1520 Makes No Sense

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1520 Makes No Sense

Postby jon » Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:24 am

Northwest Broadcasters is reporting that the FCC has approved a high powered station on 1520 KHz in Snohomish, Washington, when one exists on the same frequency in Oregon City. More or less, these are suburbs of Seattle and Portland.

Seattle will be 20KW non-directional in the day, and 50KW directional in critical hours and at night. Portland is 50KW day and 10KW night, both directional with similar patterns that send about the equivalent of the stated power towards Seattle.

Seattle uses the same pattern for critical hours and nights, and it sends virtually no power towards either Portland or Oklahoma City. Portland's day and night pattern have a Null towards KOKC, the former Top 40 legend KOMA, in Oklahoma.

It is 178 miles, as the crow flies, between Snohomish, Washington, and Oregon City, Oregon. I don't recall the terrain being particularly difficult for AM signals to travel between those two locations.

Is the terrain that different than from Edmonton to Calgary where the distance is 172 miles? The CRTC and/or Industry Canada not only would never think of assigning the same AM frequency to both cities, but has always maintained a 20KHz separation between stations in both cities.

What was the FCC thinking? I just can't see this working. For evidence, look no further than the 1130 debacle with a station South of Portland interfering with CKWX.
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Re: 1520 Makes No Sense

Postby jon » Sun Mar 20, 2011 11:03 am

I'm told that this station was actually previously approved and that a Finding Of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was just issued by the FCC after complaints were made.

Hopefully someone has more details on the history of 1520 being approved for the Seattle area.

Though hardly City Grade signal into Vancouver, KYMN-1520 in Oregon City was a great listen, and a personal favourite, back in the mid-'60s when they were Top 40, and could be heard loud and clear 24 hours a day. Seattle legend Robin Mitchell got his first major Top 40 experience there at the time, and I undoubtedly heard him. Though I would never have connected it when he appeared on KOL as Robin was a name invented for him by PD Rhett Hamilton Walker.
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Re: 1520 Makes No Sense

Postby Dan Sys » Sun Mar 20, 2011 12:15 pm

Here's the details from the FCC site Jon:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?list=0&facid=160891

Actually I can think of at least one unusual example in Canada. CJAD 800 Montreal & CHRC 800 Quebec City, both 50KW's and about 160 miles apart.
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Re: 1520 Makes No Sense

Postby Eldon-Mr.CFAY » Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:14 pm

Hi Everyone, Thanks for bringing to attention the FCC approval of 1520 AM in the Everett area. Jon this is not new, 1520 has been applied for quite a long time ago originally by KWDB (formerlty KJTT) 1110 AM Oak Harbor, Wash. to move there. That was ten or 20 years ago, they never made the move to 1520 probably because of financial limitations!!! Anyway about 8 years ago or so about 10 different companies applied for 1520 AM for various locations near Everett and Oak Harbor. That included Marysville, Sequim, Port Townsend etc.. etc... The one that got approved was CAAM Partnership Ltd. which I thought was an entirely new company applying for a new radio station in the area. they had about 5 or 6 different applications in. Anyway turns out it was none other than KRKO 1380 Everett's ownership which is independant under the Skotdal family I think. KRKO is one of the oldest radio stations in Washington state by the way!!!

Anyway I just checked out the KRKO website and they are menitoning it and want feedback from listenrers as to what format their new AM 1520 should have, country, talk, polkas etc... They are asking for emails etc.. etc.. KRKO had problems a few years ago with some wackos cutting down their antenna towers and causing problems for the 1380 AM signal as well as delaying construction of the new 1520 AM signal. So according to the latest news looks like they want to put 1520 AM on the air sometime this year possibly by summer. They do want feedback from listeners so there you go!!!! Yes I do get 1520 which is spanish format owned by Bustos broadcasting in Portland, Oregon area gangbusters at night here in Langley. Bustos also own that new 1130 AM KPWX in the Portland area as well! I liked 1520 AM in Oregon City when it was KYMN and I got a new QSL Card verifying my receptiion of it!!!! I*ve been looking forward to hearing the new 1520 AM from the Everett area for the last 5 years and have checked the dial practically every week for it. At times seemed to have heard some open carriers on that frequency over the last two years!!! it will be very interesting to see how they do at night with the Portland 1520 signal. I suspect it may be a little like 1550 with KRPI Ferndale, Wash. and the Vancouver, Washington 1550 AM station mish-mash at night. Not quite a graveyard frequency dx experience but close!!!!! Anyway take care, all the best to you.
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Re: 1520 Makes No Sense

Postby jon » Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:41 pm

Image
A scan done more than a dozen years ago now by a friend on an early scanner, of my KYMN QSL card.
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Re: 1520 Makes No Sense

Postby radiofan » Sun Mar 20, 2011 6:14 pm

Eldon-Mr.CFAY wrote:Hi Everyone, Thanks for bringing to attention the FCC approval of 1520 AM in the Everett area. Jon this is not new, 1520 has been applied for quite a long time ago originally by KWDB (formerlty KJTT) 1110 AM Oak Harbor, Wash. to move there. That was ten or 20 years ago, they never made the move to 1520 probably because of financial limitations!!! Anyway about 8 years ago or so about 10 different companies applied for 1520 AM for various locations near Everett and Oak Harbor. That included Marysville, Sequim, Port Townsend etc.. etc... The one that got approved was CAAM Partnership Ltd. which I thought was an entirely new company applying for a new radio station in the area. they had about 5 or 6 different applications in. Anyway turns out it was none other than KRKO 1380 Everett's ownership which is independant under the Skotdal family I think. KRKO is one of the oldest radio stations in Washington state by the way!!!



