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Graham Brock, Inc. |
|
Broadcast Technical Consultants |
| Vol. XIII, No. 6 |
R. Stuart Graham, Jr. |
| June 2006 |
Jefferson G. Brock |
| Freeze Continues Into Summer |
| It has been more than a year since the FCC froze
filings for any new Petitions for Rule Making seeking to
change the Table of FM Allotments. The freeze was to be
of short duration, but we find the ground still frozen.
The freeze was to prevent a backlog of additional
requests while the FCC considered changes to the process
of requesting community of license changes. The
Commission initially proposed a city of license change
for a commercial AM or FM station through the filing of
an application, rather than the older two step process
of filing a rule making request then filing an
application to implement the change. In comments,
several parties also requested the inclusion of
non-commercial stations. It is not known whether these
changes can be made in this current proceeding or if
another series of comments and reply comments will be
necessary. The consensus at this point is the Commission
may take action on the new city of license rules
sometime in September. |
| In some cases, when a station is sold the tower
ownership is retained by the seller; in other cases,
the new owner gets the tower in the transaction.
When the new owner gets the tower, the FCC transfers
the station to the new owner along with the
authorized auxiliary stations (STL and RPU), but the
tower registration has to be transferred as well.
This process is less intense than the transfer of
the station, but unless the registration is
modified, the information in the tower registration
database is incorrect. The Commission’s tower
database is a very useful tool for searching for
towers to rent; this should be an additional
incentive to keep the data correct. The same issue
holds true for owners who have moved studio
locations or changed corporate addresses and/or
phone numbers. |
Spring Cleaning, And
Does the Generator Work? |
| Not only is it hurricane season for those on
the East and Gulf Coasts, but it is time once
again for the inevitable afternoon
thunderstorms. Now is the time for a bit of
spring cleaning at the transmitter site and
studios and to test the backup gear. Many
generators have automatic timers to run the
generators at a pre-determined time; some run
with the entire plant online while testing,
while there are generators that run with no
load. Now is the time to make sure the
generator, transfer switch, etc., are fully
functional. You also might want to check the
fuel tank. For AM stations, it is a good time to
have the field cut. You do not want the varmints
taking up residence in tall grass or in the
antenna tuning unit. |
| With many stations adding new digital STL
systems for the conversion to digital delivery
systems, please keep in mind an equipment change
of this type will likely require a filing with
the FCC. Any change in the emission of the STL
transmitter requires frequency coordination, PCN
notices and a modification of the STL with the
FCC. |
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