New Increased Pirate Radio Fines up to Two Million Dollars

[Kelly A]

I would love to see the math they use to do that. I think we would all enjoy "checking up" on certain stations.

It's not that difficult. They already know what the licensed field strength at distance should be. In fact, here's a nice little government funded application that will calculate it for you right now: FM and TV Propagation Curves
The tough part for the average radio nerd, is you'll need access to a calibrated field strength set (Potomac Instruments FIM-71) to make the measurements at distance from the transmission site at various points. Using an S-meter on your portable radio, would be useless.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I would love to see the math they use to do that. I think we would all enjoy "checking up" on certain stations.

I believe the field engineers have an app where they can put in the station and get the estimated field strength at various distances. I don't know if it has a real-time function that takes the GPS position and calculates projected field strength per the license. That would seem to be a valuable tool.

Kelly, do you know the exact procedure a field engineer uses?

 

[kenglish]

I have a portable radio, but it's s-meter always winds up at full-scale once the DSP finishes diddling around.
I probably need to have the FIM-71 calibrated.
I've heard that the FCC doesn't use the FIM-71 much any more.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

I think you were told a tale. If a Commission Field Office receives a complaint about a station running over, or under licensed power, the enforcement officers will go out with field strength meters and measure the field strength at 1 and 10km, then calculate with the operating field strength long before they ever set foot on station property for an inspection. If the station engineer jacked-around with TPO, they would be able to determine it fairly easily. If the station was determined to knowingly try to deceive field enforcement, that station, and potentially the engineer, would be in deep kimchee.

Well, I rate the story as true. The engineer had the story first hand.
And, the previous station owner was a bit shady. Furthermore, the station no longer can be received at my location with the new owner. So, I believe the engineer.

A field strength meter works much better in a rural area verses a congested city.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

The tools on the FCC website certainly make it much easier to prepare an application. I remember when you had to do eight radials using topographic maps. And, use a sliding graph to theorize field strength.

IT used to take a couple days to prepare an FCC application to construct an FM station. The last application I did for a friend took about an hour and he got the CP. He's been on the air several years now.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Well, I rate the story as true. The engineer had the story first hand.
And, the previous station owner was a bit shady. Furthermore, the station no longer can be received at my location with the new owner. So, I believe the engineer.

Field engineers prepare for station inspections. And today, many inspections are instigated by complaints.

A field strength meter works much better in a rural area verses a congested city.

Only if you pick the wrong places.

As long as a location is picked that does not have lots of overhead electric lines and between tall buildings, it is OK.

Often a station will file for new monitor points due to building or power-line installations. And most medium to larger city stations have their monitoring points inside the developed metro area, so you can't just go and pick nice farmland areas for points.

 

[gr8oldies]

$2 million dollar fines is what I call a prohibitively expensive hobby

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

I don't know of any FCC licensed FM radio stations that have to file for monitoring points. You do however have to demonstrate on your application to construct that your signal will cover the Community of License with a city grade signal.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I don't know of any FCC licensed FM radio stations that have to file for monitoring points. You do however have to demonstrate on your application to construct that your signal will cover the Community of License with a city grade signal.

I thought we were talking about AM monitoring points. FM does not have them.

For FM signals, it is pretty easy to take multiple reads in a "zone" and average them. The signal measurement devices that one can drive around with in a car basically do that, with the ability to do averaging based on distance from the transmitter.

 

[kenglish]

KUSW Shortwave had to have several monitoring points, mostly in the foothills and City Creek Canyon watershed.
The local runners and hikers kept tearing down the markers, and putting them in the Ranger's dumpster.

 

[Kelly A]

I believe the field engineers have an app where they can put in the station and get the estimated field strength at various distances. I don't know if it has a real-time function that takes the GPS position and calculates projected field strength per the license. That would seem to be a valuable tool.

Kelly, do you know the exact procedure a field engineer uses?

