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XLNC1Tijuana Drops in New Classical FMThe newest FM station in the San Diego-Tijuana area has broken ground in more way than one. XLNC, 90.7 MHz, Tijuana, is the first station to dare share a channel with a grandfathered FM in Los Angeles. Pacifica station KPFK has used 112 kW from Mt. Wilson since 1959. (Though XHTIM Tijuana signed on 91.5 as a co-channel with KUSC, they were persuaded to move to 91.7 MHz. KUSC is not a grandfathered powerhouse.) 
Also, it appears to be the first station in the region to have originated on the Internet first. "XLNC1" has doled out classical music from Califormula servers, now claiming 300 streams. According to insiders there, the Califormula station uses a small Bext transmitter into a six-bay array on Mt. San Antonio above Tijuana for an ERP of 1 kW. The frequency was coordinated with the FCC. For now at least, the station operates as a kind of Diaz family foundation, commercial-free but soliciting donations on their website. Victor Diaz manages Califormula from an office in Chula Vista. An informative web page explains that the family started broadcasting in 1928. I listened one morning for several hours. The music consists of short orchestral pieces generally--few full symphonies--intersperced with informal short announcements in English, Spanish, and French, and a teeth-gritting musical bridge between nearly every song. A legal ID was not heard. |
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