Fifty Years of KISN Memories. « feedback.pdxradio.com

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Fifty Years of KISN Memories.

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Started 1 year ago by littlesongs
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littlesongs

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It has been almost a day without a KISN thread on the message board! So, here is a new spot for fond memories of 910 AM and 97.1 FM.

I'll start the ball rolling again. I remember fogging up the windows with my first sweetheart in a '65 Rambler. We had KISN on the radio and the lights of the city in the distance. It was a quintessential Portland experience.

With 50 years of heritage and a wealth of songs everybody still loves, you would think that somebody might find a place for KISN in the current landscape.

Happy Half-Century KISN! Here is where the conversation began:

http://feedback.pdxradio.com/messages/5/466249.html?1242720716

Posted on May 19, 2009 - 09:51 PM #
kennewickman

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We have can have hopes for HD Radio perhaps !

KISN-HD on 910.1 or some such. Or perhaps better yet on FM somewhere. Especially lately I have been hearing negative comments from about everywhere regarding Sirus/XM. Although I do enjoy Sirius chs 5,6,7.

Posted on May 20, 2009 - 06:48 PM #
semoochie

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I've been holding out for 91derful.5-HD2!(smile) Hey, I've got it: KBOO has be scraping the bottom of the barrel for listeners and recently lost CPB support. 90.7 rounds up to 91! They could even put it on the main channel! That's bound to bring in some pledges!(another smile)

Posted on May 20, 2009 - 07:26 PM #
pdxgary98

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Yeah smoochie that is the best one yet KBOO to KISN next I am going to wonder if you plan on KGW super 62 on 620 HD1. I had XM in my car and that was the pits does not do good through the rockies or any other mountains for that matter but did well in Utah and California but KFRC's HD1 did great for the whole Bay area except for that corner in SF. But hey I do like semoochie's idea on what to do with KBOO. Good job!

Posted on May 20, 2009 - 11:06 PM #
semoochie

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...except for that corner. (inside joke albeit 35 years old!)

Posted on May 21, 2009 - 02:08 AM #
Dan_Packard

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And what corner is that (for those who missed the paisley party)?

Posted on May 21, 2009 - 01:56 PM #
semoochie

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He used to operate a community radio station out of his house. The joke was that it served the entire Portland metro area, except for that corner, the corner meaning "the entire Portland metro area"! We were very young.

Posted on May 21, 2009 - 07:52 PM #
radiofan

new electron
Posts: 1

Long time visitor, first time poster (Sounds like a great line to use on a talk show).

I was going through a bunch of old 45s the other day and came across one I picked up at a Goodwill Store in Portland back in 1972 and thought it might fit the thread.

"The Song Of The City" by The KISN Sisters from PAMS Series 16 in 1961.

http://www.radiowest.ca/sound/kisnsongofthecity.mp3

Posted on May 21, 2009 - 10:55 PM #
alex_hart

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Nice find radiofan! Welcome to the board!

Posted on May 21, 2009 - 11:11 PM #
pdxgary98

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WOW thanks radiofan for the KISN song a real blast out of the past. I got a copy of it but yours is better.

Posted on May 21, 2009 - 11:20 PM #
littlesongs

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Welcome aboard radiofan!

Thanks a bunch for bringing "The KISN Sisters" rendition. I found these "Miss WLOB" versions on the internet awhile ago, but it is much more fun to have the right one!

http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/HW/1_Portland_My_Home_Town.mp3
http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/HW/2_Portland_Instrumental.mp3
http://www.radiouseonly.com/singles/maine_singles/wlob_portland_my_home_town.htm

Posted on May 21, 2009 - 11:23 PM #
pdxgary98

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OK now for the brain twister... The stoner may know. Does any one know where one can get a copy of Bobby John - Teenager Bill Of Rights... aka know as Are you ready for a revolution that was played on April 30, 1959 on 910 KVAN.

Posted on May 22, 2009 - 12:19 AM #
littlesongs

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Alfredo_T put together a great archive a few years back. "Teenage Bill of Rights" by Robby John and the Seven-Teens was included in the KISN 47th anniversary special:

http://atorrejon.dsl.pdx.spiretech.com/~alfredo/KISN_47th_Anniversary/

Posted on May 22, 2009 - 12:24 AM #
Craig_Adams

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It's a very hard song to find but Dirty Dave The Record Slave has a copy.

