With all the commotion about alleged shut downs, inspections and what-not i had a serious thinking session about what to do with Rock 105.3.
Do i want to continue to pump 1 or 2 millliwatts into a 0 db folded dipole and risk a visit or letter in the mail ? Or should i just run a part 15 certified fm transmitter with it’s short antenna (it’s 5 inches) and make due with the woeful 150 feet of transmission range?
The second option sounds pretty safe, however the first had more coverage. Why?
Because it was a Ramsey FM 25B set at 2 mW into coax leading up to a folded dipole 15 feet above the ground.
That set up covered just barely a 1/4 mile to the north of here and 1 mile south, west and east to a factory car stereo. Sounds ideal doesn’t it? But wait a minute, fcc rules for part 15 clearly state that range on a legal (certified) fm transmitter or even home brewed should have a limited range of 250 feet.
In my situation 5 homes surround my home and are anywhere from 12 feet to 70 feet which i like to call my captive audience. Whether they listen or not they are more likely to hear my station no matter how many mW i pump into a dipole or a short wire antenna.
As we have all seen in the past and present actions from the fcc some operators were busted, while some were given some tip’s by the fcc agents and when everything was kosher the agent went back to whatever it was they had planned next.
And it has been said over and over again that some fcc agents are easy going , that they will allow the stations to continue to broadcast as long as the operator made a few changes. One good example is a station in Florida but i will not be naming names here out of respect for the owners of said station.
Some changes were made to that station per request of the field inspector and after those changes met his or her satisfaction, the station was allowed to continue broadcasting.
Other part 15 stations were not so lucky.
So option 2 looks pretty good. It’s safe and i guess we could make a whole new catagory of broadcast modes for our hobby. Call it Minicasting as opposed to Microcasting which seems to have an iffy definition to it. When i hear that word i actually think to myself “yeah they are pushing more than the legal limit” .
I say that because 9 times out of 10 that station is actually pushing 100 mW to 2 Watts on f.m. and before you know it they are on the fcc’s list of violators.
It is my opinion that the field agents should treat every station the same.
One agent should not be allowed to say “eh lower the antenna and i’ll let you go” while another say’s ” i don’t like what i see on the field intensity meter shut it down and hand it over” “you’ve been served” Every field agent should treat each station ,wether it is licensed or not the same way with the same aggression as the next.
Full powered licensed stations break the laws just as much as the pirate’s.
At least some of the pirates and part 15 stations carry some good programming.
So maybe we should all just connect to a dummy load and be greedy with our signals. Keep the signals within our homes and never even mention that we put a lot of time and effort into our tiny hobby stations.
Another thing that bugs me, while part 15 fm is limited to 200 feet and it’s power is measured by field intensity what would become of part 15 AM ?
The rules also mention a limit of 200 feet even though the power is measured differently the limit is still stated in the revision made back in 2000.
What if an agent decided , hey you know what? i think today i will excersize my authority and streatch the truth a bit. Hey buddy , your station is being heard a mile away on 1620 khz i am afraid i am going to have to inspect your station.
Yes just as i thought, you are running too much power. Yes, i see the certification sticker but your limit is 200 feet. Shut it off and fix it or i will take everything you have right here and now.
See we need that kind of enforcement but on the other hand, if all the agents do their own thing regardles off protocol then enforcement will fail and radio will continue to be the big mess it is today.
So with all things considered, i think i will safely broadcast the 200 foot limit and be content with the 25 to 30 homes i hope can tune into my minicaster.
It sure beats russian rulette.
Carl Blare says
United We Fall
Rock 95 Seven, it is a very confusing situation.
I have been using my FMs right up close to the receivers with transmitting antennas collapsed. I use one for audio editing and the other to link audio to a couple of AM transmitters.
The very instant I am done broadcasting I switch everything off, because they only inspect during operation.
But I will never give up Part 15, it is where the best radio can be found.
I am glad to hear that you do not intend to give it up either.
