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Saving AM Radio

yeoldeschool said:
Have there been any exceptions granted to that limitation other than for KKHJ, which was allowed to return to KHJ for ... sanitary reasons?
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That really wasn't the same situation. The then-owners of KKHJ petitioned to get the KHJ calls back on the same station. (I fuzzily recall that happening years earlier up in San Francisco). The exception was made not to the limitation I had cited but to the resurrection of a previously surrendered three-letter call.

In recent history, the KGB calls in San Diego were resurrected on 760 (the former KFMB) when the radio and television stations were sold to different owners. But in that case, the new owners of 760 also owned KGB-FM, which has the same city of license, and so the calls could be legally revived for the AM, even though it was not the original station that had them. In that case, it was the fact that KGB-FM had never changed calls which made the difference.
 
yeoldeschool said:
Have there been any exceptions granted to that limitation other than for KKHJ, which was allowed to return to KHJ for ... sanitary reasons?
Click to expand...
Actually, what KKHJ did was deceive the FCC with false statements about call letter use in Spanish... something they never did.
 
davideduardo said:
Actually, what KKHJ did was deceive the FCC with false statements about call letter use in Spanish... something they never did.
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I wasn't going to mention that, because it really was an off-topic question; KHJ's owner at the time neither had those calls on a co-owned FM nor owned the FM that once had them.
 
There was a guy named William Berry who had an AM in the Nashville market. His night signal was being destroyed by a Cuban station. William told me he sent a letter every day to the FCC asking for help. The FCC gave him an FM frquency that could operate sunset to sunrise and cover an area equal to the AM's night signal. I think it was 75 watts, was automated beautiful music sold to a plumbing company that got a spot every 15 minutes.

Fast forward a few years and an AM that might have been a daytimer, asked the FCC for an FM frequency to stay on after sunset. I think that was North or South Carolina. The FCC approved and the can of worms was opened. The FM translator at 250 watts was ro be awarded AM daytime stations. Some translaors are permanently tied to the AM while others are not, possibly because it was okay for an AM to buy a translator or move an existing translator in from some distant location. Translators were subject to interference and secondary services that could be wiped out should a station apply to move to a spot where the translator would cause interference.
 
b-turner said:
There was a guy named William Berry who had an AM in the Nashville market. His night signal was being destroyed by a Cuban station. William told me he sent a letter every day to the FCC asking for help. The FCC gave him an FM frquency that could operate sunset to sunrise and cover an area equal to the AM's night signal. I think it was 75 watts, was automated beautiful music sold to a plumbing company that got a spot every 15 minutes.

Fast forward a few years and an AM that might have been a daytimer, asked the FCC for an FM frequency to stay on after sunset. I think that was North or South Carolina. The FCC approved and the can of worms was opened. The FM translator at 250 watts was ro be awarded AM daytime stations. Some translaors are permanently tied to the AM while others are not, possibly because it was okay for an AM to buy a translator or move an existing translator in from some distant location. Translators were subject to interference and secondary services that could be wiped out should a station apply to move to a spot where the translator would cause interference.
Click to expand...
I liked it when 1260 and its FM were sold to different parties. The incoming FM became KYA-FM.
 
b-turner said:
Some translaors are permanently tied to the AM while others are not, possibly because it was okay for an AM to buy a translator or move an existing translator in from some distant location. Translators were subject to interference and secondary services that could be wiped out should a station apply to move to a spot where the translator would cause interference.
Click to expand...

That was a three-step set of filing windows under the AM Revitalization Act.

The first window was (I think) in 2015, when translators were allowed to be acquired for AM stations and included a provision to move them up to 250 miles. Those were not tied to the AM station license but had a condition that if moved, the translator could not change originating station for four years.

The second window was right after that, and allowed Class C and D stations to apply for new translators. Those are permanently linked to the originating AM station; they must be sold together or go silent together.

The third window allowed all stations, other than those who had filed in the first two windows, to file for translators. Those are linked to the originating AM station as well.

The interference/secondary service rules are the same for all translators, even those that were not part of these windows.
 
TheBigA said:
The AM In Every Vehicle Act appears to be heading to a vote in congress. There has been one amendment: The law will only last 8 years. That has the owner of WABC speaking out:

barrettmedia.com

John Catsimatidis: Changes to AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act 'Ridiculous', 'Absurd'

"AM is the backbone of the emergency alert system and tornadoes, hurricanes, and other disasters won’t go away.
barrettmedia.com barrettmedia.com
Click to expand...
I'm wondering, what is the reasoning for the 8 year expiration? How did they settle on 8 years, and why?
 
KilowattKat said:
I'm wondering, what is the reasoning for the 8 year expiration? How did they settle on 8 years, and why?
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Compromise. From Inside Radio:

The compromise, it turns out, was needed to get a commitment from House Republican leadership to bring the proposed AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 979) to the floor for a vote. Inside Radio has learned that Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), in particular, has been opposed to the 10-year requirement. Not only is he said to be uncomfortable with mandates, but Scalise has also had close ties to the automotive industry, which has been opposed to the proposal. In recent weeks, insiders say he suggested a five-year timeframe instead, but ultimately agreed to eight years as the number of House members onboard the bill continued to surge.
Click to expand...
 
So, this is a compromise with the automobile industry. If I were an AM station owner, my feeling would be.... "Well, that's how much survival time my business has left". We'll have to wait 8-10 years to see if AM is still worth saving in vehicles, again.
 
KilowattKat said:
So, this is a compromise with the automobile industry. If I were an AM station owner, my feeling would be.... "Well, that's how much survival time my business has left". We'll have to wait 8-10 years to see if AM is still worth saving in vehicles, again.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that this wasn't meant to be a savior to AM radio. Just having a radio in a car doesn't mean anyone will use it.
 


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