class 1B. As such, they tended to not have the full protection of a 1A such as KFI.
Sunday, November 18, 2007 - 10:18 pm
Since KFBK's primary market is Sacramento, why waste signal where there are no listeners or Arbitron diaries?
In KFBK's case, when they built the site in the late 40's, not a lot of people lived in the foothills east of Sacramento, or between Sacramento and the Bay Area.
KFBK's array has extremely high gain: stacked half-wave towers, fed in the middle by open-wire feed line. Check out the site at http://www.fybush.com/sites/2005/site-051028.html
After housing boomed to the east and west of Sacramento in the 80's, they went to separate patterns with the day pattern putting a little more power to the east and west.
Check out the difference at http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KFBK&service=AM&status=L&hours=D and http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KFBK&service=AM&status=L&hours=N
In Portland, KXL, KFXX, and KPOJ do the same thing, pulling some signal from the east to have a stronger signal in Portland. KEX and KCMD are non-directional during the day.
