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Explain critical hours for am stations.

Pretty simple: they are the period between local sunrise and two hours after local sunrise; then the period between two hours before local sunset and local sunset (when you sign off). FCC explainer is Here. I assume from your username you are asking about WCLN-AM. Looks like a fun station.
 
Here is how to figure out critical hours:

Locate your AM station license (hopefully you do have a copy of it readily available). You will need the geographic coordinates of the tower site, which will be on that license.

You can go to the FCC sunrise/sunset time calculator and determine the monthly average sunrise and sunset times for your station location. Then your critical hours times will be two hours after local sunrise, and two hours before local sunset. Remember that these times are different for each calendar month.

If you have an older-style paper copy of your AM station license (given the specifics of your station, that is quite possible), the sunrise-sunset times are probably already spelled out on the existing license.
 
awsherrill said:
Here is how to figure out critical hours:

Locate your AM station license (hopefully you do have a copy of it readily available). You will need the geographic coordinates of the tower site, which will be on that license.

You can go to the FCC sunrise/sunset time calculator and determine the monthly average sunrise and sunset times for your station location. Then your critical hours times will be two hours after local sunrise, and two hours before local sunset. Remember that these times are different for each calendar month.

If you have an older-style paper copy of your AM station license (given the specifics of your station, that is quite possible), the sunrise-sunset times are probably already spelled out on the existing license.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I appreciate it.
 
Miss Tuned said:
If it's "above your pay grade", why are you looking for free help? If a "tec" guy wanted someone to sell ads, would you do it for nothing?
Click to expand...
People volunteer for all sorts of things all the time. I wrote freeware throughout my teenage years and early twenties. What's wrong with not being miserly toward every once-off request for help?
 
The person is asking about figuring out what the critical hours are for the station. In my opinion, engineering stuff like that shouldn't fall on a sales guy.
 
Yes but he may not have been asking to fulfill engineering tasks. He's in sales; maybe he was working on sales rates versus time of day stuff, and his own engineer is incommunicado on vacation. :D
 


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