KFI AM 640 50kW Transmitter Facility Tour

[@paulmadsen51]

What a fantastic video! I grew up listing to KFI at night with a little AM transistor radio tucked under my pillow when I was supposed to be asleep on school nights. Radio was my connection to the rest of the world from the small rural farm town that I lived in. I've loved it my entire life, and getting to see the transmitter site is absolutely amazing! Thanks for making this video!!!

[@helenefederici4591]

Im so glad you checked it out.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

January 2020 Each day I drove to the studio, I had KFI on to work. Now age 98. Technology is constantly changing. Good memories. From Los Angeles.... 'Goodnight Good Luck and be well"

[@helenefederici4591]

Tech is changing, but there is still a place for good old fashioned radio.

[@timmack2415]

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this video!! Well, not that absolutely horrible garbage can banging sound between segments, but everything else is fascinating and well presented.

[@williamjones4483]

I drove a tractor trailer across the country from 11/1999 - 03/2019 and more times than I can count into California. AM radios in the big trucks are not all that great for reception but whenever I got within range of KFI I would tune to 640 Khz and that's what i listened to while on the West Coast. Always loved to listen to Bill Handel and other characters out there. It's really nice to see the transmitter where that signal came from.

[@patton303]

Loved every minute of this. Marvin is a gem. I lived in LA for a while and KFI was my station. Especially in the Phil Hendrie days. I live in Colorado now and I can pick up KFI quite clearly up in the mountains at night. I also recall hearing it while vacationing in Hawaii! Thanks!

[@LivePDOfficerInterviews]

What a WONDERFUL video. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I grew up in the 70s loving DX radio from Portland. Charlie Fox, Bobby Ocean, Lohman and Barkley... very fond memories of those days. That was back when AM was AMazing!

[@tom7601]

Ah yes, Al and Roger. I loved their characters, the Tooth Fairy and his Molar Cycle, and all the rest. :-)

[@Tomc999FM]

Having been in radio for over 50 years, and loving the engineering side, great job on this video. So much has changed, making the job easier! It was nice seeing the progression in transmitter size, we loved the DX50’s, but Nautel came along and successfully crammed a lot into a small package. Again, a very enjoyable video!

[@davidcarson4421]

I liked the transmitters you could walk into. The RCA TT50AH TV transmitter even had a little “garden shed” for the HV rectifiers. I can’t remember if TT25AL had the same feature.

[@brianjrichman]

How interesting! I just passed my Ham Radio General test and a lot of what you are talking about in this video is stuff I have been learning about. Things like transmitter efficiency, proper grounding, antenna matching and so on. Very interesting to see how KFI did it.

[@chrisclement8200]

scaled up quite a bit

[@schnutchie]

Thank you for the tour and history of this radio station.

[@davebeedon3424]

This is a fascinating look into the past for a layman who doesn't understand the mumbo-jumbo of electronics. The information about WW2, FEMA, and EMP stood out for me. Putting this video together was a great idea---thanks to all involved, especially Mr. Collins. From 1963 to 1966 I DX'ed AM radio stations (and shortwave) from Seattle. Most likely I heard KFI but can't remember. But I do remember listening regularly at night to the comedy of Coyle and Sharpe on KGO (San Francisco). The KGO signal was good.

[@MrRJS27]

This video has been coming up in my feed (or whatever it's called) for a few weeks and I finally decided to watch it, and I'm glad I did because it is very interesting and well-done.

[@helenefederici4591]

Thank you!

[@johnleone8427]

Living in Suburban Chicago I only was able to receive KFI once. That was exciting for a young teenager. The furthest i can receive stations from the west is KOA Denver Not the clearest but listenable. Of course we have 50 K.W. stations in Chicago and from other States. But one comes in like a local at night actually 2 of the them. KMOX and WSM. This is a Historic tour that warms my soul. Thank you. And yes visiting California many times the daytime coverage was huge.

[@waltman333]

What a wonderful historical documentary of radio in the old days! Well presented and very interesting. Walt, transmitter tech. retired.

[@helenefederici4591]

Thank you for that! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@TerryMcKean]

That was totally fascinating, Helene, thank you for sharing. I was born and raised in So Cal, so KFI is definitely part of my memories. :-) I remember when they had their 50th anniversary celebration program and I heard it and recorded all 6 hours of it on three C-120 cassette tapes through a Craig AM-FM/cassette radio-recorder. That was so long ago... I don't know what ever became of the tapes. Oh well, I listened to those tapes many many times after I recorded them. I still have lots of fond memories of the samples of the old-time radio shows and stuff KFI used to broadcast. :-) That's a fascinating and awesome RF grounding system, especially with the ground-radials being routed up and over the buildings and 'moving' the buildings and RF-sensitive equipment etc down and out of the apex of the 50 kw RF field... 50 kw during no-modulation, that is... that's another interesting thing: the carrier being reduced at modulation peaks. Yup... definitely a fun video... thanks again Helene, and thank you KFI for being KFI.

