From our “Who’s Buying What” page: In the Seattle-Tacoma region, KKMO(AM) 1360 is operating again at full power following the installation of a Broadcast Electronics AM-6A transmitter.
Owned by Sea-Mar Community Health Center, the station is one of the oldest in Washington state. It features a Spanish-language classic regional Mexican music format as “El Rey 1360.”
KKMO also serves as the flagship Spanish-language broadcaster for Seattle Sounders FC.
Integrator Broadcast Engineering Services assisted the station, working with BE to select a suitable transmitter and oversee the installation. The new unit went on air April 27.
KKMO is licensed to operate at 5 kW day and night from a non-directional antenna on Browns Point, on the banks of the Puget Sound in Tacoma. But KKMO filed for special temporary authority last June with the FCC to transmit at a reduced 2 kW.
It was necessitated by failed components in the station’s previous transmitter, which were deemed beyond repair, according to the station’s filing.
The BE AM-6A was selected for its energy efficiency, audio performance and BE’s customer support, the companies said.
Jess Ortega, president of Broadcast Engineering Services, explained that the project extended beyond the transmitter, requiring extensive repairs to the antenna system. She credited her tower crew with restoring the system to its original design and license specifications.
The station also paired the new AM-6A model with a BE AM-1A as a backup.
KKMO is among the oldest surviving stations in the U.S., with a license authorization date of March 30, 1922, according to its FCC history card. The station used the three-letter call sign KMO from its inception until 1983.
Notably, its tenure with those letters prevented St. Louis’ KMOX from securing its own preferred three-letter call sign when it signed on in 1925.
Sea-Mar Community Health Centers acquired KKMO from Salem Communications in 2010.
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