Vivvo CMS 4.1 http://www.rbr.com/ ©2010 Spoonlabs d.o.o. http://www.rbr.com/files.php?file=rss_logo1_757997737.jpg http://www.rbr.com/ http://www.rbr.com/radio/18755.html Radio News Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:51:00 -0500 KCNL-AM Carson City NV suffered the misfortune of having much of the fence around its tower blow down – and an FCC field agent happened by for an inspection before it was able to Radio News Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:29:30 -0500 Regarding the flattened fence, a warning would have been appropriate if the licensee could prove that the contractor to repair the fence had been contacted in a reasonable amount of time and circumstaces prevented a repair. Yes a temporary warning fence and signs should have been placed around the towers and that is what the FCC warning would have been for. It bothers me when government takes such a hard line just because it can. With a warning it lets everyone involved know of the importance of the fence and compliance with the rules plus exemplifies the fact that the free enterprise system and the government are in this together. Radio is having a hard enough time staying in the game without being bullied to death by a money hungry government. Radio News Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:25:02 -0500 First ... ... ... the station call letters are not "KCNL". I know as I live roughly 30 miles from the site. Its call is "KCMY 1300". From 1973 to 1977 I worked there both on air and was learning broadcast electronics from the engineer before I joined the navy to do electronics. Its call from the beginning back in 1955 to Feb 2006 when Jerry Evans bought the station, was "KPTL 1300". (In the mid 70s their FM side on 97.3 was running the Broadcast Electronics "Control 16" automated system.)The antenna yard is 'inside' the Carson City city limits. Back then they essentially were in a 'cow pasture' with only the state prison somewhat close to the site and the station building sandwiched between the twin sticks. Now, the city has moved so close to the lot that the 'guy wires' are [almost] in the backyards of businesses, and high voltage main transmission lines run VERY nearby, picking up the signal. (Figure the signal interferences caused by this across other frequencies as well, sigh.)(You only need to go 600' on the dirt road to the site from the passing road now, but that 600' and where the antennas are are STILL on dirt and sand that it can get very 'quick sand-ish' when it rains.)Which, we had a SEVERELY nasty wind storm Friday Nov 20 that spread from west of Reno to well past Winnemucca and did not let up until past 6pm ... dark ... in our area. On I-80 east of Fernley, the storm was so bad that [dumb] drivers in the blinding sand storm caused a major accident with 9 deaths. Planes had been diverted from the Reno Tahoe International Airport and Carson City's airport was shut down. Railroad tracks 300' from where I live were blanked out from the blowing sand. Power lines and poles were down in several areas. [Solid] fences were down all over the area.Carson City had both rain and snow as well that evening, making the area around the antennas not easily accessable as due to the build-up of the businesses around the antenna site, the site has become somewhat of a 'collection pool' for the run-off.On weekends if you are not off the air, unless someone calls to tell you there is a problem, engineers and station managers doubtfully wander out to an antenna site 'just because'. I don't believe the FCC currently requires a 'disc jockey' to have to drive by the antenna site before or after they are done with their shift to check the site, nor have to have a surveylance camera up and someone to monitor the site 24/7. Unless the FCC decides to mandate it, I don't remember fences needing to be alarmed to warn of an entry or to let an engineer know that a 'slat' may have fallen either.That BARELY two days after a major storm in an area where you would not know or expect wind to be so strong that it could knock down the fences for as low as they can be around the tower; it being over a weekend where 'fencing' businesses are not normally open; the station doubtfully expected to have 'emergency fence repair' materials in the transmitter building; that the station was already working on the problem in less than 48 hours on a weekend where they may not have been able to get ahold of a fence companyor a printing facility to get the required emergency notices up ... ... ... ... ... I would agree that at MOST a 'warning', or more like a 'fix-it ticket' such as is issued by police when you may have a light burned out giving you ??? days to get the problem fixed ... ... ... ... ... would have been appropriate with the circumstances of the time of the storm to when the fence was found to be in disrepair.(FCC / IRS ... hmmmmmm...............) http://rbr.com Radio News Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:58:25 -0500 Thanks for the local color. It does seem that the FCC has been taking circumstances into account of late and erring on the side of leniency if the licensee exhibits the candor that it treasures above almost all other qualities.The FCC has to draw the line somewhere, but I agree, the goal should be to ensure that the rules are being followed, not enrich the treasury.