New Jersey high school FM surrenders radio license

[badjef]

With regard to 87.9, does anybody know why the FCC did not authorize it for larger use?

From what I always knew is that 88-108 was the legal band. The center of the channel was the .1. So the stations could use 88.0-88.2. This was a carry over from the AM band frequencies that showed a station a 540 would be operating legally from 535-545 utilizing the 10kc spacing.
The (old) receiver label would state that it would receive 535-1605kc.

If the FCC did authorize it, why didn't the digital tuned receivers reflect it?

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[8638]

Back in the 70s, it wasn't uncommon for high schools to start 10-watt FM stations. FM was just gaining steam. There were similar stations in Highland Park and Piscataway. That was when WRSU moved from carrier current to FM. I think Middlesex County College may have had a 10-watter. Then the laws changed and the stations increased power. I think WBGD had 190 watts.

Now school boards are looking for ways to cut expenses, and radio stations are easy to chop. If local governments can't support small stations like this, it seems to me very unlikely that the LPFM movement has much of a chance. The money has to come from somewhere. Individuals don't want to pay, governments are cutting back, and other non-profits are also hurting. Even the state is looking to sell off NJN. The consolidation that hit the commercial world is about to hit non-commercial radio with even more force.

Proving Liberalism doesn't work because you eventually run out of other people's money. Especially if they've run out of it first.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

Ah, so true!

 

[w9wi]

With regard to 87.9, does anybody know why the FCC did not authorize it for larger use?

From what I always knew is that 88-108 was the legal band. The center of the channel was the .1. So the stations could use 88.0-88.2. This was a carry over from the AM band frequencies that showed a station a 540 would be operating legally from 535-545 utilizing the 10kc spacing.
The (old) receiver label would state that it would receive 535-1605kc.

If the FCC did authorize it, why didn't the digital tuned receivers reflect it?

Yes, and it specifies 88-108 in the regulations. 87.9 was added fairly late in the game -- mid-1980s, I think -- after changes in the rules allowed new full-power non-commercial stations to bump existing Class D outlets. There wasn't much room for the Class D's to go.

87.9 is technically TV spectrum, and TV is more susceptible to co-channel interference than FM. It's kinda hard to compare but the FCC required a LPTV on the same channel as a full-power station to be at least 45dB weaker within the full-power service area -- a new FM station on the same channel as an existing one need be only 20dB weaker. (that's a VERY QUICK analysis by a sleepy engineer, do not get bent out of shape over any errors )

I would imagine some early digital tuned receivers were designed before 87.9 became a valid channel.

 

[MickeyD]

With regard to 87.9, does anybody know why the FCC did not authorize it for larger use?

From what I always knew is that 88-108 was the legal band. The center of the channel was the .1. So the stations could use 88.0-88.2. This was a carry over from the AM band frequencies that showed a station a 540 would be operating legally from 535-545 utilizing the 10kc spacing.
The (old) receiver label would state that it would receive 535-1605kc.

If the FCC did authorize it, why didn't the digital tuned receivers reflect it?

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

The only thing that come to mind is that it was a buffer from TV Channel 6 back in the analog day.

 

[nd2023]

Is 89.1 or 87.9 still allotted to the UN? Could they just tell the FCC that they want to start a new radio station, and therefore bump WNYU/WFDU or WNYZ off the air?

Why would the UN even need a full signal FM station?

 

[badjef]

Is 89.1 or 87.9 still allotted to the UN? Could they just tell the FCC that they want to start a new radio station, and therefore bump WNYU/WFDU or WNYZ off the air?

Why would the UN even need a full signal FM station?

I doubt the General Secretaries - current and former - even know it's there.

It is akin to putting a deposit on lottery numbers.

My guess is that if the U.N. had a program they wished to air, WNYU would probably be in agreement, anyway. (stick it on the -3 at 3am et)

So, for all intents and purposes, they are the permanent caretakers of the allotment (and the un can slip away under the cover of darkness.)

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[w9wi]

Is 89.1 or 87.9 still allotted to the UN? Could they just tell the FCC that they want to start a new radio station, and therefore bump WNYU/WFDU or WNYZ off the air?