With the list of towns where applications came from, I'm quite surprised there wasn't one from Eldon, WA (near Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula).

I'm sure the new 1520 would have been on the air a few years ago had the homegrown terrorists not demolished KRKO's new TX site a few years back.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
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Re: 1520 Makes No Sense

Postby ThisIsNotCBC » Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:57 pm

jon wrote:Though hardly City Grade signal into Vancouver, KYMN-1520 in Oregon City was a great listen, and a personal favourite, back in the mid-'60s when they were Top 40, and could be heard loud and clear 24 hours a day. Seattle legend Robin Mitchell got his first major Top 40 experience there at the time, and I undoubtedly heard him. Though I would never have connected it when he appeared on KOL as Robin was a name invented for him by PD Rhett Hamilton Walker.


1520 in Portland sure was a great listen all right, but when I first began listening to it in 1987 while DXing, it was oldies-formatted KSGO. I stopped listening to it after it flipped formats to hard rock and became The X in '89, but began again when 1520 adopted the adult standards format and became Sunny 1520 in 1998, then quit again when it went Spanish and became La Gran D. The KSGO and Sunny 1520 days were great times for listening.
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Re: 1520 Makes No Sense

Postby Dan Sys » Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:25 pm

Here's the call sign history for 1520 Oregon City-Portland:

KGON (1956-1964)
KYMN (1964-1967)
KYXI (1967-1984)
KSGO (1984-1989)
KFXX (1989-1998)
KKSN (1998-2003)
KZNY (2003-2004)
KGDD (2004-current)
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Re: 1520 Makes No Sense

Postby Eldon-Mr.CFAY » Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:00 pm

Hi Everyone, Good Topic!!! Thanks very much for putting your KYMN QSL Card scan on the posting Jon!!! Yes thats exactly what mine looks like too. As I recall I think I got one when they changed calls to KYXI in Portland too. It was a similar QSL to the KYMN one. Yep RadioFan thats a good point, someone should have applied for 1520 AM at Eldon, Washington on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula northwest of Shelton. Guess that booming metropolis is too small a market though! When the Northwest Talk Radio Network existed in the late 80s and early 1990s I became an avid fan and called Art Collins (one of the Hosts) or Jerry Dimmitt regularly. There was a very nice young woman who lived in Eugene, Oregon that used to call regularly too. She worked for the U.S. postal service out of Eugene. I became friends and corresponded with her for two or three years in the early 1990s. The topic of Eldon, Washington came up and it just so happened there was a small village to the east of Eldon Washington called Holly. Her name was Holly Wright so it became a topic on the all-night talk show of the Northwest talk radio network. (Eldon and Holly, Wash. calling!!!!!) Actually I sent the Northwest Network a history of Port Coquitlam/Coquitlam book which they really liked. Got quite a bit of promo. stuff from them including a couple of coffee mugs etc...

Northwest Talk radio network was carried on maybe 20 different radio stations in oregon and Washington from maybe 1986 to say 1993 or something like that. It was on-air 7 days a week and originated out of Greater Portland, Oregon. KPNW 1120, KLKI 1340 Anacortes, KBND 1110 Bend-Oregon were a few of the stations that carried this regional talk network all-night. I still have a lot of airchecks on cassette of the programs taped over-the-air long before wi-fi radio and internet streaming.

Anyway getting back to 1520 AM it will be interesting to see how daytime reception is in the Fraser Valley. KRKO 1380 seems quite enthusiastic about the new station. By the way RadioFan good touching base with you yesterday. Thanks for coming out.

Also Dan thats a good historical profile of 1520 Portland/Oregon City calls! When I was in Portland quite a few times back in the 1980s or 70s I never visited 1520 in Portland. Did see quite a few of the other stations there including KQIV-FM when it was independant and new to the market. I remember they promoted themselves as a Quad Sound FM Station very strongly!! If anyone wants more updates on the 1520 in the Everett Area I suggest keep checking the KRKO 1380 Everett, Wash. website. Also has an interesting section on some of KRKO's vintage history going back to the late 20s!!!!!
Bye . . Mr. CFAY "Frequently On The Frequency"
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Re: 1520 Makes No Sense

Postby radiofan » Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:39 pm

KSGO was a great Oldies station. They were listenable most nights in Calgary and were always there on the car radio during drives from Calgary to the coast after dark.

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