VHF Analog 6

[stewie]

I was intrigued to find 87.7 FM on air (Channel 6 audio) in San Jose.  How long before LPTV stations have to convert to digital?

I see there are a few "radio" stations doing this up and down California.

[w9wi]

They've got a bit more than three years.

[stewie]

They've got a bit more than three years.

I didn't realize it was that long.  WOW.

I am rather impressed how optimized the audio is for FM.

[w9wi]

There's a loophole in the LPTV rules that allow them to use FM modulation standards.  It would sound like absolute crap on a TV set, but that's obviously not their target audience!

Yeah, I was surprised the FCC gave them that long too. 

[stewie]

There's a loophole in the LPTV rules that allow them to use FM modulation standards.  It would sound like absolute crap on a TV set, but that's obviously not their target audience!

Yeah, I was surprised the FCC gave them that long too. 

Yeah, I bet it would nearly blow out the front end of a TV set.

[Dave Andrews]

Since they're not 88.1-91.9, are they exempt from the non-commercial requirement?

[w9wi]

Since they're not 88.1-91.9, are they exempt from the non-commercial requirement?

Yes, they're exempt from the non-commercial requirement.  Not as much because they're below 88, but because as far as the FCC is concerned they aren't an FM station. 

For FM, a band of frequencies (as you cited, 88-92) is reserved for non-commercial use. 
For TV, there is no such band.  Instead, spot channels spread around the dial were reserved -- channel 2 in Boston, 25 in NYC, 11 in Chicago, 9 in San Francisco, 28 in LA, etc..  If channel 6 isn't reserved in your community, it's perfectly legal to use it commercially.

That, and there never were non-commercial reservations for low-power stations like this one.  ALL of them can legally run ads.