RE: Lightning KOs "The River" Temporarily / WERS

["Aaron [Bishop] Read" <aread@speakeasy.net>]

At 02:12 PM 7/19/2002, Bill O'Neill wrote:
> > Yes, for the overnights WERS runs dead carrier with the
> > exception of an
> > automated legal ID at the top of each hour.   It's for
> > their subcarrier
> > subscribers.
>___________
> > Aaron "Bishop" Read
>
>Can one legally throw a dead carrier just to keep subcarrier
>elements active?  Didn't think so.
>
>Bill O'Neill


Sec. 73.1300 Unattended station operation. Broadcast stations may be 
operated as either attended (where a designated person is responsible for 
the proper operation of the transmitting apparatus either at the 
transmitter site, a remote control point or an ATS control point) or 
unattended (where highly stable equipment or automated monitoring of 
station operating parameters is employed). No prior FCC approval is 
required to operate a station in the unattended mode. Regardless of which 
method of station operation is employed, licensees must employ procedures 
which will ensure compliance with Part 11 of this chapter, the rules 
governing the Emergency Alert System (EAS).
********************

There is no mention of programming content, but other rules - namely the 
Legal ID requirement - do apply.  The FCC is not in the business of content 
regulation beyond obscenity rules and advertising restrictions for 
non-commercial stations, and - strange as it sounds - dead air is no 
different from music or talk in terms of content restrictions.

So yes, it's legal assuming you meet the requirements in 73.1300 and legal 
ID, but frankly I always thought it was silly.  It's no harder - or more 
prone to failure - to put music on overnight than it is a CD looping the 
legal ID every 60 minutes.


____________________________________________
Aaron "Bishop" Read     aread@speakeasy.net
FriedBagels.com Technical Consulting
www.friedbagels.com   AOL-IM: ReadAaron
"I'm weird, but around here it's barely noticeable."