I’ve decided to chime in with a realistic answer to solving the AM noise and coverage problem.
The solution is really very simple. FCC rule 307(b) essentially says service to the community is paramount.
OK, from there we go to large networks of translators not associated with a legitimate FM or AM station. They have to go.
Many are satellite-fed by some nonprofit/educational headquarters. They have nothing to do with the local populace. They are taking up valuable space that denies local service to communities with AMs that could put them to good use within their 2 mV contours.
At present, FM translators are approved for AMs if they can operate totally inside the AM’s 2 mV contour. Any of these so-called NCE translators should be removed immediately in favor of local service for an associated AM that chooses to operate them.
The idea that these “distant” translators serve any purpose beyond extending some NCE’s monetary gain is obsolete. The plethora of media these days ends any legitimate purpose for them if, in fact, there ever was one.
It took the FCC endless years to wake up to the idea that AMs should use translators to serve the local community. Let’s hope it doesn’t take that long again.
Larry Tighe
WRNJ Radio
Owner
Hackettstown, N.J.
