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TOUCH 106.1
- Thread starter fccman
- Start date
They serve the community...and politicians probably look the other way. 5 years ago the Globe
put out an article about the "positive signals" they put out for Boston's black community. 4 years ago this article talked about how the unlicensed station was subject to FCC fines for being on their air illegally
>>FCC officials declined to comment on the record about TOUCH-FM, but
referred all inquiries about regulations to the agency's website, fcc.gov.
The agency explicitly warns against operating an unlicensed low-power
station, saying even a weak signal can interfere with other stations. The
FCC also pointed out that "the Supreme Court of the United States has
repeatedly ruled on this subject and concluded that no right to broadcast
exists."
http://hiphopnews.yuku.com/topic/62...tation--Boston-Facing-FCC-Fines-#.UKVaj4fAfoI
But apparently
a) they serve the community
b) politicians and community members don't want them to go off the air
c) any interference complaints by surrounding stations has yet to result in a raid in which their
equipment is taken away
Maybe Charles Clemons, the operator, can raise money to pay the $17k of FCC fines and
stay on the air. Last year it was said he planned to run for mayor in '13.
This article mentions a protest to the FCC to stop them from shutting down "Boston's
only black-owned radio station"
http://www.baystatebanner.com/Print?page=Local13-2008-06-19
It says at the end:
>>But the interference issue became virtually moot when the FCC hired the MITRE Corporation to conduct an independent study on the impact of low-power stations on licensed signals. Released in 2004, the findings concluded that low-power stations “do not pose a significant risk of causing interference to existing full service FM stations.”
Hmm.
The station in question may be black-owned but it is not a legit station. As long as the community
supports it and the politicians back them up, I would not expect a shutdown.
put out an article about the "positive signals" they put out for Boston's black community. 4 years ago this article talked about how the unlicensed station was subject to FCC fines for being on their air illegally
>>FCC officials declined to comment on the record about TOUCH-FM, but
referred all inquiries about regulations to the agency's website, fcc.gov.
The agency explicitly warns against operating an unlicensed low-power
station, saying even a weak signal can interfere with other stations. The
FCC also pointed out that "the Supreme Court of the United States has
repeatedly ruled on this subject and concluded that no right to broadcast
exists."
http://hiphopnews.yuku.com/topic/62...tation--Boston-Facing-FCC-Fines-#.UKVaj4fAfoI
But apparently
a) they serve the community
b) politicians and community members don't want them to go off the air
c) any interference complaints by surrounding stations has yet to result in a raid in which their
equipment is taken away
Maybe Charles Clemons, the operator, can raise money to pay the $17k of FCC fines and
stay on the air. Last year it was said he planned to run for mayor in '13.
This article mentions a protest to the FCC to stop them from shutting down "Boston's
only black-owned radio station"
http://www.baystatebanner.com/Print?page=Local13-2008-06-19
It says at the end:
>>But the interference issue became virtually moot when the FCC hired the MITRE Corporation to conduct an independent study on the impact of low-power stations on licensed signals. Released in 2004, the findings concluded that low-power stations “do not pose a significant risk of causing interference to existing full service FM stations.”
Hmm.
The station in question may be black-owned but it is not a legit station. As long as the community
supports it and the politicians back them up, I would not expect a shutdown.
I was in the city yesterday and listened to Touch and BigCity 101.3. They have powerful xmiters (I could pick up BigCity out to 128, less so for Touch) and BigCity was running a load of commercials!!
The BigCity morning show featured the main host, a male sidekick, and female news anchor. They were taking listener phone calls and acting like a commercial FM morning show (albeit a pretty bad one.) Apparently they've got some powerful pols on their side. If I set up an illegal station with that kind of power, I'd be shut down the next day. Doesn't seem quite fair, but then again, politics never is.
The BigCity morning show featured the main host, a male sidekick, and female news anchor. They were taking listener phone calls and acting like a commercial FM morning show (albeit a pretty bad one.) Apparently they've got some powerful pols on their side. If I set up an illegal station with that kind of power, I'd be shut down the next day. Doesn't seem quite fair, but then again, politics never is.
raccoonradio said:
I agree, if the community and politicians like the station, then why bother try to shut them down.
Why bother to shut them down? Because it's ILLEGAL. If I rob a bank and use the money to serve the community is that okay?
Touch and Big City etc. can all lease time on one of the many AM operations in the city. I'm sure they would be glad to sell them the airtime. In fact, this is what WILD should have done instead of taking the money from the Chinese Commie gov't. Big City could sell ads and operate legitimately by leasing time.
If someone really wanted to go after them, call the IRS, not the FCC. The FCC is a paper tiger unless they're out checking what shade of Aviation Orange your tower is. They can bust licensed operators balls but can't go after the real problem.
