The Society of Broadcast Engineers

The Association for Broadcast and Multimedia Technology Professionals

AM Rule Changes

May 1, 2018

Originally streamed in 2018.

Overview

The FCC released a report & order detailing some rule changes that are very beneficial to AM radio stations, particularly those that employ directional arrays. While wireless licensees have long been required to analyze the impact of their tower construction on nearby AM antennas, provide advance notice to the AM licensee and, when indicated, detune their antenna structures, other services have not had this requirement. As a result, many towers have been built near AM antennas, producing pattern distortion and costing AM licensees as they deal with high monitor points and other effects of this distortion.

The rule changes make AM antenna protection universal across services, provide a mechanism for dealing with existing pattern interference, and provides for the use of moment-method modeling as the primary means of determining reradiation potential. In the webinar, Cris will review the new rules and discuss how they will impact AM broadcast stations.

Why You Should Attend

To learn how the changes the FCC has made to AM rules will affect you and your station. Knowing these changes will help you keep your station operate more efficiently and deal with pattern distortion from neighboring towers.

About Your Instructor – Cris Alexander, CPBE, AMD, DRB

Cris Alexander is Director of engineering for Crawford Broadcasting Company. He began his career in broadcasting in Amarillo, TX, in the mid-1970s. Obtaining an FCC First Class Radiotelephone License, he worked in the engineering departments of AM, FM and TV stations in that market before moving to Dallas/Fort Worth, where he worked first in television and then in radio, landing in his present position with Crawford Broadcasting Company in 1984.

Alexander is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Electronics (CIE) Broadcast Engineering course. He is an SBE member, holds SBE Certified Professional Broadcast Engineer (CPBE), AM Directional Specialist (AMD) and Digital Radio Broadcast Specialist (DRB) certifications and is certification chairman of the Denver SBE chapter. He is an associate member of the Association of Federal Communications Commission Consulting Engineers (AFCCE). He is a partner in Au Contraire Software, Ltd., a provider of broadcast engineering software and database services, including AM antenna modeling software.

SBE Recertification Credit

The completion of this webinar from Webinars by SBE qualifies for 1 credit, identified under Category I of the Recertification Schedule for SBE Certifications. 

Registration and Pricing  

SBE Members and MemberPlus Members: FREE

Non-Members: $ 92

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Questions?   

If you have questions regarding this webinar, contact Cathy Orosz via email or by phone at 317-846-9000.


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