In photo: Buzz Barr & Vicki Carr
[aircheck courtesy of Bill Taylor]
Click the individual station links to find historical data regarding stations, personalities and formats at SeaTacRadio.com
Seattle FM Seattle AM
Sunday, February 5, 5:45 am
Category Archives: Audio
Buzz Barr aircheck KING – 1972
2011/05/23 – 9:52 pm
KOL Jingles mid-1960s
2011/05/12 – 9:28 am
Courtesy of Bill Taylor, vintage Kolorful KOL jingles for Buzz Barr, Lee Perkins, Tom Connors, Rhett Hamilton Walker, Dex Allen, Robin Mitchell, Greg Connors and a Kolorful KOL sounder at the end. Enjoy!
Remembering Tacoma’s Sugar Bruce Cannon
2011/05/09 – 3:35 pm
Hey Jason…
I want to thank you for the Bruce Cannon tribute….I worked with Bruce in Bend, Oregon for about 4 years…thank you for keeping his memory alive online.
It means a lot to all of us who worked with him in Bend. He was a teacher, and prided himself on that, and I certainly was a student. He had a huge heart. Which may have been his downfall, but it was a benefit to all of us. I hope he knows that.
Sincerely,
Scott Schuster
*****Editor’s note: Bruce was one of the good guys. I grew up listening to him and later had the opportunity to work with him at KTAC. KTAC was Bruce Cannon. He loved radio and was a “lifer”. Hear the audio salute here.
LPFM & Internet-Only listings
2010/11/30 – 12:12 pm
Other than pirate radio, no other form of broadcasting is more transient than the Internet broadcaster. Marketing an Internet station on a shoestring is a slow process.
We will attempt to compile a list of Pacific Northwest Net & LPFM/AM channels, and keep this list current. If you operate an Internet or LPFM/AM, contact us with the info. If you are a fan of one of these radio stations, send us the URL of the website. We will not be listing stations which are funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting etc.
You will find the list on Seatacradio.com below the AM & FM station listings.
Spotmaster 500 cart machine
2010/11/22 – 12:21 pm
Circa 1964 — These may still be in use at some smaller stations.
The Associated Press teletype
2010/11/21 – 11:42 pm
Clipping from a 1962 advertisement for the Associated Press teletype machine. 
Hear it
Grundig S350DL – DXing Delight
2010/11/20 – 7:57 pm
A late birthday gift or an early Christmas present to myself, the Grundig S350 Deluxe. The design gives the radio a solid look, even though the knobs look metallic, they are made of plastic. Yet, the tuning controls are very responsive. The unit has a lighted monochrome LCD display. This comes in handy for those nights in the field, on safari, or dx’ing in the back yard on a summer evening.
The S350 Deluxe has a synthesized digital tuner section, though the tuner is analog, the frequencies are displayed on a digital readout. This radio has fantastic sound quality from the large speaker and stereo sound with headphones.
The S350 Deluxe has stereo RCA line out jacks for connecting the unit to an amplifier or home stereo. The radio supports battery and AC power, and you can choose to use either D cell batteries or AA. On top of this, the radio has a clock, alarm feature, and snooze timer.
The radio can tune frequencies to the hundredth decimal place, and the shortwave/AM frequency lock circuit provides stability to reduce tuning drift.
Freedom 1590, Nighttime DXing & Internet Radio
2010/11/16 – 9:21 pm
A reader writes concerning my earlier comments on the new Freedom 1590 KLFE:
Greetings,
Dennis Miller and Mark Levin are good, but Hugh Hewitt is one of the best interviewers in radio.
He is good too.
Thanks,
Chuck
Ok. this is true, in fact I also enjoy listening to Mike Gallagher occasionally. I was simply noting that Salem Communications uses the same talk hosts in every market. It was refreshing to have the addition of Dennis Miller and Mark Levin for a change.
Salem would serve a much larger audience by moving this talk format to another frequency. 1590 is not available to listeners here in the South Sound region after sundown. Thankfully, there is the online stream to make up for this.
