Frequently Asked Questions about receiving and rebroadcasting WCPE

We've had enough frequently asked questions about station identification and satellite reception that we found it beneficial to send you additional background information.

As of the end of 2002, about a hundred cable systems, community cable channels, and radio stations carry Great Classical Music from WCPE on a regular basis. Some carry us all the time, others carry us when they are not otherwise programming, others intentionally program WCPE as a specific part of their schedule -- how you use WCPE is up to you.

Satellite Reception of WCPE

It is fortunate that so many systems are asking for our carriage, but it's impossible for us to visit each site and help with the setup of each satellite system.

WCPE offers two options to downlink our signal: C-band (large dish) and Ku-band (mini dish). You may find that WCPE's new Ku-band satellite signal provides an easier and less expensive downlinking option.

There are many used C-Band "big" dishes and receivers on the market; it should be easy to find a satellite installer who can put in a fixed dish for you for a reasonable investment. You can give the installer promotional announcements on your system and some "thank you" publicity -- the installer probably has spare "big dish" parts and may trade everything for announcements on your station.

If you try, you may find a dealer who will install your setup at no cost, with used equipment, in return for publicity on your station! Don't be surprised if that dealer is already a listener or even a donor to your station! You may also be able to ask the local amateur radio group to find the equipment and set it up for you in return for nothing more than some kind words now and then on your radio station or community channel.

If you opt for C-band, get a fixed-mount home C-Band TV receive-only dish aimed at the Galaxy 14 satellite. Get a receive dish a little larger than typical for your area, because you need a good, strong signal to capture all of our fidelity. Find out what is common for your area, then go up one size. You'll need a receiver which can tune to our audio subcarrier frequencies on transponder 15. Again, a "home" satellite TV receiver will work just fine; these are common on the surplus market. Get assurance that the receiver will "hold" its memory when the power goes out. Set the receiver up on our frequency, pull out the plug for a full minute, and make sure everything comes back up when you plug it back in.

Cues for Your Local Station Identification

Some managers of radio stations which rebroadcast WCPE at night or over the weekend have asked if it is a violation of the rules if the WCPE call letters or a WCPE station identification is broadcast on their station while relaying WCPE Radio. FCC R&R 73.1201(c)(3) states "When programming of a broadcast station is rebroadcast simultaneously over the facilities of a satellite station, the originating station may make identification announcements for the satellite station for periods of such simultaneous operation." So every hour, WCPE runs subaudible cue tones which can be used to insert your own station ID.

Thus it doesn't matter that "WCPE" call letters are broadcast on your station as long as your proper local station identification is triggered by the cue tones when we send them to you for this purpose. The "cue" is the standard 35 Hertz tone on the left channel, signifying a 30 second local break. You can give your legal station identification in the break, and use the rest of the time for any other message which you may wish. (Has your station had difficulty with WCPE's cue tones?)

If you're a cable system or an entity which does not need to make any station identification announcements, you need do nothing at all. Your listeners will hear the same WCPE logo/ID that the WCPE internet listeners hear. If you want to add a special track for your listeners, however, you're welcome to do so.

Non-Commercial Nature of WCPE and Solicitations

WCPE fully follows the FCC regulations prohibiting calls to action promoting commercial enterprises. In accordance with IRS and FCC Rules, WCPE does not fundraise or solicit on behalf of other entities. Some cable systems prefer not to carry "educational" stations which do a lot of "non-commercial advertising". We also don't like the "commercial sound" and WCPE has a strict internal policy which exceeds the IRS and FCC Rules.

Local Listener Support

Some of our national listeners support our operations. However, national support does not yet cover our satellite rental costs. Because listeners can access WCPE on the internet and on for-profit systems, we cannot determine if local listeners to any specific educational station have made gifts to WCPE. Additionally, satellite rental costs surpass combined national support from non-profit entities which rebroadcast us.

If you are a non-profit organization, we can not yet reimburse you for carriage of WCPE as this effort still is a cost-burden on our station. However, you do have an opportunity, every hour, to directly address your individual listeners. You can remind them that it is up to them to tell you that they enjoy listening to WCPE's Great Classical Music with their feedback. If you're a non-profit entity, you can remind them that to ensure WCPE continues on your service, they should support your station and WCPE -- this is a partnership. This is a powerful message and it will help us both!

If you are a for-profit organization, check with your tax advisor or tax attorney; you may be able to deduct the operational and equipment cost, and even the bandwidth costs, of bringing WCPE's Great Classical Music to your subscribers. This could result in substantial tax savings for you.

If your tax advisor needs verification of our tax-exempt status for your documentation, please contact us. We cannot share gifts with for-profit entities as it is illegal for gifts to non-profits to enure to the benefit of a commercial entity; but we can give you good "PR".

Educational Nature of WCPE's Programming

Previous editions of the FCC Rules and Regulations defined the term "educational programming" but this definition has been dropped in the new editions of the rules. None the less, WCPE is designed to meet this prior strict definition of "educational programming".

Because of the attention we pay to the material we broadcast, cable and satellite systems can count WCPE towards their required carriage of educational programming.

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