Well, there is one more interesting twist here. I believe that w227AV is licensed as a non-commercial translator. It's illegal to use a non-com translator to rebroadcast commercial stations and I do not know if a non-com translator can be converted into a commercial one or not. Anyone else know the answer to that?
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WBXY heard on 93.3 today
- Thread starter ThatGuyOnTheRadio
- Start date
Kmagrill said:
As long as the translator is operating within the commercial FM band (92.1mhz - 107.9mhz) I believe the license can be re-desiganted as a commercial translator under certain conditions; namely a non-com band translator (88.1mhz - 91.9mhz) is available serving the same area. However, it should be noted that any non-commercial radio station may operate on the commercial band, whether said frequency is licensed as a non-commercial frequency, or not. This is not true, as all are very well aware, with a commercial station operating on any reserved non-commercial frequency.
Ex: WUFT-FM may operate on a translator on 107.9 or may move the entire operation to 103.7 without having 103.7 license status changed to non-commercial. However, WRUF-FM commercial operation would not be authorized to operate as a commercial station on 89.1 or any translator frequency within the 88.1mhz to 91.9mhz reserved band. I realize most everyone reading this is aware of the rules, but I am using this example for illustrative purposes.
I posed the question about converting non-com translators into commercial ones to someone with more experience than I and his response was: "As long as it is not in the reserved band, yes--as often and as easily as some folks change their underwear (twice a week?)".
The main difference between the two, when operating on the non-reserved part of the band is that non-com licenses pay no regulatory fees, while commercial ones do. This puts non-com applications at risk during filing windows because non-coms cannot pay auction fees either. So, they only acquire channels when no commercial interests are concerned. However, once a translator is granted, converting is as easy as filling out a form and paying the fees. BTW, there's no fee refund if you pay for a commercial license and then take it non-com later. There's also no requirement for a substitute non-com translator to exist in the area.
Though not part of this discussion, one other minor difference exists between reserved band translators and those operating on the non-reserved band. Those in the reserved band (88-92mHz) can be fed by satellite or any other means whereas those on the non-reserved band must be fed from an off-the-air source regardless of their commercial or non-com status.
The main difference between the two, when operating on the non-reserved part of the band is that non-com licenses pay no regulatory fees, while commercial ones do. This puts non-com applications at risk during filing windows because non-coms cannot pay auction fees either. So, they only acquire channels when no commercial interests are concerned. However, once a translator is granted, converting is as easy as filling out a form and paying the fees. BTW, there's no fee refund if you pay for a commercial license and then take it non-com later. There's also no requirement for a substitute non-com translator to exist in the area.
Though not part of this discussion, one other minor difference exists between reserved band translators and those operating on the non-reserved band. Those in the reserved band (88-92mHz) can be fed by satellite or any other means whereas those on the non-reserved band must be fed from an off-the-air source regardless of their commercial or non-com status.
jmtillery said:
Translators can be freely converted from non-coms into commercial. There's no need to provide another non-com to take the place of one that is being converted. The reference to twice a week refers to the fact that some translator operators seem to change their facility's status about that often.
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