KRLD Transmitter

KRLD's transmitter building and towers are located in Garland. The site was built in 1937, when KRLD increased its power from 10,000 W to 50,000 W. (The previous transmitter site was near what is now Love Field. It used a 'flat-top' antenna, the old Marconi type, made of wire and supported between two tall poles.) Then, in 1937, the owner of KRLD at the time, the now-defunct Times-Herald newspaper, bought a "turn-key" 50 kW transmitter plant from Western Electric...otherwise known as the Bell Labs. It utilized a water-cooled transmitter that took up the whole building, including a machine shop to make small parts. Since the transmitter was only about 25% efficient, it generated a lot of waste heat, which was transferred to the outside by large radiators, similar to automotive radiators, on the side of the building.

Today, the state-of-the-art 50 kW digital AM transmitter, a Harris Corp. DX-50 model, only occupies a small portion of the approx. 5000 sq. ft. building. The basement is mostly empty; the machine shop is gone. In contrast to that early W.E. transmitter, the Harris DX-50 is 87% efficient, producing relatively little waste heat, which is taken outside by the building's air conditioning system. The KRLD program is transported from our studios in Uptown Dallas to the Garland installation by two redundant means: a 950 MHz private microwave system, and a T-1 data line from AT&T / SBC.  The site is monitored, controlled, and secured from the station by a microcontroller-based remote control system.

In May 2005, KRLD began transmitting HD Radio, digital transmission of its regular programming.  We operate in the "hybrid" mode, meaning that all existing analog radios will still receive KRLD just like before.  But owners of new HD radios will note significantly improved audio quality on KRLD.  For more information about HD Radio, please visit www.hdradio.com.