CBT - Certified Broadcast Technologist FCC Rules and Regulations Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to FCC regulations, what is the minimum required content for a legal station identification announcement?
- Call letters and city of license (Correct answer)
- Call letters, frequency, and station slogan
- Station slogan and city of license
- Frequency and licensee name
Correct answer: Call letters and city of license
FCC rule § 73.1201 states that the official station identification must consist of the station's call letters immediately followed by the community or communities specified in its license. While other information like frequency or licensee name may be inserted between the call letters and city of license, they are not the minimum requirement.
Question 2: A television station's tower is located in a remote area and its monitoring system fails at 10 PM, causing the top beacon to extinguish. According to FCC regulations, what is the most critical immediate action required?
- Dispatch a technician to the site as soon as possible.
- Notify the station's General Manager within one hour.
- Report the outage to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) if it lasts more than 30 minutes. (Correct answer)
- Log the failure in the station log at the start of the next business day.
Correct answer: Report the outage to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) if it lasts more than 30 minutes.
FCC Part 17 rules, which incorporate FAA standards, require that any failure of a top light or flashing obstruction light lasting more than 30 minutes must be reported to the FAA. This allows for a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to be issued, ensuring aviation safety. While logging the event and dispatching a technician are also necessary, the immediate safety-critical step is notifying the FAA.
Question 3: Which of the following items is a broadcast station required by the FCC to maintain in its Public Inspection File?
- Employee payroll records
- Quarterly lists of programs that have provided the most significant treatment of community issues (Correct answer)
- Detailed schematics of the main broadcast transmitter
- A log of all music played during the last calendar year
Correct answer: Quarterly lists of programs that have provided the most significant treatment of community issues
The FCC requires all broadcast stations to prepare and file a quarterly list of programs that have addressed issues of importance to their community. This is a key component of the Public Inspection File, which must be accessible to the public. The other options are not required to be in the Public Inspection File.
Question 4: A broadcast station receives a Required Weekly Test (RWT) of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). What is the station's primary obligation regarding this test?
- Re-transmit the test to the public immediately.
- Log the receipt of the test. (Correct answer)
- Notify the State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC) of successful receipt.
- Originate a new RWT within the hour.
Correct answer: Log the receipt of the test.
FCC rules require that EAS participants log the receipt of Required Weekly Tests (RWTs). Unlike Required Monthly Tests (RMTs), stations are not required to re-transmit RWTs to the public. The purpose is to verify that the equipment can receive the alert.
Question 5: A station's Chief Operator is reviewing the station logs. According to FCC rules, how long must station logs generally be retained, assuming no entries pertain to an FCC investigation or disaster communication?
- 6 months
- 1 year
- 2 years (Correct answer)
- Indefinitely
Correct answer: 2 years
FCC rule § 73.1840 specifies that station logs shall be retained by the licensee for a period of two years. If the log contains information related to a disaster or an FCC investigation, it must be kept longer.
Question 6: What is the primary purpose of a Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) license as defined by the FCC?
- To provide a secondary, emergency-only broadcast channel for a station.
- To authorize non-commercial educational programming.
- To relay broadcast signals between points, such as from a remote location to the studio. (Correct answer)
- To license the operation of a station's primary over-the-air transmitter.
Correct answer: To relay broadcast signals between points, such as from a remote location to the studio.
Broadcast Auxiliary Service stations are used for relaying broadcast audio and television signals. This includes studio-to-transmitter links (STLs), remote pickups from the field, and other point-to-point relays necessary for creating and transporting program content to the main transmitter.
CBT - Certified Broadcast Technologist FCC Rules and Regulations Questions and Answers
According to FCC regulations, what is the minimum required content for a legal station identification announcement?