Touch and Big City etc. can all lease time on one of the many AM operations in the city. I'm sure they would be glad to sell them the airtime. In fact, this is what WILD should have done instead of taking the money from the Chinese Commie gov't. Big City could sell ads and operate legitimately by leasing time.
If someone really wanted to go after them, call the IRS, not the FCC. The FCC is a paper tiger unless they're out checking what shade of Aviation Orange your tower is. They can bust licensed operators balls but can't go after the real problem.
reelyreal said:
Well, if someone were to set up a pirate station, they would need to be careful of interference with licensed radio stations, The Boston radio dial is very crowded with licensed and unlicensed stations, and many people who want to start pirate radio stations in their community have to find a good channel, although that can be quite tough to do. I don't think their are many channels left in Boston though.
The board seems to be hiccuping...some posts showing up, then not showing up, and I see on the Ask RadioDisc. Board they're working on it. I did a reply which for now isn't showing up; but just in case: agreed about the illegality part and how the dial is already crowded. People with mini FM
transmitters (relay an mp3 player in your car) or Sirius-XM need a spot too.
And even fairly good radios like my Sony Walkman have have problems like when I was in Danvers
the other day and WEEI-FM was killing 96.9's signal (antenna for the former about a mile away)
And that was a legit station doing that!
transmitters (relay an mp3 player in your car) or Sirius-XM need a spot too.
And even fairly good radios like my Sony Walkman have have problems like when I was in Danvers
the other day and WEEI-FM was killing 96.9's signal (antenna for the former about a mile away)
And that was a legit station doing that!
raccoonradio said:
I noticed that also for the past week, while I was writing topics or replying to topics they just disappear and reappear.
"Big City 101.3" "Good Life Morning Show" has some good topics in the 8am hour. For me, they sound alright. I wish a Talk Station like WRKO or 96.9 can have them on (at least for two hours, example:Weeknights 7pm-9pm) That'd be cool
M
MickeyD
Guest
fccman said:
I wonder what happened to 87.7?
Re: HOT 97 BOSTON (87.7)
I think Hot 97 Boston is now an internet radio station.
MickeyD said:
I think Hot 97 Boston is now an internet radio station.
WNTIRadio said:
Well I know it's ILLEGAL, I am just saying that if the community likes the station, then why should the FCC shut down the station, and besides if they were using money to serve the community wouldn't the FCC or IRS have already shut down the station months or years ago, and besides it's allowing people to listen to good music, which is always a good thing. It's not hurting anyone.
I shouldn't have to pay my taxes because apparently they're getting away with it. Why shouldn't I
have the same rights? And my station shouldn't have to obey FCC rules if Touch doesn't,
even if my station is legit.
The guy down the street selling drugs--a good thing too.
have the same rights? And my station shouldn't have to obey FCC rules if Touch doesn't,
even if my station is legit.
The guy down the street selling drugs--a good thing too.
>>cause interference to law-abiding, tax-paying full-power stations. That's not right.
Yes; like a co-worker of mine who couldn't hear WMBR because of a pirate. Or some classical
fans in Boston who couldn't pick up WCRB 99.5 due to a Dorchester pirate on 99.7. Or the
aviation frequencies affected by the same folks: "Datz Hits". Yes, and datz illegal too, guys.
Yes; like a co-worker of mine who couldn't hear WMBR because of a pirate. Or some classical
fans in Boston who couldn't pick up WCRB 99.5 due to a Dorchester pirate on 99.7. Or the
aviation frequencies affected by the same folks: "Datz Hits". Yes, and datz illegal too, guys.
raccoonradio said:
Not all pirate radio stations should be on the air, I do agree with that, 99.7 Datz Hits was interfering with Logan Airport and WCRB, but the Boston Radio dial is crowded, and people who are going to start these unlicensed stations are going to choose FM or AM frequencies that interfere with other stations, it's just the way it is, it's always been that way in major cities like Boston, Miami, New York City, or even cities in other countries like London or Manchester, England.
Just look at this list of Pirate Radio Stations in London:
http://www.transmissionzero.co.uk/radio/london-pirate-radio/
I know its ILLEGAL, i know these stations are UNLICENSED, i could be wrong about the stations (Touch, Big City, Etc), they could be off the air in a couple of months or years, all that i'm saying is that they have a community that listens to them, if they could become licensed, they would probably need to find a new frequency, but yet again, were talking about the Boston Radio Dial, maybe they feel that the FCC can't give them a license because the radio dial in Boston is already so overcrowded with all the Unlicensed and Licensed stations, so being a pirate radio station is easier for them.
I can understand that the pirate radio stations are causing interference with law-abiding and tax-paying full-power stations. I know that it's wrong, but their are always going to be pirate radio stations in Boston or any other cities in the United States or Europe or where ever.
raccoonradio said:
Sony's have gone WAY downhill...
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