Posted on May 22, 2009 - 12:29 AM #
kennewickman

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Thanks Radiofan. My whole family enjoyed that link !

Posted on May 22, 2009 - 09:59 AM #
pdxgary98

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Thanks littlesongs I got it and also thanks Craig. Just as easy as cueing a 45. Ah you do remember those things? Thanks guys.

Posted on May 22, 2009 - 09:25 PM #
Waynes World

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http://www.divshare.com/members/

Here are several Pat Pattee bits you will like including the teenage bill of rights

Posted on May 23, 2009 - 08:23 PM #
Randy_in_Eugene

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Wayne, that link is to the Divshare account log-in page, not to the specific page where your files are posted. Go to the exact page where the files are, then copy whatever is in the Address window at the top of your browser, then paste that address here.

Posted on May 23, 2009 - 09:31 PM #
Waynes World

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I may need to try another site, I know I was opening it earlier. I had it set right to where the songs were I don't know why it didn't open.

Posted on May 23, 2009 - 10:57 PM #
jimbo

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"I don't know why it didn't open. "
It is obvious. Randy explained it. You gave a generic login address to the site, not to where your files are. Do what Randy says and it would work.

Mediafire works very well. After you upload a file, it gives you the link that you copy and paste into your message. It doesn't get any easier than that and it is free.

Posted on May 26, 2009 - 09:34 AM #
Waynes World

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Then maybe I need to put my e-mail on here. wayne230@comcast.net and then marlin and log in with that.

Posted on May 26, 2009 - 03:16 PM #
littlesongs

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Wayne had a real struggle sharing these files with us, but the wait was worth it. Though this aircheck is not from the old preacher's glory days at KISN, Pat Pattee was still fantastic when he returned to the airwaves on KAAR 1480.

Pat kicks off a Tuesday show with his theme song:

http://www.divshare.com/download/7467120-bd6

Pat remembers his first radio gig and the first record he spun:

http://www.divshare.com/download/7466766-93c

Pat recalls KISN's debut in 1959:

http://www.divshare.com/download/7466671-0f7
http://www.divshare.com/download/7467119-f7c

Pat spins some Coasters, Oliver Cool and Little Richard:

http://www.divshare.com/download/7466799-5cb
http://www.divshare.com/download/7466793-261
http://www.divshare.com/download/7466789-9c0

Pat talks about a tune that was once offered to his band:

http://www.divshare.com/download/7466780-74d

Pat does one of his signature weather forecasts:

http://www.divshare.com/download/7466643-699

Thanks Wayne!

Posted on May 26, 2009 - 11:06 PM #
Dan_Packard

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Thanks for getting these sorted out littlesongs.

Posted on May 27, 2009 - 07:02 AM #
Waynes World

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Thanks also for figuring that out.We can all now enjoy them, littlesongs!

Posted on May 27, 2009 - 02:58 PM #
Dan_Packard

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And thanks for the sounds Wayne! There - is that enough thanks for everyone?

Posted on May 28, 2009 - 03:13 PM #
Craig_Adams

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Posts: 2,132

Thanks Wayne & littlesongs, that was fun! Do you have a date on the tape when Pat began on KAAR? I heard him mention it was Tuesday.

KAAR switched to a Solid Gold format on February 14, 1983. I visited Michael Jack Kirby at K-double-A-R studios in late 1984 when they were at 6309 N.E. Hwy 99 and watched Pat doing his afternoon shift. I remember seeing his 45's in a box behind him. Fun watching "The Master" at work. By the time I moved to "Car radio" Pat had just left and KAAR was in the Tower Mall. I believe he might have left because of the short format change to Radio Aahs.

