Helpful web links for FCC tools
Calculate Ant Height Above Average Terrain
You have the Latitude/Longitude of your proposed transmitter site.
Enter Lat/Lon in this site with ZERO tower height and learn if your
proposed site is higher than the average terrain for ten miles out.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/haat_calculator.html
Calculate FM power allowed
when antenna higher
than maximum allowed by station class.
If you put your LPFM transmitter on the highest hill
in the area and it puts your antenna more than 100 feet
above the surrounding terrain (average elevation) then
you must reduce your ERP (Effective Radiated Power) below
100 watts. Calculate the allowed power output here.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/fmpower.html
Distance and Bearing Calculator
You have the Latitude and Longitude of two locations.
Calculates the distance and azimuth between the two locations
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/distance.html
You have a Latitude/Longitude for a location.
You would like to know the Lat/Lon for a site “X” miles (or km) from original site “YY” degrees azimuth from original site.
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/sprong
CDBS Public Access
Look up information about existing stations
including ownership transfers, license renewals
or ownership report.
http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/cdbs_pa.htm
FCC Actions on improper Endorsement announcements
Get some idea of how the FCC feels about commercial
announcements vs Enhanced Endorsements
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/broadcast/enhund.html
FCC List of Silent/Dark stations
Stations reporting to FCC they are currently not
broadcasting. Usually a technical problem with transmitter
or lack of funds to keep operating.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/status/silent.html
Conversion Table- Field Strength Values
(scroll up and down for some other useful calc tools)
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/findvalues.html#DBUMVM
Not from the FCC, but our friends in Canada
Longley Rice Coverage Predictions
from our friends in Canada
Getting your input entered correctly can be a puzzle the
first few times you use this tool. Allows you to plot a map
of the likely coverage area from a known transmitter site.
Broadcasters aruge vigorously over what amount of signal is
required to “achieve coverage”.
My Personal Interpretation:
80 dBµ v/M for desktop radios in offices,
dormitories, and homes. (75% of your listeners will be in this small
“circle”. (Areas with hilly terrain will have very distorted, odd-shaped
“circles” indicating coverage area.
60 dBµ v/M for automobile radios and enthusiasts with amazing
receivers and/or external elevated receiving anennas.
Some broadcasters will indicate that reception is possible out to
40 or 50 dBµ m/V. Don’t build your business plan around having
solid coverage out to this distance.