[@helenefederici4591]

Thank you for being part of it too! It’s all about the listeners.

[@TerryMcKean]

@@helenefederici4591 You're welcome. :-)

[@jaminova_1969]

Thanks for the tour! I listen everday and pretty much get a clear signal 2 hours from LA.

[@outbackigloo6489]

When I lived in Ohio (near Dayton) I was able to pick up KFI on many nights. There was also a Cuban radio station on the same frequency; by positioning my radio to null it out, the station that remained was KFI, which is one of the two most distant stations I ever received. This was in the late 70s until 1982 when I left Ohio and I enjoyed the music format they had at the time.

[@novatodave]

WONDERFUL! Thanks for making and posting this video.

[@helenefederici4591]

novatodave It was my pleasure! Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment!

[@rjmcallister1888]

KFI just celebrated it's centennial: Commerce Department license number 137 was issued to Earle C. Anthony on 31 March 1922. Anthony, the Packard dealer in LA, was also a decent engineer himself. Back then, all stations shared 833khz. Once the band was spread out, Anthony nailed down 640 and stayed there. The only other station there then was WOI, the Iowa State University daytimer. For years, the NBC affiliate in LA, with battles between Anthony and RCA boss David Sarnoff, who wanted to buy it. With clear channels being broken down over the years, it doesn't mean what it once did, but KFI's position at 640 made it unique. Here in St. Louis, the former KXOK, 5kw on 630, pretty much eliminated KFI, so I only got to hear it when I went out toward Kansas City.

[@richard7crowley]

I have to think that many of those extraordinary backup features were a result of KFI 640 being a 50KW clear channel designated official info source back in the CONELRAD era. All the receivers had the round/triangle CONELRAD symbol on the frequency scale at 640 KHz and 1240KHz. According to the FCC, KFI is still 50KW, but certainly not clear-channel anymore. Several other AM stations on 640KHz in North America including others running 50KW. and many in Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Ref: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CONELRAD

[@rickvia8435]

Great history on a legendary AM blowtorch.

[@realitywinner7582]

fascinating ! God Bless from Ireland !

[@raymondmartin6737]

Great to hear the transmitter history of KFI, 640. It was very enlightening to hear and see by the engineers. I remember hearing KFI when I lived in Phoenix,AZ, in 1976, among other Western US MW (AM) stations I heard out there. I started out DX'ing MW stations from NYC area in 1960, now 60 years ago, while in HS, then Shortwave, and I became an amateur radio operator in 1962, so I could understand what the engineers were talking about. W2CH

[@domininic]

man what i'd do to hear an hours worth of engineering stories from these guys

[@helenefederici4591]

I’m glad I could give you half that 🤗

[@dougtaylor7724]

That is a 40’s era Buffalo drill press. I have owned and sold several of them. Love to see the old transmitters. The new ones are just a cabinet full of cards. You can lose one or two and send them off for repair. Only brings the station down a few percent. Always wanted a Gates transmitter for the house. Everyone needs one. 👍

[@rjmcallister1888]

I worked with an old Gates 250-watter from the 40's that wasn't much bigger than a fridge. Didn't take it home, though.

[@MinifigNewsguy]

I wanted to comment here as this week marks the 81st anniversary of Pearl Harbor and on the day of 81st anniversary of the impact it played on the radio station. I'm glad that the station had not trashed the history and seeing these two guys talk about the different technologies the station has transitioned to with both having open minds. It's important a station remembers their history and the mark they left in a world of mass consolidation and some types of management that's living in the moment, some making impulsive decisions for the clusters to make money. Fortunately KFI has had a great braintrust that I wished more radio stations or clusters could have. I've also made additional commentary on my site. I have seen this video before and it's cool to see.

[@angrycatowner]

In the mid 80's I lived in Buena Park, about 2miles from the antenna, and built a crystal radio that only played KFI out of an 8 ohm speaker. It only needed a stake in the ground and a long wire loop connected to an inductor and a diode. The RF energy in Buena Park was so strong that it did not need it's own electricity, it could extract it from the earth and a long wire.

[@helenefederici4591]

That’s amazing. Do you still have it?

[@timstanford4366]

Wow !! I service guitar amps and other related gear . I find modulated electronics fascinating as well.

[@bobgrassoalsowelcomeharris8399]

Very informative, thank you. I used to receive KFI when I lived in New York (Queens) backj in the 50s and 60s. It really was a clear channel station then. Now I'm in South Florida where it used to be audible but now there is a local station on that frequency.

[@timothystockman7533]

In the early 1980s, I was installing the replacement for the Collins 21A at WBAA, a Harris MW5A. They have since installed a solid state rig, possibly a Nautel. I will be going out to visit them for their 100th anniversary in 2022. WBAA was arguably the firt regular 4-letter call assigned to a station. They got their license on the same day as WAAB, New Orleans, and the FCC went through the entire WAxx sequence before they resumed with WBAB..

