With WWWQ's HD off for days now, is Journey 97.9 legal?

[DefinitelyIan]

With the FCC rule requiring a translator to be a rebroadcast of another station, does WWWQ's HD being off the air for days now make Journey's signal a violation?

[littlejohn]

Interesting question.  If what they're putting on the translator does not appear on - air >somewhere<, they might have a problem.  However, many translators - mostly religuous - are fed via satellite.  Thus they'd only need to put it on one of their other stations someplace, and if it's syndicated, they likely are.

[w9wi]

Interesting question.  If what they're putting on the translator does not appear on - air >somewhere<, they might have a problem. 

That *is* an interesting question.

The rules for translators of *AM* stations allow the translator to operate if the AM has operated in the last 24 hours.  I would *suspect* the FCC would interpret it the same way for translators of HD2/HD3/HD4 -- that if the HD is off for more then 24 hours the translator must shut down -- but that's only a wild guess, nobody really knows what the Commission would actually do.

However, many translators - mostly religuous - are fed via satellite.  Thus they'd only need to put it on one of their other stations someplace, and if it's syndicated, they likely are.

But you can only do that with non-commercial stations.  Translators of commercial stations, if they receive financial support from the primary station (or are owned by the primary station!) must be located within the theoretical coverage area of the primary station.

[taylorengineer]

What exactly do rules have to do with translator operation today?
10 years ago you would be laughed out of the bureau if you filed one of these translator apps.  Who would have ever thought the commission would so completely deep six all the rules regarding spectrum management? (Actually....they first practiced with the AM band before moving on to the FM.)
Do you think anyone from the FCC would dare to call Lew Dickey and tell him to turn off one of his translators unless it was a serious interference/health/safety issue?
The commission is way too busy fretting over radio station public files and if whether the community issues folder is up to date.....