FCC Contours API
Returns broadcast radio and television service area data. Includes coverage contours for FM and TV stations by call sign, Facility ID, or ApplicationID, plus elevation and Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) data.
OpenAPI Specification
openapi: 3.0.3
info:
title: FCC Contours API
description: >
The FCC Enterprise Contours API provides broadcast radio and television service
area data. Includes coverage contours for FM and TV stations by call sign, Facility
ID, or ApplicationID, plus elevation, Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT), antenna
patterns, coordinate conversion, and distance-curve calculations. All endpoints are
free with no authentication required.
version: 1.5.0
contact:
name: Federal Communications Commission
url: https://geo.fcc.gov/api/contours/
license:
name: FCC API Terms of Service
url: https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/developers/api-terms-service
servers:
- url: https://geo.fcc.gov/api/contours
description: FCC Contours API
tags:
- name: coverage
description: Get service contour for TV and FM stations
- name: entity
description: Get coverage contour by entity (call sign, facility ID, or application ID)
- name: antenna
description: Get antenna pattern data for TV and FM stations
- name: elevation
description: Get terrain elevation data at a given location
- name: haat
description: Get Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) data
- name: profile
description: Get terrain elevation profile between two points
- name: distance
description: Calculate distance using F-curve propagation curves
- name: am-pattern
description: Get AM antenna pattern data
- name: projection
description: Project coordinates between coordinate reference systems
- name: coordinate-conversion
description: Convert between decimal degrees and degrees-minutes-seconds
paths:
/coverage.json:
get:
tags:
- coverage
operationId: getCoverage
summary: Get Contour by Service Type
description: >
Get contour based on serviceType (FM, TV). Response returned in GeoJSON,
JSONP, Shapefile, KML, GML, CSV.
parameters:
- name: serviceType
in: query
required: true
description: Type of broadcast service. Valid values: tv, fm
schema:
type: string
enum:
- tv
- fm
- name: lat
in: query
required: true
description: Latitude of the transmitter site
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: lon
in: query
required: true
description: Longitude of the transmitter site
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: nradial
in: query
required: true
description: Number of radials
schema:
type: integer
- name: rcamsl
in: query
required: true
description: Radiation Center Above Mean Sea Level (meters)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: field
in: query
required: true
description: Field strength (dBu)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: channel
in: query
required: false
description: Channel (required for TV)
schema:
type: integer
- name: erp
in: query
required: true
description: Effective Radiation Power (kW)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: curve
in: query
required: true
description: "Type of propagation curve. 0: F(50,50), 1: F(50,10), 2: F(50,90)"
schema:
type: string
enum:
- "0"
- "1"
- "2"
- name: pattern
in: query
required: false
description: >
Radiation strength at various azimuths for directional antennas.
Provide azimuth,strength pairs separated by semicolons. Example: 0,0.63;10,0.57;
schema:
type: string
- name: ant_rotation
in: query
required: false
description: Antenna rotation (0-360, default 0)
schema:
type: string
default: "0"
- name: pop
in: query
required: false
description: Include population calculation
schema:
type: boolean
default: false
- name: area
in: query
required: false
description: Include coverage area calculation
schema:
type: boolean
default: false
- name: src
in: query
required: false
description: >
Elevation data source. NED 1 arc-second (ned_1), 1/3 arc-second (ned_13),
Alaska 2 arc-second (ned_2), or global dataset (globe30).
schema:
type: string
enum:
- ned_1
- ned_2
- globe30
- name: unit
in: query
required: false
description: "Unit of measurement: m=meters (default), mi=miles, ft=feet"
schema:
type: string
enum:
- m
- mi
- ft
default: m
responses:
"200":
description: GeoJSON coverage contour data
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
/entity.json:
get:
tags:
- entity
operationId: getEntityCoverage
summary: Get Coverage Contour by Entity
description: >
Get coverage contour for a TV or FM station identified by call sign, facility ID,
or application ID.
