| KNMX | |
| City: | Las Vegas, New Mexico |
| Area: | Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico |
| Branding: | K New Mexico |
| Frequency: | 540 kHz |
| Format: | New Mexico music |
| Power: | 5,000 watts day 20 watts night |
| Class: | D |
| Facility Id: | 58915 |
| Coordinates: | 35.5736°N -105.1714°W |
| Owner: | Sangre De Cristo Broadcasting Co, Inc. |
| Sister Stations: | KBQL, KMDS, KMDZ, KNMM |
| Website: | SDCradio.com |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
KNMX (540 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Las Vegas, New Mexico, serving the Santa Fe area. The station is owned by Sangre De Cristo Broadcasting Co, Inc.[1] It broadcasts a Spanish language radio format of New Mexico music with some Regional Mexican and Ranchera music.
By day, KNMX is powered at 5,000 watts. But because 540 AM is a Mexican and Canadian clear-channel frequency, KNMX must reduce nighttime power to only 20 watts to prevent skywave interference to the dominant Class A stations on this frequency. It uses a directional antenna at all times.[2] Programming is also heard on FM translator 99.9 MHz K260DJ.[3]
On April 11, 1979, San Miguel Broadcasting Company, Inc., filed a construction permit to build a new radio station at 540 kHz in Las Vegas. The Federal Communications Commission approved the construction permit in December,[4] and the station began broadcasting in October 1980. It was the area's first Spanish-language radio outlet, though it took three years for KNMX to turn a profit.[5]
San Miguel owned the station until 1993, when it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.[6] Sangre de Cristo acquired KNMX in 1996 for $235,000, after the station had been placed in trusteeship.[7]