Graham Brock, Inc.
Broadcast Technical Consultants
10 Sylvan Drive, Suite 26 • P.O. Box 24466
St. Simons Island, GA 31522
912-638-8028 • 202-393-5133 • Fax 912-638-7722
MAY NEWSLETTER
Vol. IX, No. 5
May 2002
Main Studio Compliance
It has been several years since the Commission changed the rules regarding main studio locations, such as being within 25 miles of the community or within the city grade contour of any other station licensed to the same community. But what can be done if your main studio is located more than 25 miles from the community, you are the only station licensed to the town and you are outside your city grade contour? The FCC is still accepting alternate propagation models that, in many cases, will show compliance with the main studio requirements. The FCC contour prediction methods average terrain in a 3.0 to 16.0 kilometer sector and do not consider terrain issues within the first two miles (3.0 kilometers) or farther out than 10 miles (16.0 kilometers). The FCC also assumes the variation in the reviewed area is 50 meters. If your station site sits on the edge of a cliff looking down into the city, or is located in a relatively flat area along the coast or on the plains, the FCC method may under predict the distance to a FM station’s city grade contour. There are numerous alternate models that can be used to analyze the terrain factors and, in many cases, will extend the contour by up to 50%. These alternate methods can be used not only for main studio compliance, but also to demonstrate that the community of license is adequately served by the station in a proposed relocation application.
DTV Transition
May 1, 2002, was the deadline for building out commercial DTV stations in the United states. Of the 1,196 digital allotments for commercial stations, excluding the top 30 markets and non-commercial stations, only 279 stations have completed the DTV build out (about 23.3%). There are numerous stations that have filed for an extension of the deadline, based in may cases on financial hardships. Some of these stations have already received their requested extensions, but many are still pending before the Commission. In the top 30 TV markets, 95% of the stations have completed the build out. Presently, about 17% of non-commercial stations have completed construction, although they have until May 1, 2003, to complete work. The Chairman of the FCC has initiated a proposal to hasten the transition by proposing some new voluntary goals to be set by the industry at large.
Dark Stations
The FCC has updated the list of dark AM and FM stations. Based on its lists, there are presently only 43 stations (25 AM and 18 FM) that have been dark for more than six months. Stations remaining dark for one year risk the cancellation of their respective licenses under the Commission’s rules. However, a review of the lists indicates that some of the FM stations denoted are listed under former call signs and have apparently returned to the air. There are other stations that have not been operating, but have not yet been brought to the attention of the Commission. The one year clock does not start until the FCC has taken official notice of the station being off the air.
Copies Of Last License Applications
While it is not unusual to review copies of a station’s license during a transfer, the last application for station license is sometimes not reviewed. There are still many stations operating with the same technical parameters since the mid 1970's and early 1980's. How many are still actually using the same antenna and/or transmitter? The antenna may have been replaced with a newer model, or a larger transmitter may have been installed. While these changes can be made without prior approval, the Commission should be notified of the change, especially for replacement antennas, since the new license forms do not reflect the transmitter parameters. In the case of AM stations, the licenses do not reflect all of the technical parameters for the AM tower. While this data is contained on the 302 license application, some older applications have been hard to find in the station’s public files. Review your technical plant. Has there been a change that is not reflected in your license? There is no FCC application fee to make changes of this nature to the license and applications should be submitted to the Commission, if necessary.
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Proposed FM Allocations
City Channel Market (miles)* Comments Close
Shafter, CA 226A Bakersfield (17) June 10, 2002
* Distance to market based on city of allocation.
There were no new FM Allotments issued by the FCC since last month’s newsletter.