Airwaves: January 5, 2006
The New "V"
The evolution of The Beat (KKBT, 100.3 FM) continued last week with the
total abandonment of the Beat name and the debut of new call letters, KRBV, and
a new slogan: "V-100, the best variety of R&B."
Interestingly, the Beat name had been in use since the late 1980s when the station
was adult contemporary "Rock with a Beat," a totally different format
on the 92.3 FM frequency. Even through format and frequency changes, The Beat
name lived on, at least until now.
The recent format had been evolving over the past month or so, and it now competes
almost directly against KJLH (102.3 FM), an excellent station with a long history
of playing R&B. The competition should make the new year interesting.
Cliff Winston will host the morning shift, followed by Shirley Hayes,
Michael Baisden's syndicated show, John Monds, and Myke Julius,
who will continue as host of Night Moods. My take on the station: I like
it.
Fineman Passes
Ron Fineman, who did commentaries for KNX (1070 AM) from 1997 to
2002, passed away December 30th from colon cancer. He was 54.
A 1974 graduate of UCLA, Fineman began his radio career at KMPC right after graduation.
He won three Golden Mikes for commentary, and was let go from KNX after posting
some unflattering comments about anagement on his online commentary internet
page, ronfineman.com
He is survived by his wife, Christy, son James and brother Ken.
More on HD
I am really having fun with my new HD radio that I received from my wife, Jean,
as a Christmas gift.
Hearing Country 540 and 1260 on KMZT's (105.1 FM) secondary HD-2
channel is so much nicer than trying to get out of the static from the weak AM
signals, and the "secret" programming on some of the other HD-2 stations
is like being in an exclusive club.
There are some problems that I have noticed, however. Last Monday, for example,
KNX's HD signal kept varying in strength from full to nothing, changing the sound
from crystal clear digital stereo to clear digital mono, to bad-sounding analog,
all within a few seconds. And I am having trouble receiving KROQ's (106.7
FM) HD signal through my house antenna, while KBIG (104.3 FM) won't lock
in HD at all ... in spite of KBIG having one of the strongest FM signals in town.
On the other hand, I was able to hear HD on San Diego's KOGO (600 AM),
and my kids love hearing the music on Radio Disney (KDIS, 1110 AM). As of right
now, however, AM stations do not broadcast their HD signals at night.
Now my goal is to see just how far I can receive HD signals on both AM and FM,
using whatever antennas I can find. I'll let you know the results.
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Copyright © 2007 Richard Wagoner and Los Angeles Newspaper Group.
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