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Looks like Franken-FM WTBS will continue

jabba17

jabba17

radioinsight.com

FCC Report 7/2: A Final Salvation For Franken-FMs? - RadioInsight

Silent Notifications Super W Media Group’s 1280 WIPC Lake Wales FL (Loss of transmitter site) Mt. Rushmore Broadcasting’s 1490 KFCR Custer SD (Station equipment failure) FM Changes Cumulus Media Alternative “Alt 92.3” WZRH LaPlace/New Orleans has found its new home after the August 2021...
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Basically, all current 87.7 MHz/analog Channel 6 Franken-FMs will be allowed to stay on the air indefinitely, but no new Franken-FMs will be allowed.

The catch for the legacy Franken-FMs is that they will have to have at least one channel of DTV along with their analog audio.
 
WCDukenfield said:
Stupidest f-ing thing to allow Franken FMs. It makes a mockery of the rules.
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If the rules now accept them, it's not a mockery and, rather, in conformity with the rules.
 
Why 87.75MHz, the correct frequency for USA FM spacing is 87.7MHz (my digital FM tuners won't tune in 87.75)?


Kirk Bayne
 
Since NTSC analog no longer exists, they might as well allow them to shift the FM carrier to 87.7 to improve reception for digital tuners. That would provide a bit of extra separation from real licensed FM stations on 88.1-88.5. Both advance the public interest, which at this point is to provide an extra audio service for the community. I'd also require them to simulcast the audio on a subchannel so that ATSC 3.0 viewers can benefit.
 
ngriffin said:
Since NTSC analog no longer exists, they might as well allow them to shift the FM carrier to 87.7 to improve reception for digital tuners. That would provide a bit of extra separation from real licensed FM stations on 88.1-88.5. Both advance the public interest, which at this point is to provide an extra audio service for the community. I'd also require them to simulcast the audio on a subchannel so that ATSC 3.0 viewers can benefit.
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One of the low-power DTV stations was simulcasting the audio of all of Clear Channel's local stations on ATSC subchannels at one time. It might have been WTBS.

This would also be a great way to gain home listenership of the HD subchannels as well.

Is low-power analog NTSC TV now dead? I know the FCC gave analog LPTV stations a lot longer to convert. And I think the FCC is still saying no to TV makers under the All-Channel Receiver Act who want to drop analog reception.
 
Sinclair has been pitching ATSC 3.0 as a potential audio source. I've seen a few public TV stations simulcast a co-owned public radio station. The 3ABN LPTV stations put their radio service on one of their subchannels. However, there might be additional music licensing costs to consider with a simulcast.
 
My digital FM tuners can't tune to 87.75MHz at all.

My new low end Philips LCD TV tunes in analog NTSC ch 3 & 4 for VCR outputs (paraphrasing the instructions), I haven't tried that connection yet.


Kirk Bayne
 
kfbkfb said:
My digital FM tuners can't tune to 87.75MHz at all.

My new low end Philips LCD TV tunes in analog NTSC ch 3 & 4 for VCR outputs (paraphrasing the instructions), I haven't tried that connection yet.


Kirk Bayne
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I get WTBS on a standard digital car radio at 87.7. Remember that FM and TV are "channels" centered on a frequency, and not a specific exact frequency like AM.
 
What's stupid, in my opinion, is not approving the former NTSC channel 6 spectrum for permanent FM radio broadcasting use.

A few of the Franken FMs have respectable audience sizes, all things considered.
 
MarkW said:
What's stupid, in my opinion, is not approving the former NTSC channel 6 spectrum for permanent FM radio broadcasting use.

A few of the Franken FMs have respectable audience sizes, all things considered.
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Especially with as much as we talk about making sure everyone has a radio in case an emergency hit. I didn’t know that ended
 
MarkW said:
What's stupid, in my opinion, is not approving the former NTSC channel 6 spectrum for permanent FM radio broadcasting use.

A few of the Franken FMs have respectable audience sizes, all things considered.
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I still think TV channels 5 and 6 should be converted to a digital-only FM band from 76-88MHz. This would be the reverse of what Japan did; their FM band was originally 76-90MHz, and they later added 90-108MHz after their analog TV shutdown.

VHF isn't the best for DTV, and the lower VHF channels (2-6) are the worst.

Atlanta only has two TV stations on RF VHF channels (channel 8 on RF channel 7, and channel 11 on RF channel 10), and those are consistently the hardest to pick up with an antenna.
 
The FCC should have closed the loophole as soon as the first station operator tried to take advantage of it. No grandfathering, and a hefty fine if the operator continued to keep their sham FM on the air. Legitimate station operators in cities like Chicago would kill for a new open FM frequency to set up shop on. By allowing WRME to exploit that loophole and then legitimizing it, the FCC is telling broadcasters that play by the rules that they were fools. Nice way to treat the same broadcasters that fill your agency's coffers.
 
Red Plume said:
What rules did they break? At the NTSC sunset, didn't WRME apply for an STA?
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It's not unlike all of these translators that are on tall TV towers because there's no statutory limit on HAAT for FM translators, unlike class A and Cx. 250W isn't going to get you into many buildings, but you can get substantial coverage for that wattage with theoretically unlimited HAAT. Just have to watch out for cochannel real stations.

And whoever persuaded the FCC to let FM translators translate HD and AM stations was a genius.
 
WRME has played by the rules all along, and Weigel Broadcasting wasn't even the first company to use 87.75 MHz in Chicago for aural programming. Ownership has changed hands multiple times.
 
jabba17 said:
I still think TV channels 5 and 6 should be converted to a digital-only FM band from 76-88MHz.
Click to expand...
Nobody buys new FM radios today. Their smartphone IS their radio.
 
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