It's been a while since I witnessed a power investigation in process. At the time, the local field office had a vehicle equipped with a piece of measurement gear manufactured by Audemat. Their 'stealth' enforcement vehicle even had a fiberglass roof where the antenna was mounted where the headliner would normally be. They could literally drive and for each wheel revolution, the field set would make a measurement, then plot that measurement on a mapping software via a laptop where the passenger seat used to be. Officer's also were equipped with an FIM-71 to make walking spot checks of the Audemat.

 

[DavidEduardo]

It's been a while since I witnessed a power investigation in process. At the time, the local field office had a vehicle equipped with a piece of measurement gear manufactured by Audemat. Their 'stealth' enforcement vehicle even had a fiberglass roof where the antenna was mounted where the headliner would normally be. They could literally drive and for each wheel revolution, the field set would make a measurement, then plot that measurement on a mapping software via a laptop where the passenger seat used to be. Officer's also were equipped with an FIM-71 to make walking spot checks of the Audemat.

I suspected it was the Audemat or some form of FCC custom gear similar to the Audemat. I've been in projects focused on the viability of a signal where an Audimat and a vehicle criss-crossed a market and then the data was plotted on a map to show viable coverage of a signal.

If the FCC is using that sort of gear, they could know quite accurately if a station that they are dubious about is violating its licensed ERP.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

I guess most of you find it unbelievable that licensed commercial radio station owners could be so shady with Uncle Sam. But, he was just one of many.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

Now, what about people who claim to have built a radio station and get it licensed, as on the air, when the station was never built in the first place?
They lied to the FCC.

Commission lawyers tell me this is very common.

 

[Kelly A]

I guess most of you find it unbelievable that licensed commercial radio station owners could be so shady with Uncle Sam. But, he was just one of many.

I would never claim that there are no station owners who play fast and loose with the rules. Have been in this business a long time, and witnessed licensee's who have. Just none that I would work for. The premise was that, according to your friend, a station had successfully pulled the wool over the Commission's eyes by adjusting power back up once the inspectors left. As David mentioned, if the inspection was precipitated by a complaint, chances are the inspector already did their homework in advance through field observations before an in-person inspection. Following that inspection, more field observations to see if the measured field strength goes back up post inspection.

Years ago a friend of mine had a 1kW AM daytimer in a small community where he'd broadcast high school football games. A couple year prior, I had replaced the old RCA BTA1-L with a new solid state transmitter. Needless to say, it's impossible to legally broadcast a Friday night game past sunset. I had warned him that he was at risk by keeping the station on after hours. Not only was he staying on late Friday nights, but was jacking up the output power for the games. He learned his lesson after blowing all the MOSFET transistors in the power amplifier stage, knocking him off for a several days until parts arrived and could be replaced.
I told him that I wanted no part of helping his station, if he's knowingly operating it outside the rules.

 

[kenglish]

Ah, yes! The old "Friday Night Football Waiver"!
If you go back in the old FCC History Cards, there are stations (WMAZ, for instance), that had to ask for FCC permission to stay on late for occasional ball games or Presidential Addresses.

 

[kenglish]

FCC Monitoring Vehicle at NAB:

Delivery of new vehicles, ten years ago:

 

[kenglish]

Here's an FCC film, that shows some of what they did. It might explain why you'd be proud to have an Elephant Cage in your neighborhood, too.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Here's an FCC film, that shows some of what they did. It might explain why you'd be proud to have an Elephant Cage in your neighborhood, too.

Newton "Vast Wassteland" Minnow was not exactly an engaging public speaker, was he?

 

[kenglish]

Now, what about people who claim to have built a radio station and get it licensed, as on the air, when the station was never built in the first place?
They lied to the FCC.

Commission lawyers tell me this is very common.

I sometimes wish the FCC had the authority to see business licenses, property tax records, and (especially) power bills for licensees.
What would a daytimer's power bill look like, if it stayed on all night, every night?

I was just about to question the "property tax" thing, when I suddenly remembered a California shortwave "station" that swore they were on the air and broadcasting, but photos showed no antenna, no structures and not even power lines any place near their licensed location.