[BC] 950 Coordination Nightmares / was SBE

[Phil Alexander]

On 12 May 2005 at 17:18, Barry Mishkind wrote:

> At 05:05 PM 5/12/2005, khcs at juno.com wrote
> >
> >Me too.  I just got one for KNX.  Over 100 miles away, their path 90° from 
> >our direction, and nowhere near our frequency.  Once I see these things, I 
> >throw them in the trash.  What's the point?
> 
>          That is the tragedy.  Almost
>          none of the owners ever even
>          sees these things!

The problem is there is no easy way to determine who in in the "keyhole"
IOW who is required to be notified and who is not. However, the FCC's
tools make it simple to find ALL stations within a RADIUS of the proposed
TX site, so guess what happens?  I've heard a rumor that the FCC may be
working on a "keyhole" search of the WTB database which would help 
alleviate the paper flood most of us face.

The other thing that I find very annoying is having to hunt through the
notification form to find the frequency, azimuth and Tx antenna site.

However, the biggest problem is that none of this works to correct the
WTB database BECAUSE THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY UNLESS A STATION
IS LISTED ON IT. AFAIK the WTB has made no attempt at incorporating the
more accurate data developed by the SBE local frequency coordinators.
Thus, if you have a valid license that is not listed, you will never
know an application has been filed until it is granted, constructed and
the interference starts. If that takes you off the air, oh well, it's
not the WTB's problem, and the interfering station is doing it legally
if they are a broadcast licensee. Meantime, you have lost your STL.

Realistically, the first thing you might do in this situation is try
flipping the polarization of your antennas from H to V or V to H to
get back on the air. The second thing is contact your attorney to
wrangle with the WTB. From a practical standpoint, the third thing
is start looking for a new frequency either for you or for the
interfering station. It shouldn't be this way, but those are the
realities. Personally, I think somebody in this situation should sue
the FCC/WTB for all expenses, lost air time etc. - but that probably
is not practical.

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




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