In broadcasting, a translator is an FM radio station or a TV station which acts as a full-duplex repeater. Just as a verbal translator (person) listens in one language and speaks in another, a broadcast translator receives a signal from one channel and transmits it again, usually on another channel or other frequency assignment. This is common in the Americas, especially in the United States, and in the mountains. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The abbreviations FM, Fm, and fm may refer to: Electrical engineering Frequency modulation (FM) and its most common applications: FM broadcasting, used primarily to broadcast music and speech at VHF frequencies FM synthesis, a sound-generation technique popularized by early digital synthesizers Science Femtometre (fm), an SI measure of length... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and appeal to a wider international audience, this article may require cleanup. ... A television station is a type of radio station that broadcasts both audio and video to television receivers in a particular area. ... In telecommunications, duplex means two-way when referring to communications channels. ... For other meanings, see repeater (disambiguation). ... Translation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language—the source text—and the production of a new, equivalent text in another language—the target text, also called the translation. ... In telecommunication, signalling (or signaling) has the following meanings: The use of signals for controlling communications. ... Channel, in communications (sometimes called communications channel), refers to the medium through which information is transmitted from a sender (or transmitter) to a receiver. ... In communications, transmission is the act of transmitting electrical messages (and the associated phenonomena of radiant energy that pass through media). ... Sine waves of various frequencies; the lower waves have higher frequencies than those above. ... World map showing the Americas The Americas commonly refers to the landmass in the Western Hemisphere consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... Mount McKinley in Alaska has the largest visible base-to-summit elevation differences anywhere For other uses, see Mountain (disambiguation). ...

For example KQED-FM in San Francisco transmits on 88.5 MHz with its large main transmitter. Smaller transmitters, known as FM translators repeat the signal on 88.1 MHz in Martinez and Benicia and on 88.3 MHz in Santa Rosa. KQED is a public broadcasting company based in San Francisco, California. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Martinez Court House, California Martinez is the county seat of Contra Costa County, California. ... Benicia is a city located in Solano County, California. ... Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California. ...

Translators operate with power up to 250 watts, compared with 6,000 to 50,000 watts for the main station; so they cover relatively small areas. Many translators operate by picking the signal of the main station off the air with a directional antenna and sensitve receiver and directly retransmitting the signal. Some are authorized to use microwave, internet or satellite methods to receive the signal from the main station. The watt (symbol: W) is the SI derived unit of power. ...

Broadcast translators also exist in Canada, where they are more commonly referred to as rebroadcasters. A rebroadcaster, in Canadian broadcasting, is a television or radio transmitter which airs the programming associated with a radio or television station in a different market. ...

Rules

The basic FCC regulations on translators are: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency, created, directed, and empowered by Congressional statute. ...

• No station may be translated to another band (i.e. from AM to FM).
• No translator or booster may transmit anything other than the live simulcast of its licensed parent station, except for emergency warnings (such as EAS), and 30 seconds per hour for fundraising.
• The parent station must identify all of its translators and boosters at 7-9am, 1pm, and 4-6pm; or each must be equipped with its own automated hourly ID device (audio or FSK).
• Maximum power is 250 watts ERP for a translator, and 20% of the parent station's power for a booster.
• It must go off the air if the parent station's signal is lost, to prevent dead air.

Commercial stations may not own their translators (except for boosters), or be translated outside of the parent station's area (they can only fill in where terrain blocks the signal). They also may not transmit in the FM reserved band from 88 to 92 MHz, where only noncommercial stations are allowed. Noncommercial stations may broadcast in the commercial band, however. Unlike commercial stations, they can also relay programming to translators via satellite, so long as those translators are in the reserved band. All stations may use any means to feed boosters. Simulcast is a contraction of simultaneous broadcast, and refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium at the same time. ... It has been suggested that Licensing (strategic alliance) be merged into this article or section. ... Look up Emergency in Wiktionary, the free dictionary An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate threat to human life or serious damage to property. ... The Emergency Alert System (EAS), is a national system in the U.S. put into place in 1997, superseding the Emergency Broadcast System and administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). ... Look up second in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The hour (symbol: h) is a unit of time. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Identification can mean The act of identifying. ... Automation (ancient Greek: = self dictated) or Industrial Automation is the use of computers to control industrial machinery and processes, replacing human operators. ... A Device can be taken to mean: an electrical device designed to carry power, but not use it. ... A schematic representation of hearing. ... Frequency-shift keying (FSK) is a form of frequency modulation in which the modulating signal shifts the output frequency between predetermined values. ... The watt (symbol: W) is the SI derived unit of power. ... In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or ERP is determined by subtracting system losses from system gains. ... Dead air is a phenomenon whereby a broadcast which normally carries audio or video unintentionally becomes silent or blank (also known as unmodulated carrier). ... A megahertz (MHz) is one million (106) hertz, a measure of frequency. ... A non-profit organization (often called non-profit org or simply non-profit or not-for-profit) can be seen as an organization that doesnt have a goal to make a profit. ... A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). ...

