Why tech specs should be identical for licence classes within a market
Cast your mind back to the Bridgetown RA1 debacle in WA.
Late 90’s, a small market mostly fed from adjacent market Bunbury and other more remote sources sought to invoke their right to a s.39 and get it to air on FM.
ABA claimed an FM allocation was not possible for the s.39 due to VHF Band II congestion in the SW WA market, both VHF ch 3 and 5 the high power coverage allocations for the region.
DMG was not going to take it lying down and following a more energetic than usually required bureaucratic struggle, was finally allocated an FM slot for the Bridgetown s.39.
Part of what was publicly submitted was that all other markets received an FM allocation for their s.39 and this should be consistent in Bridgetown too.
This reasoning was sound and finally sanity prevailed at the ABA.
This same reasoning should be applied to the AM/FM conversions.
The ACMA should not accept a reversal of this process where licensees are lobbying for inconsistent tech specs just to get their FM conversions to air without spectrum re-planning.
The original FM service has most likely been designed and does deliver a sufficient coverage (in most cases, yes, there are deficiencies in some markets that this process could correct).
Subsequent FM commercial services should not be less than this.
I’m staggered at how much spectrum is being wasted in the 2BS conversion. As you’ve said previously, not reason not to convert with the same specs as 2BXS and lose the repeaters
Meanwhile, 2LT in neighbouring Lithgow is still yet to be consulted on for AM/FM conversion. According to the 2017-21 FYSO, it was originally to be consulted during the 1st half of this year at around the same time as 2BS, but when the 2018-22 draft FYSO was released in May, it was pushed back to the end of this year (ie. Q2 2018-19), joining it to around the same time that 2ST, 2EC, 2GN & 2XL were due to being consulted on for AM-FM conversion.
Now, since Q2 has pretty much come to an end (given it’s the Christmas-New Year period, last week was practically the end of it), it appears that the consultations for 2LT, 2ST, 2EC, 2GN & 2XL have been delayed until at least January (ie. Q3 2018-19).
Though I’m not convinced that this has come at a cost of providing alternate services. I think most of those 2BS relay sites still have spectrum capacity.
Listeners of Katherine commercial radio station Hot 100 (8HOT) on 765 kHz AM may soon have to change their dial if the ACMA accepts a proposal by the station.
The proposal would see 8HOT swap from AM to FM transmission in Katherine. Darwin listeners already enjoy 8HOT in FM.
‘FM radio provides improved audio quality for listeners in regional areas and can be more cost-effective to operate than AM radio,’ said ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin.
‘A number of regional commercial radio stations are seeking to convert their services to FM under an industry-led conversion program. The ACMA will facilitate a conversion after taking a number of issues into account. These include availability of suitable spectrum and being satisfied that audiences in regional areas do not lose radio services under that proposal,’ Ms O’Loughlin said.
‘We now want to hear from the local Katherine audience their views on the conversion proposal,’ Ms O’Loughlin said.
Submissions on the Katherine proposal are due by 28 February 2019. More information about the AM-FM conversion is available here.
If the ACMA approves the conversion, the timing of the transition would be up to the broadcaster.
Another transmitter that could be converted is 2DU Cobar, which uses 972 kHz. There is a case for retaining AM as in Broken Hill but this is not a wide coverage transmitter; I’ve never heard a squeak of it in Sydney. Thus the calculus should be similar to Katherine. Zoo FM has had a Cobar translator on 103.7 MHz for many years; there is no repeater for Star FM.
I daresay 2WEB Bourke would attract a lot of Cobar listeners given its coverage. 2WEB haven’t got an FM repeater in Cobar as with Nyngan, presumably due to the presence of 2DU/Zoo FM.
I think it’s also a smaller population than Katherine too, so less incentive to spend $$$ and this is a Caralis station too we are talking about - not known for their spending.
And that I don’t think Hit 93.5 Dubbo have ever put their 102.1 Cobar translator to air either.
Good old 4AK, with the processing sounding good it ain’t so bad
2BH works well as AM in my view due to the long flat areas out that way that AM just works so well with.
Also of note is the fact that in my last trip out to Broken Hill the transmitter was restricted quite a lot… only doing 250w @ 60% mod… It is now doing 500w @ 125% Mod… The feedback about the extra coverage has been crazy
972 Cobar is 300w
Not just Cobar but right across that area of the state I dare say, that thing has crazy coverage. I think they would be crazy to ever covert to FM only… The coverage they get on the AM band is far to good to limit it by moving to FM.