Path: utzoo!utgpu!ugw.utcs.utoronto.ca!CUVMA!SWL-L Date: Thu, 11 Jan 90 19:49:38 EST Reply-To: Steve Lamont Sender: Short Wave Listener's List Comments: Warning -- original Sender: tag was From: Steve Lamont Subject: Re: Why omni? (Was Re: TV and FM radio DXing) X-To: swl-l@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: UofToronto LAN redistribution Message-ID: <90Jan11.201621est.58538@ugw.utcs.utoronto.ca> Newsgroups: bitnet.swl-l Distribution: ut Approved: devnull@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu In article <6132@internal.Apple.COM> ems@Apple.COM (Mike Smith) writes: >I'm confused (a not unusual state for me ...) Why would the FCC want >folks to have an omnidirectional pattern? Most of the population lives >near one coast or another (West, South, or East). Why would they want >a TV station in, say, New York, to radiate half of it's power out to sea? Beats the heck out of me, but it is in the Rules and Regulations -- or at least it was when I was actively involved in broadcast engineering about 7 years ago. I'll check with some of my broadcast engineer friends and give you an update. >In other areas the city is often in a valley surrounded by nice hills or >mountains. Why would an FM station want to send half it's power into >the hills/desert/national wilderness rather than into the valley with >the people and cars? I don't understand ... See above. As I recall, the rationalization that was given to me had something to do with giving equal service to all markets and/or locales. Again, I'll check and post what I find out. spl (the p stands for propagation used to be my middle name until I discovered confusers) -- Steve Lamont, sciViGuy (919) 248-1120 EMail: spl@ncsc.org NCSC, Box 12732, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 "That's People's Commissioner Tirebiter -- and NOBODY'S sweetheart!" - F. Scott Firesign