Dan Sys wrote:KJRB 790 was a rare catch back in the day thanks to KGMI in Bellingham. I recall hearing them a few times in the KGMI null, but not nearly good enough to sit down & give them some serious listening.
Because of the geography of the situation, those of us in East Burnaby had it a little easier than you, when it came to listening to KJRB (formerly KNEW) with KGMI on the air. Overall though, more painful than listening to XERB under KING on 1090, but with other stations causing havoc, too.
Once my father helped me build a decent 4' tuned box loop, and before CJJC moved to 800, KGMI could be easily nulled pretty much completely, but it left CFCW, not KJRB, pretty much in the clear.
The result was pretty much the same: I never got to listen to much of KJRB/KNEW.
I did listen to a fair amount of KXLY for a while around 1964 or 1965, as they came in quite well in the evening, and were Top 40. But, like you, it was KGA that always provided the best signal from Spokane: 24/7 in the winter months. And for one short year (of Top 40) were simply a joy to listen to. Mostly evenings with Shane, admittedly.
I don't know the exact date, but I think it was early in their Top 40 year that KGA built a new transmitter site that gave them a dynamite signal. More than 10 years later, visiting San Diego, they were the strongest non-local on the dial (I'm counting Tijuana and area as local). Up to the end of the Top 40 era, they continued to use the old transmitter site for station events that involved large numbers of listeners.
I only own 3-4 EKKO stamps, and KGA is one of them.
As for other Spokane stations, my grandfather built his first radio, a "Cat's Whisker", to listen to the Jack Dempsey world championship fight on KHQ in the mid-1920s. He lived in Spokane during the 1920s, moving to Burnaby shortly after the Depression hit.
Philco Bill, who runs the site, is a DX'er from way back.