Cal State Long Beach’s KLON Pumps Up the Power

At noon today, chances are Rick Lewis will jump for joy.

That’s when singer Mel Torme turns on KLON-FM’s new transmitter, boosting the power of the 24-hour mostly mainstream jazz and news station at Cal State Long Beach from 1,200 to 8,000 watts.

Though an increase of less than 7,000 watts is relatively small compared to the largest FM stations in the L.A. market, which average 50,000 to 75,000 watts, KLON general manager Lewis thinks it will make a big difference for the small station. “The first few thousand watts of FM power do you the most good,” he said. “Beyond that it’s a process of somewhat diminishing returns.”

Lewis, a 15-year veteran of public radio, has been anticipating this moment since his arrival at KLON in 1985, shortly after the station applied to the Federal Communications Commission for a power boost to 30,000 watts. Lewis oversaw five years of legal negotiations, including opposition from KUCR-FM of UC Riverside, which feared the boost would overpower its signal. When KLON dropped its request to 8,000 watts, KUCR withdrew its protest. The FCC approved the increase in September, 1989.

“After all this time, to be that close to it actually happening (is) really exciting,” Lewis said. “It will put us in the big leagues in terms of area coverage, and in terms of what our audience wants to hear.

“We’ll have the ability to reach more people . . . be better known around the area, and we’ll have a very large and diverse base of membership funding, which we see as our bread and butter for the future,” he said.

At present, about 20% of KLON’s $2.4-million budget comes from its 10,000-plus members, with the rest from Cal State Long Beach, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other grantees.

Ken Borgers, 41, the station’s program director, thinks a stronger signal will build loyalty among listeners. “People will be better able to hear us, and so they’ll stay with us longer,” he said in a later conversation at the KLON studios.

Lewis estimates that the new wattage will double the signal’s penetration; until the boost to 8,000 watts, KLON was heard chiefly in central and western Los Angeles, Pasadena and northern Orange County.

“It’s hard to predict where an FM signal will go before it’s activated, but we should be heard more clearly in Malibu, Santa Monica, downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena and in areas of Orange County,” Lewis said.