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KFWR Crazy Modified Antenna- Busted

Kelly A

Kelly A

While getting caught up with the BDR, found this little tidbit:

"8/5/15 - As we discussed in March (3/23/15, below), the FCC took a rather jaundiced view of a Texas station carefully matching tower members and antenna to develop a hyper-directional antenna with an ERP of nearly 275 kW toward another market. Today an Order was issued, as expected, instructing the station to turn the transmitter down from 25 kW to 9.1 kW. The FCC said it had reasons to deny this KFWR from using the antenna regardless of the somewhat loose understanding that side-mount FM antennas are no longer perfectly circular. Whether this will lead to further specifications in the Rules, remains to be seen."



Anyone in the area on this board and potentially near the KFWR TX site, I would LOVE to see what they did to create a homemade antenna/tower arrangement that gives them this much gain and directionality. Rest assured I don't condone doing anything like what they're accused of, I'm just curious as to what this thing looks like. Would someone be willing to get some photos or description before they take it down?
 
I knew there was something up with their signal. They bled over too much to have a power of 100kW and at the time, I lived in Decatur, about 20 miles from the site. From experience with signal RX from a 100kW station, I lived in Irving, a few miles from the Cedar Hill antenna farm and never experienced bleed over as much as I am with KFWR. I live in Bridgeport now about 10 miles from the TX and my brain is probably getting fried from the 275kW waves moving through my head now. ;) Glad 95.9 is lowering their signal though. About time the bleed over dropped off from the adjacent stations.
 
Kelly A said:
Anyone in the area on this board and potentially near the KFWR TX site, I would LOVE to see what they did to create a homemade antenna/tower arrangement that gives them this much gain and directionality. Rest assured I don't condone doing anything like what they're accused of, I'm just curious as to what this thing looks like. Would someone be willing to get some photos or description before they take it down?
Click to expand...

There's plenty on the FCC website of this matter and the back and forth between the allegedly interfering station and the complainant. There's photos and other diagrams, if you have about two hours to spare.

The antenna isn't homemade. It was manufactured by a leading antenna company.
 
Yes perhaps homemade wasn't a proper descriptive term. The tower and antenna was made by ERI. Tom Silliman claimed they regularly use parts of the "Lambda" tower as a reflector/parasitic combination for "pattern optimization". In defense of ERI, they are a business and will sell a customer whatever they want to buy. That being said, the station owner was doing something that wasn't permitted by using a directional antenna.
 
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