[@FSstudios1]

I used to work at Ford Electronics on Commonwealth back in 2012 ish. One of the engineers used to come in with some of the old vacuum tubes that were used at the transmission site. I had the pleasure of touring the site then and loved the history behind it!

[@deussolinvictus]

This was an informative tour of the broadcast facility. Thanks for posting it!!

[@ericdover6984]

Fascinating.Lots of cool history!

[@helenefederici4591]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@myles3100]

@@helenefederici4591 Thank you for this video. I have been along time listener of KFI! One of my close friends use to work there before he passed away. Denis Melbourne 😉 I use to go up and help him in his "Office" at the old studio! 73

[@jovetj]

Yes, this was awesome. Thanks for posting! Astounding how much all that technology has changed in under 100 short years.

[@scotty3034]

Here’s a thing: I’m often driving home at night in the mountains of Colorado from the high country down to Denver. I always listen to “Coast to Coast AM” late at night. My home station is 850 KOA which is also 50k watts. But I have to listen to KFI for the first part of the drive home because it actually comes in clearer than KOA does. Probably because of the high altitude and skip intervals. Not until I’m descending down into Denver does KOA come in clear again and KFI fades away. The magic of AM radio.

[@helenefederici4591]

That’s crazy! I’m in Colorado now and I haven’t heard KFI, but it’s good to know. Thanks!

[@scotty3034]

You won’t get KFI on the front range but as you go west into the mountains, the signal gets stronger and stronger.

[@tom7601]

In San Diego, we used to listen to WLS at night. :-)

[@lwilton]

I'm in KFI territory, but I remember as a kid I could listen to KOA and KOB at night.

[@socalltd]

back in the 90's, I heard KFI for a few hours between Chihuahua and el paso, tx in the late afternoon while driving back from a trip. was so surprised when i recognized it was from Los Angeles

[@christophermattox3972]

That is great play by play analysis. I love broadcasting and I love towers and transmitters. My goal is to have my own radio station.

[@helenefederici4591]

christopher mattox ok, please hire me when you do. Like all radio folk, I’m always open to my next opportunity.

[@christophermattox3972]

Helene Federici I sure will. By the way, I am also blind.

[@kirkmanning6232]

Fascinating! I grew up with KFI…(the “FI” stood for Farm Information) they’d broadcast frost reports for the citrus growers. I remember listening to those and all their great on air talent over the years. I’m in Florida now and miss it.

[@gardnersmith3580]

Many thanks. I have a hand-typed QSL letter from KFI dated August 19, 1963 when KFI studios were located at 141 Vermont Avenue, signed by C.W. Mason W6JD, the Chief Engineer at that time. The station was owned by Earle C. Anthony and the letterhead said "Since 1904." It really was a clear channel station. I picked it up pretty good from Virginia and Chicago. 73 de W9ALZ.

[@helenefederici4591]

I digitized vintage letters to the station dating back to the 1920s! Many of them had silly doodles on them. Thank you for sharing.

[@gardnersmith3580]

@@helenefederici4591 Thank you. My 1963 QSL letter is digitized. If you would like to add it to your collection, I would be happy to send it. I also have a 1931 KFI QSL letter with a photograph of the transmitter. And I have a 1931 KECA QSL. KECA was also owned by Earle Anthony's Packard Agency. These are all digitized. Is your collection available to be viewed online? I would love to look them over. Cordially, W9ALZ

[@jogiemka]

Cool video, well done! Kudos to Marvin, he really knows his stuff!

[@helenefederici4591]

Thank you!

[@EI6DP]

WoW very interesting and a pleasure to watch. 73's

[@joeblow8593]

Damn, I could watch another of this

[@JT-py9lv]

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing. Funny you should talk about dummy loads. I'm in the process of making a home brewed one for my ham radios. Should be good for 1500 watts continuous.

[@jameskirk9996]

I started Dxing when I was 15 with a National NC-173, which I still have. The glow of the tubes and the faint smell of insulating material comes back. KFI would almost peg my S meter. KFI @ 640 KHz and KTNN @ 660 KHz are mainstays in the southwest US.

[@JohnDoe-mv4ks]

Great history and tour, thank you. The bombastic cut-scene music? Fire that guy.

[@helenefederici4591]

Hey, I'm that guy. It's one of the station's new signatures and I thought I should incorporate it. Thank you for the feedback though.

[@jovetj]

I thought it was fine.

[@vancouverman4313]

I love the art deco features on that building. In those days, they believed in beautifying even industrial structures such as this transmitter building and the Hoover Dam.

[@helenefederici4591]

Agreed! You can feel those details throughout the building. It’s definitely a place full of history.