parameters:
- name: serviceType
in: query
required: true
description: Type of broadcast service. Valid values: tv, fm
schema:
type: string
enum:
- tv
- fm
- name: callsign
in: query
required: false
description: Station call sign
schema:
type: string
- name: facilityId
in: query
required: false
description: FCC Facility ID
schema:
type: string
- name: applicationId
in: query
required: false
description: FCC Application ID
schema:
type: string
- name: nradial
in: query
required: false
description: Number of radials
schema:
type: integer
- name: field
in: query
required: false
description: Field strength (dBu) override
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: curve
in: query
required: false
description: "Propagation curve: 0=F(50,50), 1=F(50,10), 2=F(50,90)"
schema:
type: string
enum:
- "0"
- "1"
- "2"
- name: pop
in: query
required: false
description: Include population calculation
schema:
type: boolean
default: false
- name: area
in: query
required: false
description: Include coverage area calculation
schema:
type: boolean
default: false
- name: src
in: query
required: false
description: Elevation data source
schema:
type: string
enum:
- ned_1
- ned_2
- globe30
responses:
"200":
description: GeoJSON coverage contour data for the specified entity
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
/antenna.json:
get:
tags:
- antenna
operationId: getAntenna
summary: Get Antenna Pattern Data
description: >
Get antenna pattern data for a TV or FM station identified by call sign,
facility ID, or application ID.
parameters:
- name: serviceType
in: query
required: true
description: Type of broadcast service. Valid values: tv, fm
schema:
type: string
enum:
- tv
- fm
- name: callsign
in: query
required: false
description: Station call sign
schema:
type: string
- name: facilityId
in: query
required: false
description: FCC Facility ID
schema:
type: string
- name: applicationId
in: query
required: false
description: FCC Application ID
schema:
type: string
responses:
"200":
description: Antenna pattern data
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
/elevation.json:
get:
tags:
- elevation
operationId: getElevation
summary: Get Terrain Elevation
description: >
Get terrain elevation at a given latitude and longitude using national
elevation datasets.
parameters:
- name: lat
in: query
required: true
description: Latitude in decimal degrees
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: lon
in: query
required: true
description: Longitude in decimal degrees
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: src
in: query
required: false
description: Elevation data source
schema:
type: string
enum:
- ned_1
- ned_2
- globe30
- name: unit
in: query
required: false
description: "Unit of measurement: m=meters (default), mi=miles, ft=feet"
schema:
type: string
enum:
- m
- mi
- ft
default: m
responses:
"200":
description: Elevation data at the specified location
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
properties:
elevation:
type: number
description: Elevation value in the requested unit
/haat.json:
get:
tags:
- haat
operationId: getHAAT
summary: Get Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT)
description: >
Calculate the Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) for a given location,
number of radials, and radiation center height.
parameters:
- name: lat
in: query
required: true
description: Latitude in decimal degrees
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: lon
in: query
required: true
description: Longitude in decimal degrees
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: nradial
in: query
required: false
description: Number of radials (default 360)
schema:
type: integer
- name: rcamsl
in: query
required: false
description: Radiation Center Above Mean Sea Level (meters)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: src
in: query
required: false
description: Elevation data source
schema:
type: string
enum:
- ned_1
- ned_2
- globe30
- name: unit
in: query
required: false
description: "Unit of measurement: m=meters (default), mi=miles, ft=feet"
schema:
type: string
enum:
- m
- mi
- ft
default: m
responses:
"200":
description: HAAT calculation result
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
/profile.json:
get:
tags:
- profile
operationId: getProfile
summary: Get Terrain Elevation Profile
description: >
Get the terrain elevation profile along a path between two geographic points,
specified by a starting point plus azimuth, or start and end coordinates.
parameters:
- name: lat
in: query
required: true
description: Latitude of the starting point in decimal degrees
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: lon
in: query
required: true
description: Longitude of the starting point in decimal degrees
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: azimuth
in: query
required: false
description: Azimuth direction from the start point (degrees)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: start
in: query
required: false
description: Start distance along the path (km)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: end
in: query
required: false
description: End distance along the path (km)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: num_points
in: query
required: false
description: Number of elevation sample points along the profile
schema:
type: integer
- name: src
in: query
required: false
description: Elevation data source
schema:
type: string
enum:
- ned_1
- ned_2
- globe30
- name: unit
in: query
required: false
description: "Unit of measurement: m=meters (default), mi=miles, ft=feet"
schema:
type: string
enum:
- m
- mi
- ft
default: m
responses:
"200":
description: Array of elevation values along the profile
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
/distance.json:
get:
tags:
- distance
operationId: getDistance
summary: Calculate Distance Using F-Curve
description: >
Calculate the service distance or interfering distance using FCC F-curve
propagation models for TV or FM services.
