Re: [IRCA] Radio future

["Craig Healy" <bubba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> That is a great scenairo.  I wonder(?) if someone would do that?
> Especially if it was a station way out in the sticks in a small town?
> The chances of being caught is really low odds and the station covers
> their area. Would they lose their licence if caught? 30 years ago, yes.
> Today maybe not.

Well, this is entirely a made-up scenario.  I spend a lot of time on the
road and on the ferry to a client.  These sort of "what-if's" just happen.

In the previous message, what is laid out is a last ditch survival
technique.  If someone is certain they will fail, then all options become
possible.  Perhaps we will see something like this - or not see it at all
which is more likely.

Where I would look for this is at stations sandwiched between the big gun
50kw'ers.  Or, on the local frequencies (1230, 1240, etc.).  The locals
would really be the ideal spot.  No power changes day to night.  The
interference on those channels would limit how far the added signal could be
heard, too - even to FCC monitoring stations.

I remember reading of a top of the dial 1kw station owner freely admitting
he ran after hours and at higher power to cover local events.  He justified
it by saying there was nobody else who could do that, so he took the
challenge.  He didn't run overpower days, but he did use the HSFB STA
willingly.  Painted it all with the color of community service.

This is also something that your average broadcast engineer would never
notice.  However, us DXers (Certified Radio Reception Technicians) would.
The engineers who pooh-pooh DXers' skills are missing a useful source of
information.  An early warning system, even.

And, if an engineer offended me I sure as heck would never give him (or
her!) any information at all, not even if it would significantly benefit
them.  Maybe some don't like us, but it could well be a real loss for them.
Some of the guys on this list (not including myself!) are better technicians
and engineers than a lot of people who make a living from radio. There is
certainly a far more complete understanding of propagation than broadcast
engineers have in general.

> Hey, they might be able to plead their case and even get the 5 KW CP too.

Not very likely.  The FCC allocation rules that IBOC ignores still prevent
any meaningful power increase for analog stations.  I am waiting for some
clever engineering consultant to try to make a case for power increases
using the much more relaxed IBOC path.  That includes dropping protection
for Class A and B stations protected to a significant distance out.  With
IBOC, that area is trashed, so why not let others make use of it?  Seems a
more effective use of the band.  T'ain't gonna happen, though..

Enough rabble-rousing..

Craig Healy
Providence, RI

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