[BC] Digital coverage

[Phil Alexander]

On 26 Dec 2005 at 15:37, Paul Smith W4KNX wrote:

> IIRC, a class A station in Howell Michigan has filed reply comments along
> with detailed engineering data in response to the IBOC proceeding 99-325,
> wanting the new rules to mandate IBOC coverage to that of the class of
> license the station is not the grandfathered status which would make the
> superpowers turn their IBOC way down.

Paul,

I was thinking the same thing as I wrote that reply to Dana's post, but
the fact is that would not be enough in many cases. Take the one in Calif.
as an example. Assuming the same HAAT, the power reduction from grandfathered
to normal Class C would be from 105 kW to 37 kW which sounds like lot until
put in dB terms where it is only a 4.5 dB decrease. If there really is a
problem, that might not be enough. 

The problem is going to be with the short spaced G-F's, I think more so than
with the superpowers, because there are so many of them. OTOH, I'm working 
with an A that is less than 25 miles from a 2nd adjacent B, and there are
no problems except within the B's blanketing within about a mile of the Tx.

I know a rimshot A in the local market that will be zapped next year. They
are 25 miles out, and another A owned by one of the "committed" groups dead 
center in the market has their budget for '06 and will light up IBOC on a 
1st adjacent. The value of that rimshot will go straight down the toilet 
the moment that happens because there is no doubt the rimshot will lose the 
center of the metro they are trying to service. This is a clear cut case of
most of the area they are trying to service being beyond their 60 dBu. Now,
the question is, although they will have damages into the millions in terms
of station market value, what can they claim? They were granted a license to 
serve (according to the FCC) a different area. Clearly, they have chosen to 
do otherwise, but that was never guaranteed in their license. This is only a 
medium market. How many cases like this will we see during the next two or
three years in large markets where some who have paid high prices for 
properties will see those investments decimated? IMHO, it comes back to the
matter of allocation and, if the FCC is going to designate COL's, enforcing
programming to those COL's. Otherwise, it's a joke, and that's what it is,
a joke. County seat allocation of A's worked in the '60's, but 40 years
later, all those rimshot cities are mainly bedroom communities for a large
metroplex. IMO a NPRM to fix this is NOT a political possibility, but is
the problem the fault of IBOC, or of the process that allocated the stations.

BTW, I can't wait until Sen. McCain finds out what IBOC does to LPFM's that
never should have been allowed in the allocation tables.


Phil Alexander, CSRE, AMD
Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology 
(a Div. of Advanced Parts Corporation) 
Ph. (317) 335-2065   FAX (317) 335-9037





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