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April 11, 2011· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

New Public Radio Repeater covers SCV

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

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The Republicans may be hell-bent on killing NPR, but here in the red SCV, we have a brand new repeater blanketing much of the SCV!

Some radio website reports:

The purchase was made through dealer SCMS.

“KPCC has synchronized their main site on Mt. Wilson with a new booster site located on Magic Mountain overlooking Santa Clarita Valley and a potential 400,000 new listeners,” said Doug Tharp of SCMS.

Because there are no phone lines at the Magic Mountain site, the station chose Exalt 5.8 GHz TDM radios to extend the conventional T1 from Verizon to Magic Mountain Peak.

Hells yeah! It’s not KCRW, but it’ll do. KPCC is KCRW’s main rival in the LA region. Broadcast out of its facilities at Pasadena City College, KPCC carries even more NPR programming that its rival does. And the station has boosted its Southern California news operation in recent years as well (in fact they often cover SCV stories).

KPCC’s Magic Mountain (the actual mountain, not the theme park) repeater will make 89.3 a much more reliable signal serving all of the SCV (and beyond) than KCRW’s signal, which constantly fades in and out depending on where you are in town. While driving around town this weekend, KPCC’s signal was especially strong in Newhall, the western SCV, and much of Valencia. It dropped out a little in Saugus, however, but Canyon Country probably has good reception.

Anyway, for public radio fans and SCV geeks alike, I can’t imagine happier news. Welcome KPCC! (Check out their program lineup here)

For my previous rants about radio coverage in the SCV, click here and here )

Comments (14)

  1. Gang FangApril 11, 2011 at 8:41 am
    Clearly a socialist plot to put Bill Ayers in power.
  2. MikeApril 11, 2011 at 9:14 am
    I’m more a KCRW guy than a KPCC guy, but in my neighborhood, I haven’t been able to get either. I’m excited to get the chance to tune in to the secular Islamist beacon of the Eastside. I just hope this means we’re getting an Acorn franchise soon.
  3. JeffApril 11, 2011 at 9:41 am
    Thanks to the KPCC signal, I’ve already evicted the “Under God” phrase from my own personal daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and replaced it with “Under Alinksy.”
  4. NateApril 11, 2011 at 11:11 am
    I cross out God on all currency and put Science
  5. MikeApril 11, 2011 at 10:12 am
    The NPR hit quiz show, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, gave a shout out to the SCV at the 33-minute mark of this week’s show. It’s as though they are telegraphing the orders to begin phase 2 (Alinksy, 1971).
  6. JeffApril 11, 2011 at 10:18 am
    I got two tattoos over the weekend. On the left knuckles is “Cloward” on the right knuckles is “Piven.” It was a tight fit but I made it work. The ink is special and glows bright red when an NPR signal is nearby.
  7. Lori RivasApril 11, 2011 at 10:29 am
    Really? Wait, Wait mentions SCV in this week’s show? Love that show. So do my teen boys. We’ll have to listen to the podcast together. I get lots of public radio stations at my house, near Lyons and Wiley. My favorite is KCRW, which my husband teasing calls my “Commie station.” Whatev.
  8. Lori RivasApril 11, 2011 at 10:33 am
    I gathered round the crew to listen, and my 15yo gave away the secret, saying that he had already heard it on his own. Gotta love teens that beat you to listening to NPR.
  9. RainneApril 11, 2011 at 12:19 pm
    Very happy about getting more real radio out here, although I too would prefer KCRW. But I’m a little concerned about KPCC. During the debate last week in Washington over defunding Planned Parenthood, KPCC suspended its promotional mentions of the organization. http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2011/04/kpccs_halt_of_planned_par.php What will happen during the debt ceiling debate, the 2012 election, and all the rest of the year? How will KPCC handle future Republican attacks and political tension? Will it continue to wuss out to placate the right? The good news is, now out here we will be able to how it responds.
  10. AlpinerApril 11, 2011 at 8:33 pm
    Personally I prefer KKLA.
  11. LarMccApril 11, 2011 at 11:12 pm
    What’s FM? Seriously, I have had Sirius for 5+ years now. Best $13 a month I spend. I get 2 NPR feeds and oodles of commercial free music stations.
  12. MikeApril 12, 2011 at 5:43 am
    Between iPod music and iPod podcasts and bad reception up here, I haven’t listened to more than 10 minutes of AM or FM radio in years.
  13. AlpinerApril 13, 2011 at 2:16 pm
    Interestingly, even with the reception issues, according to industry sources, the SCV has a very solid FM radio audience with very diverse tastes — probably because of all the commuter traffic.
  14. AlpinerApril 13, 2011 at 2:37 pm
    Many Sirius stations already have commercials. I imagine more are coming — think what happened to cable TV and Satelite TV. I prefer not to pay for my radio.

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