January Newsletter

This is the first newsletter of our second decade of operation. In January 1994, Graham Brock, Inc., started its broadcast technical consulting business. We thank everyone with whom we have worked over the past ten years and look forward to the next ten.

As you have heard, the FCC announced the opening of a window for filing new/major change applications for AM stations. The window will be open from January 26 - 30, 2004. During this five day period, requests for new AM stations can be filed, as well as major changes to existing stations. A major change to an existing station consists of a change in frequency greater than three frequencies above or below the existing frequency or a change in community of license. For all new stations, an application must propose both day and night facilities.

As noted above, the FCC is opening a new/major change filing window for AM facilities the last week in January. This opening requires the FCC to stop accepting minor change AM applications (which it did as of January 12^th). This freeze is to allow the filed minor change applications to be entered into the database, so they can be considered by parties submitting applications during the major change window. Once the new/major change window closes (on January 30^th), the Commission will once again accept minor change applications. We do, however, caution everyone to allow sufficient time for the major change applications to be entered into the database to insure there is no conflict.

The FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rule making, seeking comments on the possibility of radio systems that are to be designed to change frequency, power and emissions, based on the local operating environment. These software radios could detect, through GPS locating systems, on board databases and radio frequency environment sensing devices, the frequency it could operate on, so as to not interfere with existing/operating stations. The frequency ranges which are subject to this proposal are 902-908 MHz, 2400-2483.5 MHz, 5725-5850 MHz and 24-24.25 GHz. Comments on this proposal are due in March (based on the anticipated publishing of the Notice in the Federal Register).

The permittee of a new FM station was recently fined by the FCC for failing to properly protect persons from high levels of radio frequency radiation fields, failing to have a main studio and failing to have an EAS system. The permittee was also authorized to place its antenna 18 meters above the ground, but installed it just 13 meters above ground. Because of the proposed effective radiated power, there were specific conditions on its permit with respect to the RFR situation, since the antenna was to be placed in close proximity to a periodically occupied platform on the tower. There were also areas around the tower which were accessible to persons visiting the site. The main studio was purportedly located in a small shack attached to the transmitter building, but the "studio" was inside a gated and locked fence. Thus the public could not access the studio and it was not properly staffed. Further, the studio had no EAS equipment, nor was there a remote control system installed to the transmitter. The Commission fined the permittee $25,000 for these issues.