[@toddstewart9070]

How far east have you had reports of reception of KFI? I live in Atlanta now and at night I pick up as far away as Texas and Canada clearly. There is a 640 here also (WGST), but it switches to LP at night. I suspect Atlanta is too far away to pick up. When I lived in Fort Worth, Tx I remember wasn't ever able to pick up anything from California at night, usually only from east and north. I was able to pick up NYC, Chicago, Toronto, basically the same things I can pick up here in Atlanta. In TX one night around 5am on 1070 through very heavy static for a brief moment I was able to barely distinguish the words San Pedro, so I assume that was KNX, but it was so faint it could have said something else. Earlier the same night I was able to pick up stations from the northeast from around the same distance as LA quite clearly.

[@myles3100]

@Todd Stewart I have been able to hear KFI in New Mexico, Nebraska & a few other States when traveling! For whatever reason North to South seems easier to receive then East to West.

[@helenefederici4591]

Hi Todd, In 1932, at night, KFI could be heard in New Zealand! In fact, New Zealand sent a film actress, Nola Luxford, to California to cover the 1932 Olympics. She would attend the games during the day and broadcast at night. Otherwise, they would have had to wait weeks for the results to be shipped. Her broadcasts reached many nations and were heard all over the US. Nola Luxford is the first female sports broadcaster, thought still not recognized. She ended up marrying KFIs program manager! KFI has been heard all over the country and the world.

[@spankthemonkey3437]

Todd Stewart I can pick up 1200 woai in San Antonio sometimes from South Carolina. I can regularly pick up 1510 out of Nashville TN every night after about 9pm

[@EdwardRingwald]

Probably can’t pick up KFI on Florida’s west coast due to strong Cuban interference from Radio Progreso on 640 from Havana.

[@helenefederici4591]

John M I have no idea. That’s interesting though 👍

[@GilmerJohn]

Very, very cool. I well remember either experiencing or reading about the "old high tech.'

[@timstanford4366]

I service guitar tube and solid state amplifiers , this is very interesting to see how electronics is used in AM and FM modulated systems !!

[@W4BIN]

That 150 feet of "dead tower" was disastrous in any circumstance, a strong tropical wind could cause a total failure. When the main tower fell I read that it was sharing real estate with the paring lot of a TV facility of some kind and the new CONCRETE ring messed up the driveways in that parking lot . Very nice presentation. Ron W4BIN

[@helenefederici4591]

Thank you Ron!

[@funtimelouie1828]

Worked across the street at the Frito Lay facility’s and next door at the Staple distribution center from 2000 to 2013 , one thing I enjoy about the towers in front of me was how many lightning strikes that tower gets every year ! Coast to Coast from 10 pm to 2 am is my favorite program today on kfi from a signals L A to Tijuana

[@timstanford4366]

Love Coast to Coast AM , the truth is out there. But slowly being released thanks to the Pentagon.

[@johnplaid648]

Oh, I remember KFI. From 1972 to 1976. Darling Dick Whittington, Hudson and Landry, The Alleged Perry Allen Show, of course Hilly Rose who was on at 8:00 p.m. but was given the midnight to 6:00 a,m, slot and loved The Velvet Turtle and actually got Shirley McClain so mad she refused to continue the interview that had just started and "Bigala" and "The Hidden City Of Absalom"?! Forgot the morning guys. Perry Allen was the true shock jock and would make the most outrageous phone calls. Dick Whittington called the pope in Rome and had two Italian speaking girls talk to the Vatican and tried to get him sainted. It was an insane period of time and was much appreciated by this chucklehead. The movie Taxi Driver had just been released and I saw it at the Paloma theater in Encinitas. KFI had a contest that paid money to anyone who could name the source of a sound or voice. I was living in Vista, Calif at the time way up in the hills and I could see the ocean from my front porch. KGO was like the gonzo seventies KFI but wasn't making money and was bought by a media company.

[@photomanwilliams4147]

Early 70's after Hilly Rose was Ron McCoy, Loman and Barkley were the mornings drive team for most of the 70's. Let us not forget Bruce Wayne KFI in the sky who did traffic reporting for years until a plane crash took his life

[@sootikins]

Dick Whittington? Wasn't it Dick Whittinghill?

[@kellynorman7452]

This was really cool, I don't live where kfi is but during the night I've been able to listen to it fades in and out but you can hear it pretty good

[@helenefederici4591]

Where was this?

[@dansteel9873]

I was the foreman for John hignite and we painted the main tower and the backup tower and greased the Guy wires. John passed away some years ago but he was the go to guy for all socal broadcasters radio and t.v. I'm retired now but I still have the bowson chair I used for that job. It has white and aviation orange paint on it.

[@acrinsd]

The Nautel NX50's are 90% efficient.

[@joeylanclos9067]

Nautel transmitters are really nice. Hot swapping modules keeps down time at a minimum.

[@chrisscott1547]

Very cool. Reminds me of the WSM - Nashville transmitter site.