Posted on May 28, 2009 - 07:29 PM #
Waynes World

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He mentioned later on that it was 25 years "yesterday" which would have been Feb 2nd 1984. I remember that Pat did the show from the Tower mall up in Vancouver and Michael came on just before him. He did a late night show on KBOO at the same time which makes me wonder if he ever slept. Pat worked at KAAR for about a year because it changed to "radio Oz"

Posted on May 29, 2009 - 10:36 AM #
Waynes World

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It was 25 yeears before 1984 that the plane crash of Feb 3rd 1959 happend that killed Buddy Holly the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

Posted on May 29, 2009 - 10:37 AM #
Craig_Adams

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Posts: 2,132

Thanks Wayne! I think you're off by one day. On February 1, 1984 KAAR went 24 hours. With the expanded time, this would have been perfect to add Pat, so I'm thinking that's why he started at this point on Car Radio.

Posted on May 29, 2009 - 06:23 PM #
semoochie

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Did they drop the overnight shift for awhile? KARO must have been 24 hours in 1980.

Posted on May 29, 2009 - 09:59 PM #
Waynes World

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KAAR was 24 hours before but reduced to being a daytime station after Pat left which would have been 1985. then it came back with a classic rock format with the big BA. then they had another oldies format that featured the Stoner and Ricky Rocco. of course not live I think it went 24 hours when it was still KVAN and changed to KARO which would have been in the late 70s

Posted on May 29, 2009 - 10:38 PM #
Craig_Adams

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Wayne is correct. Car Radio began signing off at sunset while "McClanathan & Associates" built the new 2.5kw night tower array.

Posted on May 30, 2009 - 12:31 AM #
semoochie

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That's right, I forgot all about that! KRED complained about their "volcano hardship" and they had to stop transmitting at night until they could put in a new directional array. I think they'd already dismantled the towers at what is now the KPAM/KKAD site and they couldn't go back to it.

Posted on May 30, 2009 - 01:39 AM #
Waynes World

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that sounds right. One of the deejays, Roger Smith told me they had to build a directional nighttime signal so they wouldn't interfere with a station in Eureka which would have been KRED. Didn't you work at KAAR Craig?

Posted on May 30, 2009 - 12:27 PM #
Craig_Adams

Radio historian
Posts: 2,132

Wayne: Yes, KRED was a big problem for KAAR. Roger Smith is a good friend and we still keep in touch. Michael Jack Kirby hired me in May 1985 when KAAR was fazing out "Radio Aahs". Aahs went away little by little and the Oldies increased. In early July 1985 we began operating as a daytimer. Since we were in Summer it didn't hurt as bad signing off at 9pm but it took a long time to get that new night time array set up. During part of October 1985 KAAR was broadcasting daytime with 2.5kw directional for testing the new array. We didn't start night operation until early December 1985.

Posted on May 30, 2009 - 09:11 PM #
Waynes World

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Craig, I met Roger at Hinson Baptist where I went to church for many years. we were involved in the same singles group. I heard he was at KPDQ now, unless he left there.

Posted on May 31, 2009 - 01:58 PM #
Craig_Adams

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Wayne: Roger has since moved to K-Praise (KKPZ).

Posted on May 31, 2009 - 07:03 PM #
Craig_Adams

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Tiger Tom Murphy in background of Paul Revere & The Raiders, Seattle Press Conference picture, Circa 1968:

http://stumptownblogger.typepad.com/stumptownblogger/2009/06/paul-revere-the-raiders-at-seattle-press-conference.html

Posted on June 27, 2009 - 07:25 PM #
Andy_brown

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"I think it went 24 hours when it was still KVAN and changed to KARO which would have been in the late 70s
"

KVAN built the directional array in 1976-77. McClanathan was fired. I was promoted to Chief and retuned the array and phasor under the direction of Jim Kemman from Silliman, Moffet and Kowalski (soon to become ERI).
Kemman was a physics guy. He did the Empire State Bldg Master Antenna (the one before 9/11). Then Kowalski came out and we did the full proof of performance (I remember having to drive with my head out the window as Kowalski was a chain smoker). Got zapped in the nuts by electric fences several times walking to his "exact" spots to get a reading. Anyway, KVAN began 24 hour broadcasting November 11, 1977 from the array which was located in Orchards near 164th and 34th. They also relocated the studio to a new building at the Orchards transmitter site where we all helped hook up a two studio set up with a big live performance room that never happened. This turned the old swamp location on N. Portland Road into a 1 kW daytime only site which had to be manned since we didn't have a remote control.

