It is important to realize that in almost all situations, an LPFM station seeking an FM translator will be for a facility where the 60 dBu service contour of the translator does extend to areas outside of the 60 dBu service contour of the LPFM station. In these types of situations (for any station), this is considered a "non fill-in" translator. We will address this question based solely on non fill-in translators for LPFM stations.
§73.860 outlines the rules that are in effect for LPFM licensees seeking FM translators.
Ownership limits and requirements
LPFM stations may own:
- 1 or 2 FM translators;
- 1 or 2 FM boosters; or
- 1 FM translator and 1 FM booster.
FM translators applied for in the window must be applied for by the licensee of the LPFM station and must specify the LPFM station as the "primary" station. (Note, that in this context, "primary station" simply means the FM or LPFM station being rebroadcast and should not be confused with an FM facility having "primary status", such as the status of full-service FM stations). FM translators cannot be applied for by independent third parties in order to attempt to circumvent any of the rules in §73.860.
Location of FM translator
The FM translator must be located within 10 miles of the transmitting antenna for the LPFM station if the LPFM station is located in the Top 50 markets. For areas outside of the Top 50 markets, it can be located up to 20 miles from the LPFM. For a list of counties and other locations that are considered within the Top 50 markets, see recnet.com/metro.
Coverage of the FM translator
An FM translator for an LPFM station must be engineered in a way where there is some overlap (even if it is slight) between the 60 dBu service contour of the LPFM station and the 60 dBu service contour of the proposed FM translator.
Method of program delivery
Since an LPFM translator is considered non fill-in, the translator site must be able to receive the signal of the LPFM station over the air with quality good enough to be able to directly rebroadcast the LPFM station using a radio receiver at the translator site. The system must be designed in a way where if the LPFM station goes off the air, the translator must also shut down within a reasonable amount of time.
You cannot use other methods (such as Barix boxes or other means over the internet) to deliver programming from the LPFM station to the translator. The translator must receive the LPFM station over the air and with a signal strength strong enough where the quality of the reception is not substantially degraded. You can use a directional receive antenna to assure the LPFM station can be picked up. Directional antennas focus the reception to only a specific direction and can also result in gain. In some cases, you may need to use a pre-amp in order to help boost the reception quality. You will also need to make sure that there are no other co-channel or first adjacent channel stations on the LPFM channel that may cause the reception of the LPFM station at the translator site to be interfered with.
LPFM stations with HD Radio
For LPFM stations that are equipped with HD Radio, there is a restriction in §73.860 that requires that the programming carried on a translator commonly-owned by an LPFM station must from the main analog (HD1) stream. You cannot use a translator to present your station's HD2, HD3 or HD4 programming over analog through the translator.
