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AUX Facility for FM Translator?

R

Ryan Williams

Has anyone seen an attempt to apply for or license an auxiliary facility for an FM translator?

I've done some looking, but can't really find anything relevant.

It's probably an idea whose time has come to at least consider, as there are many AM stations that primarily brand with the FM translator frequency and undoubtedly the translator is where the bulk of the listeners are anyway.

There are some places where the coverage-challenged AM (especially at night) is a local LP-1 or LP-2 or PEP in the state EAS plan and having the ability to have an additional redundancy option for the translator would be of great benefit, I am specifically thinking of KLBJ in Austin and WFLF in Orlando.

There is nothing inherent to having an auxiliary facility that would undermine the Class D nature of a translator.
 
Ryan Williams said:
Has anyone seen an attempt to apply for or license an auxiliary facility for an FM translator?
Click to expand...
I've seen installations where there is a backup translator at the same site with a device that senses RF and can switch the backup translator to air should the main fail.

As I interpret the rules, there is nothing that would prevent one for applying for an auxiliary site, provided the coverage was equal-to, or inside the main authorized translator. That said; in my view the complexity of having a redundant translator site would be a tough CapEx and OpEx ROI calculation. Having the ability to remote control two sites will increase the complexity and cost of building and operating something considered 'secondary service'. I think in all my years of the care and feeding of both TV and radio translators, I've had maybe two translator failures. One was caused by a utility power surge that blew a fuse on the translator, and the second that was a 20 year old translator housed in an outdoor steel box prone to overheating from direct sunlight.
 
I have heard that LPFMs can have Auxiliaries, Boosters and Translators, but naturally most don't have the funds to do so. Some auxiliaries have begun as STAs, as LPFMs seem to have a really difficult time keeping transmitter sites.
 
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