ZNS-1 Tower Location?

[trusty]

Does anyone have the coordinates for ZNS-1 tower(s) in the Bahamas?
Thank you.

 

[jd]

From the FCC database, which should be current info: 25° 00' 11"N, 77° 21' 02"W

Also, a look at their pattern, same configuration day and night with two towers: www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/313006-65848.pdf

 

[davideduardo]

From the FCC database, which should be current info: 25° 00' 11"N, 77° 21' 02"W

Also, a look at their pattern, same configuration day and night with two towers: www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/313006-65848.pdf

We make the presumption that the Bahamas are notifying all changes per NARBA. I know of many Dominican stations in the FCC database that have moved site, frequency or even are off the air permanently; the FCC is oblivious to reality in this case because treaties make force them to take that stance.

1540 used to be a much easier catch, but the Bahamas directionalized 1540 to put the signal over the majority of the islands, and supplemented with 810 in Freeport for the few islands to the north of Nassau. It is interesting that in most of the rest of the Americas, stations directionalize to improve coverage of the intended market area and not to protect other stations.

 

[w9wi]

From the FCC database, which should be current info: 25° 00' 11"N, 77° 21' 02"W

Also, a look at their pattern, same configuration day and night with two towers: www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/313006-65848.pdf

I would be reluctant to put too much credence in the FCC database with regard to foreign stations.

Information on Canadian stations is frequently considerably out of date, especially with regard to facilities no longer in use continuing to be notified internationally.

 

[jd]

I would be reluctant to put too much credence in the FCC database with regard to foreign stations.

Information on Canadian stations is frequently considerably out of date, especially with regard to facilities no longer in use continuing to be notified internationally.

Yes, I should have included the standard caveat when it comes to foreign stations, that just because the FCC shows it doesn't necessarily make it so. In the case of ZNS-1, however, I'd be inclined to believe that information since I've seen illustrations of their coverage (measured versus notified) from a few Florida AM applications.

Someone mentioned Radio-Locator's woefully inaccurate information on Canadian stations a while back, and that's understandable since for the most part it comes from the FCC. One of the worst cases of outdated information is that of CHYR in Leamington, southeast of Detroit/Windsor. Their dual channel operation (with CHYR days on 710 and nights on 730 as "CHYR-7," later as just CHYR 710 day and night) still shows up in the FCC database. In reality it was replaced by CHYR-FM, which signed on in mid 1993; the AM station left the air in September of that year. And yes, Radio-Locator still lists CHYR 710. We're coming up on 17 years, folks.

Finding information on Canadian stations isn't that easy and the site for Canada's CRTC is pretty hard to navigate. But from a historical perspective, there's a fascinating site available at: www.broadcasting-history.ca/index3.php Scott Fybush's site, NorthEast Radio Watch, features information on stations in eastern Canada each week: www.fybush.com/ There's also a wealth of information available from Glen Hauser's DX Listening Digest site. In the current issue, for instance, at www.w4uvh.net/dxlatest.txt I found out that Montreal's CJWI is moving from 1610 to 1410 with 10kW, from a rooftop!

As for Mexico, I think Fred Cantu's site is hard to beat: www.mexicoradiotv.com/

 

[w9wi]

Yes, I should have included the standard caveat when it comes to foreign stations, that just because the FCC shows it doesn't necessarily make it so. In the case of ZNS-1, however, I'd be inclined to believe that information since I've seen illustrations of their coverage (measured versus notified) from a few Florida AM applications.

I guess I'm not sure I understand why a Florida applicant would measure the ZNS coverage unless they expected it to be considerably less than notified? (and thus, they should be able to build a Florida station that would interfere with reception in areas where coverage is notified but not measured) (not so sure that would be permitted under the treaty though)

Finding information on Canadian stations isn't that easy and the site for Canada's CRTC is pretty hard to navigate.

It is. Also, there are two different agencies involved in broadcasting regulation in Canada. Industry Canada passes judgement on whether a proposed technical facility can be authorized without interfering with anything. The CRTC decides which applicant is allowed to use that facility.

You can download the Canadian database on http://spectrum.ic.gc.ca/engineering/engdoc/baserad.zip . It unzips to a collection of .DBF files, which you should be able to open in Excel.

They're fairly good at marking "extinct" stations as such, by prefacing the call letters with the frequency. (so the off-the-air 690 and 940 stations in Montreal are still in the database, but as "690CINF" and "940CINW". Compare to the currently-operating stations on 730 and 800 which show up as CKAC and CJAD -- no frequencies in the callsign field.)

By the way, you will find U.S. and other non-Canadian stations in the Canadian DB. Those records are every bit as inaccurate as the Canadian records in the FCC DB...


But from a historical perspective, there's a fascinating site available at: www.broadcasting-history.ca/index3.php Scott Fybush's site, NorthEast Radio Watch, features information on stations in eastern Canada each week: www.fybush.com/ There's also a wealth of information available from Glen Hauser's DX Listening Digest site. In the current issue, for instance, at www.w4uvh.net/dxlatest.txt I found out that Montreal's CJWI is moving from 1610 to 1410 with 10kW, from a rooftop!

As for Mexico, I think Fred Cantu's site is hard to beat: www.mexicoradiotv.com/
[/quote]

 

[jd]

I guess I'm not sure I understand why a Florida applicant would measure the ZNS coverage unless they expected it to be considerably less than notified? (and thus, they should be able to build a Florida station that would interfere with reception in areas where coverage is notified but not measured) (not so sure that would be permitted under the treaty though)

I can't really remember, but WRHC 1550 was one of them and it seems like there was another station's paperwork where I saw the ZNS-1 daytime contour. Wading through all of WRHC's apps is a real chore (I must have been really bored at the time) and in their case I think they were just covering the bases by including all adjacent channel stations. Funny thing, though, I don't remember any mention of the Treaty concerning the Bahamas in the application(s) but they did have concerns with stations in Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

You can download the Canadian database on http://spectrum.ic.gc.ca/engineering/engdoc/baserad.zip

Thanks for the link, that's very helpful.

 

[crainbebo]

I see 1200 CKXM out of Victoria, BC on Radio-locator. That's gone now.

-crainbebo

 

[fybush]

I see 1200 CKXM out of Victoria, BC on Radio-locator. That's gone now.

-crainbebo

But it will remain on radio-locator for eternity, or at least as long as it remains "notified internationally" to the FCC.

Radio-locator makes the mistake of assuming that the FCC database is a reliable source of information about what's on the air in Canada. It's not - and it's not designed to be. The FCC database is a reliable source of information about the facilities Canada has notified to the US for international protection, nothing more and nothing less.

Reliable sources of information about what's actually operating in Canada include Industry Canada's BASERAD database, the RECNet.com CDBS search (which is based on the BASERAD data), the National Radio Club's AM Log (AM stations only), Bruce Elving's FM Atlas (FM only), Doug's W9WI.com (TV and...is there FM on there, Doug?), Barry McLarnon's AMBC list (AM only), Lee Freshwater's AM log, and (partial listings for major cities) 100000watts.com.

 

[w9wi]

Doug's W9WI.com (TV and...is there FM on there, Doug?),

There is FM though my Canadian data hasn't been updated as recently as I'd like.

(the U.S. data updates automatically but I've not worked out a way to automatically update the Canadians. There's no unique key in their database I can use to ensure programming records stick with the right station. The FCC's "facility_id" handles that for U.S. stations.)