[@EdwardOrysiek]

Very cool, thank you for doing this KFI.

[@helenefederici4591]

To see more eclectic content, you can always give me a follow 🙏

[@EdwardOrysiek]

done!@@helenefederici4591

[@James_Bowie]

Very interesting and informative tour (but I can do without the boom crash audio accompanying the segment titles).

[@cgirl111]

That multimeter in the background at 5:30 or so looks a lot like the Fluke I used in the military in the 70's.

[@tom7601]

It may be a Simpson.

[@MrGGPRI]

That's a Triplett 630 series with the big red knob; the Simpson 260 has a small black function knob, still have one. DId Fluke factory service back in the 1970's and they were all digital (DVM & DMM).

[@jasonpike2619]

The old day transmitters were huge monsters. Today its almost a 50kw refrigerator.

[@moldyoldie7888]

The pix of the RCA 50B are similar to those of the Belmont CA KPO transmitter made by GE.

[@rexoliver7780]

At the Greenville Marti/VOA transmitter operate the monster SW transmitters that still use tubes in their power output stages. The GE transmitters date from 1961-other transmitter date from the 80’s these have SS low level RF circuits and control circuits. The Green ville site used to have Continental 420A500kw transmitters built in the 1940’s each was as large as a house! All the stages were manually preset and tuned. The later transmitters could be autotune. Set the frequency and power and turn on! Was a real treat watching the autotune and then the output at 250 or 500kw. Now it is done manually. The autotune rigs were from Brown Boveri and AEG/Telefunken. The Telefunken no longer used since requires a HV transformer that is no longer avalaible. The 420 transmitters were replaced by 419 -3 of them from another plant-250kw.use only two ower tubes. The modulator is SS PSM.

[@harrybear7608]

Vancouver just lost two AM stations, 1040 and 1410, both transmitters shut off. Owner was Bell Media. Licenses turned into CRTC. AM stations can't break even I guess, at least in Canada

[@helenefederici4591]

That’s a shame because with the right generator, they can be essential during a major crisis. O Canada!

[@steve94044]

Every time I turn on my little ccrane sky wave radio to kfi in the evenings I think of this video. Wow this station comes from here! I’m 400 miles from the transmitter.

[@helenefederici4591]

Wow! That’s amazing 😉

[@steve94044]

Helene Federici I’m in San Francisco Bay Area in the east bay near Fremont. KFI is very clear after the sun goes down. KNX too on 1070.

[@helenefederici4591]

steve94044 they say that radio signals travel farther at night.

[@notvalidcharacters]

@@helenefederici4591 Oh they absolutely do, more correctly mediumwave stations, that frequency range. It's why a lot of smaller stations have to either shut down, drop power drastically, or change their radiation pattern after local sunset, because everything changes. Daytime is all ground wave; night time starts bouncing signals off the ionosphere and back hundreds of miles away. When I was a kid in Pennsylvania we logged all the stations at night -- WWL New Orleans, WSM Nashville, CJBC Chicoutimi, KXEL Waterloo Iowa, KMOX St. Louis, WBAP Fort Worth, a couple of Mexican border blasters --- we had at least six different Chicago stations, which were 900 miles away. And here in western NC I've logged KOA out of Denver. Sadly it's not as much fun as it used to be. For one thing the band is more crowded, making those distant captures harder to get, and for another thing there's so much satellite/network stuff on that you can't tell one station from the next.

[@agems56]

At 28:33 into the video, you mentioned drains for possible transformer oil leaks! Would this oil have been of the PCP containing type? This type of oil was a highly carcinogenic type that caused cancer with a lot of electrical workers changing leaking transformers on power poles and such! Where did those drains lead to? Just asking! Hindsight is always 2020 from those days!

[@jasswear8911]

Absolutely Fantastic Video.

[@helenefederici4591]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@mikemorrow4949]

I wonder if the older transmitters are still operational as backup in case the overgrown refrigerator turns off.

[@pbrstreetgang2489]

I would listen to KKKFI in San Diego - loved it actually!

[@Dan_KM8DAD]

What a fun tour! If you want to hear some great stories talk to an engineer. 😀

[@RadioMcRadioface]

I live in DC and I can see traces of the KFI 640 carrier frequency all the way out here on my SDR. Reminds me of when I used to listen to Phil Hendrie, Karel and Andrew, john and ken, the short lived henry rollins show & leykis' saturday show.

[@helenefederici4591]

I loved all those guys too!

[@raybolton1225]

Very interesting, thanks for posting this

[@johndoe-bq1xt]

THANK YOU ! WHAT A GREAT STATION !!

[@korymichaels6217]

Nautel specs rate the NX50 at 88%. The Harris DX50 is rated at 83%.

[@ikonix360]

One good thing about the old tube transmitters is if there's an EMP they will still operate.

