The FCC granted a Special Temporary Authority extension for Multicultural Radio Broadcasting’s WJDM(AM), to prepare to use a new tower site and return to its original city of license in Elizabeth, NJ. Owner Arthur Liu, tells the agency the station lost its tower site lease in 2015 (and has been broadcasting from a sister station site since). While it identified an existing tower site for a sister Multicultural station, Liu now tells the agency constructing new facilities there would be too expensive and exceed the value of the station.
Liu says he’s identified a new tower site “atop a roof of an existing building.” WJDM is licensed to operate on a frequency of 1530 kilohertz using a non-directional antenna system with power of 1 kilowatt daytime and 670 watts critical hours. According to an engineering filing from Charles Hecht & Associates, WJDM seeks a construction permit to change its transmitter site and operate with a High Efficiency Broadband Antenna System (HEBA), daytime hours only. No nighttime operation is proposed.
“Power will be 360 watts and critical hours operation will no longer be required,” writes Hecht. The licensed daytime WJDM series fed antenna facility will be replaced with the HEBA facility at the proposed site.
WJDM seeks to become the second station in the U.S. using the HEBA system after WGFP(AM), Webster, MA. According to Hecht, the HEBA, “consists of a tapered cylinder that generates an electric field and a metallic disc that generates a magnetic field. These elements are mounted on a non-conductive platform and excited separately. Beneath the antenna and attached to the platform under it, is a 36 foot square conductive ground plane consisting of copper sheathing, approximately .020 inches thick. Copper strap extends from the sheathing to ground rods along the perimeter of the platform supports. At that point, copper strap extends to the transmitter and matching circuitry.”
December 17, 2018
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