KROQ Files FCC Application - Signal Expansion?

[HollywoodGenius]

I work in the industry here in L.A. and someone passed on word to me that KROQ in fact filed an application with the FCC possibly recently. With some searching I was able to find this info from the FCC site...

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1311525

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?call=KROQ

Anyone with tech experience please weigh in on what this app is for. Why do I see the word Mexico in the application? Yes I see it is a booster to be licensed in Santa Clarita but would it give them signal power to the border? Watch out 91x~! Funny because I thought the old GM Trip Reeb of KROQ was running the company in San Diego that owns 91x??? Just curious...

 

[davideduardo]

Anyone with tech experience please weigh in on what this app is for. Why do I see the word Mexico in the application? Yes I see it is a booster to be licensed in Santa Clarita but would it give them signal power to the border? Watch out 91x~! Funny because I thought the old GM Trip Reeb of KROQ was running the company in San Diego that owns 91x??? Just curious...

}

Looks like a booster to fill in in the shadow areas of the Santa Clarita valley. All apps that are for facilities within 200 miles of the Mexican border have to comply with certain rules that apply to the borrder area.

 

[radiojomo]

Yes! The KROQ signal always comes in a little blurry for me. I usually can't hear it very well on my regular home stereo but I can listen in my car and I'm glad they did something about the signal finally!

 

[K6JHU]

Actually several stations in LA have boosters for the Santa Clarita Valley. They are usually on frequency with fairly low power (a couple of hundred watss or less). Look in the data base for calls that end in -1.

The FCC data base shows that on-the-air and applications for boosters in Santa Clarita include KPCC, KUSC, KMVN (or whatever that call is now), KKGO, and now KROQ.

Trivia question. What was the first FM to apply for an on frequency booster?

 

[Play Freebird]

Trivia question. What was the first FM to apply for an on frequency booster?

Wasn't it KIOI, back when Jim Gabbert was owner? Somewhere around here, I have a copy of the article he wrote for BM/E reporting on this experiment.

 

[K6JHU]

Right on, except it was KPEN at the time. Also one of the first stations to start vertical polarization.

 

[socalguy]

I guess it took a format competitor at 98.7, which booms into Santa Clarita, to get CBS to care about KROQ's signal.

 

[radiosanchez]

Technical question from an idiot:

How does the IBOC component work in a booster?? Is there a problem running it or do you just treat it as you would on the primary?

 

[davideduardo]

Technical question from an idiot:

How does the IBOC component work in a booster?? Is there a problem running it or do you just treat it as you would on the primary?

A booster is a mini radio station that fills in areas the station should cover but does not because of geograpy and terrain. So you need a transmitter, and if stereo, a stereo generatior and if HD, the HD equipment... so it gets pricey, and that is withough knowing if a booster gets additional fees from iBiquity.

 

[Engineer]

On IBOC, so far, not well. KCSN experimented with IBOC on their Westside booster and the NPR Labs engineering reports showed substantial difficulty due to the inability to precisely match the IBOC data and delay the sites to match the propagation delay between the main and the booster. Basically you need the ability to generate one set of IBOC data at the primary location and transmit that data to the booster location, rather than having a separate IBOC generator at the booster location. The capability doesn't really exist in the current production hardware, but a proof-of-concept was shown by transmitter manufacturer Nautel at NAB which allows a representation of the FM analog carrier along with any subcarriers and the HD sidebands to be transmitted over high-bandwidth data microwave and then directly transmitted via an RF amplifier, which is about the optimal method for a true synchronous booster as the analog modulation will precisely match as will the IBOC data symbols.

Basically at the moment you can run IBOC boosters but they will help in some areas and hurt in the interference zones. The same issues apply to analog FM boosters but the interference just degrades the analog rather than causing dropouts in an HD multicast or mode-switching for the MPS signal.