XHPRS-FM 105.7 and XEPE-AM 1700 have discontinued their operations agreements with San Diego-based Broadcast Company of the Americas, aka BCA Radio. The stations, known as “105.7 Max FM” and “ESPN 1700” were shut down in mid-December after a reported payment dispute with the license holder, Media Sports de Mexico, owned by Jaime Bonilla Valdez.

Their respective websites continued streaming programming until the end of February 2019. BCA continues to operate XEPRS 1090-AM, known as the “Mighty 1090 AM.”

Palomar College Adjunct Professor of Media Studies and KKSM Station Manager Zeb Navarro in early February 2019 passed his SBE Certified Radio Operator (CRO) exam. He serves as a mentor for students at Palomar College interested in broadcasting. Zeb also in February became a city clerk for the City of Oceanside.

We’ve learned that Rick Bosscher, longtime RF Supervisor at KFMB-AM-FM-TV, turned in his keys for good in mid-December 2018, less than a year after Tegna bought the stations. He was hired by Chief Engineer Charlie Abel in 1977 after installing and servicing the FM and TV transmitters in 1976 as a technician for RCA.

Charlie recognized in Rick a deep knowledge of electronics given him by RCA as well as an attention to detail that would serve him throughout his career. He started in Grand Rapids, Michigan as a young technician at a local broadcast station and decided to further his training with RCA.

His job became unique in San Diego. As the KFMB Stations RF specialist, he installed all of their radio and TV transmitters, microwave and satellite systems, and related control systems. He oversaw much of the station facilities management and news mobile technical maintenance as well. His sites were known for their tidy and high-quality “fit and finish.” Because of his maintenance skills, the equipment he oversaw tended to last longer than standard. The KFMB-AM Harris and Collins transmitters, for example, are 27 and 37 years old and still operate like new.

Bosscher is an amateur metallurgist who’s made his own automobile engines in his spare time. He recently restored a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray he inherited from a neighbor.

He’s a ham radio operator, callsign K6FMB, who owns and modified for use on the lower HF bands a Bauer 707 AM transmitter that KFMB staff had originally assembled as a spare in 1959.

Bosscher told me he is relaxing and completing some projects around his Clairemont home and taking his Stingray for drives to the beach.

Univision Radio San Diego Chief Engineer Angel Ramos passed his test to win SBE Certified Broadcast Radio Engineer status. Ramos, who’s been a staff engineer and later chief engineer for KLQV (FM) and KLNV (FM) San Diego for over 20 years, took the exam in early November. Congratulations!

You, too, can sign-up at any time to receive one of the many broadcast engineering certifications from SBE.

On October 10, 2018, EW Scripps Broadcasting, licensee of KGTV and KZSD-LP, was granted a Construction Permit to operate on channel 20. This is to remedy a displacement by telecom from their temporary home on channel 39. The 7.3 kW ERP signal will have a westward directional signal.

This should be an interesting one to watch because it is the only San Diego station given FCC permission to occupy a Los Angeles/Orange County T-band channel used by first responders there. A previous attempt by Televisa’s XHUAA to occupy channel 20 in 2006 was met with resistance by land mobile operators in the L.A. metro area and Televisa moved that operation to channel 22.

KZSD was purchased by Scripps to broadcast Azteca America programming, but with that network’s broadcast being taken over by Entravision’s XHAS Tijuana, KZSD has been translating the KGTV ABC subchannel. To date, the signal is analog.