RE: CCU Interested in Xpanded Band

[dan.strassberg@att.net]

As I understand it, the rule is supposedly that, within 
five years of the date when the X-Band station receives 
program test authority, the licensee must turn in either 
the X-Band license or the original license. However, I 
don't think anybody ever seriously believed that that 
would happen and, indeed, a few X-Band stations are no 
longer co-owned with the stations that originally 
applied for the X-Band facilities.

In its infinite wisdom, the FCC apparently never thought 
of that possibility. Nor, it seems, did the Commission 
ever recognize the complications that could arise from 
its approval of transfers of X-Band stations or the 
associated standard-band stations without the 
simultaneous transfer to the same owner of the other 
station in the pair.

The first X-Band station, WJDM-EB (now WWRU), has been 
on the air for well over five years (my guess is that 
it's coming up on seven years). As far as I know, WWRU 
is no longer co-owned with WJDM and has been granted a 
CP (possibly already on the air) for 10 kW-N DA-N. I 
will be very surprised if the FCC suddenly decides to 
require the owners of X-Band stations to take either 
their X-Band stations or their original stations dark.

I don't know who owned 930 in Dover when the X-Band 
application was filed, but unless the company had good 
reason to believe that it could sell the 930 transmitter 
site for a bundle of cash, I suspect the X-Band 
application was filed with the expectation that both 
stations would be allowed remain on the air. Later on, 
the owners (old or new) decided that building the 1700 
CP didn't make much sense. But it will be a whole new 
ballgame if the CP can be moved to Medford. (The COL 
would probably have to be Malden; WXKS-FM is licensed to 
Medford.)
--
dan.strassberg@att.net
617-558-4205
eFax 707-215-6367
> But....wouldn't they (CCU) still have to turn in the license to
> 930AM-Rochester NH at some point....and with 1540AM-Exeter as daytime only,
> that would pretty much kill the WGIR/N/P trimulcast....I'm not so sure
> they'd move the 1700 alloc to Medford MA...
> 
> -Paul Hopfgarten
> -Derry NH
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org
> > [mailto:owner-boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org]On Behalf Of
> > dan.strassberg@att.net
> > Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2002 10:34 AM
> > To: lglavin@lycos.com
> > Cc: Laurence Glavin; boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org
> > Subject: Re: CCU Interested in Xpanded Band
> >
> >
> > If CCU gets approval to move the downstate IL station to
> > Chicago, look for the company to try to move the unbuilt
> > Dover NH 1700 station to the Boston area. With the
> > possible exception of WWRU, which apparently has been
> > granted 10 kW-U DA-N, all X-Band stations are ND-U with
> > a maximum of 1 kW-N (into a 1/4-wave tower; one west
> > coast station with a taller tower has to run something
> > like 570W night to compensate for the higher antenna
> > efficiency).
> >
> > The WXKS (AM) site, which CCU owns, would be ideal for
> > the 1700 station. There is no better site for an ND
> > station to reach the market by day with 10 kW and the
> > towers are a little over 120 degrees high at 1700. The
> > nighttime coverage would be better than WXKS (AM)'s,
> > both because of the ND pattern and because of the _much_
> > lower noise on 1700 compared with 1430. Except for the
> > fact that so few radios receive X-Band, this would be a
> > much better deal for CCU than the (seemingly) never-
> > ending quest for a TX site for WKOX's 50-kW-U operation.
> >
> > Remember George Carlin's Wonderful WINO (1700 on the
> > dial--just above the Police calls)? Well, if you live
> > near Boston, Wonderful WINO might just be coming to an
> > AM radio near you--if you're one of the few people with
> > a radio capable of receiving X-Band. I suspect that 90%
> > of the radios that can receive X-Band are in late-model
> > cars.
> >
> > --
> > dan.strassberg@att.net
> > 617-558-4205
> > eFax 707-215-6367
> > > Up to now, including last Sunday's LTAR (03/17 in Boston), the Xpanded
> > > Band from 1610 to 1710 AM has been regarded as a joke.  But NOTHING
> > > escapes the execs at Clear Channel, and they own an Xpanded Band outlet
> > > that they want to move to Chitown.  WHTE-AM 1690 is licensed to Johnson
> > > City downstate Illinois;  CCU wants to move it to Berwyn, IL near
> > > the Big Plum (if NYC is an apple, wouldn't Chicago be a plum?).
> > > Gee, doesn't the interest of the biggest conglomerate somehow
> > > legitimize the X-Band whether we like it or not?
> > > (They also own AM 930 in Rochester, NH with a CP for X-Band.)
> > >
> > > Laurenc eglavin
> > > Methuen MA
> > >
> > >
> > > 2,000,000,000 Web Pages--you only need 1. Save time with My Lycos.
> > > http://my.lycos.com
>