Please rank top 5 transmitter brand names for LPFM

Boise:

I have seen that report and a couple other like it.

If I needed to I would have no hesitation for asking for an STA to operate from the older antenna. But it would be less hassle to have a licensed aux ready to go on hot standby.

I just think the Commission didn't think a LPFM would be equipped or have the resources to have an aux system.

I'm not sure where the impression came around that the FCC doesn't license aux facilities for LPFMs. They do. I've seen 'em!

Check out WIOE-LP in Warsaw, Indiana - they have a licensed aux, BXLL-20091124AAH.

Thanks, Scott. There wasn't an online app for LP-AUX last time I delved into the issue. Next time you come south to Columbia, SC, you have an open invite to come by.

I'll take you up on that someday!

I think WIOE was the first LP to get an aux...and I believe it took a special request to the Commission to make it happen. You never know until you ask, right?

I'd just file it as a former main on a 302 and let THEM reject it. Then you can ask them what form you should use. Monkey goes on their back that way. In the mean time, don't hook up the coax. That way they can't bitch.

Good advice, guys. Thank you. For the short time I did have the coax attached to it right after we put the new Main up, the reflected power increased on the Main. I clearly don't have enough space isolation. I imagine I'd need to get a filter on the aux line, at minimum.

I would think that if the power it completely shut off (no flea-power amp shut down only thing going on), you will not be running both transmitters at the same time, therefore you shouldn't be causing trouble. With that being said, the only way to keep power from coming back down the pipe in your case would be to use something like a circulator type isolator. EMR and Microwave Filter Co. might be good places to start for that.

telwave

Thanks for the suggestions. I only have the problem if the Aux is off and the coax is attached to the Aux. My reflected power on the Main jumps up several watts. When I disconnect the Coax to the Aux, it returns to normal. My best guess is that the Aux Antenna is coupling and reradiating the Main back back into the Main. Nevertheless, I will do some shopping...

Scott Fybush said:

I think WIOE was the first LP to get an aux...and I believe it took a special request to the Commission to make it happen. You never know until you ask, right?

Click to expand...

I really like what I see when I read the application by WIOE. I know the geography of the area and it is in the Midwestern Tornado belt. If your main antenna gets blown away and your AUX is co-located, then it, too, will likely be damaged. Having stand-by equipment either installed in an alternate location, or stored in an alternate location where it could be retrieved after the damage-event and installed within hours makes a lot of sense to me.

I think the priority of auxiliary or stand-by equipment for LPFM will vary considerable. If you are a niche programming in a community that has several other broadcast facilities, then why would you divert funds badly needed for programming or other issues to prevent being off the air for several days.... which may never happen.

If, however, you are serving some rural or isolated village, and if you get blown away there is no other outlet to do what you can do for the community, then having redundancy in some form becomes a possible priority. But that is a tough call to make. If it is important to fund alternate facility, then it is also important to fund the ability to deliver local news-type content EVERY DAY. You audience needs to depend on you for this whole concept to work. If all you ever do is "grind records" as one of my employers used to say in the 1960 era, or fill the airwaves every day with pre-recorded religious talk, why would a guy ever think to go fire up his car radio after his house has been blown away to see what information and guidance the radio station is giving out.

Why go to the expense of being able to immediately restore your signal following a major disaster if no one expects you to be there doing something worth listening to in the aftermath. If they don't expect you to be there.... they won't be checking to see if you are there.

You could probably say that about a lot of smaller-market Clear Channel stations, too. Most weekdays, there's no one home at a majority of the Clear Channel cluster.

If we were off for a significant amount of time, we'd lose underwriting support and wouldn't be able to serve the community. Folks tune to us to find out what's happening around town.

You can say that about medium market CC stations. WHAS in Louisville closes down their news room after 8 o'clock weekdays and all weekend. While up the road, WLW continues to do live local news 24/7. I depend more on WFPL for local news. And since WHAS changed weather partners from WHAS-TV to WAVE, there isn't anyone minding that store, either. Weather alerts come from the NWS via the EAS over WHAS radio now.

Only one CC station in a cluster of 6 is live for a majority of the day. Almost everything is voicetracked. The AM News/Talk is pretty much all syndicated fare outside of the weekday drives. It hasn't had a real newsrooms for a decade, but that was the decision of prior owners. Traffic is done out of DC.