PhilB says
Recent “scary” FCC action in perspective
The MIGHTY1650 FM action seems to be taking on “urban legend” status. Looking back over the scattered information posted on various forums, we can’t really determine the true nature of the action.
At first, MIGHTY1650 posted that he was raided and the agent confiscated all his transmitters and basically said all were illegal.
Later MIGHTY1650 posted that his father was present and voluntarily said “here, take all the transmitters”. It’s not clear at all that the agent would have confiscated equipment if the father hadn’t given it up voluntarily.
The alleged “raid” turned out to be an “inspection” authorized by FCC rules. MIGHTY1650 said “word has it that no NOUO will be issued”. That makes sense to me. Why would the FCC issue an NOUO when the operator has ceased operation and voluntarily given up all his transmitters? After all, the purpose of an NOUO is to warn the operator and allow him to cease operation or correct the problem.
A link to a video of a possibly similar inspection in Austin was circulated on the forums. http://kaosradioaustin.org/node/32295 In that case, local police were present initially, but left early. The FCC inspector clearly stated to the operator than an NOUO would be issued and he did not confiscate equipment. I think the police presence was a measure taken by the FCC due to the possibility of belligerence from the obviously high profile pirate operator. When it was determined there was no belligerence, the police left the premises.
I think we should all put the MIGHTY1650 story in perspective and put it in the “myth busted” category. NOUOs are still the standard first-occurrence action. Nobody needs to forfeit equipment, get fined, or go to jail, unless they push the issue. There is no reason to conclude that anything has changed.
Carl Blare says
Steps Taken
The ALPB Meeting on Friday May 3 provided a very useful discussion of the developing situation, and we agreed very much along the same lines just expressed by PhilB.
The seeming consensus of the group was also that “nothing has really changed”, but I said that for me, personally, something has changed. Namely, the discovery of the fact that at anytime during transmitter operation an inspection could take place, even if operating legally and even if sound asleep at 3 AM.
It was agreed, however, that the most sensitive band for any type of operation is FM.
The Meeting is a very good follow-on to The Crow event, and right now I am waiting for one member’s permission to broadcast the Meeting, because I think it provides a meaningful visit to all the issues surrounding Part 15 and FCC.
As a courtesy, we only broadcast meetings if the members agree to be broadcast.
wdcx says
Nobody needs to forfeit
Nobody needs to forfeit equipment, get fined, or go to jail, unless they push the issue.
Unless you live in Florida. 🙂
MICRO1700 says
Is New York passing a law that is similar to the one in Florida?
Or did they already pass it?
I think I heard some talk about this subject
on one of the threads here.
Bruce, Radios and Dogs
MICRO1700 says
I just watched the video
I just watched the video of the FCC at
the station that was running 5000 uV/m @ 3M
on FM somewhere in the mysterious land between
Part 15 and licensed FM broadcast radio.
For whatever it’s worth, all parties involved
seemed to be cordial and polite.
(The station “building” could have
used a few coats of paint.) Sorry –
just a lame attempt at humor here.
Bruce, The Dog Radio Group
Carl Blare says
Radio Legend
I am attaching to this thread because a Search turned up the expression “Mighty 1650 FM seems to be taking on Urban Legend status” (Post # 2) and I think this overall conversation is a good one and I’d like to add to it by suggesting that “radio legends” are the starting point for our love of Part 15.
While I wonder how we can spread more interest in Part 15 as the world’s most professional hobby, it occurs to me that everyone who comments about their Part 15 experience, describes developing their interest in radio from early experiences, often in childhood, of hearing enjoyable on-air personalities, discovering music or pursuing the sport of DXing the dial.
The question today is: are the new people of our time storing up “legendary radio experiences” that might convert to becoming Part 15ers of tomorrow?”
Or, and I’m worried about it, are present day experiences more along the line of “diverse web-centered media” with no real focal point?
If radio converts to digital the entire spell of radio romance will be broken.