[BC] Local Celebrities

[ACN]

Steve, wasn't the 1550 a classical station with studios in the St Francis 
Hotel?

They offered me a job and I was impressed that they were using RCA 44BX 
microphones.   In fact, they had an extra one and I purchased it from them.

Wasn't it KKHI.

Seems to me they had a lot of trouble getting the directional to work for 
some reason.

Does any of this ring a bell?

Tom
ACN

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve" <shnewman at alaweb.com>
To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 10:46 PM
Subject: Re: [BC] Local Celebrities


KOBY was originally KEAR which is now occupying 610...the former KFRC. 
(sigh) At any rate Dave Siegel was the owner. Bought the station in 1956 and 
gave it the call letters KOBY. The studios were originally in the Bellevue 
Hotel then they moved to 340 Mason Street. Transmitter was in (still is 
until they go 50Kw) Belmont, just South of the SF Airport. They are/were 
10Kw with 3 Towers. Their South tower was considered almost (but not quite) 
a parasitic tower. KOBY was at 1550. I forget the call letters they have 
now. They went from nowhere to the number one station in town in 2 months in 
1956. Amazing. That signal didn't make such a good trip to where I lived at 
night and I was out by the ocean in the Sunset District but did they have 
the audience. It's always been amazing to me looking back at how stations 
moaned about their signals but each and everyone of them had great ratings 
at one time or another. When more stations (FM) came alive they blamed the 
signal for the lack of ratings. I'm sure you've heard this story MANY times.

I have fond memories of KOBY. I was a 13 year old kid and would stand and 
watch the operation for hours. They operated (as did all stations in San 
Francisco and the larger cities) with an engineer in one booth and announcer 
in the other. (split operation) When I built my little home radio station I 
didn't know about "combo" operations so I set mine up the same way. Never 
had a mic at the board. Friends from school would help run the station. We 
always had someone on the board and someone announcing. I don't think I saw 
a combo operation until many years later. I just thought that's how radio 
operated. Fun times.

Steve
Steve Walker Productions

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: ACN
  To: Broadcasters' Mailing List
  Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 10:47 PM
  Subject: Re: [BC] Local Celebrities


  Steve, what was the frequency and facility of KOBY?

  Tom
  ACN


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