WASHINGTON � A Pennsylvania station licensed to Pentecostal Temple Development Corp. recently received a Notice of Violation that should serve as a reminder of what the FCC Enforcement Bureau might look for when inspecting your operation.
Enforcement Bureau Region One agents inspected WGBN(AM)�s station facilities in Lincoln Borough, Pa., on June 26, 2017, and observed three violations to Section 1.89 of the commission�s rules.
According to the notice, �At the time of inspection there were no procedures and schedules in place for monitoring the transmitter�s operating power, modulation levels, obstruction lighting and parameters of the AM directional antenna system including monitoring points, antenna currents and antenna phases.� That�s a violtation of 47 CFR � 73.1350(c)(1), which says �Monitoring procedures and schedules must enable the licensee to determine compliance with � 73.1560 regarding operating power and AM station mode of operation, � 73.1570 regarding modulation levels, and, where applicable, �73.1213 regarding antenna tower lighting, and �73.69 regarding the parameters of an AM directional antenna system.�
Additionally, the FCC said �there were no calibration procedures in place to ensure the transmitter metering was operating properly and providing reliable readings.� That is problematic because it violates 47 CFR � 73.1350(c)(2), which says that �monitoring equipment must be periodically calibrated so as to provide reliable indications of transmitter operating parameters.�
Finally, the agents said �the monitoring points along the 6 degrees radial, 86 degrees radial, and 286 degrees radial were no longer accessible and no FCC Form 302-AM had been submitted to the commission.� This violated 47 CFR. � 73 158(a), which says that when licensees with a directional antenna system discover that a monitoring point �is no longer accessible or is unsuitable� due to �disturbances to the measured field,� they must apply to change the monitoring point location.
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