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Help & FAQs
» If you have any news, updates, additions or corrections... e-mail them to editor@VARTV.com.


The Spot Factory

Studio Center

Radio:

FM and AM radio stations are listed as tower height above average terrain (HAAT) in meters (converted to feet), power in kW, antenna type (i.e. directional or non-directional), class licensed and longitude & latitude (degrees/minutes/seconds) of tower location. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) defines the following classes:
A: up to 328' HAAT and 6 kW (or equivalent)
B1: 328' and 25 kW
B: 492' and 50 kW
C3: 328' and 25 kW
C2: 492' and 50 kW
C1: 981' and 100 kW
C0: 1476' and 100 kW
C: 1968' and 100 kW
D: FM stations are legacy low power stations whose signals reach a few miles
L1: 100 watt low-power FM (LPFM)
L2: 10 watt low-power FM (LPFM)
NOTE: Low-power FM (LPFM) radio services, which was created by the FCC in January 2000 are authorized for noncommercial educational broadcasting only (no commercial operation) and operate with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100 watts (0.1 kW) or less, with maximum facilities of 100 watts ERP at 30 meters (100 feet) antenna height above average terrain (HAAT). The approximate service range of these stations is 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles radius).

MSA vs TSA:

* Metro Survey Area (MSA): Includes a city (or cities) whose population is specified as that of the central city together with the county (or counties) in which it is located. The Metro also includes contiguous or additional counties when the economic and social relationships between the central and additional counties meet specific criteria. Arbitron Metros generally correspond to the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) defined by the U.S. Government's Office of Management and Budget. They are subject to exceptions dictated by historical industry usage and other marketing considerations.
** Total Survey Area (TSA): A geographic area that encompasses the Metro Survey Area and may include additional counties located outside the Metro which meet certain listening criteria to Metro-licensed stations.

The predicted distance for a FM station city grade signal is the 70 dBuV/m or 3.17 mV/m contour line and an AM station is 5 mV/m. There are several variables that determine these lines.



Television:

TV stations are also listed by HAAT in meters (converted to feet) feet and power in kW. US channels with call letters with numbers in them (i.e. K22AA) or with -LP or -CA suffixes are low-power TV (LPTV) stations. They are restricted in their coverage area. US channels with a -DT suffix are digital TV stations. These new digital channels are not viewable without a digital TV set or an adapter on your current set.

TV station designations:
-TV: analog television station
-LP: low power TV
-CA: Class A low power TV station
-DT: digital television station
-CD: digital Class A low power TV
-LD: digital low power TV station
Boosters vs Translators:

Rebroadcast the signals of full service stations on the same frequency as the parent station (boosters) or on a frequency different from the parent station (translator).

Predicted Contour Lines:

Computed F(50,50) City Grade - 80 dBu, Grade A - 74 dBu and Grade B - 64 dBu. An example of predicted contour lines of NTSC station WHAG-TV 25 Hagerstown MD...



Symbols/Abbreviations - General:
// = simulcast (station simulcasts station after the //)
LMA = local marketing agreement (station leases/runs another station)
JSA = joint sales agreement (station handles another station's advertising)
CP = construction permit for granted facilities not yet on the air
app = application to change facilities
OM = operations manager
GM = general manager
PD = program director
APD = assistant program director
ND = news director
GSM = general sales manager


Website Navigation:

The VARTV website is best viewed with the following browsers with a minimum screen resolution of 800x600 and minimum "color quality" display set at 24-bit...

Internet Explorer 6.0 SP2   Netscape 8Opera 8
Mozilla 1.7   Firefox


Website Audio/Video:

Most audio/video files and Internet streams on the VARTV pages require a media player.....

RealPlayerWinamp Windows Media QuickTime

NOTE: Most audio files on the VARTV pages are encoded in the WMA (Windows Media Audio) format. I have found this format to have the highest fidelity but only half the size as an "mp3" or "rm"/"ram" (Real Audio) file. Unfortunately, I have found that the Netscape browser has trouble recognizing the WMA extension. One issue is garbled text in the browser window instead of the media player opening and playing the audio clip. The workaround is to "right-click" the audio file link... go to and click "copy link address" and paste the URL into your Real One or Windows Media player.....

To listen to most StreamAudio Internet audio streams requires the ChainCast ChainCast plug-in to be installed. This plug-in installs "on-demand" for the first time and does not require a separate webpage to download from.....
Some documents on VARTV.com require the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File to view.....


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