There was a deep null aimed right at Redding. The night license was 5kW DA so there were a lot of areas 7 to 20 miles out that could get a great signal at night, much better than the day, but anyone in the SW null (there were four nulls) had to be really close to not get KRED interference. On Marine Dr. the null was barely a blip. By the time you got to NE Glisan, the null was about 8 - 10 blocks wide. By SE Division, it was 15 blocks or more. The SW and NW nulls were deeper than the SE and NE nulls. The SW null had to deal with co-chaneel KRED, the NW null at first adjacent Kelso, the NE null to Dakota or Montana (don't remember, could have even been eastern WA) and the SE null was just a result of creating the pattern with enough forward gain to put 5mV into enough of Vancouver to pass the requirement. At that time, KVAN was one of only two stations running more night power than day power.

The first 24 hour lineup was:

6AM to 10PM - Les Friedman (News Director)
10AM to 3PM - Paul Mitchell (Music Director)
3PM to 7PM - Bob "The Big B.A." Ancheta (PD)
7PM to 12AM - Jay Nordlund aka "Lee Abrahms"
12AM to 6AM - Andy Brown (Chief Engineer)

from memory and
http://pdxradio.com/kvan/news2.html

Posted on June 27, 2009 - 11:40 PM #
semoochie

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It's a little vague to me but it seems like KVAN was completely unlistenable south of the towers, as soon as you got to the Columbia River. It looked like they planned to move the same array to Government Island and that would have brought the south contour down to SE Flavel, at worst!

Posted on June 27, 2009 - 11:54 PM #
Andy_brown

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"It's a little vague to me but it seems like KVAN was completely unlistenable south of the towers, as soon as you got to the Columbia River. It looked like they planned to move the same array to Government Island and that would have brought the south contour down to SE Flavel, at worst!"

That would have been when they (KAAR not KVAN) reduced night power on the array re: Mt. St. Helens.

In it's original configuration, the signal was listenable in the null. The signal where I lived at the time (SE 23rd & SE Salmon) was noisy, but free of KRED. Coverage at PDX airport at night was excellent. Coverage along 84 was poor until you got close to I-5 or out by the 205 construction. By the time you got to Division it pretty much was spot coverage close to the river and out by 122nd. That's a big hole, but significantly better than you describe. Moving to Govt. Island was nothing more than an application (not by KVAN, but by KAAR) because of the moratorium on construction in the slough (the reason KVAN had to build in Orchards to begin with) left them with no options to move closer to Portland. By the time that got processed, they were looking to sell the license to Chris Bennett. The moratorium got lifted and KBMS was able to consolidate day and night operations back at the swamp.

Posted on June 28, 2009 - 12:15 AM #
Craig_Adams

Radio historian
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"a 1 kW daytime only site which had to be manned since we didn't have a remote control."

Meaning daytime shifts were done in North Portland?

P.S. Great info Andy!

Posted on June 28, 2009 - 01:42 AM #
Magic Eye

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"McClanathan was fired."

Curious. Any particular reason, Andy?

Posted on June 28, 2009 - 08:27 AM #
Andy_brown

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""a 1 kW daytime only site which had to be manned since we didn't have a remote control."

Meaning daytime shifts were done in North Portland?"

No. All programming originated in Orchards. The N. Portland site was manned with a transmitter baby sitter. I couldn't talk Slobodin into spending money on a remote control, since the project was way over budget due to having to re-design and re-engineer it.

""McClanathan was fired."

Curious. Any particular reason, Andy?"