Driving home through downtown Tacoma the other night, I tried to tune in 1590 KLFE. There was too much interference from other stations since KLFE must have cut power at sunset. I scanned the dial, picking up 1530 KFBK/Sacramento, 1510 KGA/Spokane, 1360 KKMO/Tacoma, 1300 KKOL/Seattle [with transmitter located at the Port of Tacoma], 1180 KLAY/Lakewood, 1160 KSL/Salt Lake City, 1130 CKWX/Vancouver BC, 1070 KNX/Los Angeles and 1000 KOMO/Seattle… all loud and clear.
Internet streaming has given me thoughts of buying an Internet radio. I have been looking at the various radio models, but just haven’t pulled the trigger on that purchase yet. Maybe a portable unit that I can carry in the car.
Last night’s wind storm also made me think about buying a battery-powered AM/FM radio. Ideally, I would want a unit that incorporates AM/FM & Internet radio. That would be keen!
When Radio Networks Entertained
2010/11/16 – 8:15 pm
Network affiliation of Seattle radio stations has changed over the years, and is much less important to the listener these days. No longer do networks carry daily entertainment programs on radio, as they do on television. Gone are the dramas, westerns, variety shows, Arthur Godfrey, Art Linkletter and Don McNeil’s Breakfast Club.
Remember when we used to count on CBS for House Party each afternoon? This Art Linkletter program made us laugh when he would interview the children during his time on the air. KIRO 710 carried this and Arthur Godfrey on a daily basis, as well as other CBS entertainment and network news programming.
Network affiliation in 1960s Seattle radio was typically:
570 KVI – Mutual
710 KIRO – CBS
850 KTAC – ABC
950 KJR – ABC
1000 KOMO – ABC
1090 KING – NBC
1150 KAYO – Mutual
1400 KTNT – Mutual
1300 KOL was a CBS affiliate prior to KIRO getting the network in 1937. KOL later hooked up with Mutual. All this, long before KOL started rocking Seattle.
ABC was a spin-off of the NBC Network, called the Blue Network, incorporating as the American Broadcasting Company in 1945. In the 60s, ABC split into four distinct networks for various audience demographics. There was ABC Entertainment, ABC Information, ABC Contemporary and ABC FM Network.
These days, NBC Radio has all but disappeared, sold off to Westwood One years ago. The NBC Radio News name is simply branding that Westwood One uses during certain newscasts, there is no real connection to the NBC Network. The Mutual brand was purchased by Westwood one in 1985 and signed off for the last time in 1999.
“Theater of The Mind”, or radio programming, as we knew it, has been revived in programs like the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, still in reruns on stations throughout the country, and available online. KIXI Seattle carries old-time radio programming during the feature When Radio Was, and the Adventures of Harry Nile. The few specialty programs featuring old-time radio, are all that is left of radio’s golden age of entertainment, on terrestrial radio. Still fun to listen to, after all these years.
Seattle’s Greatest Hits 570 KVI
2010/11/02 – 10:04 am
“The first Music, News, Personality and Information station on Seattle’s AM dial.” Monday, November 8, 2010 – KVI will flip format from conservative talk to Oldies. Fisher broke the news this week that the talk-talk-yak-yak would end and the Oldies would spin once again on 57 KVI.
KVI was programming Oldies when the station switched to Rush Limbaugh in the early 90s. That was a move KVI made due to the ratings decline of music stations on the AM band. So, what has changed? This may be only temporary, as it seems that Fisher would just as likely sell off KVI if the price was right. We don’t expect the format to last, but the on-air line-up [debuting January 3rd] includes Tom Hutyler and Marina Rockinger during the morning commute, Mark Christopher for the afternoon drive home and Ric Hansen in the evening. Pretty damn good for starters!
Sue Romero, formerly with KOMO and KBSG, Bill Rice, formerly with KOMO and KJR, and Ana Kelly, formerly with KOMO, KPLZ and KBSG will provide local news, traffic and information. Program Director Travis Box stays aboard.