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NCE FM translator prequalification
Planning a reserved-band translator for the November 4-17, 2026 filing window? Enter your NCE or LPFM station's call sign, or an address where you'd like the translator, and see which of the 20 channels from 88.1 to 91.9 MHz are already taken there and which are worth a closer look.
Found a channel worth a look?
This is a first look, not a clearance: it does not size your translator's own interfering contour. RF Navigator runs the full translator study, every contour on real terrain, with the FCC exhibits. Or let Nexus Broadcast engineer and file your window application for you.
How it works
- For each reserved-band channel, the check asks one question: does your site sit inside the protected (service) contour of an existing station, construction permit or pending application? Earlier-filed applications are protected under the FCC's cut-off rules (§74.1233); pending TV channel 6 applications are the one exception. It does not size your translator's own interfering contour.
- Inside a co-channel or first-adjacent station's contour: the channel is ruled out, because any interfering contour from your site would overlap it (§74.1204(a)). Inside only second- or third-adjacent contours: possible with a showing that no actual interference would occur (§74.1204(d)). LPFM stations are protected on co- and first-adjacent channels only.
- Protected contours follow §74.1204(a): 60 dBu for most stations, 54 dBu for Class B and 57 dBu for Class B1 on 92.1-92.5 MHz. Directional stations are measured with their own antenna pattern toward your site.
- TV channel 6 stations are protected under §74.1205; a warning shows when your site is inside a channel 6 station's 47 dBu contour. Stations 53 or 54 channels above yours (10.6 or 10.8 MHz) must meet the §73.207 spacing at 100 W or more (§74.1204(g)).
- Near Canada and Mexico, foreign stations and allotments are protected under the US-Canada and US-Mexico FM agreements, and the limits of §74.1235(d) apply. A Mexican allotment over your site rules the channel out; a Canadian one is shown as a warning.
For planning. Not a product of the FCC; a full engineering study is needed before you file.