• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

FM Band- Class D Stations- And AM Stations

D

David Sharp

Just curious to know why the FCC decided to clutter the FM band by allocating multitudes of Class D stations and repeaters? Okay, I know it all had to do with the big company monopolies etc but consider what they did in Australia for a moment...

Here, they allowed AM stations with poor signals to migrate on to the FM band. In some cases, after the transition took place, the AM license was relinquished and given to a community group, for low power broadcasting. This maintained the benefits of FM coverage by not cluttering the band too much and still let community groups get into the game (on AM). (For the record, we still have community stations on FM but they aren't allowed to interfere with commercial stations.) I'm just wondering whether that would have been a better plan for the FCC?

I think something similar is happening in Canada, where some AM signals are going to FM but I don't know if it involves the "community aspect" which is part of the scheme in Oz.
 
Class D stations? Do you mean LPFM's? Or do you mean translators? If I recall correctly, there are only a few class D stations left. They get no protection from larger stations upgrading. Most LPFM and for that matter translators have been taken over by religious organizations. When the opening for filing came about, they flooded the FCC. In fact, I think the last translator window had over 15,000 applications, most from only two religious organizations, both based in Twin Falls, Idaho. Most people know who they are. Here in Sarasota Bradenton, we have a translator located in Bradenton on 96.5 and an LPFM only 8 miles away in Sarasota on the same frequency. They do nothing but trash each other. The LPFM here really does a good job as they are connected with New College here. Similar programming to 88.5 in Tampa.
 
David Sharp said:
Just curious to know why the FCC decided to clutter the FM band by allocating multitudes of Class D stations and repeaters? Okay, I know it all had to do with the big company monopolies etc but consider what they did in Australia for a moment...

Here, they allowed AM stations with poor signals to migrate on to the FM band. In some cases, after the transition took place, the AM license was relinquished and given to a community group, for low power broadcasting. This maintained the benefits of FM coverage by not cluttering the band too much and still let community groups get into the game (on AM). (For the record, we still have community stations on FM but they aren't allowed to interfere with commercial stations.) I'm just wondering whether that would have been a better plan for the FCC?

I think something similar is happening in Canada, where some AM signals are going to FM but I don't know if it involves the "community aspect" which is part of the scheme in Oz.
Click to expand...

Had nothing to do with big company monopolies. They were against it for interference reasons.

Has to do with the FCC belief of "diversity of voices".
 
With only a few exceptions, the LPFM movement had good intentions but poor outcome. It is not good when almost all LPFM's are owned by Church organizations all with the same point of view. However I think they are needed as it is virtually impossible for people to get ownership of a radio station today. So, should we go back to 1 AM and 1 FM in a market? That would increase the diversity and certainly would improve the programming mix by getting stations to compete with each other again.
 
By the way, the ONLY documented interference zone between a full power FM and and LPFM is a zone about 200 feet around the LPFM tower. The NAB put out a blatently false CD of interference when they were fighting the ruling. Everyone except obviously the NAB knows about FM's capture effect. It is impossible to hear 2 FM stations on the same freq at the same time. That interference CD was the brainchild of someone in a production studio.
 
Kabrich said:
Had nothing to do with big company monopolies. They were against it for interference reasons.

Has to do with the FCC belief of "diversity of voices".
Click to expand...

That's what I meant, when I mentioned big company monopolies....sorry for not being clearer. Also, I thought LPFM's were considered Class D? Maybe I'm wrong but I was just thinking, there could have been a better way forward...
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom