Airwaves: March 28, 2008
KFI Loses Tower Again
No sooner had the ink dried on last week's column regarding the rebuilding of KFI's (640
AM) main transmitter tower when the entire tower fell again. Luckily no one was
seriously injured, though it could have been tragic ... the construction crew
was busy assembling it at the time of the collapse. One worker was injured slightly,
but most of the damage was to the tower itself -- totally destroyed -- and a
warehouse roof.
It's being called a single point failure by at least one witness. What this means
is that one single point of the construction appears to have been the weak link,
so to speak. In this case it appears to have been a turnbuckle used in securely
tightening the guy wires that help support the tower. When the threads pulled
apart, the tension shifted toward the other guy wires and the tower simply snapped
over and fell.
Structural engineers are looking into the failure.
The collapse leaves KFI without a main tower again, as a new one must be built
and shipped out of the factory once again, and the crews must begin assembling
it again. This won't happen until investigators determine exactly what caused
the failure if indeed the turnbuckle is the culprit.
Meanwhile, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is asking the Federal Aviation
Administration once again to declare the tower location a hazard, and force its
relocation away from the area of the Fullerton Airport.
Until the reconstruction begins, KFI is back on its backup transmitter at the
same site, with a power of 25,000 watts -- half its normal operating power from
the main tower.
Armstrong Silenced
Jackson Armstrong, who along with his alter ego The Gorilla lit
up the airwaves of Los Angeles on Ten-Q (KTNQ, 1020 AM), KKHR (now
KCBS-FM, 93.1 FM) and KFI throughout much of the 1970s and '80s, passed
away March 22 at his home in North Carolina. He was 63.. No word on the cause
of death was available at press time.
Armstrong was an amazingly fast-talking creative top-40 radio personality who
ranks among my favorites. He used The Gorilla to help get across some of his
more "outrageous" humor, though in fairness his humor was squeaky clean.
He was an amazing personality who really can't be described -- you have to have
heard him for yourself.
Born John Larsh, he came to Los Angeles to work at Ten-Q in 1978. When
Ten-Q went Spanish in 1979, he moved over to KFI which at the time was playing
a high-energy adult top-40 format. He was at KKHR during that station's attempt
at top-40 during the years of 1984-86.
In San Francisco from 1982-84, he could be heard in his usual high energy at
the legendary KFRC (610 AM). I have a recording somewhere with one of
the best top-hour IDs I have ever heard.
Hear Armstrong for yourself at airchexx.com and reelradio.com.
Polka Time
Believe it or not, I occasionally get letters asking where to tune in for great
polka. Turns out you don't have to look very far, as long as you are in or near
the Inland Empire. It's available on Saturday mornings, 6 to 7 AM, and Sunday
mornings, 7 to 9 AM, via the airwaves of KCAA (1050 AM) in Loma Linda.
Craig Ebel's It's Polka Time is just one of the many varied programs carried
on "the station that leaves no listener behind." Weekend shows include
such varied subjects as wealth management, sports, and car repair, while weekday
programming features the likes of George Putnam (noon to 1 PM) and others.
Quick Takes
Bonneville, which once owned KBIG (104.3 FM) and later KZLA (now
KMVN, 93.9 FM) before selling all local radio properties a few years back, is
returning to the City of Angeles by purchasing V-100 (KRBV, 100.3 FM)
from Radio One. Rumors have the station moving to talk or country. I'm betting
neither. Details as they arrive.
The Department of Justice has approved the merger of satellite radio services XM and Sirius.
The FCC still must rule, but approval is expected soon.
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Copyright © 2008 Richard Wagoner and Los Angeles Newspaper Group.
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