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FM Translator Question
- Thread starter RadioGuy1864
- Start date
I believe I have seen stations file an STA for using a 10-watt TIS transmitter as a temporary substitute.
Maybe -- I don't follow the STA pipeline that closely. But that's 100x what NickD suggested.
There are a quite a few Class D AM stations for which 10 watts would satisfy the night time facility. "WQQQ requests special temporary authority to operate with its night time facility 24/7" would probably be granted.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channelâ˘
And there are also AMs that have acquired translators that were not "hopped" (KRKE/K229CL Albuquerque is one that I know well đ) and those have no restrictions on being "tied together".
Michi is correct about turning off translators when the primary is off.
Specifically, the rule that controls this is 74.1263 (b) which says:
âAn FM booster or FM translator station rebroadcasting the signal of an AM or FM primary station shall not be permitted to radiate during extended periods when signals of the primary station are not being retransmitted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, FM translators rebroadcasting Class D AM stations may continue to operate during nighttime hours only if the AM station has operated within the last 24 hours.â
We've all probably heard FM translators on the air all over the place where the primary station is an AM that has been off the air for extended periods. I have at least two in my town. Although not much has been made of this situation yet, it is absolutely illegal. The FCC wrote this into the rule so that AM owners wouldn't be tempted to turn off their AM transmitters and treat the FM translator like it's the primary. Despite the rule, many AM owners are either ignorant or just don't care as they do exactly what the FCC was trying to avoid.
Now, an STA is quite another thing. If the FCC will approve an STA for 10Watts, then the licensee if free to leave their FM translator on the air.
Specifically, the rule that controls this is 74.1263 (b) which says:
âAn FM booster or FM translator station rebroadcasting the signal of an AM or FM primary station shall not be permitted to radiate during extended periods when signals of the primary station are not being retransmitted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, FM translators rebroadcasting Class D AM stations may continue to operate during nighttime hours only if the AM station has operated within the last 24 hours.â
We've all probably heard FM translators on the air all over the place where the primary station is an AM that has been off the air for extended periods. I have at least two in my town. Although not much has been made of this situation yet, it is absolutely illegal. The FCC wrote this into the rule so that AM owners wouldn't be tempted to turn off their AM transmitters and treat the FM translator like it's the primary. Despite the rule, many AM owners are either ignorant or just don't care as they do exactly what the FCC was trying to avoid.
Now, an STA is quite another thing. If the FCC will approve an STA for 10Watts, then the licensee if free to leave their FM translator on the air.
It's loophole city out there.
There's a well-known medium-sized group with a big cluster of translators near me that are allegedly fed by HD2s and 3s, off a primary station that went several years with no HD signal at all and now runs only HD1.
Even closer to me, there's a translator whose primary is an AM some 20 miles away. That AM is nominally on the air, but the transmitter is very broken and the audio is completely unintelligible.
It might just barely meet the letter of the FCC rules, but sure doesn't meet the spirit of them.
There's a well-known medium-sized group with a big cluster of translators near me that are allegedly fed by HD2s and 3s, off a primary station that went several years with no HD signal at all and now runs only HD1.
Even closer to me, there's a translator whose primary is an AM some 20 miles away. That AM is nominally on the air, but the transmitter is very broken and the audio is completely unintelligible.
It might just barely meet the letter of the FCC rules, but sure doesn't meet the spirit of them.
The real question is "when is the FCC going to realize that most of the AMs that support the translators are valueless to the owner and to the community and permits those AMs to go silent, making the translator permanent"?
I'm told that legislative action might be required for that, but the fact is that AM is in its twilight years is not going to change.
They would have to change the translators to stations, with low power, unprotected from full power stations, etc.
They also have to put a limit on how many translators a group owner can own. Many owners are playing "keep away" with available translator frequencies in the market. Some are FM translators that aren't even really needed, to keep it away from AM competitors. And without translators, the AMs may be lost altogether, many with good facilities that weren't prioritized for translators. It's sad to see 50000 watt AMs, some Class As, limping along without a translator, or a joke of a translator.
Otherwise, the only way to fix it is an expanded band. 2-4 MHz could accommodate a lot of AM replacement facilities with more power, like 1 kW ERP /100 meters HAAT. I'm not sure that LPFM numbers need to be expanded that much. Many are struggling, and many are losing sites. But they should be able to move to a new site without artificial distance separation requirements, using contour protection.
They also have to put a limit on how many translators a group owner can own. Many owners are playing "keep away" with available translator frequencies in the market. Some are FM translators that aren't even really needed, to keep it away from AM competitors. And without translators, the AMs may be lost altogether, many with good facilities that weren't prioritized for translators. It's sad to see 50000 watt AMs, some Class As, limping along without a translator, or a joke of a translator.
Otherwise, the only way to fix it is an expanded band. 2-4 MHz could accommodate a lot of AM replacement facilities with more power, like 1 kW ERP /100 meters HAAT. I'm not sure that LPFM numbers need to be expanded that much. Many are struggling, and many are losing sites. But they should be able to move to a new site without artificial distance separation requirements, using contour protection.