[@helenefederici4591]

That one reason we need to keep radio alive, especially AM

[@marilubeard1851]

Love it - thanks taking the time to make the video. 73 WA4QGA

[@craigkopcho7394]

Carrier shift use to be a bad thing with plate modulation but the new carrier control drops the light bill by 20 percent

[@pawfan]

My questions have been answered about KFI. Still wonder if it is still a 'Clear Channel/Air' station? I can stay with KFI across many states?

[@helenefederici4591]

I believe it is!

[@mattalbrecht7471]

I watched every second! FASCINATING!!! Now for a tour of the studios! A question:. I know the towers alternate colors. Looks orange to white and repeating. How long are those sections? 250 feet orange, then 250 white?

[@helenefederici4591]

Hi, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I have no idea how long those sections are, but someone may hop on here and be able to answer that.

[@richard7crowley]

www.fcc.gov/media/policy/antenna-tower-lighting-and-marking-requirements

[@timirving5489]

k.f.i. can be received in northern ca as far north as. Stockton ca, during the daytime hour's. great video, thank you.

[@helenefederici4591]

You’re correct. KFI has been heard all over the world. During the 1932 olympics, KFI broadcasted to New Zealand at night. Something about the nighttime hours allows the transmission to travel farther. I bet there’s an engineer on here who can explain it better than me. Thanks for checking it out!

[@johng.3740]

Love the late 90s KFI, listened to it in the San Francisco Bay area in the late 90s at night, via ionospheric skip. the signal came in clear most of the time with some fade outs, which is expected. I was surprised to see that the antenna is in the middle of an urban area, like surrounded by warehouses and stuff and the transmitter facility kinda looks like a mechanic shop... It's great that KFI actually has an EMP protected emergency transmitter AND diesel generator backup....oh yeah....is the diesel generator also EMP protected? It looks like it was just open to the sky on top, or is that the diesel fuel tank? Oh yeah, diesel fuel degrades after 1 month if not treated properly, if treated with stabilizers and biocide it can last a year. So, hopefully KFI has some people who replace all 9000 gallons of the diesel fuel on a regular basis. You know how food goes bad, gets all rotty....well diesel fuel and even gasoline goes bad, gets rotty as well. It might be better to store propane in a huge tank since propane never goes bad and run the generator off propane.

[@agems56]

What ever happened to the 1,000000 watt KUSW I remember listening to it from Calgary on shortwave! I sent them a reception report, and today I still have the KUSW bumper sticker that they sent me!

[@charliem.550]

Interesting presentation - and I've never seen an AM broadcast tower in the middle of buildings and city - the ones I'm familiar with are out in the middle of a huge field. Oh, one small nitpick...I could do without the dramatic sound effects between the segments. 😄

[@jovetj]

So why did KFI decide to allow a bunch of buildings to be built on their transmitter site?

[@helenefederici4591]

I’m not sure about the decision making, but I do know that KFI has survived through many decades and economies. That site is prime real estate and it’s probably a very profitable side-hustle. The real question here is, why not?

[@jovetj]

I can think of several reasons "why not." Seems a lot safer for everyone involved to keep a respectable buffer around any high-power transmitter, for radiation reasons, safety, and flexibility of the property. If you desire to change something (such as add a directional antenna, for some reason) you have the space to do it. It also goes without saying, should the tower(s) collapse again, the danger to the public is acute. Earthquakes happen. It doesn't seem fair to overwhelm all the buildings/businesses around you with that signal, which can be shocking enough even with a responsible buffer space. As mentioned in the video, the grounding system of such a site is complicated enough. Of the profitability, I have no doubt-that'd be the only reason to do this. I wonder what the cost of moving the transmitter a mile or two would have been. That's just my opinion, though. I still thank you for the interesting video.

[@helenefederici4591]

Jovetj there is a buffer. There is plenty of room for a tower to collapse, like it did when the tower was hit by a plane in the 99’s. Also, the surrounding buildings are not in any danger of radiation or able to interfere with grounding. The buildings are all commercial and knew that the tower was right there before signing any leases. KFI followed all zoning laws and would never put anyone in danger. I asked the engineers about the impact of the tower on those businesses the day we shot this and they said that there were no problems with how it’s all laid out. I hope this puts your mind at easel!

[@KX6D]

@@helenefederici4591, hit by a plane in 2004. I did an extensive write up of it back then and was on site when the NEW tower fell during construction. I took the only picture of the tower while it was falling.

[@joewexz3638]

Please further explain "Modulation Dependent Power". The power gets lower when modulation is applied ? It seems to me either the power meter shown is "nuts!", or there is a trouble with your Nautel transmitter, or there is something I don't understand. What is the unmodulated common point current ? What is the common point current when 100% modulated ? If it's lower when modulated, there is something wrong.

[@helenefederici4591]

I wish I could but I’m just the producer. There are some pretty smart engineers who’ve left comments on here who would probably love to discuss.

[@barberjeff67]

Is the Edison vault a transformer from the electric company?

