KFMB hired two Broadcast Maintenance Engineers in November.

The AM/FM/TV combo hired Julio Ramirez, previously with the Signal Wiz contract engineering company assisting with maintenance at KPRI (FM), KSDY-LD, and other clients. More recently, he had done IT work at XETV for Paul Redfield’s Orbdot contracting services company, and tech support for ESET security software. Julio enjoys music and photography after hours.

KFMB also hired Joseph Pandolfo, past Chief Engineer at each KMIR Palm Springs, WTXL Tallahassee and WDBD Jackson. He had also served with Harris Broadcast as server product field support engineer. He’s been a member of SBE since 1984 and has a CBNT certification.

In early December, 2016, the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability, proposing a $25,000 fine for Iglesia el Remanente Fraternidad Elim in Panorama City in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. That church has operated a radio station on 93.7 MHz while repeatedly ignoring FCC requests to shut down since 2013. In fact, the website continues to publicize the FM pirate station.

In a second Panorama City church pirate radio case, field agents traced a signal at 95.1 FM back to an antenna atop the Ministerio Internacional Luz A Las Naciones church after they received complaints about the station in March 2015. They warned the property tenant, Nelson Quintanilla, that his continued unlicensed operations could lead to more than a warning. But the station remained on the air despite repeated warnings to Quintanilla—who at one point admitted to agents he was responsible for the station. The Enforcement Bureau says when agents returned to the church in October 2016, the station was broadcasting again. They are also proposing a $25,000 fine for this case.

Mt. Soledad in La Jolla is now home to another radiator, KI6KHB/F. A new Yaseu Fusion repeater is broadcasting on 445.540 -. It is in Auto mode meaning if you transmit FM, the output will be FM. If you’re using the digital C4FM mode, the output will be in C4FM.

Frequency: 445.540 -, PL 88.5Hz, DSQ code: 36

Repeater output is 25 watts TPO on a station master omni antenna right above the roof line at the KGTV site.

Note: This repeater is coordinated with SCRRBA and is co-channel with the WB6AJE repeater on Mt. Wilson in Los Angeles. Outside Oceanside there may be overlap between the two machines so we’re suggesting only use the repeater if within the county.

Local broadcast engineers are encouraged to use the new repeater.

Huge thanks to Chris Durso, Gary Stigall, Bob Vaillancourt, John Bush and many others that made this year long project a reality.

(Matthew Wilson Anderson installed the system and wrote this article.)

RadioInsight.com reported last week: “El Sembrador Ministries is exercising its option to purchase silent 1040 KURS San Diego CA from Quetzal Bilingual Communications for $900,000. El Sembrador is being credited half of its time brokerage fees paid since July 2014 subtracting $310,000 from the money owed. KURS went silent in early October after failing to pay tower owner Multicultural Broadcasting due rent. $10,816 from the deposit paid to Quetzal will go to Multicultural to restore the station’s use of the tower.”

In June this year, the FCC issued a $12,000 monetary forfeiture and short-term renewal for KURS(AM) for failure to prepare issues and program’s lists in the Station’s public file and to file biennial ownership reports.

The same station was issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for violating output power limits in June 1999.

Jaime Bonilla, associated with Quetzal Bilingual Communications, also owns group Media Sports de Mexico stations XHPRS Tecate (operated by Broadcasting Corporation of America as Max 105.7), XEPE 1700 kHz (also operated by BCA), XESDD 1030 kHz Tijuana, and XESS 620 kHz Rosarito, Mexico. XESDD was noted by local engineers for its dial position only 10 kHz away from co-owned KURS, less than 20 miles away.

A new DTV signal appeared last month on physical channel 33.  An informed source says the signal is from XHCTTI on Mt. San Antonio in Tijuana, virtual channel 3.1 broadcasting the new network Imagen, meant to compete directly with the dominant Azteca and Televisa networks.

Tip from Bob Gonsett