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It takes the FCC this long?

A

AnyHuman

Guest
I wish the FCC would hurry up and allow KONN-LP 100.1 to increase the signal. LOL their application was filed over a year ago yet hasn't been acted upon.
https://fccdata.org/?facid=&call=ko...=&lmspl=&party_type=LICEN&latd=&lond=&lang=en


KONN-LP plays a nice variety of programming and I hear live shows on it all the time. Apparently they broadcast from the Kansas City Museum. https://www.onekcradio.org/
In fact, to my knowledge, no other LPFMs in the area play as much live stuff as 100.1 KONN. I could be wrong though.
 
AnyHuman said:
I wish the FCC would hurry up and allow KONN-LP 100.1 to increase the signal. LOL their application was filed over a year ago yet hasn't been acted upon.
Click to expand...

When the FCC does not act in a timely manner, it usually indicates that they found a problem and asked the applicant for further information... or that a third party objected to the application and the matter is under investigation or designated for a hearing.

They can't "increase the signal" as they are at the highest power allowed for the class. They could, perhaps, increase height; that would not "increase the signal" but it would increase coverage area.
 
They can increase the number of bays on the antenna, right? I saw they're upgrading from 1 bay to 2.
 
Depends on how increasing the bays would affect its signal. I'm not an engineer, but, when you change the number of bays on your tower, that can affect your ERP and how much power you need to send to your transmitter.
 
Kent said:
Depends on how increasing the bays would affect its signal. I'm not an engineer, but, when you change the number of bays on your tower, that can affect your ERP and how much power you need to send to your transmitter.
Click to expand...

Yes.

Very approximately, a single circular polarization bay radiates 50% of the input power in its combined horizontal and vertical patterns. Two bays are about equal to radiating the power of the station.

For bays, by targeting the angle of radiation, "double" the power of the input from the transmitter.

So a 1 kw transmitter with a 4 bay antenna will product around 2 kw ERP.

The way antennas increase the effective radiated power is to angle the radiation. If you narrow the angle, more power goes along the surface of the earth and less upwards towards the sun, stars and Boeing products. think of it like a nozzle on a garden hose... a broad un-nozzeld output just pours a short distance. With a nozzle at the tightest, the spray is narrow and focused.
 
AnyHuman said:
They can increase the number of bays on the antenna, right? I saw they're upgrading from 1 bay to 2.
Click to expand...

The power of an FM is the radiation equivalent in the plane of radiation. Effective Radiated Power is the energy sent in the angle that covers the earth surface out from the transmitter. Adding bays increases the ERP by tightening the angle of radiation.

Very approximately, a 1 kw transmitter with 1 bay radiates 500 watts circular polarization. The same 1 kw transmitter into a 10 bay antenna radiates 5,000 watts.
 
I was curious and looked at this for a few minutes just now. All following powers are approximate, but illustrate the situation. Appears KONN-LP filed for a license for 100 watts Effective Radiated Power (ERP) with a one bay antenna and 100 watts transmitter output power (TPO). KONN-LP made an error, TPO should have been 200 watts for a one bay antenna.

KONN-LP became licensed this way. They have been operating at 50 watts ERP instead of 100 watts.

Now they are resolving the error by changing to an antenna system with two bays, and remaining at 100 watts TPO. Alternatively they could have increased TPO to 200 watts and continued to use the one bay antenna.

I'd guess FCC staff has noticed this and they are reviewing. At at this time KONN-LP is working with a very competent and qualified technical consultant, and I am confident the matter will get sorted out. No harm done, no interference was created, honest mistake.

btw- doubling ERP will not double coverage distance. Every bit counts, but don't expect it to go twice as far.
 
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Greg Strickland said:
btw- doubling ERP will not double coverage distance. Every bit counts, but don't expect it to go twice as far.
Click to expand...

Yep. The general guideline is that to double the coverage, you have to quadruple the power.

For further explanations we have to get into some considerable math of the kind that made us go to sleep in our senior year of high school or first year or two of college.
 
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