[@mikecowen6507]

Yes.

[@testpattern701]

Does KFI have LED tower lights now? I believe the KFWB tower has them.

[@helenefederici4591]

I don’t know, sorry

[@TempoDrift1480]

That other guy seems like he probably should have stayed home and let the old timer do this.

[@helenefederici4591]

:)

[@helenefederici4591]

He chimes in with some relevant info at times. He is the new engineer so he doesn't have as much history to share.

[@JayWalkerTexasRadio]

​@@helenefederici4591 knowing iHeart/Clear Channel he's probably the chief of at least 3 other stations in the company...

[@helenefederici4591]

@@JayWalkerTexasRadio He is! He was also promoted to chief engineer that day. It was really hard getting them all together. It felt like herding cats, but it was important to have this documented. Thank you for watching.

[@stevejones3309]

@@helenefederici4591 Very interesting . Thank you for producing thiis .

[@jkubiak]

I get this is in Burbank, but I keep noticing a bus with KASE-FM (Austin, TX) kase101.com Ford E-Series Bus. Was that repurposed to another iHeart property?

[@helenefederici4591]

Hi! Yes, the tower facility is in La Mirada, and the studios are in Burbank. Not sure why a TX bus is in the mix.

[@alanjmatchinsky9086]

Loman and Barkley, Gary Owens, sigh. I fondly remember KFI.

[@bobcooper1070]

Is Mr Collin any relationship to the Collins Radio Company?

[@helenefederici4591]

I’m sorry but I have no idea. Great question though!

[@KX6D]

No.

[@pedrodepacas4335]

After all those years taking care of the Continental, I’d say YES.

[@ajg2558]

It was heard in NYC area years ago

[@notvalidcharacters]

My dad picked up KFI at his home when he was a kid. He was in Philadelphia.

[@helenefederici4591]

Wow! When was that? Was the signal clear enough to listen to?

[@notvalidcharacters]

@@helenefederici4591 It had to be in the 1930s, when there were a lot fewer stations competing. It must have been clear enough to ID. He also told us he picked up WWL from New Orleans so loud it shook the house. He kept the cabinet from that radio and had it in our living room while I was growing up. Another radio (an FM tuner) was put into it and on top of it sat a giant Concertone reel-to-reel tape deck which he acquired in 1955. I grew up watching those reels and it launched me into a lifelong career in recording and broadcasting. I made my first recording on that tape deck, in 1958 at age six.

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

I remember when a plane hit one of their towers in Fullerton and knocked it off air. I'm pretty sure it was KFI.

[@helenefederici4591]

It was! Some of the history of that incident is covered in the video. Good memory!

[@ApartmentKing66]

Interesting...Marvin Collins was the Chief when John Rook was the PD in the late 70s. I'm sure he knew Rook.

[@christopherhulse8385]

Modern transmitter is only 80% efficient? Surely we should be aiming for 90% or better?

[@helenefederici4591]

I think it’s a huge improvement though.

[@RWL2012]

it's 90% efficient, not sure why he said 80.

[@douro20]

Is there a mandate for solid-state AM now?

[@JayWalkerTexasRadio]

There's no mandate, but the cost of high power tubes has driven stations to the Harris DX-50 or Nautel NX-50. Re-tubing a Continental 317C2 runs around $20000 for just the 4CX35000 carrier tube and 4CX35000 modulation peak tube. When you consider the need to replace tubes every 18-24 months (if you're lucky) makes the solid state transmitters very attractive.

[@johnclarke2997]

@@JayWalkerTexasRadio The biggest move was cutting power bills. Even when dynamic carrier control is used, going solid state is still a benefit. Also mean time between failures on solid state is much better.

[@Subgunman]

I wonder hat ever happened to the AM Stero experiment in the 80's? I still have my Sherwood AM FM Cassette stereo from that time period. It was AM Stereo compatible. Remember seeing phased arrays for some AM stations in Columbus and Cinncinnattii, every tower had a doghouse by it for th matching equipment. Nothing like a Hot Tower transmitter site! Reminds m of a friend who accidentally touched a 5 Kw hot tower, received a nasty RF burn from it. He tried calling the local hospital asking if by had any information regarding RF burns. Their reply was "I'm sorry sir, we have no one registered by that name here". Stupid receptionist.

