105.1 LPFM in Portland

[Sid Whitaker]

Last week's Portland Press Herald (sorry, there's no link) had a story about an
LPFM coming on the air in Portland on 105.1. I know the application has been
out there for awhile, but the Press Herald's story reports that the LPFM will
be on the air by the end of the year. This raised several questions in my mind
about LPFM technical requirements: On 105.1 in Portland, I hear WTOS Skowhegan
very clearly. How is that an LPFM could be authorized to operate on an in-use
frequency? Authorizing a 105.1 LPFM in Portland would seem to fly in the face
of any reasonable or rational distance and spacing requirements. More
importantly, have the folks at LPFM 105.1 in Portland turned on a radio and
listened to their prospective frequency? Why would an LPFM operator willingly
subject his/her own station to interference from a full-power station operating
on the same frequency?

I think LPFM is a great idea, but the 105.1 in Portland seems to be a lose-lose:
WTOS loses coverage in the state's largest market, and the LPFM's range and
coverage suffer drastically because it is forced to contend with considerable
intereference anywhere more than a few blocks from its downtown TX site. No
other channel on the entire dial is more open and clear and meets
distance/spacing requirements than 105.1?

Sid Whitaker
Portland, ME