FCC proposes ending AM skywave protection

Haven't they learned their lesson from authorizing nighttime IBOC? Buried in the FCC's "AM Revitalization Plan" is the proposal to eliminate nighttime skywave coverage protection for Class A stations, allowing the former "clear channels" to be further clogged up with useless low-power nighttime signals:

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-releases-am-revitalization-first-report-and-order-fnprm-noi

They also glibly dismissed commenters' proposals to allow Class A stations to increase their power to 100 kW.

Nighttime skywave reception is AM's last remaining technical advantage over FM or TV, and remains useful in rural areas with no local radio stations and in the event of natural disasters such as Superstorm Sandy when local broadcast stations and Internet/cell phone communications are wiped out. Therefore it should be preserved, rather than abolished for the short-sighted gains of some stations that would be better served by adding FM translators rather than boosting their nighttime AM signals in the hopes of drowning out the 50,000-watt gorilla sharing their channel.

kevtronics said:

Nighttime skywave reception is AM's last remaining technical advantage over FM or TV

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Since skywave reception is typically out of the market, only DX'ers would care or feel like there was any benefit. That sort of listening is neither a benefit to the station in revenue, nor listeners inside the market at night. Groundwave reception is the important part in disasters, and most Class A stations don't even cover their entire market at night because of electrical interference.

Many sports stations, such as WFAN in NYC, stay on AM even after adding a local FM simulcast, so that people living or traveling out of state can still listen to their hometown sports teams. In fact, I've heard that the sports teams themselves specifically request the station to stay on AM for this reason.

From what I'm reading, a lot of this is to further their goal of promoting "localism." They don't seem to understand that the finances of localism aren't helped when the signal is limited. More signals with less power doesn't work. We can see that now. Running an all-local news operation, like WCBS, is very expensive, and can use all the help it can get with its signal. The goal for media is to enlarge the platform to reach more people. That is in direct opposition to the FCC's stated goal of increased localism. So you'll end up with even more AM stations running nationally syndicated programming. So much for localism.

I can tell you KOKC used to destroy our signal in morning and late afternoon under the right weather conditions at about 20 miles. Our 3 tower directional with 3kw sent our signal across the metro nicely under normal condition but would mix at about 50/50 on a cloudy moist day.

The point that the 50 kw would be the source of vital information in the event of severe weather or other event, while correct, is still certainly localized in flavor. You're not going to hear much about what is happening in a town 50 miles away that has perhaps a hundred listeners when their cume is 50,000. Simply put, they can't sacrifice their audience and revenue to serve a hundred folks that might perhaps get better information from a station in a nearby town. Naturally large geographic issues like Katrina don't fit this scenario but in the case of the Greensburg, Kansas tornado, it would not make sense for a Wichita station to do wall to wall coverage for so few.

So few actually listen to the big boy AMs outside the metro they serve, I cannot see the need for such stations. Back in the day when stations were few and far between they were essential and certainly served rural locales that were much more populated than they were 50 years ago or more.

Oh, this is nice. Goodbye long range DX. The big clear channels like 650, 660, 670, 680, 710, 770, 880, 1530, 1520, 1130, 1120, 1060 etc. are going to be SWAMPED with interference. Then they'll have yet another excuse to put another 15 translators of AM stations on FM in various US cities, which then destroys semi-locals and fringe locals, plus tropo and E-skip DX. I hope the proposition fails BIG TIME. There are people other than DXers who rely on stations like WFAN for sports on the east coast; KGO for San Francisco-area talk (and it used to be in the SEATTLE local ratings in the 1980s); WBBM for Midwest news, etc etc.

-crainbebo

Time to get a head start on that new hobby there crainbebo. Coin collecting? Stamp collecting? Star Wars memorabilia? How about building ships in bottles?

Kelly A said:

Time to get a head start on that new hobby there crainbebo. Coin collecting? Stamp collecting? Star Wars memorabilia? How about building ships in bottles?

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There'll still be the hams, gabbing away in single sideband on shortwave. And it's not all right-wing talk, either. They talk about the weather, their equipment, various illnesses, each other's signal strength and audio quality, hunting and fishing, the way things were in the good old days ... why, who knows, the ham bands could become the new AM! There are even lots of Spanish-speaking hams (from Spanish-speaking countries) to complain about when their conversations interfere with those of English speakers you want to hear! Oh, and with hundreds of thousands of them in the US alone, you'll never log them all!

The amateur bands will be the only thing left without interference from locals and semi-locals if the FCC keeps destroying analog radio as we know it - 6 meters and 2 meters for e-skip in the summer, HF for "skywave" in the winter. E-skip CAN reach 144 mhz and beyond. I lost 4 channels to translators this last winter, including my best open low-FM frequency (88.9), which was an excellent skip beacon.
Better get some narrower filters and some beverage antennas, EWEs and phase nullers, because this is going to be possibly a rough ride during the next few years, with more and more translators destroying semi-locals in markets throughout the country.
Oh and by the way I do some coin collecting. But you have to go to a coin shop and buy the wheat pennies yourself, or get a metal detector and see if you can get silver out of the ground. With AM and FM DX, you don't pay anything to join in on a big opening.

-crainbebo

MarioMania said:

Oops, The other way around, So again, No Protection for the East Coast on 1030, So it will be a mess if your trying to hear WBZ in lets just say Cleveland

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WBZ and the other clears would still have to be protected, just not the skywave signal BUT they couldn't run 50KW non-directional on the same frequency because they'd interfere with the clear channel's groundwave signal. As a matter of fact, 500 watts can sometimes do untold damage to local coverage.

"But you have to go to a coin shop and buy the wheat pennies yourself,"

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They do show up in circulation periodically. Check your pocket change after a transaction or a day of errands. Couple years ago I got a 1927 Liberty quarter in my change at Cash & Carry.

Kelly A said:

Time to get a head start on that new hobby there crainbebo. Coin collecting? Stamp collecting? Star Wars memorabilia? How about building ships in bottles?

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Thems OLD hobbies there, Kelly (But so is DXing, I guess.)

Yeah, DXing is an old hobby. Teenagers and preteens never listen to distant radio stations via a real radio nowadays, unlike in the 1960s when they were practically forced to after sunset in some cities/towns - back east teens were tuned to Musicradio 77 WABC, WCAU, WKBW, The Big 8 in Windsor (CKLW) and WLS 89. Can't believe how long it has been.
Once in a great while I will get a wheat penny in circulation. But it's very rare in this date and age. It was probably easier in the 1980s. I do have a nice collection, but haven't added much to it in a while (last additions were a few V-Nickels and Buffalo Nickels).

-crainbebo