KSIR 1470 AM - Estes Park Colorado
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Update on the status of 1470 AM in Estes Park

6/28/2013

6 Comments

 
Have you been wondering what's happening on 1470 AM in Estes Park lately? Well, we have too! Here's what we've been able to piece together.

The station went silent (off the air) on October 16, 2011.  It was sold to Kona Coast Radio, owned by Victor Michael, Jr. of Loveland, CO (the application was granted on December 29, 2011). Here is a copy of the FCC Ownership Report.

As far as we are able to determine, the station remained off the air throughout most of 2012. It appears that it signed back on for a couple of days beginning on September 18, 2012 (see the Resumption of Operations Notice). If the station had not signed back on, the license would have been cancelled after the special temporary authority (STA) allowing it to go silent had expired.

But then, apparently it went off the air again, as the owner filed a Request for Extension of the authority to remain silent on September 20, 2012. The reason given was the loss of the lease for the tower site at Mary's Lake. Kona Coast was given until March 24th, 2013 to bring the station back on the air. 

Well, Kona didn't get it back on. Instead, on April 29, 2013 Victor Michael filed another Request for Extension to allow the station to remain silent for another 180 days. This is a game that people often play, and unfortunately the FCC lets them get away with it..

Fast forward to July 2013-- where do things stand? As far as we know, the FCC never granted the above mentioned Request for Extension and the previous authorization to remain silent expired. However, the FCC Media Bureau records still show the station as "Licensed and Silent". As far as we know the station is still in "limbo". It is off the air, but the license has not been canceled. It remains to be seen if the FCC will act on the Request for Extension, or whether Kona Coast will succeed in getting the station back on the air by the end of July, 2013. We are doubtful.

On the one hand, we are not confident that Kona Coast is serious about getting the station back on the air. On the other hand, it would be a shame to lose the license. It would be ideal if a local Estes Park group would step up and buy the license from Kona and do something with it. Maybe something is going on behind the scenes, but we are not aware of it.

What are your thoughts on the future of 1470 AM radio in Estes Park? Do you think the station will eventually come back on the air? How important is it to the community? Back in the 1970's and 1980's, AM radio was much more important than it is today. At that time, KSIR was the dominant radio signal in Estes Park, but it was a daytime-only station. There were only a couple of weak FM translators of Denver stations. AM stations from Denver and the Front Range communities of Loveland and Fort Collins could be heard, but they were weak. Everyone in Estes Park listened to KSIR because it had great programming and because the station had the best signal.

If there is any group in Estes Park that believes it is important to once again have a locally-owned full-power commercial AM station in the town, this would be a good time to contact the current owner and discuss buying the license before it is lost. Once the station's license expires or is transferred elsewhere, it is very questionable whether Estes Park could ever get another allocation. 

Some background info: Kona Coast applied to the FCC to renew the station's license on December 5, 2012. Here is the Renewal Application. Meanwhile, a group of former KRBR station employees filed an Informal Objection to the transfer of ownership, but they apparently failed to submit it properly and the FCC was unaware of the objection until later. They treated it as a Petition for Reconsideration and denied it. Even if the objection to the transfer of ownership had been filed in a timely and proper manner, it is unlikely that it would have been granted. The FCC rarely grants informal petitions of any kind. In this case, the informal objection also relied on various unsubstantiated opinions, which even if valid would carry no legal weight.
6 Comments
neal
1/18/2013 09:35:30 pm

In the latest, EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION is swapping FM translator K258BE 99.5 FM ESTES PARK, CO to CEDAR COVE BROADCASTING, INC. in exchange for K202EG 88.3 FM ESTES PARK. 99.5 FM was carrying K-Love.

So he must have some plans for that repeater? Like putting an FM station on the air for Estes? For 1470? It was very important for Estes Park, since that was their only way to get any information, and still was? They did weather reports, news for Estes Park and more. I just hope Vic can use this repeater to put a radio station back on the air for Estes Park. They need a station once again up there!

Reply
Edgar link
1/23/2013 10:07:50 am

The station must return to the air before the STA expires or risk losing the license. An FM translator would be a nice addition, but keep in mind that translators are low in power because coverage cannot extend beyond the AM signal's coverage area. Because of the mountainous terrain, most likely the AM and FM signals would cover the areas outside the immediate town site somewhat differently. Due to its longer wavelength, AM signals tend to do better in hilly areas except where the FM has a relatively unobstructed path. A lot would depend on where the antennas are sited. However, in either case if you want a station that is live and local like KSIR was back in its heyday, you need to find a local owner. Vic will not do that-- he will manage the station remotely and run mainly automated programming on a shoestring budget like KRBR did before they gave it up.

Reply
neal moody
1/23/2013 10:25:27 am

Keep in mind, they did have 102.1 once before in Estes Park, before it was moved down to Denver. In fact I believe the transmitter is still there in Estes?
KRBR had no choice, the owner just gaved up and sold it to VIC. Employees as you know by now were extremely upset over this sale! Where the repeater is, where all the other transmitters and repeaters are at? And it does cover Estes Park just fine, and that is all it has to do really?
here is the link to the picture of the coverage:

http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=K258BE&service=FX&status=L&hours=U

Just cut and paste.
For 13 watts, that is plenty to cover just Estes Park.
Actually KRBR was using Real Olides, just like every other AM station does, these days.
Why pay people to be on the air when you can beam music in?

Reply
Edgar link
1/23/2013 11:31:23 am

Neal, I only have time for a quick reply, but I think what the community needs is a truly local station, not just an automated juke box. There are plenty of alternatives in the form of iPhones, satellite radio, Internet radio, and even plain old CD players. But these can't do what a live announcer can, such as keeping the public informed when there are disasters like floods (Estes has had several major ones), forest fires (several this past summer), major snowfalls, etc. As far as coverage is concerned, KSIR AM covered well into the park, which is important for tourists to the area (the community's main source of revenue). In fact it was listenable as far away as Denver International Airport. You need usable coverage outside the town site, which a low power FM signals probably won't do. Keep in mind that the coverage maps on Radio Locator are just a SWAG and have no real basis in reality. They are there for "entertainment purposes". I wouldn't depend on anything beyond the red "local" coverage zone-- and there might be places within that where you wouldn't get any signal. I am not knowledgeable about the current transmitter sites or facilities of the FM translators in EP. There used to be some equipment up on Prospect Mountain as I recall. If all you want is low power FM, you already have KREV-LP. But go past the first bend in the canyon on the way down to Boulder and it is gone.

Reply
Matt Clauson
12/12/2013 04:58:24 am

Interesting to note -- I was up in Estes over Thanksgiving, and had opportunity to drive by the old transmitter site out by Mary's Lake. The tower is gone (although the concrete pad it sat on remains), and the transmitter shack was sitting wide open. I didn't have the courage to go investigate whether any equipment remains in the shack, but given recent weather, if there is, it may be beyond salvage. The cost for ressurecting a signal on 1470 in Estes Park may have just gotten prohibitively high.

Reply
neal
12/12/2013 11:38:58 am

Hi old friend, long time no chat.. Nice that you responded.
Wow, that is not good, who would want to take a transmitter? Seriously, that is sad, but it leaves that question. Because I am sure you tuned into 1470 over Thanksgiving an heard it (barley), but it is on the air some how?
Well who knows what Vic is going to do with 1470, I sure wish he would let the town of Estes know, because they need their station back.

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    Edgar Reihl is the author of the KSIR1470.reihl.org web site and a former consulting engineer at the station. Comments are welcome but will be reviewed before being published.

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