Intros

[X-Rated]

LOL. You know Pittsburg really well then. When I lived there, the callsign was Kiss Our A$$, Man. I don't think I remember a Dan. Was he a ham? That attitude employers had was pretty similar across Kansas. WTF do you need equipment to work? Do your work without any tools. Kiss Our A$$ Man.

At night, I could receive that station in Austin, TX, but I couldn't hear it in Arma. It seemed pretty directional at night.

In 1997, I lived in Lawrence. Inlaws lived in Neosho, Mo. I was taking that bypass around Pittsburg all the time back then.

Did you belong to the PRO? Pittsburg Repeater Organization? The 146.94 repeater was on the TV tower and the transmit side used the batwing antenna at about 650 feet. It was horizontally polarized. The receiver was on the tall tower at about 800 feet. Those were the good old days.

[W9JEF]

I kinda had mixed feelings about Pittsburg. The cobblestone streets were neat,
but not the drivers. They were forever cutting you off, and didn't seem to give a rat's patoot
about courtesy. But there was the YMCA swimming pool, with water at 93F. :)

"Ol' Dan joined KKOW in 1964, and his career began at KUOA (1955),
which gave us more in common besides being old farts. I went with him
on all his many remotes. He had a huge fan base, he was much in demand.
His folksy voice reminded me of the Motel 6 guy whose spot ended with,
"We'll leave the light on."

Dan "Ol Dan" Willis

http://www.kkowradio.com/page.php?page_id=86

Was mostly on the DC bands, and didn't get to know any of the local hams;
renovating the station kept me quite busy. Since I own our home here in NW Ark.,
the commute was a bit long, so I rented an apartment in Pittsburg. Some neighbors
had a dog who, at daybreak, would emit a single "yip" once per minute until he got fed.
Not very conducive for sleep after an all-nighter of maintenance.

[X-Rated]

I kinda had mixed feelings about Pittsburg. The cobblestone streets were neat,
but not the drivers. They were forever cutting you off, and didn't seem to give a rat's patoot
about courtesy. But there was the YMCA swimming pool, with water at 93F. :)

"Ol' Dan joined KKOW in 1964, and his career began at KUOA (1955),
which gave us more in common besides being old farts. I went with him
on all his many remotes. He had a huge fan base, he was much in demand.
His folksy voice reminded me of the Motel 6 guy whose spot ended with,
"We'll leave the light on."

Dan "Ol Dan" Willis

http://www.kkowradio.com/page.php?page_id=86

Was mostly on the DC bands, and didn't get to know any of the local hams;
renovating the station kept me quite busy. Since I own our home here in NW Ark.,
the commute was a bit long, so I rented an apartment in Pittsburg. Some neighbors
had a dog who, at daybreak, would emit a single "yip" once per minute until he got fed.
Not very conducive for sleep after an all-nighter of maintenance.

Jack Lawrence (W0TTF) was the engineer at KOAM-TV for many years. He was just a really great guy. He passed away just a few weeks ago. He was one of a few hams I knew who were very proud of their Advanced class licenses and refused to upgrade even thought they could easily. They were making a statement about the incentive license band planning that took away their band privileges and gave those to Extras only.

The pool water at the University was always hot as well. I lived on the cobblestone street of S. Elm not far from campus. I was able to buy the house for $4000 in 1977. We had royalty on campus as well. King Saud's grandson and I tooled around town in his new V-12 Jag. Maybe it is just me, but when I go back there, it seems like a very depressed place. I get depressed just looking at it. It is not the place it was nearly 40 years ago. Way downhill, kinda like the depressed condition you speak about of the KKOW equipment.

[W9JEF]

.


Forgot to mention KRPS (89.9, "Radio Pittsburg State").
Our FM antenna was on their tower, xmtrs in same room.
I particularly like their early evening jazz programs.

[X-Rated]

.


Forgot to mention KRPS (89.9, "Radio Pittsburg State").
Our FM antenna was on their tower, xmtrs in same room.
I particularly like their early evening jazz programs.

As I understand it, KRPS studios is in Shirk Hall. It is the same room I had when I was there my freshman year in 1976, the year before I got my house. I built an 80M antenna in that room and made CW contacts in 1976. Since that room already had radio background, I assume they felt it was best to use as a broadcast room and to commemorate me in some small way. KA0BNR says he was in the studios and that they are specifically in my old room 301 Shirk Hall. I was the floor rep. there. When someone had issues with something on the floor, they came to me. I was the liaison to the administration. I also served on the dorm committee and we scheduled keg parties and such. Back then, Kansas has a law to where an 18 year old could buy and consume 3.2% beer. The guy who lived in the room next door to me was a ~33 year old diabetic. He stayed in another dorm over the winter holidays. He apparently went into a diabetic fit during the holiday and died. That is where I met the Saudi prince as well. His room was decked out like a palace with a very fancy bed and draperies. He was in the dorm for one semester and then he bought a house. That southside third floor is rich in history that will never be properly recorded.

