What is the station match policy?
A licensee may apply for a grant of up to $75,000 per transmitter converted, but the total grant can not exceed 70 percent of the total eligible digital conversion cost (see eligible cost categories below). Minority and rural stations may apply for a grant of up to $85,000 per transmitter converted, but the total grant cannot exceed 80 percent of the total eligible digital conversion cost.
Licensees must provide the balance of funding ("station match") and certify that they will have sufficient funding available to complete the project from non-federal sources.
Is there a hardship exception available?
A licensee that is unable to undertake and complete its digital conversion project with a grant funded by CPB at the standard funding level described above may apply to CPB for "Hardship Status". If CPB grants Hardship Status, CPB would provide additional funds beyond the standard funding level for the licensee's conversion project.
The additional CPB support for hardship stations may take the form of an increase in the CPB-funded portion of the total eligible digital conversion costs (i.e., a greater than 70 or 80 percent CPB match rate) and/or relief from the relevant $75,000 or $85,000 funding cap. CPB will tailor any additional CPB support for individual hardship cases to the circumstances presented in the licensee's hardship showing on a case-by-case basis. CPB will determine the nature and extent of hardship relief in CPB's sole discretion. However, CPB does not expect to fund any hardship grant where the CPB-funded portion of the project is in excess of (a) 85% of the total eligible project costs or (b) $110,000.
The application process for hardship status is described in more detail in the guidelines.
How should I begin putting an equipment list together?
There are four major vendors of HD equipment Broadcast Electronics, Continental, Harris, and Nautel. There are several other equipment resellers that will work with you to put together an equipment package. If your existing equipment is manufactured by one of the main vendors of HD equipment start by contacting your local sales person. The sales rep can put together a list of equipment based on your needs.
Has CPB arranged a discount?
Yes, CPB has arranged for a discount from the major manufacturers on their equipment on a package basis to CPB grant recipients. Discounts can range from 10 to 22% or more. All conversion budgets must be submitted with the vendor discount applied to each item. Check CPB's website for further information on discounts and contact your vendor for a specific discount quote.
Is it okay to charge for the time of my staff engineer to install the equipment?
No, you may not claim the salaries of your own staff engineer. However, if your engineer is a qualified independent contract engineer that cost may be included in the budget.
Technical Issues
I am new to this HD stuff. How does the HD signal get transmitted?
It can be combined with the analog signal in a process called "combining", where a common antenna is used or it can be transmitted using a separate antenna. The HD is added as digital carriers and transmitted on the adjacent channels above and below the station's licensed channel.
I've heard talk about low-level and high level combining. What's the difference?
In low level combining the HD signal is combined with the analog signal at the output of your transmitter's exciter and then fed to a common amplifier for transmission. There is no need for additional equipment. Although, several transmitter manufacturers have units that can achieve 20+ kW analog and HD digital in the same transmitter, and there are exceptions for custom designs, in general, low-level combined transmitters usually have an output power that does not exceed 7.5 kW. If your station requires more output power than 7.5 kW, most commonly you will have to employ a high-level combining technique. Using this technique, the R.F. from the analog transmitter and from the digital transmitter is combined in a "combiner". Standard high-level combining is a lossy procedure and a considerable amount of heat is produced requiring the need for additional air-conditioning. One procedure for combining is called the mid-level or split-level technique. This technique is more efficient than standard high-level combining, and it keeps down both the loss to heat and cost to operate.
Can my analog transmitter be replaced or upgrade to digital using a CPB HD radio conversion grant?
Some newer transmitters can be made linier (or digital ready) with HD conversion kits. Check with your manufacturer. As far as those older analog transmitters that cannot be converted, these can be replaced under two conditions: 1.) A low level combine system can be used in which a single new transmitter transmits both analog and digital signals and 2.) In a high-level combined system where combining a digital transmitter with an older analog transmitter results in the analog transmitter operating below its licensed power and mid-level combining is not a good option.
What about using a second antenna for the HD?
If you have the space and the capacity at your tower for a second antenna you could use it for HD transmissions. This requires using a low power digital transmitter with its own transmission line to feed a 2nd antenna. No combining is required using this method, therefore the loss to heat can be avoided and operation costs can be reduced. Second antennas must be located within three geographic seconds of the primary antenna and within 70% of the primary station's antenna height. A 2nd antenna used for HD transmission must be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission as an "Auxiliary" transmission system. 2nd antennas can be built into new, and some existing antenna systems, by interlacing the HD antenna bays between the analog bays.
How much power does the HD antenna radiate?
1/100 of the station's licensed analog radiated power. So if you have an ERP of 100 kW you will need an HD transmitter/antenna system with an ERP of 1 kW. If your antenna has a power gain of 5 then your HD transmitter's output power needs to have only about 200 watts. (200 watts multiplied by 5 equals 1000 watts which is 1 kilowatt.) However, in a high-level combining system, 90% of the digital power is lost to heat, so that means you would need 2 kW at the HD transmitter. (Not considering the loss in power that occurs in the transmission line.) You should also be aware that the high-level combining process steals approximately 10% of the power from your analog transmitter, so if you use high-level combining you need to have the additional analog transmitter power to make up for the loss. Split-level combining solves much of this problem.
Our studio to transmitter link is analog, is that going to be a problem?
Transmission of high-quality HD radio requires digital delivery to the transmitter from the studio. If your current system is analog, you should replace it with a digital system that does not use audio compression.
Can we use our present audio processor, its digital?
You should have a separate audio processor for your digital transmissions, since the analog processors are built around requirements that are not related to processing digital audio. There are some existing processors that can be upgraded to digital.
Administrative Issues
How do I fill out an application?
Download the application spreadsheet file and fill it out electronically using your computer. The Excel spreadsheet application form file size is approximately 142KB. The application spreadsheet includes separate tabs for instructions and worksheets. Please read the instructions before completing the application. Used properly, the Excel spreadsheet will automatically total your project budget. Also, prepare a separate project narrative document (in MS Word or readable with Adobe Acrobat) in accordance with the application instructions. Save the completed application spreadsheet file and narrative document using the following naming convention: "WXYZ-FM_application" and "WXYZ-FM_narrative", where "WXYZ-FM" is your call letters and the AM or FM extension for your station.
Submit the two electronic files together by email to digitalradiogrants@cpb.org. Faxed proposals will not be accepted. Applications will not be considered complete without a fully completed and certified application spreadsheet, project narrative, and, if applicable, a detailed hardship narrative. See application for further details and instructions on completing and submitting your application.
All other CPB-qualified stations may receive up to $75,000, but the total grant cannot exceed 70 percent of the total eligible digital conversion cost. For CPB-qualified minority and rural stations, the grant amount is up to $85,000, but the total grant cannot exceed 80 percent of the total eligible digital conversion cost. The balance of the project costs comes from station matching funds from non-federal sources.
A licensee that is unable to undertake and complete its digital conversion project with a grant funded by CPB at the standard funding level described above may apply to CPB for "Hardship Status". The application process for hardship status is described in more detail in the program guidelines.
What should my project timeline be?
CPB expects a grantee to complete the conversion project within 12 months after full execution of the grant contract. Applicants receiving awards this grant round can expect grant contracts during the summer 2007. Stations wishing to extend the project duration beyond one year must provide additional justification.
When and how will I know if I have been approved?
CPB expects to make a funding decision by summer 2007. You will be notified as soon as the grant award is approved at CPB.
Will there be another Digital Radio Conversion Grant Round in the future?
As you may know, Congress authorized FY06 funding in support of digital conversion. It is not currently known whether Congress will authorize additional funding for FY07.