Why would the UN even need a full signal FM station?

Yes, 89.1 is still allotted.

I would suppose they *could* indeed bump WNYU/WFDU. They don't seem to be particularly interested in having a local station in NYC. There *is* such a thing as United Nations Radio, but it seems to be a program production & distribution service only, they invite other stations to carry their programs but don't generally control stations of their own.

 

[d21ofnj]

So, now the question is who will capture the now free 91.9 FM, or will WBNJ take over and give true Ocean County coverage?

 

[amfmsw]

More High School stations surrender/lose their licenses.

Scott Fybush's  NE Radio Watch October 4:  http://fybush.com/nerw.html

Scroll down/click to New Jersey

They found out about the WAJM fiasco when Equity and Press filed to swap frequencies 0f 99.3 and 99.7.

 

[d21ofnj]

"If WAJM's license renewal is indeed granted, it may not mean the end of the WZBZ/WBHX swap and of WBHX's plans to improve its signal. The WBHX application noted that stations of 99 watts or less aren't subject to the IF-spacing rules that would block WZBZ's move to 99.7, and WBHX owner Press offered to pay for WAJM to downgrade slightly from its present 150 watts to 99 watts."

Well, the proposal can still get approved, that is if WAJM would agree to decrease their power, if they are able to renew.

 

[MickeyD]

"If WAJM's license renewal is indeed granted, it may not mean the end of the WZBZ/WBHX swap and of WBHX's plans to improve its signal. The WBHX application noted that stations of 99 watts or less aren't subject to the IF-spacing rules that would block WZBZ's move to 99.7, and WBHX owner Press offered to pay for WAJM to downgrade slightly from its present 150 watts to 99 watts."

Well, the proposal can still get approved, that is if WAJM would agree to decrease their power, if they are able to renew.

I would like to know what the payment could possibly be? What is a 50 watt reduction to a high school non-comm woreth in dolars? A couple of hundrd bucks? I would ask them for new studios!

 

[tom]

I would like to know what the payment could possibly be? What is a 50 watt reduction to a high school non-comm woreth in dolars? A couple of hundrd bucks? I would ask them for new studios!

It's worth about $100,000.

The ration is the same as taking a 50,000 watt station to 31,500 watts,
or a 3000 watt station to 2000 watts. You have to look at the percentage,
not the power. A 50 watt decrease on WFPG wouldn't even flicker the
wattmeter, to WAJM, it would be 66% instead of 100%.

Definitely woreth more than a couple of hundrd dolars.

 

[fybush]

The ration is the same as taking a 50,000 watt station to 31,500 watts,
or a 3000 watt station to 2000 watts. You have to look at the percentage,
not the power. A 50 watt decrease on WFPG wouldn't even flicker the
wattmeter, to WAJM, it would be 66% instead of 100%.

Lemme play devil's advocate here, Tom...if you take a 50,000-watt station to 31,500 watts, do you reduce the station's coverage by 33%? It's a logarithmic relationship, is it not?

In addition, since there's no height restriction on that "99-watt" maximum, it's conceivable that WAJM could be compensated for the cost of raising its tower to maintain its current coverage while reducing ERP. (And then there's the matter of WAJM presently being vertical-only; I assume that was to protect WPVI's analog channel 6 facility, and it's possible WAJM could now go c-pol.)

Definitely woreth more than a couple of hundrd dolars.

But probably not $100k, either. Even if you accept that "2/3 of power = 2/3 of station value," $100,000 assumes that WAJM is worth $300,000, and that's probably not a realistic value for that signal in that market in this economy.

In any event, the question may be entirely academic; it's been suggested to me by some knowledgeable engineers that the "99-watt rule" applies only to translators and class D stations, and WAJM is a class A facility.

 

[badjef]

The ration is the same as taking a 50,000 watt station to 31,500 watts,
or a 3000 watt station to 2000 watts. You have to look at the percentage,
not the power. A 50 watt decrease on WFPG wouldn't even flicker the
wattmeter, to WAJM, it would be 66% instead of 100%.

Lemme play devil's advocate here, Tom...if you take a 50,000-watt station to 31,500 watts, do you reduce the station's coverage by 33%? It's a logarithmic relationship, is it not?

