I spent 10 years and big bucks pursuing a license for a C2 (MM 90-418)
starting in 1989. A lot of rules got changed right in the middle of the
hearing to decide whom would be granted the C.P. (and 111 other ongoing hearings, some of which to this day remain unresolved). I learned a lot of stuff I was unaware of previously, and some of the answers below are not my own opinion ... rather it's just the way it is.
> I read with interest the postings about direction finding.
> The person who started the thread wanted to track down an
> "illegal" radio station.
>
> So here is my question - WHY do people operate illegal radio
> stations? The obvious answer is that they cannot get a
> license. AND THAT IS THE BIG QUESTION.
Actually, there are many pirate signals that exist in already
saturated markets that are driven by location. That is to say,
the pirate could not get a license in that area because the dial
is full ... many pirate operations are well funded. (Don't think so? What about the many offshore hi power pirates ... boat ... diesel for boat, diesel for genset ... at least a 20 kw box, decent stick ... it adds up).
> Why is there such opposition in Commercial broadcasting to
> LPFM?
Major radio corporations have many fears to go along with their greed.
Competition is one of their main fears.
> FROM A TECHNICAL STANDPOINT ONLY, why can't LPFM
> stations co-exist with the 100kw flamethrowers? And really,
> how much can a 100 watt transmitter affect a 100 kw signal?
There have to be rules to govern the spacing, both geographically and
spectrally. The rules were once even stricter than they are now. Remember, before the FCC was the NRC and before that there was chaos. Anyone could come into your town and build a more powerful station than yours on the same frequency and there was nothing you could do about it. The NRC never got much done, and the watershed event was the Telecommunications act of 1934 which formed the FCC out of the ashes of the NRC. The original spacing rules for AM and later FM had to be developed based on transmitter/receiver technologies that are no where near todays average. Over time, these rules have been relaxed ... additional classes of operation have been developed ... and radio broadcasting has flourished with respect to number of licenses. The problems with local (LP) and regional higher power stations co-existing are more than technical, very much political, but they both exist in the grid (unless you mean co-channel, which can't be allowed because although one pirate in someone's coverage might not be devastating, where do you draw the line?)
> Interference? Have we not been reading about all the
> interference caused by IBOC? Short spacing? Here in the
> Seattle area, we have more than 1 short spaced Commercial
> station.
The fact is that most short spaced waivers allow only minor exceptions of a mile or two or three. And the waivers contain caveats that speak to any interference issue that may result. But again, Joe Blow will have a harder time getting that waiver whereas the mega owners have the lobby, the bucks, the lawyers to get it done. Politics, not engineering, are the key factors. You won't find a commissioner at the FCC to agree with that statement, but I was told by two former commissioners it's all about money.
> There must be a way to accomodate more operators on the
> public airwaves. Clear Channel, and a few like it, have
> dominated the industry now.
It all started under Reagan and the overturning of the Fairness Doctrine and the loosening of ownership rules. It continued with further deregulation of ownership under Bush 41 and the big hit when the GOP took over Congress in '94 and passed the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 which dumped the Act of '34 on its ear. In 1989 Portland Oregon had 14 FM's and 14 different owners. By 1998 there were 3 owners. I'm sure this scenario is equalled in many markets bigger and smaller (Portland is in the mid twenties market size). I don't see how this serves the public better, rather it's pretty obvious all it does is shut small players out of the industry and makes the big players hugely rich.
But Congress is big business and big business is the Congress. You can try to fight it (I did) but your chances are slim to none unless you are very wealthy and have a lot of patience.
>Local Radio - forget about it.
> And with the new "Jack"** format, we don't even have canned
> humans communicationg with us.
Someone will have to explain this latest format to me ... I haven't listened
much to radio since my docket got settled ... kinda took all the winds out of my sails ... but automation is nothing knew. It predates all of the deregulation mess discussed above. I remember one operator was so frustrated by babysitting a carousel of watered down crap every night he dubbed "High Tides and Green Grass" by the Outlaws on a newscart and stuffed it into the carousel one night.
The government has turned radio broadcasting from a service into a commodity. And there isn't a damn thing any of us mere mortals can do about it.
> And while we are at it, one more question - whatever
> happened to the phrase "To serve the public interest as a
> public trustee" - HOW did we ever lose that?
Ask your congressman or senator. They passed the legislation that allowed it to happen.
Andy<P ID="signature">______________
Electricity is really just organized lightning.
~George Carlin</P>
