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Graham Brock, Inc. |
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Broadcast Technical Consultants |
| Vol. XI, No. 5 |
R. Stuart Graham, Jr. |
| May 2004 |
Jefferson G. Brock |
| Starting The Going, Going, Gone
Process again |
| Last month the Commission announced that it will
conduct an auction to award up to 290 construction
permits for new FM stations. The channels to be
auctioned are those that were previously queued up for
auction prior to postponement. Of the original 320
channels, some have been added to the list. The auction
is scheduled to start on Wednesday, November 3, 2004.
The proposed auction rules were outlined in the FCC
Public Notice released on April 16th and available at
the Commission’s website. Interested parties can comment
on the proposed rules through May 17, 2004. The list of
the channels to be auctioned is available on our
website, www.grahambrock.com. If you are interested in
bidding and have questions regarding whether the
channels can be moved and/or improved, or what they will
cover, please let us know. |
| Last Month we told you the Commission, at the
request of the National Association of Broadcasters,
issued a public notice regarding adding digital
operation at night for AM stations. In a separate
release they also are seeking comments on other
issues which relate to digital broadcasting, asking
for the comments on the effect of digital operations
on FM translators, whether a radio station should be
allowed to offer multiplexed services in conjunction
with its digital main channel operation, as well as
subscription services. Comments in MB Dockets #
99-325 are due on June 16th. |
| Tower Registration Re-visited |
| Last Month the owner of a tower was fined
$3,000 for failure to register the tower with
the FCC. While the tower was above 200 feet,
other tower owners have recently found that
their towers, while less than the 200 feet in
height normally associated with tower
registration, failed a slope rating test to a
nearby landing field. In these cases, the towers
must be registered. This process requires the
submission of an application to the Federal
Aviation Administration for each individual
tower. Once the FAA issues its clearance, the
tower is then registered with the Commission and
the registration numbers posted on the towers.
Prior to undertaking these filings, the exact
location of the towers should be determined,
either through a survey or using a WAAS enabled
GPS receiver. If the actual coordinates of the
tower vary from any of its licenses or permits,
it will be necessary to file the appropriate
applications with the FCC to correct the
authorizations. |
| AM and FM stations located in Ohio and
Michigan must file their license renewal
applications by June 1st. A renewal
application requires re-certification of RF
compliance of each station’s transmitter
site. For those stations with co-located TV
stations or multi-user sites, the worksheets
associated with the renewal application are
not sufficient to demonstrate compliance. If
your local engineer has reviewed the
worksheets and feels that they cannot be
used, please contact us and we can prepare
the needed RF study for inclusion with the
renewal application. |
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