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Are stations allowed to increase signal strength for HS Sports?
- Thread starter jhc2010
- Start date
It seems to be widely believed, (and widely practiced) but no.
FCC regulation 73.1250 allows AM stations to use daytime facilities at night to broadcast emergency information. I've heard some cite this regulation as authority to do so for football games. Thing is, if you actually *read* 73.1250, you note that it states "...when necessary to the safety of life and property, in dangerous conditions..." -- and that "All operation under this paragraph must be conducted on a noncommercial basis.". It also requires a report be sent to the FCC after such operation, explaining why daytime facilities were used and certifying the operation was noncommercial. (I think you can reasonably assume these Friday Night Football Exception stations are not filing that report :
)
To pick nits, I've never heard of a station *increasing* power for high-school sports. However, the vast majority of AM stations are required to *reduce* their signal at sunset; it is quite common for them to "forget" to do so when they have a football game.
FCC regulation 73.1250 allows AM stations to use daytime facilities at night to broadcast emergency information. I've heard some cite this regulation as authority to do so for football games. Thing is, if you actually *read* 73.1250, you note that it states "...when necessary to the safety of life and property, in dangerous conditions..." -- and that "All operation under this paragraph must be conducted on a noncommercial basis.". It also requires a report be sent to the FCC after such operation, explaining why daytime facilities were used and certifying the operation was noncommercial. (I think you can reasonably assume these Friday Night Football Exception stations are not filing that report :
)To pick nits, I've never heard of a station *increasing* power for high-school sports. However, the vast majority of AM stations are required to *reduce* their signal at sunset; it is quite common for them to "forget" to do so when they have a football game.
jhc2010 said:
This is often referred to as the "Friday night remote control failure" when the transmitter remote control mysteriously fails to lower the power at sunset.
Illegal as hell- yes.
Does it happen- yes.
D
del_griffith
Guest
markbohach said:
Those darn remote controls seem to have a built in chip that goes on the fritz on Friday evenings during HS football season. I'm surprised the manufactures haven't "fixed" the problem with six sigma programs and all.
I can recall one of my first weekend board op jobs. The evening announcer was showing me the ropes. When it came time for the meter readings, I was told "it says we are overmodulating, but we aren't - just write in that we are at 99-100%."
It was basketball tournament time.
It was basketball tournament time.
w9wi said:It seems to be widely believed, (and widely practiced) but no.
FCC regulation 73.1250 allows AM stations to use daytime facilities at night to broadcast emergency information. I've heard some cite this regulation as authority to do so for football games. Thing is, if you actually *read* 73.1250, you note that it states "...when necessary to the safety of life and property, in dangerous conditions..." -- and that "All operation under this paragraph must be conducted on a noncommercial basis.". It also requires a report be sent to the FCC after such operation, explaining why daytime facilities were used and certifying the operation was noncommercial. (I think you can reasonably assume these Friday Night Football Exception stations are not filing that report :
To pick nits, I've never heard of a station *increasing* power for high-school sports. However, the vast majority of AM stations are required to *reduce* their signal at sunset; it is quite common for them to "forget" to do so when they have a football game.
It happens a lot more than you think...and its also the reason stations many miles away complain of interference...A greedy GM or owner willing to bust the rules to make some cash should also use that money to pay the FCC fines...
BTW: WBZI-AM, in Xenia was a station, many years ago, that learned about that rule the hard way during their coverage of the Xenia tornado of 1974. The story goes that whoever it was there didn't know the programming had to be "non-commercial" during emergency operating hours. I heard years later they were nailed by the FCC for airing commercials.
And of course, these stations invoking the "HSFB/HSBB Authorization" (it's a joke!) are not at all going non-commercial.
The whole thing seems predicated on the low likelihood that an FCC field agent is in the listening area on Friday nights.
The whole thing seems predicated on the low likelihood that an FCC field agent is in the listening area on Friday nights.
