Category Archives: Local News

52nd Street Transmitter Site Has A New Master Antenna

The 52nd Street Transmitter Site, owned now by Vertical Bridge, has a new master FM antenna, recently erected by crews. iHeartMedia San Diego Market Director of Engineering, John Rigg, says that once the multiplexer is completed, the 8-bay, 1/2-wave spaced array will serve KHTS 93.3, KWFN 97.3, KGB-FM 101.5, and KLNV 106.5, as well as auxiliary use for KMYI 94.1 and KIOZ 105.3.

New 52nd St. Site Master FM Antenna. Photo by Bill Lipis

The same 52nd Street tower will host KLSD 1360 and KSDO 1130 AM.

The old KOGO transmitter site in Emerald Hills is slated for housing development, so the transmitters there need to be moved to the single-tower Vertical Bridge-owned site, originally occupied by KGB-AM 1360, on 52nd Street, about a mile to the northwest.

KLSD is operating on an STA at the historic KOGO tower site, and KSDO is operating at 52nd Street using a vertical drop wire.

KOGO 600 moved to multiplex with KGB-AM 760 near Santee in 2024.

Until work is completed, KNLV continues to operate from the old KOGO tower. KHTS and KGB are operating from a lower-gain auxiliary antenna at 351 feet on the 52nd Street tower. KWFN has an aux site at Mt. San Miguel.

Cox Cable and Charter to Merge

Remember when San Diego was once served by two cable companies? Southwestern Cable had the territory north of Interstate 8, and Cox Cable had the territory south of that highway. Well, now it’ll be one company.

On February 27, the FCC approved Charter Communications’ $34.5-billion purchase of Cox Communications. The combined corporation will be called Cox Communications, but the fiber and cable TV delivery service will continue to be called “Spectrum.” It’s set to become the largest internet service provider, with 38 million customers.

The two companies’ business services have been competitive over most of San Diego County for some time.

The future impact on San Diego employees is unknown.

Monument Peak Tower Collapses

A tower housing KNSJ (FM) 89.1 MHz and other communications antennas toppled at approximately 10:00 AM on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, atop Monument Peak. The American Tower-managed site, at an elevation of 6,255 feet, is at the steep transition between the forested mountaintop and the Anzo-Borrego Desert at near sea level. Engineers familiar with the event say the tower and antennas were laden with ice, and that winds were reported at 80 miles per hour or higher. The FAA-registered tower, originally constructed in 1972, was 93 feet tall and heavily laden with microwave dishes and cellular panel antennas.

If you watch the site HPWREN webcam time-lapse video (play the left-most video labeled “09-12”), you can see the tower “disappear” just before 10:00 AM. KNSJ’s antenna is the slanted Shively FM log-periodic array pictured.

KNSJ has been off the air due to weather damage before. The station, owned by Activist San Diego, is licensed for 330 watts ERP directed southwest toward San Diego, with a slant polarization.

KRAM (FM) Borrego Springs Is Now a KPBS-FM Satellite Station

On February 10, 2026, KRAM Borrego Springs began relaying KPBS-FM, which is now including the station in its top-of-the-hour station identifications. The independent organization Ram Media Foundation was given rebroadcast permission as an independent organization outside the signal coverage area of KPBS-FM San Diego. The foundation is associated with Gabriel Wisdom, a financial advisor and former on-air personality at KGB-FM and KPRI.

KRAM (FM) is licensed with 100 W ERP on 90.5 MHz using a horizontal antenna at a height above ground of 25 feet at 730 Christmas Circle, which had previously been a Wells Fargo Bank. The station has a Construction Permit to operate at 470 W ERP at 36 feet above ground level from the same location. A story about the station’s return is at GoToBorregoSprings.com.

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