FCC Lists LPFM Window Applicants

FCC New 2020 Logo

After the close of the FCC’s December LPFM Construction Permit filing window, applications began showing up among the 2,819 filed nationally. The FCC Daily Digest failed to include frequency and proposed city of license, making the listing worthless to those interested. When a well-known consulting engineer asked the FCC about this, the reply was, “Please note that while there is no legal obligation to do so, we provide these public notices of LPFM new station application filings as a courtesy.”

You can search for the applicants from the usual LMS Search page, but the winning effort goes to Michelle Bradley of RECNet.com. Check out the California page in the REC Filing Window Application Tracking System. Let’s list the San Diego County applicants with REC’s comments:

La Jolla, 94.5 MHz – Facility ID 788739 – La Jolla Community Radio Service – “Junk Application” (XHTY Tijuana co-channel, 0% chance of success)

San Diego, 95.3 MHz – Facility ID 788753 – Prophet WorldBeat Productions – “Junk Application/Application of Concern” (XHATE Tecate co-channel, World Beat Center KVIB-LP ‘shadow owner’, 0% chance of success)

San Diego, 96.9 MHz – Facility ID 787937 – Transmitter in National City near I-5 and SR-54 junction. Labors Training and Community Development Alliance – “Warning: Grant depends on Mexican agreement” (XHRST-FM 10.7 MHz IF offset) Part of MX Group 23, meaning only one applicant of this mutually exclusive group can be chosen if the Mexican government approves.

San Diego, 96.9 MHz – Facility ID 785879 – Transmitter in National City near I-5 and SR-54 junction. Football Camp for Kids – “Warning: Grant depends on Mexican agreement” (XHRST-FM IF 10.7 MHz offset) Part of MX Group 23.

San Diego, 96.9 MHz – Facility ID 788332 – Transmitter at Bonita Long Canyon Park. Justice Overcoming Boundaries in San Diego County – “Warning: Grant depends on Mexican agreement” (XHRST-FM IF 10.7 MHz offset) Part of MX Group 23.

San Diego, 106.1 MHz – Facility ID 788757 – Transmitter at Bacon and Lotus Sts. in Ocean Beach – Social Justice Advocates – “Warning: Tecate Mexico allocation, dependent on Mexican agreement.” (XHATE Tecate 10.7 MHz IF offset)

SBE Chapter 36 Holiday Luncheon at Mimi’s – Be There!

Before the dark days of the pandemic, we all met at Mimi’s Cafe for a December holiday luncheon and had a joyous good time. We’re doing it again this year.

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, December 13, at 12 noon at Mimi’s Cafe, 5180 Mission Center Rd, San Diego, CA 92108. Members and guests are welcome! RSVP to rsvp@sbe36.org. No host—you pay for your lunch. Let’s toast to the new year and show our care and respect to each other.

FCC Grants Extension for Sage Endec EAS Firmware Compliance

The FCC this week issued a waiver for Sage Endec EAS Devices granting them a 90-day extension for implementing new rules that favor IPAWS CAP alerts. The extension applies only to broadcast stations using the Sage devices and not to those using other brands.

The FCC Report and Order for PS Docket No. 15-94 establishing new Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules went into effect earlier this year with a compliance due date of December 12, 2023. This R&O mandates that alerts received via over-the-air “legacy” EAS data tones be held while awaiting a preferred IPAWS CAP alert. Other rules require changes in how the text for national alerts is constructed. A firmware update will be required to keep your station’s EAS devices compliant with the Part 11 rules.

Sage ENDEC says on its website, “We continue to work on the Rev96 update. We have made the FCC aware that the update has taken us longer to produce than we had anticipated, and that there will be insufficient time for many of our users to install the update by the December 12, 2023 deadline. This is especially true for users maintaining a large number of ENDECs. We apologize for the delay. We will update this page and keep the FCC informed on the release status as we get closer to a release date.

“When Rev96 is released, Email will be sent to those who are signed up for our support email list. If you are not on that list, you can sign up on the support page.” The upcoming firmware update costs $159 and is sold through U.S. hardware distributors.

Digital Alert Systems released an update earlier this year that you must apply to your Monroe and DASDEC devices for continued FCC compliance.

Trilithic/Viavi released their update for EASyCAP software in March 2023.

Bill Thompson Remembered

Bill Thompson. Photo by Scottie Rice

iHeart Regional Lead Engineer John Rigg sent us a note on Monday, November 27, 2023: “It is with tremendous sorrow that I announce the passing of William B. Thompson. 

“Bill was a fixture in the broadcast engineering community for 40+ years.   Bill began his broadcast career in Columbus, Georgia, stopping at CNN Radio in Atlanta and then making his way to San Diego in 1988. 

“Initially working for the upstart powerhouse Q106 and Edens Broadcasting, Bill’s 35 years in San Diego have been spent entirely with iHeart Media and their predecessors.  

“Bill will be greatly missed.”

Bill had specialized in transmitter maintenance for the iHeartMedia group in San Diego. He served as LECC Vice-Chair for local EAS administration since he was the Chief Engineer of LP1 station KOGO for years.

Bringing 5G Broadcasting to the Masses

November 14 Chapter Meeting

Maybe you’ve heard that a Boston LPTV station, WWOO-LD, received an experimental license and is now broadcasting 5G technology from an antenna in downtown Boston. XGN Network is providing the technical horsepower and CEO Frank Copsidas says they chose 5G both for its economics for LPTV station owners and its potential for compatibility with existing mobile phones.

Qualcomm tried something similar to this with the MediaFLO project in the late 2000s and they discontinued the system. What makes Copsidas and their partners Bitstern and Qualcomm think they can make it work this time? What content would we watch? What does the FCC say about this? Do handsets have apps that allow access? What’s happening at WWOO-LD now?

For the answers to these and more questions, join our presenters from XGN, Bitstem, and Qualcomm as Chapters 36 and 47 host a Zoom online presentation on Tuesday, November 14 at 11:30 AM PT. Sign-up for the meeting here.

You can find videos of the 5G launches and more information at 5GBroadcasting.org.

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