A friend of mine in western Indiana is looking to upgrade his facility from a class b1 to class b, but he doesn't want to go full 50kw, but rather 25kw at 150m. Is this situation even possible? I think I've heard of stations doing this before, but wasn't sure. Could the same happen to a class a to class b1. Instead of going 25kw at 100m, go 8kw at 100m?
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Upgrading station
- Thread starter wilson1000
- Start date
What's the differnece between the 73.207 and 73.215 min spacing requirements? Why two separate spacing charts?
Yes, it's possible. FYI, 73.207 shows full spacing; 73.215 shows the minimum acceptable distances for short spaced stations using contour protection.
73.215 is a tricky beast. You still have to be able to show the existence of a fully-spaced (under 207) set of allotment coordinates - and only then can you use 215 to work within that allotment envelope, using some combination of reduced power, terrain shielding and a directional antenna to demonstrate full protection to whatever other signal/allocation you're short-spacing.
So in the case of your friend, he still has to demonstrate that there's a spot at which a fully-spaced station at class maximum could be placed, and only then can he drop power down to whatever lower level he's actually looking for.
(There are other considerations, too: those allocation coordinates have to be able to demonstrate 70 dBu coverage of the COL, and it has to be a site that's at least theoretically usable - you don't have to have an extant tower there, but it can't be in the middle of a river or on national park land or what have you.)
If he's already a B1 but just wants the extra height, he can go 11 kW/150 m as a full B1. The difference between 11 kW and 25 kW ERP isn't going to be all that noticeable, especially if he's willing to spend the money to get a properly optimized antenna.
In any event, this sounds like a situation where he'd absolutely want the skills of a good FM engineering consultant.
So in the case of your friend, he still has to demonstrate that there's a spot at which a fully-spaced station at class maximum could be placed, and only then can he drop power down to whatever lower level he's actually looking for.
(There are other considerations, too: those allocation coordinates have to be able to demonstrate 70 dBu coverage of the COL, and it has to be a site that's at least theoretically usable - you don't have to have an extant tower there, but it can't be in the middle of a river or on national park land or what have you.)
If he's already a B1 but just wants the extra height, he can go 11 kW/150 m as a full B1. The difference between 11 kW and 25 kW ERP isn't going to be all that noticeable, especially if he's willing to spend the money to get a properly optimized antenna.
In any event, this sounds like a situation where he'd absolutely want the skills of a good FM engineering consultant.
I would doubt very much that anything in Indiana can be upgraded from a B-1 to a B. There are some other options, depending one the station owner's goals.
1. Change the city of license & move the transmitter site to cover more population or a bigger city. You can change the city of license for an FM as a minor change IF you meet the following conditions:
A. You would not be removing that city's only radio station (that is, there is another AM or FM station, even non-com, licensed to the present COL);
B. The new site meets the minimum separations under the rules, or there is a site that meets these requirements, and the new proposal covers the new city of license with a 70 dbu signal.
C. The new site must be "mutually exclusive" with the existing site (that is, it must be close enough to the old site that you can't have two stations).
D. Moving from a small town to a metro area brings other legal considerations in play, requiring special showings (called a "Tuck" showing).
For an example of this, look up the minor change application for WPFX, North Baltimore to Luckey, Ohio, BPH-20090915ACX
2. If the "open area" is too small to allow much moving around, depending on where in Indiana the station is, a higher antenna may provide better coverage. In "pool table " country (northern Indiana), probably won't make much difference. In hill country closer to the Ohio river in southern Indiana, a higher antenna may provide enough of a margin to clear a hill and get more signal into some valley community.
3. A section 73.215 short-spaced site may make sense if the present, fully-spaced, site is too far from the population they want to serve. E.G. 13 kw @ 300 ft AHAAt may work a lot better if the antenna is right above town, rather than 25 KW at 300 ft AHAAT some dozen miles out of town.
As Scott mentions, a consultant can fire up his fancy computer program and give some quick answers on what can or cannot be done.
1. Change the city of license & move the transmitter site to cover more population or a bigger city. You can change the city of license for an FM as a minor change IF you meet the following conditions:
A. You would not be removing that city's only radio station (that is, there is another AM or FM station, even non-com, licensed to the present COL);
B. The new site meets the minimum separations under the rules, or there is a site that meets these requirements, and the new proposal covers the new city of license with a 70 dbu signal.
C. The new site must be "mutually exclusive" with the existing site (that is, it must be close enough to the old site that you can't have two stations).
D. Moving from a small town to a metro area brings other legal considerations in play, requiring special showings (called a "Tuck" showing).
For an example of this, look up the minor change application for WPFX, North Baltimore to Luckey, Ohio, BPH-20090915ACX
2. If the "open area" is too small to allow much moving around, depending on where in Indiana the station is, a higher antenna may provide better coverage. In "pool table " country (northern Indiana), probably won't make much difference. In hill country closer to the Ohio river in southern Indiana, a higher antenna may provide enough of a margin to clear a hill and get more signal into some valley community.
3. A section 73.215 short-spaced site may make sense if the present, fully-spaced, site is too far from the population they want to serve. E.G. 13 kw @ 300 ft AHAAt may work a lot better if the antenna is right above town, rather than 25 KW at 300 ft AHAAT some dozen miles out of town.
As Scott mentions, a consultant can fire up his fancy computer program and give some quick answers on what can or cannot be done.
Thanks for the replys all! Are there any good fm consultants one could recommend for a not so inflated price? 
Wayne Reese at Munn-Reese is great to deal with, very practical, and reasonably priced. http://www.munn-reese.com Wayne used to work for Harold Munn and bought the company from him.
Thanks!
One last question: What's the process of going from an idea/proposal to getting a CP from the FCC? I know this is an open ended question. Just wondering. The work has been done and the situation to upgrade is promising.
Probably wise to run past FCC attorney for hidden issues. Most of the established consulting firms can prepare the minor change application for you. They would be familiar with the various issues that need to be addressed in the application (such as the showings that the application meets the rules and meets environmental restrictions). FCC counsel then merely have to double-check the app.
Depending on what needs to be done for the upgrade, local public notice may be required, this can be run on the station. Usually also an application fee is required.
Depending on what needs to be done for the upgrade, local public notice may be required, this can be run on the station. Usually also an application fee is required.
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