Juan Alberto Ayala’s K262BP in Conner CA has had a rough time getting started, and to top it off did a very poor job keeping the FCC apprised of its status. The good news is the the FM translator, once officially deleted, has sprung back to life – but it will also be liable for a hefty set of fines.
The station’s basic function as a translator has been in flux. At one time, the station proposed to rebroadcast the signal of KCRY-FM Mojave CA; then it was planning to carry the programming of KVAZ-FM Avenal CA. It eventually wound up carrying KAFY-AM Bakersfield CA.
The station was put in jeopardy when it lost its transmitter site. It properly filed to go silent. Eventually, it located a new site and began using it – however, it did this without notifying the FCC.
Another broadcaster, Force Broadcasting, owner of KLHC-AM Bakersfield, also lodged complaints, chief among which were the claim that K262BP’s signal was overmodulated and interfering with other stations, and that it was originating programming in violation of the terms of license for a translator.
Ayala was successfully able to resurrect the station with an application specifying its new site. He also said the over-modulation charge was true but corrected, and admitted that there was at least some origination of programming in the station’s recent past.
The FCC hit it with standard fines — $3K for failure to file a required form; $4K for unauthorized operation (this would be $10K for a pirate); and another $4K for “unauthorized emissions.” Total: $11K.
But the FCC found the translator’s existence to be in the public interest and granted its license.
