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Tell us you hear interference, get a T-shirt!

C

CTListener

On the road in western Mass., I heard "The River" WRSI Turners Falls, MA, yesterday, running an announcement soliciting interference reports. Apparently, the station feels that WRSY, its 120-watt full-time relay in Marlboro, VT, at 101.5, is being interfered with and wants its listeners to bolster its complaint to the FCC by sending interference reports to WRSI. The kicker, though, comes at the end of the announcement -- everyone who submits such a statement (with full name, location, when interference was heard, and nature of interference) wins a River T-shirt!

I've heard similar appeals for listener help with interference on other stations, but none have offered prizes as encouragement. My first thought was obvious -- they are going to generate an awful lot of faked reports by doing this. Subsequent thoughts: Are listeners' letters citing interference considered legal documents, and is lying on them a prosecutable offense? Even if it's legal for WRSI to reward snitches this way, wouldn't you think complaints generated through incentive might carry less weight with the FCC, or could WRSI be banking on the FCC being unaware of the details of the station's announcement? Also, what is the interfering station? Checking radio-locator.com, I find a second-adjacent, WKKN Westminster, VT, at 101.9, but nothing closer, not even translators.

Any ideas on this?
 
CTListener said:
... or could WRSI be banking on the FCC being unaware of the details of the station's announcement?
Click to expand...

Given that one of our posters has in his sig line the disclaimer his opinions do not reflect that of his employer, the FCC, I'd say WRSI has already been flagged. They might as well hoist those T-shirts up the pole and see if anyone salutes them.
 
CTListener said:
I've heard similar appeals for listener help with interference on other stations, but none have offered prizes as encouragement. My first thought was obvious -- they are going to generate an awful lot of faked reports by doing this. Subsequent thoughts: Are listeners' letters citing interference considered legal documents, and is lying on them a prosecutable offense? Even if it's legal for WRSI to reward snitches this way, wouldn't you think complaints generated through incentive might carry less weight with the FCC, or could WRSI be banking on the FCC being unaware of the details of the station's announcement? Also, what is the interfering station?
Click to expand...

Any complaint on interference outside a station's protected contour has to come from listeners, not the station. The station can collect them, and then forward them to the Commission.

There is nothing I see in the rules that prohibits "if you go to the trouble of doing this, we will say 'thanks' with a gift". If the Commission is made aware of the tactic, they can always call the complainants and ask them to substantiate the interference claim.
 
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