I can't comment on that. I can say that according to Kemmen, McClanathan's DA design would never have worked and the project was running way over in time. Iris, whom was to be the first all night DJ, got tired of waiting around all those extra months and split to KGON where Gloria (another former Monomaniac) already was working. That's how I ended up as the first all nighter, a shift I worked two plus years in Allentown at WSAN before I moved out here. But I digress. What I found when McClanathan left and I went up to Orchards with Kemmen was a lot of shoddy work in the phasor and dog houses. What B.A. and Slobodin found previous to that I can't discuss. McClanathan sued Slobodin for breach of contract and the whole mess was settled out of court. I wasn't involved until he was gone, that is to say I was the studio engineer and maintained the N. Portland site transmitter while McClanathan was supposedly building out the Orchards site. After he was gone, I was up in Orchards M-F and did my shifts on the weekend. After the re-construction of the RF network and the proof field work was done, I started in on building out the studio rooms equipment and running cable, borrowing anyone from the studio that I could drag up there. It was a lot of work and I was getting paid peanuts, but by the time we got the go ahead for Program Test Authority, we had most of the studio configuration done. Then one day we threw the albums in a bunch of vans and pick up trucks and moved up there to broadcast 24/7.

Posted on June 28, 2009 - 10:29 AM #
semoochie

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I "remember" it as a construction permit for KARO. It got by the FCC but the local government had a problem because Government Island was a bird sanctuary. I also remember the signal from the Orchards site not going south for beans but Hillsboro was fine.

Posted on June 28, 2009 - 11:11 AM #
Andy_brown

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It was after I had moved on but I do recall that when they had to reduce Orchards power -3dB (2.5kW DA) that coverage due south, already poor, became intolerable. That's what prompted the search to relocate further south, but as I said they couldn't put a DA at the N. Portland site (Smith Lake) because no construction was allowed, and finding land in NE Portland was not tenable, thus the work to move to Government Island. Perhaps they thought it would be more sellable with that C.P. but the cost of putting power and access to Government Island, even if they would have been allowed to, made the C.P. worthless. Not only that, but by moving closer to Redding, the allowable ERP became diminished. Frankly, in order to put 5mV over Vancouver would be further damaging to North South coverage. As far as coverage to the W, WSW, WNW, both at 5kW and 2.5kw, that was the major lobe and would be expected. In the original 5kW proof, the signal strength on Sauvie's Island and Columbia County was city grade beyond theoretical expectations. Also, If I'm not mistaken, the folks that bought it from Slobodin called it KARO initially but changed it to KAAR fairly soon thereafter, I think because the calls became available but previously weren't.

Posted on June 28, 2009 - 11:20 AM #
Craig_Adams

Radio historian
Posts: 2,132

Andy: Since were talking about the KVAN Orchards studio & transmitter site in-depth, thought I'd post the address here: 15507 N.E. 34th St. which would make it closer to the community of Sifton, than Orchards. Also land close to this site is the KPAM/KKAD transmitter site at 15307 N.E. 34th St.

Posted on June 28, 2009 - 07:55 PM #
Andy_brown

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The south edge of tower land borders Vancouver (NE 32nd). The studio was on a smaller parcel of land, adjacent on the east side of the tower land but did not extend as deep to the south from NE34th as the tower land. The call sign is Vancouver, the legal address of the studio and tower parcel was a choice between either of those two addresses if memory serves. When KAAR or KARO (whichever) moved to the tower Mall (or where ever) they sold the land that the studio was on and the studio building to a church, and sold or leased the tower land to the first RF occupant that moved there. I thought that was 1550 and then later Troutdale got on there. I don't even know how it's configured now. Anyway, the two different addresses are contiguous on the south side of NE34th. If you look at a Vancouver map with city limits you can see how it cuts just below NE34th and then up on 154th. I guess Orchards was an adopted whereabouts considering back then the area was not developed and Orchard had a gas station and a few stores. Sifton is really north of Fourth Plain anyway, I thought, and NW of the site whereas Orchards "downtown" was almost due North up 162nd.

Posted on June 28, 2009 - 08:38 PM #
Craig_Adams

Radio historian
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I also realize Orchards is more well known than Sifton. I dare say, not many people outside the area have even heard of it. By the way, the old KVAN studios are now home to "Eastside Baptist Church of Vancouver". This is the second radio studio I know of that later became a church.

Posted on June 28, 2009 - 09:07 PM #
Alfredo_T

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The discussion of the KVAN night array brought back a question that I'd had on my mind: how was AM antenna array design done in the days before computers were cheap? I imagine that it involved doing a lot of vector addition, employing slide rules and lots of patience, to calculate the field strength produced by the array at several different bearings.

Posted on June 28, 2009 - 09:57 PM #

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