Hi!
I'm new here, and I'd like to say hello!
Here's a fairly short synopsis of why I'm here:
I first remember listening to AM radio in the late 90s/early 2000s, when the last of the oldies and classic hits stations were taken off the air (I'm in the SF Bay Area, so the biggest ones at the time were KFRC 610 and KABL 960), and I was reminiscing about them this year (16 years after KFRC became KEAR (religious) and KABL became Bloomberg Radio, and wished I could hear them again in their former glory.
And so began my search.
Eventually, I discovered that someone had revived KABL as an internet radio stream, which is very fun, but it still didn't feel quite right (KFRC still technically exists as a secondary HD channel (HD2) of KCBS 740, a clear channel all news station, but one needs an HD radio to receive it, which also doesn't feel right.
I decided to fix this.
I first discovered Stereo Tool, which enabled me to emulate the AM sound, and it was a fairly good approximation. I used it to create a mockup of KFRC from back when it was known as the Big 610, a Top-40 station which went defunct in 1986, but it still wasn't good enough, so I started looking at the possibility of setting up a transmitter.
Which led me to the discovery of Part 15 of the FCC rules.
It was like a door opened, because up until that moment, I always thought the only ways of establishing a "station" were to somehow gather up enough money to establish a commercial station, and then either buy or apply for a license for it (not practical) or an LPFM license (somewhat more feasible financially, but still impractical for an individual).
So after some more research, I found and bought a cheap 70mW AM transmitter kit, which works surprisingly well, except it's super weak and prone to distortion, especially in the lows and mids.
Which led me to the Talking house radios, and this forum.
I still have much to learn, and I have many questions, so hopefully I'll get a nice setup going soon.
Thank you 🙂
c
Welcome! I'm sure any of us here can help you with the hobby.
Similar to you when the oldies stations got "younger" and went talk and weren't real oldies any more, because advertisers want the 18 to 54 year old age group, I got into this hobby to keep my era on the radio.
Good luck in getting set up.
Thanks!
I remember when the 90s and 2000s were new, so calling them "oldies" feels strange, though I suppose they technically are.
That being said, I'm a bit of a throwback, as even though the 90s and 2000s were my "era", I actually prefer the music of the 50s through 70s (even into the 80s a bit), which is a natural fit for AM, because it was the dominant form when these songs were new.
c