In addition, since there's no height restriction on that "99-watt" maximum, it's conceivable that WAJM could be compensated for the cost of raising its tower to maintain its current coverage while reducing ERP. (And then there's the matter of WAJM presently being vertical-only; I assume that was to protect WPVI's analog channel 6 facility, and it's possible WAJM could now go c-pol.)

Definitely woreth more than a couple of hundrd dolars.

But probably not $100k, either. Even if you accept that "2/3 of power = 2/3 of station value," $100,000 assumes that WAJM is worth $300,000, and that's probably not a realistic value for that signal in that market in this economy.

In any event, the question may be entirely academic; it's been suggested to me by some knowledgeable engineers that the "99-watt rule" applies only to translators and class D stations, and WAJM is a class A facility.

Is there a standard formula for figuring the reduction of power as height increases?

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[nd2023]

You can use the FM Curves app on the FCC site to calculate the field strength at a certain distance.

WAJM's current 60 dBu radius is 3.9 miles. With a power reduction to 99 watts, the 60 dBu contour will be at 3.6 miles. To keep the same coverage area as it is now, the antenna will have to be raised 20 feet.

If the height is not increased, the field strength at 4 miles will drop by 2 dBu. More importantly, since it's short-spaced to Z88.9, interference to WAJM will increase slightly.

If WAJM's being paid $3000 to lose less than 2000 feet of coverage in the fringe, it is well worth it! My former high school station WWPH 107.9 lost miles of fringe coverage when WRNB signed on in 2004 (and before 2004, lost miles of coverage with every tropo opening). No compensation was offered (or expected). I think if it had upgraded to a class A back in the 90s, WRNB might have been prevented from signing on 107.9.

 

[tom]

Let's make this clear, the proposal to reduce WAJM's signal for the
benefit of a commercial station is not about loss of coverage or
"dollae per watt" it's about a fair share of the potential INCREASE
in value of the commercial station. If it was worth $ 2.3 million
and the increased coverage by the frequency swap make it worth
$ 3.5 million, WAJM is entitled to a VERY fair share.

I think if it had upgraded to a class A back in the 90s, WRNB might have been prevented from signing on 107.9.

Nooo ... they would have had to upgrade in the Ed band ... not on 107.9.

 

[nd2023]

I'd think WAJM might settle for Press paying their FCC fines for failing to renew their license. $100,000 would be a lot of money for a high school radio station just to lose an imperceptible amount of coverage. At their power level, the IF spacing would most likely cause problems only on campus.

I remember standing under the building housing the 87.9 pirate in Newark. The pirate was strong enough to bleed on to WBGO 88.3. On the blank frequencies I could hear a mix of the pirate and 98.7 Kiss FM. A few blocks away the IF interference was gone. That pirate station is more powerful than WAJM and covers over 25 miles.

 

[MickeyD]

I would like to know what the payment could possibly be? What is a 50 watt reduction to a high school non-comm woreth in dolars? A couple of hundrd bucks? I would ask them for new studios!

It's worth about $100,000.

The ration is the same as taking a 50,000 watt station to 31,500 watts,
or a 3000 watt station to 2000 watts. You have to look at the percentage,
not the power. A 50 watt decrease on WFPG wouldn't even flicker the
wattmeter, to WAJM, it would be 66% instead of 100%.

Definitely woreth more than a couple of hundrd dolars.

Well I don't know there Tom. They are turning in non-comms left and right. How do you value a non-comm? If 50 watts is worth a 100K then 200 watt WBGD was worth 400k? Perhaps 20 years ago a non-comm was worth something but not today. The younger generation doesn't listen to radio anymore. As the youth of America say, "Radio is for poor people".

 

[badjef]

The younger generation doesn't listen to radio anymore. As the youth of America say, "Radio is for poor people".

THAT THINKING NEEDS TO CHANGE!!!

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[MickeyD]

The younger generation doesn't listen to radio anymore. As the youth of America say, "Radio is for poor people".

THAT THINKING NEEDS TO CHANGE!!!

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

If you can come up with an idea to change it radio groups will be pounding on your door.