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Another Memory from KOOL, Phoenix…
By Norm Seeley | October 18, 2007
Norm Seeley with Bill Lester, GM, at KOOL Radio in the 60s
I have another KOOL story for you. The picture above shows me, with the General Manager of KOOL Radio, Bill Lester. His desk could be seen from both the AM and FM control rooms, in fact the front door to the building from Adams in downtown Phoenix and the desks for all the sales staff could also be seen from either control room, as each had 3 glass walls and two steps down. Impressive studios even by today’s standards.
Every once in a while, during my tenure there, over ten years, I would stop on my own, or by invitation to sit down and talk to Bill.
One particular day he asked me to sit down and seemed to be troubled by something. He said to me, “We getting a lot of calls and letters from our listeners that they are having trouble finding the station on their radios.”
Let me set the stage. KOOL AM was at 960Kc with 5,000 watts during the day. and I think 500 watts at night with a pattern that put the signal right across downtown Phoenix from Scottsdale road and Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. Not a bad signal, considering how AM works.
Lester was serious. I sat there. Then, keep in mind that I was in my late 20s and a certified “Smart A–”. I looked at him. Then, in a very serious tone told him, “Bill, it’s simple, have Chancey, (the owner) buy KPHO radio, (which was at 910kc), and put a thousand cycle tone on it. Then we tell our listeners to search for the tone, and just tune to the right of it and that will be KOOL.
Once again, I think my humor went right over him. I don’t remember what he said but I do remember to him it was a big problem in his mind and he needed a solution soon.
I bet there are several of you out there that think my idea was sound……well KOOL never bought KPHO. Despite of this, KOOL seemed to attract listeners. Even though a few had trouble finding it.
Let me remind you:
“You’re listening to K, O, O, L, nine sixty, CBS for Phoenix Arizona. I’m Norm Seeley”.
Topics: Broadcasting, Phoenix | 3 Comments »
October 20th, 2007 at 9:50 am
KOOL!
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Norm, day and night power was 5000 watts. You were correct about the DA-N with its main lobe to the SW from the Chauncey Ranch XMTR site. Put a heck of a skywave signal into Rocky Point at night, but if you were in Mesa, forget it–a giant null.
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I think you’re right. Of course back then I would be able to have told you all you wanted to know, almost to the point of the color of the boxes that the tubes came from, even though I never went to the transmitter buildings or had to do such a thing as change a tube in a transmitter. That however was an interest of mine. I use to spend time each day talking with Walt, who was the studio engineer for the radio side at KOOL. I was always interested in the technical side of things. Funny that I never followed that side of the business. On the Air was Norm. While the brain was else where. Like it is today. Hope it comes back soon.