Whatever happened to KSUN Bisbee?

[SqueakyWheel]

Wow..amazing what you'll find on the internet    My nephew Shon alerted me to this thread...Since I'm one of the "Wrye"s that originally owned KBAZ/KZMK, it was fun see some people around that remember the old days.  I'm not going to correct all of the mistakes to the time line for the stations above, but if anyone would like chat more about it I can be reached at KWFMReunion@gmail.com...I'm going to double check with a friend, but I'm pretty sure the old KSUN frequency is still dark and collecting dust on a FCC shelf...

[ironbear]

Wow..amazing what you'll find on the internet    My nephew Shon alerted me to this thread...Since I'm one of the "Wrye"s that originally owned KBAZ/KZMK, it was fun see some people around that remember the old days.  I'm not going to correct all of the mistakes to the time line for the stations above, but if anyone would like chat more about it I can be reached at KWFMReunion@gmail.com...I'm going to double check with a friend, but I'm pretty sure the old KSUN frequency is still dark and collecting dust on a FCC shelf...

KBAZ was a great example of a true 'mom and pop', family operated station, and I always felt a nice connection in re-purposing the original equipment (except for the CCA, which I donated to a NCE-FM in Michigan.)  The old ECFM-2 antenna was particularly effective for us in Flagstaff, with regular KDKB translator listeners in Holbrook, some 90 miles away, and Jerome.  (It helps to have an awesome transmitter site, too.)  Those were the days!

It's great to cross paths, all these years later.

[SqueakyWheel]

Hey, ironbear..if you'd be willing to connect, I'd love to chat...it's hard to put into words what that time of my life was like, and it's very, very cool to hear about stuff that I grew up with in my basement being used for other great broadcast purposes...this was intended to be edited, but the webmaster posted the whole thing...brief synopsis of the 70's time line of KBAZ/KZMK.  As I remember it, KSUN's owner did have the original c.p. for 92.1...but let it lapse, and that's when my dad came in.  http://las-solanas.com/kwfm/personnel_mrye.php 
I still have all of the FCC files and records...


So...you bought the equipment from Casto, the GM, or the engineer???  Yup, my dad picked out the xmtr site, one of the highest points (highest?) in Cochise County...50 watts did a lot of damage at that altitude    Future owners sold/traded the 92.1 to 92.3 to make a buck..ironically to/with the same Tucson group I'd end up spending most of my career with...maybe my dad would have done the same thing.

Not sure if you can see this, but here's a link to the newspaper article when we (Copper Valley) were first up and running:   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1149629274295.23601.1634511481&l=c823062910&type=1

[ironbear]

Hey, ironbear..if you'd be willing to connect, I'd love to chat...it's hard to put into words what that time of my life was like, and it's very, very cool to hear about stuff that I grew up with in my basement being used for other great broadcast purposes...this was intended to be edited, but the webmaster posted the whole thing...brief synopsis of the 70's time line of KBAZ/KZMK.  As I remember it, KSUN's owner did have the original c.p. for 92.1...but let it lapse, and that's when my dad came in.  http://las-solanas.com/kwfm/personnel_mrye.php 
I still have all of the FCC files and records...

So...you bought the equipment from Casto, the GM, or the engineer???  Yup, my dad picked out the xmtr site, one of the highest points (highest?) in Cochise County...50 watts did a lot of damage at that altitude    Future owners sold/traded the 92.1 to 92.3 to make a buck..ironically to/with the same Tucson group I'd end up spending most of my career with...maybe my dad would have done the same thing.

Not sure if you can see this, but here's a link to the newspaper article when we (Copper Valley) were first up and running:   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1149629274295.23601.1634511481&l=c823062910&type=1

Thanks for a great post and for all the background on KBAZ, and when I said 50 Watts can sound like a blowtorch, I wasn't kidding.  I appreciate the heritage of that equipment even more now, and you now know that the good Karma came with us to Flagstaff.  I was dealing with Dave Casto the GM, who later ended up in Cottonwood at KSMK, and Palmer Stewart, the OM.  It seems possible that our paths crossed while I was at the station.

I've always related to your dad's path to ownership, which is much less possible anymore.  With all the changes and consolidation that's happened, remembering the spirit of the real entrepreneurs who made it happen seems important.

[bilco]

I need to check the AZ section more often not just the Tucson section.  My history with Bisbe radio includes when I first moved to Tucson working for Dennis Behan's KCEE, my freind Eric Schecter was doing part time engineering for KZMK I helped him a few times in that trailer with the automation sytem and on the mountain.  Later, After the station had been sold eventually to the Sierra Vista combination That Behan owned, I became the Sierra Vista Engineer for the three and was heavily involved in that little 50 watt power house on the Mule mountain site.  Always liked going up there.  We had the Mandatory city of License studio in a closet in the back of a dance studio in old Bisbee that actually could have been put on the air (though I doubt it ever was!).  Still stay in contact with Squeaky and a few others fromthe Sierra Vista days, even after moving to Las Vegas 13 Years ago.