parameters:
- name: computationMethod
in: query
required: false
description: Method for distance computation
schema:
type: string
- name: serviceType
in: query
required: false
description: Type of broadcast service. Valid values: tv, fm
schema:
type: string
enum:
- tv
- fm
- name: haat
in: query
required: false
description: Height Above Average Terrain (meters)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: channel
in: query
required: false
description: TV or FM channel number
schema:
type: integer
- name: field
in: query
required: false
description: Field strength (dBu)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: erp
in: query
required: false
description: Effective Radiation Power (kW)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: distance
in: query
required: false
description: Distance (km)
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: curve
in: query
required: false
description: "Propagation curve: 0=F(50,50), 1=F(50,10), 2=F(50,90)"
schema:
type: string
enum:
- "0"
- "1"
- "2"
responses:
"200":
description: Distance calculation result
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
/getAmPattern.json:
get:
tags:
- am-pattern
operationId: getAmPattern
summary: Get AM Antenna Pattern
description: >
Get AM broadcast station antenna pattern data by facility ID, call sign,
or application ID.
parameters:
- name: idType
in: query
required: true
description: Type of identifier. Valid values: facilityId, callsign, applicationId
schema:
type: string
enum:
- facilityId
- callsign
- applicationId
- name: idValue
in: query
required: true
description: Value for the specified identifier type
schema:
type: string
- name: nradial
in: query
required: false
description: Number of radials
schema:
type: integer
responses:
"200":
description: AM antenna pattern data
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
/project.json:
get:
tags:
- projection
operationId: projectCoordinates
summary: Project Coordinates Between CRS
description: >
Project a coordinate point from one coordinate reference system (CRS) to another,
such as from WGS84 to NAD83 or to various state plane systems.
parameters:
- name: lat
in: query
required: true
description: Latitude in the input projection
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: lon
in: query
required: true
description: Longitude in the input projection
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: inProj
in: query
required: false
description: Input projection EPSG code or name
schema:
type: string
- name: outProj
in: query
required: false
description: Output projection EPSG code or name
schema:
type: string
- name: outType
in: query
required: false
description: Output format type
schema:
type: string
responses:
"200":
description: Projected coordinates
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
/dd2dms.json:
get:
tags:
- coordinate-conversion
operationId: decimalDegreesToDMS
summary: Convert Decimal Degrees to DMS
description: >
Convert geographic coordinates from decimal degrees (DD) format to
degrees-minutes-seconds (DMS) format.
parameters:
- name: lat
in: query
required: true
description: Latitude in decimal degrees
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: lon
in: query
required: true
description: Longitude in decimal degrees
schema:
type: number
format: double
responses:
"200":
description: Coordinates in degrees-minutes-seconds format
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
properties:
lat:
type: string
description: Latitude in DMS format
lon:
type: string
description: Longitude in DMS format
/dms2dd.json:
get:
tags:
- coordinate-conversion
operationId: dmsToDecimalDegrees
summary: Convert DMS to Decimal Degrees
description: >
Convert geographic coordinates from degrees-minutes-seconds (DMS) format
to decimal degrees (DD) format.
parameters:
- name: latD
in: query
required: true
description: Latitude degrees
schema:
type: integer
- name: latM
in: query
required: true
description: Latitude minutes
schema:
type: integer
- name: latS
in: query
required: true
description: Latitude seconds
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: latDi
in: query
required: true
description: Latitude direction (N or S)
schema:
type: string
enum:
- N
- S
- name: lonD
in: query
required: true
description: Longitude degrees
schema:
type: integer
- name: lonM
in: query
required: true
description: Longitude minutes
schema:
type: integer
- name: lonS
in: query
required: true
description: Longitude seconds
schema:
type: number
format: double
- name: lonDi
in: query
required: true
description: Longitude direction (E or W)
schema:
type: string
enum:
- E
- W
responses:
"200":
description: Coordinates in decimal degrees format
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
properties:
lat:
type: number
description: Latitude in decimal degrees
lon:
type: number
description: Longitude in decimal degrees