Re: [IRCA] [dxhub] 1610

[Scott Fybush <scott@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Rene Tetro wrote:
> The 1610 tone station is on the air again today with a fairly good 
> signal here in SE PA.  Must be somebody testing.  I took my field 
> strength meter from work and did a quick measurement, and it appears to 
> be coming from a south to southwestern direction.  According to the FCC 
> database there are only two stations currently operating on 1610 in 
> North America either licensed, CHHA, Toronto, 1KW NDA and CFOS, 
> Colingwood, ON, 1KW NDA.  One is also plannted: a new station in 
> Montreal, also 1KW NDA, whose calls have yet to be assigned.  One thing 
> I don't get is that they list CFOS in Colingwood, ON as being on 1610, 
> but they are actually on 570.  (I know because they sometimes forget to 
> change pattern and reduce power at night, screwing with WFIL's signal.)  
> Do they simulcast?  Are they moving dial positions?   The FCC database 
> is unclear on this.

I know I've said this on other lists, too, but I'll say it again:

The FCC database is NOT a reliable source - and is not meant to be a 
reliable source - for reporting what's actually on the air in Canada or 
anywhere else outside the US.

The presence of foreign listings in the database is for one purpose 
only: to allow US broadcasters to prepare their applications to take 
into account required international protections. It doesn't matter to 
the FCC whether Collingwood is actually operating on 1610 (it's not), or 
whether Montreal has calls assigned (it does, and is operating), just 
that any US station that wants to operate on 1610 has to protect those 
facilities, since they've been internationally reported to the US by 
Canada as existing.

In reality, there are two 1610s on the air in Canada: Montreal and 
Toronto. They're both low-power (1 kW) signals that don't go very far. 
CFOS was and is on 560 in Owen Sound. It applied for a relay transmitter 
on 1610 in Collingwood, about 80 km east of Owen Sound, but that 
application wasn't granted. (Nevertheless, it was reported 
internationally, so any US application for the frequency still has to 
protect it.)

The best sources, IMHO, for accurate information on what's really on the 
air in Canada are the NRC Log and Barry McLarnon's list. 100000watts.com 
is accurate, but incomplete, as it lists only signals in major Canadian 
markets near the border. Radio-Locator is horrible for Canadian 
listings. Stick with the NRC Log and Barry's list and you won't go wrong!

s
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