KAZG
Encyclopedia
KAZG is a radio station
broadcasting an oldies
format. Licensed to Scottsdale, Arizona
, USA, the station covers the Phoenix metropolitan area
. KAZG is owned by Sandusky Radio and licensed to Cactus Radio, Inc.
For many years AM 1440 was known as KDOT, and aired an adult-standards format until 1977, when it changed calls to KSGR ("K-Sugar") to fit an oldies format. This lasted until 1978 when it became KOPA. Beginning in the 1960s, it simulcasted on FM 100.7, which continued under various formats and call letters until the mid 1990s.
The station was assigned the call letters KOPA on 1978-04-24. On 1980-09-01, the station changed its call sign to KXAM, and adopted an urban format. On 1982-03-25 they reverted back to KOPA, on 1996-02-19 to KSLX, and on 2001-04-01 to the current KAZG. For about a year in the mid 1990s, they ran CNN Headline News
.
format of oldies
from the 1950s and 1960s, taken via RCS system feed. Features include "14 in a row" song sweeps without commercials, and usage of the branding slogan "Arizona Gold".
In 2009, two Phoenix-based talk shows from the defunct KXAM
radio station made the move to KAZG: the food-themed "Culinary Confessions with Kim and Don" (11am-1pm, weekdays), and sports-talk show "The Positive Side, Sports and Entertainment" that airs from 7:00AM to 10:00AM Monday - Friday. "Culinary Confessions" was simulcast
on KXAM and KAZG from April 10, 2009 through KXAM's final day of broadcasting on April 15, 2009.
at the corner of 64th Street and Thomas Road in south Scottsdale. From this intersection, the transmitter building is accessible via a dirt path bordering the eastern side of the Salt River Project
's Crosscut Canal.
The station transmits at 5,000 watts daytime, and is thus listenable throughout much of the Phoenix metro area. It has a single-tower, non-directional antenna. The station employs C-QUAM AM analog stereo.
Since AM 1440 was originally licensed as an AM daytimer before the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) abolished the designation, it was required to turn off its transmitter at local sundown, and allowed to turn it back on at local sunrise. Although KAZG is now licensed to transmit at 52 watts of power at night, KAZG owner Sandusky Radio opts to turn off the transmitter, apparently to avoid the electricity expense of transmitting at such an unusable power level. On rare occasions, such as when it carries ASU baseball or University of Nebraska football as an "overflow" station of KDUS
, the station will switch to its nighttime power.
Radio observers like to refer to the station's regulator of sunrise/sunset power switches as the "lamp timer," since the times of switching are irregular and tend to drift away from FCC specifications over time, as if the switches were driven by a cheap mechanical lamp timer
.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting an oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format. Licensed to Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
, USA, the station covers the Phoenix metropolitan area
Phoenix Metropolitan Area
The Phoenix metropolitan area, often referred to as The Valley of the Sun, is a metropolitan area, centered on the city of Phoenix, that includes much of the central part of the US state of Arizona...
. KAZG is owned by Sandusky Radio and licensed to Cactus Radio, Inc.
Call letters
KAZG signed on in 1956 as KPOK ("Cowpoke") in Scottsdale. Like many stations in the Phoenix area at the time, it originally ran a country-music format.For many years AM 1440 was known as KDOT, and aired an adult-standards format until 1977, when it changed calls to KSGR ("K-Sugar") to fit an oldies format. This lasted until 1978 when it became KOPA. Beginning in the 1960s, it simulcasted on FM 100.7, which continued under various formats and call letters until the mid 1990s.
The station was assigned the call letters KOPA on 1978-04-24. On 1980-09-01, the station changed its call sign to KXAM, and adopted an urban format. On 1982-03-25 they reverted back to KOPA, on 1996-02-19 to KSLX, and on 2001-04-01 to the current KAZG. For about a year in the mid 1990s, they ran CNN Headline News
CNN Headline News
HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News and CNN2, is a cable television news channel based in the United States and a spinoff of the cable news television channel, CNN. Initially airing tightly-formatted 30-minute newscasts around the clock, since 2005, the channel has increasingly aired long-form...
.
Programming
KAZG currently programs an automatedBroadcast automation
Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human operator...
format of oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
from the 1950s and 1960s, taken via RCS system feed. Features include "14 in a row" song sweeps without commercials, and usage of the branding slogan "Arizona Gold".
In 2009, two Phoenix-based talk shows from the defunct KXAM
KXAM (AM)
KIHP is a Catholic radio station licensed to Mesa, Arizona, serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is owned by IHR Educational Broadcasting.-History:...
radio station made the move to KAZG: the food-themed "Culinary Confessions with Kim and Don" (11am-1pm, weekdays), and sports-talk show "The Positive Side, Sports and Entertainment" that airs from 7:00AM to 10:00AM Monday - Friday. "Culinary Confessions" was simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
on KXAM and KAZG from April 10, 2009 through KXAM's final day of broadcasting on April 15, 2009.
Transmitter
KAZG is popularly referred to as "The Lumberyard" or "Lumberyard 1440" due to the location of its transmitter, directly behind an actual lumber yardLumber yard
A lumber yard is a retail location for lumber and wood related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects. Lumber yards can also provide services such as the use of a planer and other large machines....
at the corner of 64th Street and Thomas Road in south Scottsdale. From this intersection, the transmitter building is accessible via a dirt path bordering the eastern side of the Salt River Project
Salt River Project
The Salt River Project is the umbrella name for two separate entities: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, an agency of the state of Arizona that serves as an electrical utility for the Phoenix metropolitan area, and the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association, a...
's Crosscut Canal.
The station transmits at 5,000 watts daytime, and is thus listenable throughout much of the Phoenix metro area. It has a single-tower, non-directional antenna. The station employs C-QUAM AM analog stereo.
Since AM 1440 was originally licensed as an AM daytimer before the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) abolished the designation, it was required to turn off its transmitter at local sundown, and allowed to turn it back on at local sunrise. Although KAZG is now licensed to transmit at 52 watts of power at night, KAZG owner Sandusky Radio opts to turn off the transmitter, apparently to avoid the electricity expense of transmitting at such an unusable power level. On rare occasions, such as when it carries ASU baseball or University of Nebraska football as an "overflow" station of KDUS
KDUS
KDUS, also known as "The Fan," or "The Fan AM 1060," is a sports talk radio station broadcasting out of Tempe, Arizona and serving the Phoenix metropolitan radio market...
, the station will switch to its nighttime power.
Radio observers like to refer to the station's regulator of sunrise/sunset power switches as the "lamp timer," since the times of switching are irregular and tend to drift away from FCC specifications over time, as if the switches were driven by a cheap mechanical lamp timer
Timer
A timer is a specialized type of clock. A timer can be used to control the sequence of an event or process. Whereas a stopwatch counts upwards from zero for measuring elapsed time, a timer counts down from a specified time interval, like an hourglass.Timers can be mechanical, electromechanical,...
.