Re: [IRCA] Radio future

["Craig Healy" <bubba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> As the old saying goes, two wrongs don't make a right.

Allow me to insert a quote from the article I wrote last spring that's on my
web site..

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but when one of the wrongs is legalized, all
bets are off."

Let me post a scenario..

A mom 'n pop kilowatt non-d station is getting obliterated from several
directions, and from both adjacent frequencies.  It's having a severe effect
on their HSFB game income which is the one thing that keeps them afloat.
They will be forced to sell the station or go dark.

So, they buy a 5kw Gates Five transmitter which looks identical to their
Gates One, other than a label and meter ranges.  They modify it so it looks
identical to their 1kw rig, with all metering looking like it is working at
1kw when in fact it's running at five.

They add some jumpers at the top of the tower to the guy wires so there is a
top loading effect, raising the base impedence by a factor of two.  Not hard
when the effective length goes over a quarter wave.  They don't care about
the negligible increase in radiation efficiency, only that the base current
meter (which is also modified) reads the right number.

Over the summer, they gradually raise the power of their station by some
amount per day.  While this is happening, they also cut the brush from the
antenna field and do as much work on the ground system as they can.  The
idea is to do maintenance, and also give a plausible excuse for the
apparently better coverage.

They drop the modulation down a bit, and also use the low pass filter in
their processor to cut splash.  The signal is clean.

Being non-d, they don't have monitor points to worry about.

When all this is done, they contact their state broadcast association and
set an appointment for an alternative inspection.  The person comes by, and
sees all looks quite normal so he issues the letter.   In Massachusetts, at
least, this pretty much guarantees that the FCC will not be doing a random
inspection for three years.  I don't know if this works in other states.

So, they gain a bit more than double the field strength across their town,
even dropping power at night leaves them with enough so the games are heard,
maybe without the HSFB STA.

In cheating, they stay in business and continue to provide perhaps the only
local service to their community.  Yes, there is a chance they would get
caught.  What's the worst that would happen?  A fine and loss of license?
They would probably have lost far more by letting the IBOC hiss drive them
out of business.

I will say that this comment is only a story, not based on any facts at all.

Craig Healy
Providence, RI

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