Because that's not what their license was for. The translator was granted to help support the AM. That's why they call it AM revitalization.
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The Next AM Fix May Be Giving FM Translators ‘Primary’ Status
- Thread starter Joey1986
- Start date
Because that's not what their license was for. The translator was granted to help support the AM. That's why they call it AM revitalization.
Classic hits 93.3 here in Nashville (www.933classichits.com) is doing the same thing. AM station at 830, FM translator at 93.3, and now another translator for Robertson County at 101.9. That latter one used to rebroadcast one of their HD stations, if I am not mistaken.
In theory that may be true; but in reality, it is not. AM is dead. And I am having to listen to the aforementioned 93.3 online, because I can't get a decent enough signal for it here. And the AM signal is crap, too. (This despite their having a car in our 4th of July parade here last summer!)
Other way around. The license is a real, legal document. The FCC still considers AM an alive band that it still licenses.
"AM revitalization" decades ago involved the addition of channels (1610-1700 KHz) to the band...
I'd like to know how many of the stations currently on the "extended" band are faring economically...
Yet....THIS was going to be the "kick-in-the-pants" AM needed to"move forward into the next century......"!!???
Really?????
In my area we have a 1kw AM (1450 KHz) with a 3 watt translator on 103.9....and an app for 101.9 on a mountain 16 miles south...that would serve the state's largest city with a 60dBu contour....
If the 101.9 app is granted.....I'll be SHOCKED if the guy keeps the AM going...it's basically eating dust now, and has been for some time....
I'd like to know how many of the stations currently on the "extended" band are faring economically...
Yet....THIS was going to be the "kick-in-the-pants" AM needed to"move forward into the next century......"!!???
Really?????
In my area we have a 1kw AM (1450 KHz) with a 3 watt translator on 103.9....and an app for 101.9 on a mountain 16 miles south...that would serve the state's largest city with a 60dBu contour....
If the 101.9 app is granted.....I'll be SHOCKED if the guy keeps the AM going...it's basically eating dust now, and has been for some time....
How many AM stations do you know of, that are thriving WITHOUT either an internet stream, or FM translators, or most often, both? The FCC can say or do whatever it wants; but AM radio is still dead.
I'm just stating the facts. The FCC can say what it wants because they control radio licensing. If a station does otherwise, it's breaking the law.
The small AM stations I know are not improved by having internet streams. They may be able to reach more people, but the cost of running the stream, with the additional music royalties, eats up any possible money they might make.
I am, too. AM is dead. And I am not some kid. I am an AARP member (who will soon be eligible for senior discounts) who grew up listening to AM radio, especially WLS at night. But this ain't the world that I grew up in, anymore.
My parents still listen to WSM-AM, but their generation is slowly dying off.
If the 101.9 app is a translator, he'll have to keep the AM on. Under the rules, you still can't "originate" programming on a translator. The only exception to this is if the primary station is a daytimer. For those stations, you can operate the translator during hours the AM has to be off the air.
On the other hand, if the 101.9 app is for a full-power station, then that project has nothing to do with the AM or its existing 3-watt translator.
That's a good point, Kelly, but the government DID set this up. It makes little sense for them to hand out all of these translators under the guise of promoting the survival of the class, just to have those signals possibly get moved around or shut down by the primary operators, either now or sometime in the distant future. At the very least, they should probably have tightened up separation requirements, but as we've seen with LPFM, that's not likely.
Even if separation was addressed, a new primary could bounce you off the dial anyway, so what did this all gain? I'm amazed at what some stations have paid for translators, given the lack of assured stability.
Under these conditions, I wouldn't let my AM go, even if nobody was listening, I could originate on my translator and I could save some money. Tomorrow, I might lose my FM, and then what?
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I know an AM station owner. I will not reveal the call letters since he might not want it posted. His station was turning a really decent profit and could afford to be local and live albeit his was a daytimer. He saw the writing on the wall. What had been country was now housing developments around his tower site.
He moved to the cheap land areas further away, powered up a bit and actually created a better signal. This was before the translator thing. He saw his revenue potential waning so he reacted before it vanished to lower his monthly costs. The capital expense of the move was mostly covered by the price he got for the old tower site. It was a win-win. Better coverage and a bit lower operating cost.
His billing began to drop to the point he simply didn't hire replacements when someone quit. Over the next few years, he saw billing drop about 40%. His trimmed down staff and rural location meant he could still pull a profit.
Fast forward about 5 years and he was down to about a 10% profit, mostly set aside for emergencies and a pay cut of 20% for remaining employees.
Enter the translator thing. He didn't manage to get one. It seemed some other broadcaster had attached his call letters to a translator move without his knowledge. As you might realize, such a situation has to be worked through and that takes time. In essence, until it was resolved, any application would get rejected. You ask how this might happen and it is easy to figure out. Some person with a translator figures they can move it right to this guy's backyard and he'll buy it if it can happen. Since you need to show you're going to translate some signal to file to move a translator, the applicant simply put down this owner's station without asking him. All the FCC knows is there's an active application. So, the FCC says an AM station can only get one translator. That's why his application was rejected.
The owner over the last couple of years has lost about $150,000 and he sees no light at the end of the tunnel. Unless he buys a translator I doubt he will have one and even if he bought one, he's thinking he still could not even break even. For the first time in his experience as an owner of a few stations in a very long career he has no real plan to survive.
