The FCC warned Adelman Broadcasting for operating KLOA(AM), Ridgecrest, Calif. under its authorized power level.
In a Notice of Violation, the agency warned the document doesn’t preclude the Enforcement Bureau from taking further action, including proposing a fine.
During an inspection in June, an agent of the FCC’s Los Angeles office of its Enforcement Bureau noticed that KLOA was operating at only 17% of its authorized power of 820 watts.
Under FCC rules, the antenna input power of an AM station must be maintained as near as is practical “to the authorized antenna input power and may not be less than 90% nor more than 105% of the authorized power.”
The agent also couldn’t see the station logs because the station representative told him the engineer had them and the CE wasn’t available.
The commission has asked Adelman for more information, specifically about any remedial action taken. The broadcaster must respond within 20 days.
Kudos to CGC Communicator for pointing out that KLOA is an LP2 for Kern County, Calif.