[@SACWarrior70s]

Subgunman Yes, there are radio stations still broadcasting in AM Stereo. I listen to KIXI 880 in Seattle, which broadcasts on line, still feeding their stereo feeds to station tx and on line. It's the only way I can hear them when I'm in the area, feeding it to my car radio via wifi/Bt! Others around...Check out the radio guides. I also suggest but don't work for, gracedigital.com internet (radio) receivers. Love my (mono speaker-stereo output) Mondo+ receiver, with optional battery ($40 lithium) gives me access to the porch or garden Amazing 100ft line of sight) for 4 or 5 hrs thru WIFI feed or local Hardwire thru USB input for thumb drive, recorded stuff which takes time to down load audio lists, to use LAN adaptr to usb to receive your stream info via your router wire. Stereo non-portable radios in wood and other cabinets are available too, some with magnetic chargers for phones. Nice. All radios also broacast shout and also reveive via blue tooth showing the program you are playing on the TFT screen! Sweet! My Mondo+ speaker is coupled to a 12w class D amp that gives great bass response, & only wired for mini 3.5mm headphone out. The RCA Stereo line out and earphone jacks are in stereo!! LISTEN TO ANY STATION AND PROGRAM from around the world as long as they stream. You can also go TO oN-LINE FOLDERS thru gracedigital.com/ (your acct signon name) THAT YOU INTERREACT WITH TO PROG. THE RADIO and add the streams to your personal files. THRU GRACEDIGITAL.COM, YOU CAN SET UP "MY STUFF" AND OTHER FOLDERS. BUT CAUTION: DON'T CHANGE NAME OF THE FILES NAMES THAT YOU CAN DOWNLOAD TO YOUR FOLDERS. IT CAN CORRUPT THE LINK TO THE STATION AND IT WILL BE HARD TO PROGRAM "ALL OTHER" RECEIVERS CONNECTED TO GRACEDIGITAL'S MASTER COMPUTER FILES THAT USE THAT COMPUTER AS A "Surrogate" ROUTER TO YOUR STATION OR PODCAST'S LINKS. ALWAYS ASK FOR HELP before you think outside the box with this or any internet radio! THEY ARE REAL GOOD AT ANSWERING questions, ESPECIALLy Lynda...nice Lady. CCrane and others also have internet radios that I considered...but the Mondo+ is smaller/equal to a Toaster size in 4 colors WHITE, BLACK, RED, AND FLAT BLACK!, but the programs are just a "Fine Toast with Jam & BUTTER!" OH, ALARMS, TIMERS, AND ON-LINE BACKGROUND SOUNDS AND SPECIAL MUSIC IS ICING ON THE CAKE! Enjoy!

[@oscer1111]

i remember back in the early 2000's hearing about the AM stereo Experiment , I think they ended up developing some kind of digital equipment to hook up the stereo signal in but i think since FM was becoming hugely popular they moved it over to working on what is today FM HD radio . But that is just my speculation

[@Subgunman]

@@SACWarrior70s Thank You for the info! will try accessing the web site if possible, stationed in the EU and a lot of the USA sites refuse to allow access due to the EU's new privacy laws. I should fire up (hopefully not popping any dried out caps) my radio slowly and see what i can pick up here where i am located, it would be interesting! some countries over here have done away with AM and FM analogue stations and are doing DAB digital broadcasts.I would figure some of these stations would require a subscription to receive their programming.

[@ryantoomey611]

I believe they use HD radio now. It is a digital signal which is capable of stereo audio.

[@timstanford4366]

They didn't know RF stands for " radio frequency " . Little did they know , you can go to the local hardware store and buy a can of RF . Lol.

[@kenkramer6529]

Fascinating!

[@ddreamberry2]

The cloned T. Howard Pines said "Louise." (every little clone seems to whisper Louise)

[@jonm7989]

T. Howard Pines...he was the Light of My Life....😬

[@terryrogers6232]

CAA said turn off tower lights in 1941 so Japanese can't find us...did they tell the city to turn its lights off as well? A whole city might have been easy to find if lit up you know... We left the lights on in the east which proved to be so useful selecting and targeting ships from U Boats that oil tanker crews at one point refused to sail. I watched a 500/1kw BC transmitter at a DA-D in the earliest 60s while doing my homework. The modulation XFMR blew up. I borrowed one from a radio amateur with a 1kW Tx and it worked fine until the replacement arrived. If I had been smart enough, I would have rewound the broken BC one.

[@DSC800]

Ohhh, that's what a "dummy load" is. When I'm around my radio expert buddies I'd always thought they were talking about me. I just checked with my buddies, turns out they were still talking about me. Oh well.

[@angrycatowner]

By the way, Rodney King did not start those Riots. The riots were called LA Riots.

[@helenefederici4591]

I think we have a couple riots to distinguish between 😬

[@sootikins]

@@helenefederici4591 Zoot Suit riots - 1943 Watts Riots - 1965 Rodney King Riots - 1992 (yeah Rodney didn't personally start the riot but it was, at least initially, about him)

[@Bluelagoonstudios]

Damn cable snatchers, it's still on these days, rats, mice, and mostly in the gear where it's warm, like combiners, transmitters, etc. I hate these, because, these causing a lot of problems, at night, so you have to get up and work. But, that's part of the job. Thanks for the insights there.

[@Paul-s1u6d]

Would listen to KFI from Albuquerque on my Sony ICF-2010.

[@falenone]

Cool thing to see