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Post by David on Aug 27, 2019 22:58:46 GMT -6
Would whoever does the accounting have any idea? Accountants usually just make sure the bills get paid, not why they are what they are. Probably not, but I'm looking at the situation from the perspective of an individual rather than an accountant. I certainly notice when my water and electric bills go up in the summer, and running 10 KW 24/7 instead of powering down to 340 watts at night would certainly cause a jump in the station's power bill. I'd think any accountant worth their salt would at least be curious about the increase in electricity consumption (and cost).
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Post by mtndew on Aug 28, 2019 6:09:31 GMT -6
I can't imagine they would knowingly run 10 KW at night, since it's a pretty serious violation if you get caught. You're supposed to be able to monitor power levels at the station and have a remote control, so if that were malfunctioning it would be worth sending someone to the transmitter site to manually check and switch it.
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Post by David on Aug 28, 2019 13:27:59 GMT -6
KMRI and KDYL have been exceeding their licensed nighttime power levels for almost six months, so I find it hard to believe someone at those stations hasn't noticed by now. Whether or not they're willfully violating the FCC rules is open to interpretation. However, the current owner of KMRI also owned the now deleted KXOL 1660, and that station remained on the air for nearly a year after its license was cancelled by the FCC. KXOL only went dark after the FCC sent out a field agent from Denver to shut it down.
AM stations exceeding their licensed nighttime power is becoming more and more common. I belong to an AM radio discussion group on Facebook, and hardly a week goes by that someone doesn't report several stations in the U.S. operating with daytime power after dark. The FCC's enforcement strategy concerning these violations seems to be to make a couple of highly publicized busts every few months, and then hope that other violators take notice and comply. These days the FCC seems to be more concerned about FM pirates and FM translators interfering with full power FM's than AM stations "cheating" at night. IMO, that's inconsistent with Ajit Pai's stated goal of revitalizing AM radio.
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Post by mtndew on Aug 28, 2019 15:05:14 GMT -6
Wow, thanks for that info David. Judging from the small amount I know about the FCC from working in the industry for a while, I think it's safe to say that you could expect to get slapped with a $15,000 fine or so for the first offense. It's pretty darn easy to prove when the FCC shows up and asks you to open the door to your transmitter site and two Federal Agents with a truck full of equipment want to look at the gauge on the front of your transmitter. The FCC seems to only respond to complaints these days, and unfortunately "spot checks" don't seem to be done like back in the "good 'ol days". But if they do send a team out, it's safe to say they are going to pull out that big book that only attorneys understand and find a way to pay for their trip. And likely check other buildings and transmission sites from the same and other owners while they're at it. Call me Pollyano, but I didn't realize that there was such a willful and flagrant disregard for observing nighttime power levels going on, so in my opinion that is a huge problem and goes beyond just being a bad steward of the airwaves. I had high hopes for Ajit Pai but I think he has turned out to be just another political cronie who talks out both sides of his mouth and favors big business. And my one little gripe here: do we still need to get a page error if we don't wait about a minute after hitting the "Get Authorization" button like we have dealt with, for 15+ years, if they modernized and made systems more relevant to today's technology, as he once said? Yes, we do.
When I have time, I still like to do some simple DX'ing to see what's out there, so I think that if exceeding nighttime power levels is becoming a trend, it is a disturbing one.
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Post by David on Aug 28, 2019 15:24:21 GMT -6
WAJD 1390 in Gainesville, FL did receive a Notice of Apparent Liability from the FCC earlier this month for broadcasting with daytime power after dark, but that's the first "cheating" NAL I've heard about in a LONG time. Generally the FCC doesn't act on such violations unless they receive a complaint about another AM station being interfered with.
