[BC] Slant wire feeds vs series fed

[Scott Bailey]

Phil,
    With all the fighting these days between local zoning officials 
and AM broadcasters over towers, it comes to mind that what one 
should consider if in a situation where the station is a non-d, say 1 
KW, is to approach the owners of an existing cell tower, (of a 
correct height for the AM frequency) and do the slant wire deal with 
them on a lease.
    I read where Clearance Beverage, did this for a station in 
1995.  The station had a slant wire, feed into a 300' Communications 
tower. From what I understand, it worked well.
    I'm happy to see alternative solutions are being used in place of 
the ole standard base insulated, series fed tower. As our population 
grows, new subdivisions are being built, yes, we are being forced to 
come up with alternative solutions for AM.  This will help keep lots 
of low power, non-d's going dark. I'm happy the commission has 
allowed the Kinstar and the Valcom.
    I have a 150', Pirod, Self Supporting, Grounded tower, on 1560. 
I've been approached by different groups wanting to lease tower 
space, but I haven't moved on it yet, due to I was looking into a way 
to maintain the coverage I have now.


 >I tried finding the rule that says in essence that they won't approve
a slant wire for nighttime service, but without success. I found this
a year or two ago, but I don't remember the details. It did appear to
me that there was no prohibition against using a non-directional
daytime slant wire fed grounded radiator.

As I recall the rule, I think an application to feed a tower with
a slant wire would be approved, but it might require some dialog
with the FCC staff.