If he could have obtained a translator he believes he would be in much better shape but he'll tell you his $20,000 a month cost of operating the AM is like throwing money out the window. In talking to him, he said he'd eagerly drop the AM for even a poorly located translator because the cost of operation would be so much less. He joked he's spending the money he earned when an AM actually made money in order to keep his AM going today. He told his two employees they should start polishing up their resumes.
Some will say it's thinning the herd. Some say he deserves it for having an AM. Some folks like me know him as a good operator,the kind that knows what he is doing, is ready to adjust to whatever he must do to stay afloat and is a stickler for following the FCC rules. For him, the AM was always a tough path but doable until the past few years. He says all the other AM operators he knows without translators are in the same boat. Those he knows with a translator say it made the difference. He added, those with a translator feel holding on to the AM is akin to the main studio rule, a monthly cost you have to pay in order to have what you have. He pondered if broadcast TV stations felt that way. His thinking is most watch the over the air TV station via cable, satellite or online subscription versus over the air but to be on those venues you must pay the cost of having an over the air full power TV station to earn that spot. Sure they might get something from those venues but it's nowhere close to what you pay to keep the over the air going.
Does he want to keep his AM station? You bet. He'd love an FM translator but he thinks the FCC should make them primary after being on a few years to settle any interference concerns, then allow the AM to go away if the owner chooses. He said if he had an FM translator and could get primary status, he'd gladly turn in the AM license if it was allowed.
He moved to the cheap land areas further away, powered up a bit and actually created a better signal. This was before the translator thing. He saw his revenue potential waning so he reacted before it vanished to lower his monthly costs. The capital expense of the move was mostly covered by the price he got for the old tower site. It was a win-win. Better coverage and a bit lower operating cost.
His billing began to drop to the point he simply didn't hire replacements when someone quit. Over the next few years, he saw billing drop about 40%. His trimmed down staff and rural location meant he could still pull a profit.
Fast forward about 5 years and he was down to about a 10% profit, mostly set aside for emergencies and a pay cut of 20% for remaining employees.
Enter the translator thing. He didn't manage to get one. It seemed some other broadcaster had attached his call letters to a translator move without his knowledge. As you might realize, such a situation has to be worked through and that takes time. In essence, until it was resolved, any application would get rejected. You ask how this might happen and it is easy to figure out. Some person with a translator figures they can move it right to this guy's backyard and he'll buy it if it can happen. Since you need to show you're going to translate some signal to file to move a translator, the applicant simply put down this owner's station without asking him. All the FCC knows is there's an active application. So, the FCC says an AM station can only get one translator. That's why his application was rejected.
The owner over the last couple of years has lost about $150,000 and he sees no light at the end of the tunnel. Unless he buys a translator I doubt he will have one and even if he bought one, he's thinking he still could not even break even. For the first time in his experience as an owner of a few stations in a very long career he has no real plan to survive.
If he could have obtained a translator he believes he would be in much better shape but he'll tell you his $20,000 a month cost of operating the AM is like throwing money out the window. In talking to him, he said he'd eagerly drop the AM for even a poorly located translator because the cost of operation would be so much less. He joked he's spending the money he earned when an AM actually made money in order to keep his AM going today. He told his two employees they should start polishing up their resumes.
Some will say it's thinning the herd. Some say he deserves it for having an AM. Some folks like me know him as a good operator,the kind that knows what he is doing, is ready to adjust to whatever he must do to stay afloat and is a stickler for following the FCC rules. For him, the AM was always a tough path but doable until the past few years. He says all the other AM operators he knows without translators are in the same boat. Those he knows with a translator say it made the difference. He added, those with a translator feel holding on to the AM is akin to the main studio rule, a monthly cost you have to pay in order to have what you have. He pondered if broadcast TV stations felt that way. His thinking is most watch the over the air TV station via cable, satellite or online subscription versus over the air but to be on those venues you must pay the cost of having an over the air full power TV station to earn that spot. Sure they might get something from those venues but it's nowhere close to what you pay to keep the over the air going.
Does he want to keep his AM station? You bet. He'd love an FM translator but he thinks the FCC should make them primary after being on a few years to settle any interference concerns, then allow the AM to go away if the owner chooses. He said if he had an FM translator and could get primary status, he'd gladly turn in the AM license if it was allowed.
I'm sure a lot of owners would agree...but it's not really fair. My uncle owned a store in a neighborhood that turned bad. No one offered him the chance to move to a nicer neighborhood for free.
Regarding translators being moved around (or shut down) due to real, or perceived interference...
This just came out today:
http://www.insideradio.com/free/atl...cle_5ffb668c-3e98-11e8-81dd-9bddd10ceed2.html
This just came out today:
http://www.insideradio.com/free/atl...cle_5ffb668c-3e98-11e8-81dd-9bddd10ceed2.html
That particular translator repeats the signal of an HD 2 station. The proposal in this thread only affects translators that rebroadcast AM signals.
Once again I'm the amateur, but aren't translators allowed to move to other frequencies if a primary station takes the frequency or something close enough to cause problems? I know some of the translators in West TN who have moved for that reason.
Bad wording on my part....I meant sell it off -- NOT shut it down!!
The 101.9 app is for a translator (6.5 watts ERP)...the site already has at least 3 full-power FMs (95.7, 96.5 and 101.1) and 2 TVs (Channel 60 is, IIRC, going to vacate or already has.....)..
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