Going into the 2023 application window for new low-power FM stations we are unlikely to see the kind of massive expansion of the sort we had after the 2013 window. That’s because there are many fewer open frequencies, stemming from the fact that there are simply more FM radio stations on the dial in 2023 […]
Tag Archives | FM translators
Podcast #144 – Standing Up for LPFM’s Slice of the Pie
Applications for 1,000 translator radio stations may pose a threat to low-power FM stations, say three community radio groups. So the groups filed informal objections against all of them, slowing down the FCC’s processing of these applications. This move has sparked controversy within the radio industry. The Center for International Media Action, Common Frequency, Inc. […]
LPFM Advocate: 998 Translator Objections Create ‘a Needed Pause’
Editor’s Note: Common Frequency is one of three LPFM advocacy groups that on May 16 filed informal objections with the FCC against 998 FM translator applications. CF’s technical director Todd Urick was a guest on episode #144 of our podcast to explain some of the reasoning behind this controversial action. He follows up with this […]
LPFM Stations Get a Boost
For the first time, the FCC just granted booster stations to two LPFMs in California. Like the name implies, a booster helps a station to fill in parts of its broadcast area where geographic impediments–like hills or mountains–prevent the signal from being received well where it otherwise should be heard. Unlike a translator repeater station, […]
FCC’s AM Revitalization = Move AM Stations to FM
For those who have been waiting with baited breath since 2013 to find out how the FCC plans to revitalize the FM dial: your wait is over. The Commission released its First Report and Order on Revitalization of the AM Radio Service late on Friday after its October open meeting. The order covers a few […]
FCC to FM translator owner: no Internet streaming please
Here’s an interesting Federal Communications Commission enforcement action. The agency recently issued a Notice of Violation to one Elizabeth Gonzalez, owner of radio station license K229BJ in Hollywood Park, Texas, because the agency’s Enforcement Bureau observed the FM translator re-broadcasting an Internet stream rather than an over-the-air FM or AM signal. To wit—an excerpt from […]