Fate of DCCC radio KONQ

[lBugsy]

Chuck and I started working together in the 60's out at KGNO. We had been friends ever since. Chuck's knowledge of Big Band music and pre-digital engineering will be missed greatly. He was also a great play by play man. And yes....he liked to look at the girls....
RIP Chuck

[KONQ RADIO]

Today's Globe Exchange highlighted someone's comment about the New Q-92 (KONQ).

Wow! I accidentally found my car station (radio) on 91.9 the other day. It is the college station, and they really do a great job. I wasn't aware that they were on the air. Keep it up, guys!

As of this moment, we don't know who submitted that Exchange but we want to say "THANKS for noticing us!" (There are gals here, too.)

Let's not forget that others desire the KONQ frequency and will be presenting their case to the DC3 Board of Trustees this coming Monday (September 17th.) at their PUBLIC meeting; where Public input is allowed.

FWIW, this 3 year old article
SN&R > Local Stories > Radio control > 06.10.04
tells a story about what NPR is and what happened when a College gave their station away to NPR. PLEASE READ IT.

Also, PLEASE ATTEND THIS MEETING (no matter which way you lean) and make your voice heard by our Trustees.



Today, KONQ is operated by students under professional guidance.

[MissKitty]

Yeah, Chuck was a classic.

I vote to let DCCC keep the student on the air and let the NPR people buy their own frequency.

[gunnar1073]

Originally Posted by NoLongerInRadioGuy

The first time I was ever on the airwaves was 1990 as some of us high school students took over the DCCC radio station for a summer. My friend Ty and I made up the T & C Happy Hour - w had no format, would play Guns N Roses followed by Anne Murray followed by some unpronouncable spanish record that skipped badly. We had a blast! And listeners!

I also was in college radio when I attended FHSU. There, I actually *gasp* learned how a radio station works - continuity, programming, news, management, etc.

From what I have seen (heard), there isnt much keeping the station here going. They are not on consistant hours and, while I am sure the equipment has upgraded since I was there (no more radial pots???), it still needs to be used as a learning tool - not only for aspiring Howard Sterns, but also for kids wanting to dip their feet into sports play by play, engineering, etc, before jumping in the deep end.

And actually I was on right after the T&C Happy hour with the "Steve & Joe" show. That was some good times indeed. I was actually thinking of taking some classes for radio at DC3 if they had anything in the evening... I hope that HPPR stays away.

[KONQ RADIO]

KONQ had a tower tech work on our antennae today and fixed a major problem that allows us to now transmit at nearly full power.

Signal reports are just now coming in and we are excited to hear that we are being received in the 20+ mile range. That's quite good considering our transmitter is less than 1,000 watts and our antennae are not more than 150 feet above the ground.

We expect 'in building' signal penetration to improve drastically.....

I hope to hear from Zeb & Detector soon about KONQ "rocking" their hospital radio.

[Detector]

WooHoo I'll let ya know

[Detector]

Q92 clear as a bell

[KONQ RADIO]

hppr boo-hoo'd to the HutchNews:

Cimarron station could drown out High Plains

By Jon Ruhlen - The Hutchinson News - jruhlen@hutchnews.com

DODGE CITY - A new radio station in Cimarron could soon drown out the sounds of Car Talk and Prairie Home Companion in Western Kansas unless federal officials approve the use of another frequency.

High Plains Public Radio has been broadcasting in Dodge City on 92.9 FM for at least 20 years, said HPPR Executive Director Richard Hicks. Earlier this year, however, HPPR officials learned that a Cimarron station will begin using that frequency. THAT'S BULLSHIT. He knew well in advance that 92.9 was up auction but hppr didn't bid for it. hppr knew that Radioactive 'won' the bid and was granted a construction permit on 03/09/2005 and that it was available for a price; but hppr tried to hoodwink KONQ as a freebe from DC3.

HPPR's signal is broadcast in Dodge City on a translator - a low-power retransmitting device. Translators are regulated by the FCC but the frequencies are not protected, meaning another company could acquire the license for that frequency and force the translator to stop transmitting.

Based in Garden City, HPPR broadcasts to an area stretching from Nebraska to the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle through a system of six licensed transmitters and 16 translators.

Dodge City listeners can pick up the station's Garden City signal on 91.1 FM. However, Hicks said while vehicle radios have stronger reception and can pick up the frequency, indoor radios are weaker and probably won't tune it in.

In order to provide a quality signal in Dodge City, HPPR is now trying to obtain a new frequency - not an easy task.

"The general situation in Dodge City is that it's a pretty crowded spectrum," Hicks said.

Scanning through the dial, it doesn't seem like there are a lot of stations in Dodge City. However, radio frequencies can travel hundreds of miles and FCC regulations mean that a Dodge City station must consider frequencies that originate as far away as Wichita or Salina, Hicks said.

Meanwhile, the FCC hasn't issued a new license for non-commercial stations for seven years.

That changes on Friday. For one week, the FCC is accepting applications for new station proposals. The window is open from Oct. 12 to Oct. 19.

There's no way to tell if HPPR will get a new frequency, Hicks said. The non-commercial category includes churches and educational institutions, in addition to public radio.

"There's hardly any way to predict that," Hicks said of the station's chances. "We would have to know who is competing."

If HPPR doesn't get the frequency in Dodge City, Hicks said listeners could still pick up the Garden City broadcast with a quality radio.

A proposal to transmit on the Dodge City Community College radio station, 91.9 FM, was met with strong opposition from the community and students. The college broadcasts original programming by students and is part of the mass communications curriculum. The HPPR proposal would include minimal student involvement and essentially turn the station into a retransmitting station.

John Ewy, professor of mass communications and broadcasting at the college, recently spoke in front of the DCCC Board of Trustees. Ewy, who said he enjoys HPPR, did not want to see the college station lose its student involvement.

"The only reason Dodge City Community College is in existence is for the students," Ewy said.

According to filing information on the FCC Web site, the license for the Cimarron station was issued to Radioactive, a Fort Wright, Ky. company. A message left with the Kentucky office was not returned.

I wish they'd tell the truth about their quandary.

They got some free gummint money to build a new tower ($1,221,687+) and they built it 8 miles south of Garden City; and 50 miles west of Dodge.



Service Area Map

With that 1.2 million dollars they should have invested in a newly engineered license application and then built their new tower more towards the center like the other FM stations did.

Q-97 in this example:



Service Area Map

[Sinco Rojo]

Hey, check this out. I was looking at a bumper sticker for 'In the Red Zone', the high school football show that was out of Liberal forever, and now on the sticker it lists 91.9 KONQ as a station to hear it on.. whats the story with that? Is KONQ now the home of the Red Zone in Dodge City?

[KONQ RADIO]

Thanks for noticing us.

To answer your questions: KONQ has agreed in principle to broadcast the program but we aren't the host.

The story?
The KONQ license is an Educational & Non-commercial authority designed to help educate and any opportunity to work with the area broadcasters is welcomed here. We aren't allowed to air any radio spots that have a call to action so we will have to consider the Red Zone's content and might need to edit-out embedded spots.

KONQ is allowed to work with "underwriters" who are willing to contribute financially in exchange for being mentioned on-air. It's a thin line that can't be crossed.

Out door is always open (when we're here) so don't be afraid to stop in and say Hi!

We've made some improvements, too.