Broadcast Engineering

At Sterling Communications, we offer many services for stations already on the air. Whether it's filing forms, frequency searches, power upgrades, or other engineering projects, you can count on us to do a professional job in a timely manner and at a great value. Below are some of the engineering services we offer. If you have any questions about any of these services, please contact us.

Translators   |    Power Upgrades   |   Allocation Services   |   Forms Filing
Engineering   |   Rule Making Petitions   |   Frequency Searches   |   Our Fees

Translators

A Translator rebroadcasts signals from an existing station (FM & TV) to areas that have unsatisfactory reception of the original station. Translators provide an excellent means of extending the broadcast range of the FM station.

For more information, review our Translator Brochures and Translator Search Order Form.  Included in the brochures is information concerning rules governing translators and popular equipment lists.

When you receive a Search generated by our offices it will contain the following:

• a list of channels available (if any),
• the channel we recommend as the best for your purposes,
• the maximum power available and the radius of coverage,
• the population within coverage contours,
• siting area maps in cases where tower siting is critical or moves are required.

Translator Brochures:
     Translator Q&A
     Steps to Establishing a Translator at Your Station
     Translator Search Order Form

Are you a commercial station?

If you have third party interests who need information concerning translators, just contact us with their name and address.  We will send out a third party package explaining the process of acquiring a translator, cost involved for the project, and a cover letter indicating you and your station.

Power Upgrades

Hire us do a feasibility study for a power increase. Perhaps you have tried to do your own FCC applications in house and been overwhelmed by the precision necessary, or have even had the FCC dismiss your filings. Why bother to become a technical expert when you can hire the experts at Sterling?

Do you have questions about relocating your transmitter site, upgrading to a higher Class, tower registration, ANSI compliance or nearly anything technical? Let us help you determine your options. Not only will Sterling conduct feasibility studies initially, but we finish the entire project by designing your antenna system, and working with the manufacturer during production. We are ready to help.

Normally a Power Upgrade is begun with a Single Channel Feasibility Study to prove the viability of a power increase.

• A FM Single Channel Feasibility study is $400.
• An AM Single Channel Feasibility study is $895 - call first please!
• A FM translator/booster Single Channel Feasibility study is $295

See our Fee Schedule

The summary of a Feasibility Study (when an upgrade is possible) will include your new power increase (watt-age) available, predicted contours and population, tower site maps (if a move is recommended), tower and antenna changes, and whether the change would be considered by the FCC to be major or minor when filing.  Please contact us so that we can discuss your particular circumstances.

Allocation Studies

Are you expanding? Sterling can locate available frequencies and map potential sites.  Allow us to show you new market and coverage possibilities with our color maps, potential contour coverages, and population studies.

For more information, see the first four steps from our Commercial FM Project Schedule.

Forms Filing

We can file every form the FCC uses. We routinely file and maintain these forms in a computer database, and always have the latest version of each form available.  Need your FCC license renewal filed?  Let us take the headache out of this for you!

Please refer to our Fee Schedule and Subject Indexes.

View Fee Schedule
Go to FCC Forms at FCC.gov

Engineering

• Interested in AM?
  AM search information is listed in our Fees.
• Interested in FM?
  Please view/print for your review the following documents:
     Answers to Non-Commercial versus Commercial Broadcasting
     Commercial FM Project Schedule
     Non-Commercial FM Project Schedule
     FM Frequency Search Order Form
     Translator Information
• Interested in TV or LPTV?
  LPTV Answers
  LPTV Frequency Search Agreement

Rule Making

For Rule Making petitions, please refer to the first six steps of our Commercial FM Project Schedule.

Frequency Searches

When you receive a Search generated by our offices it will contain the following:

• a list of channels available (if any)
• the channel we recommend as the best for your purposes
• the maximum power available and the radius of coverage
• the population within coverage contours, siting area maps in cases where tower siting is critical or moves are required.

Please refer to the first step of our Non-Commercial or Commercial FM Project Schedule(s).

Commercial FM Project Schedule
Non-Commercial FM Project Schedule
FM Frequency Search Order Form
Translator Information

Contact us to order (or for information about) a FM an AM,  or a TV Frequency Search.