All U.S. translator and booster stations are low-power and have a class D license, making them secondary to other stations (including the parent). They must accept any interference from full-power (100-watt or more on FM) stations, while not causing any of their own. Boosters must not interfere with the parent station within the community of license. Licenses are automatically renewed with that of the parent station and do not require separate applications, though each may still be challenged with a petition to deny. This is the list of broadcast station classes. ... Interference of two circular waves - Wavelength (decreasing bottom to top) and Wave centers distance (increasing to the right). ... In the United States (and potentially elswhere), each radio station or TV station is assigned a city of license by the Federal Communications Commission that they must serve. While this has become far less meaningful over the decades, stations are still required to post their public file somewhere within the...

Unlike FM, LPTV stations may operate as either translators or originate their own programming. Low-power broadcasting is the concept of broadcasting at very low power and low cost, to a small community area. ...

Boosters

Translators which broadcast within or very near the parent station's coverage area (a "fill-in") on the same channel or frequency are called booster stations. However, this can be tricky because it is possible to have both stations interfering with each other unless they are carefully designed. Interference can also be avoided by using exact atomic time obtained from GPS satellites to perfectly synchronise co-channel broadcast stations, as in a single-frequency network (SFN). Temps Atomique International (TAI) or International Atomic Time is a very accurate and stable time scale. ... Over fifty GPS satellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. ... A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). ... Synchronization is coordination with respect to time. ... A broadcast station may be: a radio station a television station It does not include television networks or radio networks. ... A single-frequency network or SFN is a type of radio network that operates several transmitters on a single frequency. ...

TV stations cannot have same-channel boosters (unless opposite polorisation is used) due to video synchronization issues such as ghosting. In North America AM stations do not have translators or boosters, though they are actually easier to create an SFN with. A television station is a type of radio station that broadcasts both audio and video to television receivers in a particular area. ... Look up Video in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Video is the technology of capturing, recording, processing, transmitting, and reconstructing moving pictures, typically using celluloid film, electronic signals, or digital media. ... Ghosting can have different meanings: A form of identity theft (see Ghosting (identity theft)) whereby a person takes on the role of a deceased person. ... Amplitude modulation (AM) is a form of modulation in which the amplitude of a carrier wave is varied in direct proportion to that of a modulating signal. ...

Callsigns

Translator stations in the U.S. are given callsigns which begin with a W or K (respectively east or west of the Mississippi River, as with regular stations), followed by a channel number, and two serial letters for each channel. (The first station on that channel is AA, AB, AC, and so on.) Television channels are always two-digit, from 02 to 69; while FM radio channels are from 201 (88.1 MHz) to 300 (107.9 MHz), one every 0.2 MHz. (Example: W42BD, K263AF.) FM booster stations are given the full callsign (always including an -FM suffix, even if there is none assigned) of the parent station, plus a serial number, such as WXYZ-FM1, WXYZ-FM2, etc. LPTV stations may also choose a regular four-letter callsign with an -LP suffix, generally done only if the station originates programming. In radio (including television), a callsign or call sign (also call letters) is a unique designation for amateur, broadcast, and sometimes military radio use, as well as for broadcast television. ... This article is about the river in the United States. ... A serial number is a unique number that is one of a series assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value. ... The abbreviations FM, Fm, and fm may refer to: Electrical engineering Frequency modulation (FM) and its most common applications: FM broadcasting, used primarily to broadcast music and speech at VHF frequencies FM synthesis, a sound-generation technique popularized by early digital synthesizers Science Femtometre (fm), an SI measure of length... A megahertz (MHz) is one million (106) hertz, a measure of frequency. ... Suffix has meanings in linguistics, nomenclature and computer science. ... A serial number is a unique number that is one of a series assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value. ...

In Canada and Mexico, all translator and booster stations are given the callsign of the parent station plus a serial number, such as XHABC and XHABC1, XHABC2, or CFON and CFON1, CFON2, etcetera, with no suffix.

Controversy

Some feel that the FCC has allowed certain noncommercial broadcasters to seriously abuse FM repeaters by allowing satellite-delivered programming extremely far outside the parent station's coverage area. Some religious outlets, such as Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls, Idaho, operate dozens or even hundreds of FM "translator" stations across the U.S. This often angers those who then cannot get even one LPFM station on the air because of one or more of those stations eliminating any available channels in an area. Many feel that this is a major abuse of process. Abuse is a general term for the misuse of a person or thing, causing harm to the person or thing, to the abuser, or to someone else. ... A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Calvary Chapel is a non-denominational, sola scriptura Christian church which has over a thousand affilliated congregations worldwide. ... Motto: People Serving People Nickname: {{{nickname}}} Map Political Statistics Founded 1904 Incorporated 1904 Twin Falls County Mayor Lance W. Clow Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 31. ... Low-power broadcasting is the concept of broadcasting at very low power and low cost, to a small community area. ... Abuse of process is a common law intentional tort. ...

International terminology

Outside of North America the term "translator" is rarely used. Instead such facilities can be referred to variously as "relay stations" (or relays), "transposers", "repeaters", "deflectors", "boosters", "low power transmitters" "fill-in stations" "gap fillers" "secondary (or ancillary) transmitters" "rebeamers" or "beambenders"

External links

• http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/translator.html

See also

• Repeater
• TV translator
• Cellular repeater