Most of the FCC staff are at thier kid's football games anyway...
Oh..say Does this same chip also fail during basketball games as well?
Oh..say Does this same chip also fail during basketball games as well?
I worked at a station whose owner loved local sports, and we did a LOT of them. The problem, he lived a reasonable distance from the station, a 250 watter on 1450. Now here's the funny part, he could get in his car and park by the railroad tracks near his home. The station's tower was also located near the railroad tracks. He could get a great signal IF the station was on 1KW. I can remember him telling the board op, (yes me too) "if someone pulls in the parking lot go back to low power." Of course that in all probability would have been way too late.
On a different vein, we were near a sports stadium and ABC TV would broadcast from there annually. If we were on 1 KW during their broadcasts there was distortion in their picture, as soon as we reduced power, it was gone. So as a favor to them (we were an ABC Radio affiliate) we reduced power during their telecasts.
One more funy story, the staff at the local Telco Central Office loved local high school sports as well and they would tap in on the leased line to listen to the games. The supervisor found out and told them they could not do it. SO, over a beer (or several) one evening at the local watering hole we hatched a plan. I, or who ever was on the board, would call them before the game and say something to the efffect that we were picking up some noise on the line so they would have to do an audio check. Or the alternative was to call them and ask for them to check one of my local loops, which of course we would send a signal down the line to them. I also did it when we used the Marti for a game they wanted to hear.
On a different vein, we were near a sports stadium and ABC TV would broadcast from there annually. If we were on 1 KW during their broadcasts there was distortion in their picture, as soon as we reduced power, it was gone. So as a favor to them (we were an ABC Radio affiliate) we reduced power during their telecasts.
One more funy story, the staff at the local Telco Central Office loved local high school sports as well and they would tap in on the leased line to listen to the games. The supervisor found out and told them they could not do it. SO, over a beer (or several) one evening at the local watering hole we hatched a plan. I, or who ever was on the board, would call them before the game and say something to the efffect that we were picking up some noise on the line so they would have to do an audio check. Or the alternative was to call them and ask for them to check one of my local loops, which of course we would send a signal down the line to them. I also did it when we used the Marti for a game they wanted to hear.
I worked at a station that was 50 watts at night with a very tight 3 tower directional. On football nights,t he manager/owner would make me leave the transmitter at 1000 watts (normal day power) and then pull a jumper out of one of the towers to 'adjust' the pattern so you could hear the station where they were doing the game (which was normally in a null where you could barely hear it normally). He got away with this for years! I put a letter in the public file that I wasn't responsible if anyone came in and asked about it.
D
del_griffith
Guest
DaveWilliams said:
Did you have to take meter readings and how did you handle that?
markbohach said:
I've heard it called "High School Sports S.T.A."
From Dublin, Ohio in Union County, I could hear two really far away stations broadcasting football tonight that are typically unlistenable.
WRRR-FM (93.9) in St. Marys, WV
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WRRR&service=FM&status=L&hours=U
WHBC-FM (94.1) in Canton, OH
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WHBC&service=FM&status=L&hours=U
Are atmospheric conditions really that good tonight or is there some signal increasing going on?
WRRR-FM (93.9) in St. Marys, WV
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WRRR&service=FM&status=L&hours=U
WHBC-FM (94.1) in Canton, OH
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WHBC&service=FM&status=L&hours=U
Are atmospheric conditions really that good tonight or is there some signal increasing going on?
Probably not.
FM stations only have one authorized power level; there's really little point in having a transmitter present that's capable of running much more than licensed power.
It's different with most AM stations, which are allowed to run MUCH more power during the day -- and have that more powerful facility sitting there ready to go on the air at the push of a button.
FM stations only have one authorized power level; there's really little point in having a transmitter present that's capable of running much more than licensed power.
It's different with most AM stations, which are allowed to run MUCH more power during the day -- and have that more powerful facility sitting there ready to go on the air at the push of a button.
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