The X-Band (1610 kHz - 1710 kHz) seems wide open here during the day. Could we see an X-Band AM station here, maybe a repeater station for WKNR to fill in coverage holes or a CBS all news station or another format?
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Could an X-Bander come to Cleveland?
- Thread starter Buckeyes2001
- Start date
Buckeyes2001 said:
Short answer: no.
Longer answer: After the FCC opened the initial X-band window back in the 1990s, it hasn't opened another one and has no plans to do so. The whole thing has pretty much been a disaster - the initial purpose (to reduce interference on the existing AM band) wasn't met at all, especially when licensees started to try to keep their existing stations alongside the X-banders. Unofficial FCC policy for the last decade or so has been to ignore the X-band whenever possible. Filing windows for AM stations have excluded the X-band, and the only time the FCC has allowed a new facility to be added to the X-band (1700 in Rockland County, NY) was under direct pressure from local members of Congress. (And even that filing window has yet to yield an actual CP, much less a new station.)
Under the current rules, the FCC doesn't accept applications for completely new expanded-band stations. An expanded-band station must be associated with an existing station in the regular band below 1610. Existing stations may file petitions for X-band channels; if mutually-exclusive petitions are received, the station involved in the most interference gets priority. (I believe "involved" means either *causing* interference OR *receiving* it)
But petitions can only be filed during a "filing window", I believe the last (only) one happened in 1994 and there are no indications there will be another one.
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Another way to do it would be to move an existing expanded-band station from another city. The three closest ones would be WPRR Ada, Michigan (near Muskegon); WQLR Kalamazoo; and WDND South Bend. Whether it would be technically feasible for any of these to move to Cleveland I can't say. (there are stations in New Jersey on both WPRR's channel and WQLR's; that could be problematic. WDND's channel is open to the east but whether 1610 in Toronto would be an issue I can't say.)
I don't know how the FCC would react to such a move. An AM station in the regular band in Johnson City in southern Illinois did succeed in moving more than 200 miles to the Chicago suburb of Berwyn when it moved to 1690. However, this station never operated on 1690 from Johnson City.
Such a move would be a "major change" and again, could only happen during a "filing window". However, the AM major change filing windows are different & happen more often -- I believe the last one was held in July 2010?
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Either way, I don't think you'll be seeing an X-band station in Cleveland in the foreseeable future.
But petitions can only be filed during a "filing window", I believe the last (only) one happened in 1994 and there are no indications there will be another one.
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Another way to do it would be to move an existing expanded-band station from another city. The three closest ones would be WPRR Ada, Michigan (near Muskegon); WQLR Kalamazoo; and WDND South Bend. Whether it would be technically feasible for any of these to move to Cleveland I can't say. (there are stations in New Jersey on both WPRR's channel and WQLR's; that could be problematic. WDND's channel is open to the east but whether 1610 in Toronto would be an issue I can't say.)
I don't know how the FCC would react to such a move. An AM station in the regular band in Johnson City in southern Illinois did succeed in moving more than 200 miles to the Chicago suburb of Berwyn when it moved to 1690. However, this station never operated on 1690 from Johnson City.
Such a move would be a "major change" and again, could only happen during a "filing window". However, the AM major change filing windows are different & happen more often -- I believe the last one was held in July 2010?
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Either way, I don't think you'll be seeing an X-band station in Cleveland in the foreseeable future.
C
cd637299
Guest
Seriously, when was the last time any X-band AM station even made the top 20 in a market? I wanna say it was KXTR 1660 in KC when it was classical.
It seems to me that a good chunk of our population still don't think that AM now goes beyond 1600, and that's *if* they have even heard of AM.
In Miami we have 1700 WJCC, IMO the cleanest/most interference-free AM station here....and *it* is brokered/Haitian, sooooooo........
cd
It seems to me that a good chunk of our population still don't think that AM now goes beyond 1600, and that's *if* they have even heard of AM.
In Miami we have 1700 WJCC, IMO the cleanest/most interference-free AM station here....and *it* is brokered/Haitian, sooooooo........
cd
Since most tuners these days include the X-band, that in itself shouldn't be a detriment. I'd say that lack of compelling programming has stunted the band's growth.
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