[X-Rated]

301 Shirk.jpg

Here is a view I found on the internet. I circled where my room was at Shirk (Shirar/KRPS Shirk). The cemetery was there as well.

Did you stay at the Bess hotel? I installed antennas on the Bess. I remember getting to go inside the Hotel Stillwell when I first got to town in 1976. The Democratic Party had offices there for the 1976 elections. The Hotel looked a lot like the old picture back then. I thought they would demolish it. Fly a model airplane into it and watch it collapse.

My college job was working at Dick's Lectronics. I wanted them to use the slogan "Chicks like Dick's...Dick's Lectronics, 119 W 5th St, Pittsburg, KS." but they weren't too fond of that idea. Dick Parrish owned and ran the place. I worked on the bench in the back repairing 8-track tape players and other home and auto entertainment systems.

In the summer of '79, I worked at Chambers' Electronics. It was in Lowell, KS, right between Galena and Baxter Springs. Can't miss it. Built many UHF repeater systems for farmers wanting communications to family and workers. WA0UPB Rex Chambers was my boss there.

[W9JEF]

I have a vague memory of visiting the KRPS studios.
(Something to do with our xmtrs' co-location.)

The strange thing is, as a Pizza Hut delivery driver,
had I not accepted the CE position at KKOW,
I'd still be working for this Gene Becknell, who
bought a series of Pizza Huts shortly after I was hired.

By the early 2000s, Pizza Hut entrepreneur Gene Bicknell
owned American Media Investments along with KOAM-TV
(reversing the 1981 split between KOAM TV and radio),
and AMI acquired a number of radio stations in the Joplin
-Pittsburg market with the newly relaxed ownership rules.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KKOW_(AM)

[X-Rated]

I have a vague memory of visiting the KRPS studios.
(Something to do with our xmtrs' co-location.)

The strange thing is, as a Pizza Hut delivery driver,
had I not accepted the CE position at KKOW,
I'd still be working for this Gene Becknell, who
bought a series of Pizza Huts shortly after I was hired.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KKOW_(AM)

I didn't know Gene Becknell, but I remember the name. Another big name in the area was Papa Joe Saia. I think the eastern bypass viaduct was named after him. When I moved to town, Papa Joe had a batch brewing in the basement that exploded and he was injured somewhat. Frontenac was huge back in the prohibition days and most people who lived there had surnames ending in "i" or "a", if you know what I mean. I bought my house from a Frontenac resident V. Macelli. Her husband used the house in Pittsburg as a getaway. He had passed on and she wanted rid of that hideous "miner's shack".

I have no idea about the studio. Wikipedia says that the KRPS studios is in Shirk.

Back in 1976-80, the transmitter was KSEK/KMRJ out there east of town. I am assuming that is where the KRPS transmitter is. They had a studio at the AM/FM transmitter. I guess I don't know where the KKOW studios were. I wasn't into country.

[W9JEF]

I didn't know Gene Becknell, but I remember the name. Another big name in the area was Papa Joe Saia. I think the eastern bypass viaduct was named after him. When I moved to town, Papa Joe had a batch brewing in the basement that exploded and he was injured somewhat. Frontenac was huge back in the prohibition days and most people who lived there had surnames ending in "i" or "a", if you know what I mean. I bought my house from a Frontenac resident V. Macelli. Her husband used the house in Pittsburg as a getaway. He had passed on and she wanted rid of that hideous "miner's shack".

I have no idea about the studio. Wikipedia says that the KRPS studios is in Shirk.

Back in 1976-80, the transmitter was KSEK/KMRJ out there east of town. I am assuming that is where the KRPS transmitter is. They had a studio at the AM/FM transmitter. I guess I don't know where the KKOW studios were. I wasn't into country.

This was in 1997...

The KRPS transmitter (along with KKOW-FM)
was southwest of town, on 103, near Weir.

KKOW studios were collocated at the antenna farm
on 126, east--about half-way to the MO border.

[X-Rated]

I see. I brought up Google Maps and see that the tower out east on Quincy was the KSEK/KMRJ complete station. However now there is no studio there. We had studios at the KOAM TV tower back in the day. One day they were doing their midday show when a massive chunk of ice came crashing through the roof from the tower. I see they have their studios in Joplin now.

When I worked for Chambers, we had responsibility for the 102.5 in Joplin as well. Somebody went out with a .22 and shot holes through the heliax near the transmitter. Amazingly, the station continued to operate without issue. Rex saw the damage when he went out there and took electrical tape to tape it all up. That worked until it rained and sparks flew. He ordered a section of heliax when he noticed the damage so it was on its way at the time. In the meantime, a friend of mine and I got permission to go out and hook up an FM receiver to the thing. We were receiving some St. Louis station quite well. Couldn't get anything on the low end of the band since KSYN and KOBC were blowing out the front end on the receiver down there.

So what is the tower on east Quincy now? Is that an AM station at all anymore?