{"id":394,"date":"2009-09-29T14:07:15","date_gmt":"2009-09-29T18:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/?p=3928"},"modified":"2023-07-09T08:51:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-09T12:51:09","slug":"fcc-inspections-for-broadcast-stations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/2009\/09\/fcc-inspections-for-broadcast-stations\/","title":{"rendered":"FCC inspections for broadcast stations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"FCC-AltLogo\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So here you are, minding your own business on a not-so-frantic Wednesday afternoon when a guy shows up in the lobby and wants to see you.\u00a0 The receptionist says he has a badge and he is from the FCC<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh no! Panic! Mayhem! Chaos! Etc!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, things are not as bad as they might seem, after all, this is not your father’s FCC<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many stations use the state broadcaster associations’ Alternative Inspection Programs (AIP)<\/a>.\u00a0 This is where you pay a contractor from the broadcaster’s association to come out and do a mock inspection of your radio stations.\u00a0 After the station “passes” the “inspection” it is issued a “certificate” that “insures” it won’t be inspected by the FCC for three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Totally bogus, or as the French might say complete bull shit<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stations I currently work for had those “certificates.”  When the FCC inspector showed up, he laughed at them and inspected us anyway.  We complained to the state broadcasters association and the head of the FCC enforcement bureau at the local field office, all to no avail.   This happened four<\/em> times.  Each time the FCC inspectors found nothing and went on their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did I learn from this?\u00a0 Why bother with the stupid AIPs when all that needs to be done is comply with the FCC’s rules.\u00a0 After all, the so-called “inspector” from the broadcaster’s association is merely going to use the same FCC checklist that is downloadable from the FCC website.\u00a0 Anyone can do that themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also learned that the FCC inspectors check a few things more closely than others.  For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The public inspection file should be perfect.\u00a0 Since they inspect these stations all the time, they know what is usually missing; Issues and quarterly reports, Contour maps, and license renewal cards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. EAS logs and procedures.\u00a0 Make sure that every operator knows how to send an EAS test.\u00a0 Make sure that all the EAS logs have been checked and signed by the chief operator.\u00a0 Make sure that any discrepancies are noted.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Directional AM station operating parameters.\u00a0 Still a hot-button issue and one area that trips up a lot of people.\u00a0 All antenna parameters are within 3 percent of licensed values.\u00a0 All monitor points below the maximum allowed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Equipment performance measurements.  These are needed on all AM stations every year.  They are carrier frequency harmonic measurements and NRSC-2 mask compliance measurements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Tower fences and tower registration numbers.  Big one and easy to spot and fix.  All AM towers need to have a locked fence around the base insulator.  Any tower over 200 feet tall needs to be registered and have a sign with the registration number posted.  The sign needs to be accessible and legible.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    So prepare ahead of time for the inevitable visit.\u00a0 It is very easy to comply with the FCC rules using the FCC checklists.\u00a0 Both the AM station checklist<\/a> and the FM station checklist<\/a> can be downloaded and used to self-inspect any radio station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here is something else that I have found.\u00a0 Clean up the transmitter site.\u00a0 Sweep the floor, replace the burned-out lights, empty the garbage, keep a neat maintenance log, etc.\u00a0 These things go a long way to making a good first impression, which can make the inspection go a lot better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once, I and the FCC inspector pulled up in front of the transmitter building of an AM station.\u00a0 The grass in front was mowed, the bushes were all trimmed back, the field was mowed, the towers had new paint on them, The fences were in good shape, and the place just looked good.\u00a0 We were about to go inside when he asked “Does the inside of that place look as good as the outside?”\u00a0 Which it did and I said yes.\u00a0 Then he said he had seen enough, have a nice day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, when the FCC guy shows up, offer him a cup of coffee and relax, things are going to be alright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Update:<\/strong> This is the actual checklist that an FCC inspector will use if he is inspecting a broadcast station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"FCC_Inspection_Checklist\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    You can download the .pdf version here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    So here you are, minding your own business on a not-so-frantic Wednesday afternoon when a guy shows up in the lobby and wants to see you.\u00a0 The receptionist says he has a badge and he is from the FCC. Oh no! Panic! Mayhem! Chaos! Etc! Actually, things are not as bad as they might seem, … Continue reading FCC inspections for broadcast stations<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[77,42,78],"class_list":["post-394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fcc","tag-alternative-inspecton-program","tag-fcc-enforcement","tag-public-file"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12112,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions\/12112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}