Over the past week I've searching out (on this forum and others) info on what happened to Ken Cartwright..
Over the past week I've searching out (on this forum and others) info on what happened to Ken Cartwright..
From what I've been able to gather, He got shut down for grounding improperly.. later the decision was reversed by the FCC and he was permitted to broadcast again... and then... WHAT? he get shut down again? Or abandoned Part15 for a licensed AM station venture?
What I'm asking is, what was the final outcome?..
Did he ultimately have quit his Part15 broadcast due to pressure from the FCC?.. Or is he still broadcasting on his Rangemaster(s).
The conclusion of the matter is unclear to me.
The FCC said no to his operation,
Kent fought them, lost.
Kent then purchased time on a local AM station.
The End.
He fought them over what and lost? Something is missing...
FCC shut him down..
After a fight, he received official FCC notice permitting him to broadcast again (under 15.219), He went back on the air and issued a press release on the matter.. everything was fine again... on the air...
And then.... ?? What happened then?
Something happened between him going back on the air, and "The End"!
What changed? What shut him down AFTER the FCC let him back on the air?
/
They let him resume at first.
Then they pegged him for a different transmitter located on a football field. and another on a water tower.
simple fact is someone high up the food chain at the fcc got a hair up their A** about whip and mast installs. for whatever reason is open to interpretation, but the fact it is what it is.
my guess is they seen too many of these popping up and all those unregulated voices on the dial scared some important people and decided it was time for these operations to go.
Ken Cartwright gave up on Part 15 and became the Program Director of KCKX, a 1000 watt Class D station in Stayton, OR. The same programming that was on KENC, his Part 15 station, is now on KCKX. Ken is still streaming on www.kencradio.com, which now has the KCKX programming.
The FCC is not through with Ken yet. KCKX was recently fined $6000 for not reducing the transmitter power at night.
Luckily the Notice of Violation is not against Ken in this case. He is just the Program Director. The citation would be against the licensee of KCKX, Don Coss. 1000 watts instead of 15 watts at night will make people nervous who share the same frequency, eh?
Don was the live announcer, many years ago, on Portland Wrestling on KPTV-12. Don owns two other radio stations, one in Salem and another in Woodburn; all in Oregon. Don Coss is suspected to be the person who turned Ken into the FCC in the first place. I'm glad it worked out for Ken.
It sounds like perhaps a discomforting ordeal ended up with a happy ending right here at holiday time.
Are there any other part 15 operators being persecuted anywhere (?) or has peace returned to tiny tower radio.
KCKX switched over from Spanish language programming to the KENC country classics and local events format. Ken is the only announcer. The station's ratings improved considerably because of the change. Ken is more like a partner than an employee, and whatever affects Don affects Ken. Here is the NAL:
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2010/DA-10-2276A1.html
Note that the same agent issued this NAL as dealt with the KENC case. Don failed to lower his power at night for several years. It is curious that the NAL was issued during Ken's watch.
It is curious that the NAL was issued during Ken's watch.
If you look at the date of the violation, on the NAL, you will notice that it occured prior to Ken turning off KENC. It is around the same time the FCC was giving Ken a hard time for KENC. If the owner of KDKX was responsible for turning Ken in, this proves that 'people who live in glass houses, should not throw stones'.
Similar to my situation, when I received a 'courtesy call' from the local field office for my FM operation...shortly thereafter, the two AMs owned by the large radio group in town, received an NAL for EAS violations...
A complaint can put the complainant himself under the microscope.
Also, Don continued operating with full power at night for months after the agent's visit. The NAL was pending while Ken and Don were negotiating Ken's possible purchase of KCKX. I wonder if Ken was aware of this violation during the negotiations.
Fortunately for Ken, he did not buy the station, and he was not the one issued the NAL. Reading the NAL further, Don received a NOV for the same violation about a decade earlier. Don does not seem to be very scrupulous about obeying the rules.
Part 15 AM really can't be used at night because of the increased skywave noise and interference. Even some licensed AM stations that do not have to reduce power practically disappear at night. I can see why Don didn't want to reduce his power down to 15 watts. This must really hurt his advertising revenue.
"1000 watts instead of 15 watts at night will make people nervous who share the same frequency, eh?
Hmmm. Why didn't they just issue a daytime-only license ... I'd have a tough time being convinced 15 watts of power would be worth the electricity to keep it on the air at night. The only other solution would be translators, but if Mr. Coss can't even afford an automated timer and attenuator or alternate low power amp, that solution would be even further out of the question.
... And now, it's costing him $6k ... which would have been much better spent on engineering and attenuating gear.
... Lesson learned, I guess. If I try for a 250 watt station here, I wonder what the nighttime restriction would be. Is there a way I could determine how that might go?
TIA ...
Actually, translators would be out of license too. He'd have to get them licensed ... and I seriously doubt the FCC would allow it.
Here are the daytime and nighttime coverage areas:
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KCKX&service=AM&status=L&hours=D
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KCKX&service=AM&status=L&hours=N
Dramatic difference. Looks like an unfair restriction to me, but ....
I would guess the infraction report came from another station who really wants Stayton in their market at night, but I don't see any other AM station on 1460kHz. Klamath Falls has KFLS talk radio at 1450 1000 watts with no nighttime restriction. The same corp. owns 4 other stations there, plus newspaper advertising, with signage affiliates, etc. If KCKX changed their format from strictly Country music to talk radio, then it might be competing in the fringe area at night if they keep their power up. It's not really in KFLS' service area, but being on an adjacent frequency might be enough for a fair-sized outfit like that to file a complaint.
I think the management of that corporate entity would be considered remiss in the duties of their job if they didn't report it. I'm sure they have a number of investor mouths to feed.
Those dinky nightime powers are at least something for part 15ers to envy, but nothing serious for business investments to risk.
Checking the local dial, we have 690kHz with 17.9 Watts at night. Why not 18 ?
A station at 1090kHz goes from 500 Watts daytime to 380 Watts during the critical hours, but shuts down at night.
1190kHz enjoys 10kW daytime but drops to 22 Watts night, although they have a C.P. for a boost.
1570kHz 1000 Watts day, but only 74 Watts night.
At 1010kHz a 50kW daytime drops to 500 Watts night, but from right near their transmitter I hear the weakest signal after dark.
Let's pool our resources and setup a billion Watts from Antarctica.