Longtime retailer and SBE supporter Jim Dujowich says that he is opening a new store under the old Western Radio Electronics name. Jim had been managing Elkays Electronics in Kearny Mesa, but he has moved the stock to 7558 Trade Street near Miramar Road. You can contact the sales crew using the traditional phone number, (858) 268-4400.

I asked Jim a few questions about the new store:

Q. Why did you move?

A. Bigger and better premises, a dedicated showroom to demonstrate product, an open area for workshops, a conference room, and additional parking for customers.

Q. What products do you stock now for broadcasters?

A. Of course cable and connectors such as, Kings, Bomar, Middle Atlantic, Switchcraft, Neutrik, Gepco, Belden, Azden, Telex and much more!!

Q. What improvements, if any, do you expect in your store over the coming months?

A. Deeper stock levels, better range, lunch and learn sessions, as well as better tech support and product knowledge.

Q. Is there any change in personnel or ownership that we should know about?

A. Yes. In addition to Les Kacev, Alon and Shimshon Hasson bring a wealth of business experience and technical knowledge to the table and broaden the ownership base. General support from Jim and Mike will continue as usual along with our personal relationships with all our vendors.

Q. Anything else?

A. We carry new security and access control lines.

Managers at 760 kHz KFMB-AM say their signal is covered by hash in northern San Diego and throughout Orange County from the digital sidebands of alternate channel 740 kHz KBRT in Avalon on Catalina Island. Radio World’s Leslie Stimson recently filed a report about the battle. KBRT says KFMB has no right to interference protection in these areas since KFMB moved to the alternate channel in 1959 from 540kHz with the proviso of accepting interference outside its metro area of San Diego. KBRT also says it has reduced its IBOC sideband power by 6dB. Southern California has a few alternate channel combos that require stiff NRSC filters and cooperation–think 690 XETRA and 710 KSPN or 1070 KNX and 1090 XEPRS. But KBRT wants the Ibiquity IBOC system on the air, which by definition is “in-band” but not really “on channel”, typically spilling well into alternate channel territory. This one could become a national test case.

McKinnon Broadcasting filed recently to construct new low power digital TV transmitters in three Southern California markets new to the station.

The applications include a 15kW channel 40 in El Centro, a 2kW channel 44 serving Santa Barbara, and a 5kW channel 26 serving Palm Springs.

FCC records show that two other groups have applied for channel 44 in Santa Barbara, and the FCC granted Gulf-California group in 2007 a construction permit for KCWQ-LD on channel 26 in Palm Springs.

KUSI already operates a channel 12 translator, K12PO, serving the Temecula area of Riverside County. They have an application to upgrade the site to digital.

Director of Engineering Richard Large said, “With the FCC opening up a window to file for Digital LPTV and translators, [the filing] was a new opportunity to expand our KUSINEWS coverage.”

It’s about the rabbit ears, really. We’ve all been in one of those homes where they are watching your station on a pair of metal rods sticking up from the TV, and what you see on the screen is a little video and lots of random noise. And when you took away their analog signal, you suddenly took away the ability of the cheapskate to get free TV. That’s because what was left was not enough signal to make a digital picture even on a generation six converter box.

When it calculated power limits for replacement DTV stations, the FCC wanted to duplicate the coverage areas of analog stations. On paper, it did so pretty well. And it works for viewers with modest outdoor antennas. Most over-the-air viewers with older antennas saw their good analog pictures replaced by crisp new digital pictures.

What the FCC overlooked is the TV audience out there with substandard antennas getting substandard analog signals. When the DTV transition happened, these viewers were left at the bottom of the digital cliff with no pictures at all.

Power to the People

KFMB and KGTV require approximately 15kW ERP to duplicate their analog audience using digital according to parameters originally set-up by the FCC and documented by Hammett and Edison under contract. KGTV signed on this year with 20.7kW ERP. KFMB originally applied for an increase in power on channel 8 digital after their February transition and received approval in mid-July to run with 19.8kW ERP. They adjusted their transmitter without any need for changes to hardware.

The approximate 20kW figure was reached based on calculated adjacent channel protection for Los Angeles stations. As it is, the increase will barely be noticed since it’s just over 1dB. Whether future increases can be planned depends on national trends and more importantly, what happens in LA. Both stations want to increase power.

KFMB’s Director of Engineering, Rich Lochmann, says their current equipment will allow them to get up to 87kW, but they would ultimately like to go to 160kW.

Rich says, “The key words are ‘location, location, location’ and ‘antenna, antenna, antenna’.  People just can’t get away with the cheapie passive antennas. With analog they would watch anything even if it was snowy or ghosty but with digital it’s there or not there. They don’t understand that nor like it.”

Ham Radio Outlet Store Manager Tom McDuffie of Carlsbad suffered a stroke Friday, July 11 while driving on local state route 52. He died the following Monday at Sharp Hospital in Kearny Mesa.

According to his wife Susan, he was able to pull to the side of the road then lost consciousness. CHP found him in the vehicle a few hours later and had to break the window to get in.

Tom was taken to Sharp Hospital in Kearny Mesa, where he was admitted unconscious to the Intensive Care Unit.

Memorial services will be held on July 23, 2009 at 12:00 (noon) at El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road, San Diego 92121. From I-805, take Mira Mesa Boulevard east one block to Scranton Road, then right to Carroll Canyon, then left to 5600.

Tom, ham callsign KM6K, had managed the San Diego HRO store since 1979. The store has served as a source of broadcast RF supplies. He was a car enthusiast as well.