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Post by radiowyoming on Aug 28, 2019 18:25:23 GMT -6
KMRI and KDYL have been exceeding their licensed nighttime power levels for almost six months, so I find it hard to believe someone at those stations hasn't noticed by now. Whether or not they're willfully violating the FCC rules is open to interpretation. However, the current owner of KMRI also owned the now deleted KXOL 1660, and that station remained on the air for nearly a year after its license was cancelled by the FCC. KXOL only went dark after the FCC sent out a field agent from Denver to shut it down. AM stations exceeding their licensed nighttime power is becoming more and more common. I belong to an AM radio discussion group on Facebook, and hardly a week goes by that someone doesn't report several stations in the U.S. operating with daytime power after dark. The FCC's enforcement strategy concerning these violations seems to be to make a couple of highly publicized busts every few months, and then hope that other violators take notice and comply. These days the FCC seems to be more concerned about FM pirates and FM translators interfering with full power FM's than AM stations "cheating" at night. IMO, that's inconsistent with Ajit Pai's stated goal of revitalizing AM radio. David, add to all of this, I think KDYL is off frequency....
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Post by David on Aug 28, 2019 18:52:29 GMT -6
Oh, I'm almost positive they are. Every night I hear the heterodyne of an off frequency station on 1060, and I believe it's the station in South Salt Lake. KDYL has really gone down the crapper since Ralph Carlson sold it to James Su in 2015. That's a shame, as it used to be one of the better sounding AM stations in the Salt Lake area.
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Post by radiowyoming on Aug 28, 2019 19:30:43 GMT -6
Oh, I'm almost positive they are. Every night I hear the heterodyne of an off frequency station on 1060, and I believe it's the station in South Salt Lake. KDYL has really gone down the crapper since Ralph Carlson sold it to James Su in 2015. That's a shame, as it used to be one of the better sounding AM stations in the Salt Lake area. I call it "the low rumbling turd i cant flush" sound....when i encountered 1060 and whoever is off frequency
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Aug 29, 2019 15:30:36 GMT -6
Someone noticing a problem at the station assumes that someone is actually monitoring the station. Smaller stations especially often have nobody home after 7PM. A contract engineer isn't going to be checking up on a station unless he's getting paid. In the case of KDYL the owner isn't even local. Now as far as whether these stations are exceeding their authorized power, we can't know for sure unless we take a reading with a proper measuring device. This is particularly relevant to KDYL because at least at one time they were running the Kahn digital AM system which (according to him) noticeably increased even a station's usable analog coverage. Exactly how I don't know, but relying on a consumer radio with an S meter isn't sufficient proof.
A few things about the FCC. One, I'm almost positive that the FCC is forbidden from launching an investigation unless there is a complaint. Two, even if there IS a complaint they are woefully understaffed and there are just too many stations for too few people to investigate. Three, how many of those investigators work at night? I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised if it was less than in the daytime.
As far as "AM revitalization" goes, it doesn't exist. It never did. A more correct term would be "AM owner revitalization" but that doesn't sound as sexy. I have some comments on that but that should go in another thread.
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Post by christopherjohn on Aug 29, 2019 18:00:31 GMT -6
No tower lights on 1550’s towers either. Wonder if they have a NOTAM issued..
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Post by radiowyoming on Aug 29, 2019 19:39:50 GMT -6
No tower lights on 1550’s towers either. Wonder if they have a NOTAM issued.. Those appear to KIHU 1010. KIHU uses both, KMRI uses 1.... no idea who actually owns them
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Post by David on Aug 29, 2019 19:56:09 GMT -6
CA, Ralph Carlson turned off KDYL's CAM-D system shortly after Leonard Kahn died in 2012. And the FCC must have at least one inspector that works the night shift, because RadioInsight noted in an August 4th article that WAJD in Gainesville was issued an NAL for broadcasting with daytime power after dark.
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Post by radiowyoming on Aug 31, 2019 20:21:47 GMT -6
I wonder if KMRI is running lower then it's licensed power during the day and not powering down at night? Because, here in Laramie WY the signal is consistently in at night, sometimes not so well, sometimes "peeling the paint off the house". I wouldn't think 00 some odd watts could do this, but it doesnt seem as strong as 10kw would be
Paul
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Post by David on Sept 5, 2019 20:52:36 GMT -6
I've noticed that KMRI's post sunset signal has been significantly weaker since Labor Day. It sounds more like a 340 watt signal now, and I can hear other stations on 1550 mixing with KMRI at night. It certainly makes me wonder if the FCC knocked on the station's door recently. :-)
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