This time showing a photo of an MS-100 of unknown provenance, with an RCA jack antenna connector, and 'reminding' everyone that this is not Part 15 compliant.
It's difficult to judge this, as no information is given as to where the transmitter comes from (U.S. or Canada, retail sale or otherwise). I'm not aware of any Decade made with an RCA jack antenna connector, at least for the consumer market, and nothing is shown on their product pages.
This transmitter as shown would be legal to use in Canada under RSS123, for which the MS-100 is certified - there is no requirement for a fixed antenna under these regulations. That is what the UHF connector MS-100 is intended for, and an antenna connector is an antenna connector.
It's possible that this was a special order intended for Canadian use, perhaps even for the government here; I've seen surplus sales in the past from that source. It's also possible that this is a fake image.
The transmitter as shown would not be acceptable for sale or use in the U.S. under Part 15, but it is certainly not clear that it was ever intended for that purpose in the first place (if it is indeed real).
If you're going to attempt to slag Part 15 FM, and a particular transmitter, you need to at least to put forward and understand all the facts. Or you just look rather silly.
Which isn't a unique look for that particular site.
Well, I answered my own question. The transmitter is for sale on e-bay, so who knows where it originally came from, or was intended to go in the first place. All i can say to the other site is, give me a break.
That looks like someone modded it themselves with an RCA jack which is not the connector the RSS-123 version comes with. But artisan is right that for RSS-123 which it is already certified for with number on label it can be a BNC, UHF, RCA, SMA, whatever.
The other forum isn't aware that this transmitter is also approved for other applications than just part 15.
@mark I thought that as well, it could be a homemade mod, in which case it voids the certification.
Which brings up an interesting point, and one I've made before. In Canada, you have to use a certified transmitter.
In the U.S., a transmitter has to be certified to be marketed. It's generally assumed that a transmitter is compliant in use if it is certified, particularly for FM (AM always has that pesky ground lead issue), as it's difficult to determine field strength. It also changes with minimal changes to your setup, i.e., adding an audio cable, moving that cable around, height, etc.
But does a transmitter need to be certified to be used, as long as it complies with Part15 regulations? Homemade transmitters are allowed to be used in the U.S., as long as they are compliant (but not in Canada). Of course, it's up to the individual using a homemade transmitter to ensure that compliance, which is no easy (and inexpensive) task for FM. The Part 15 rules also state that the transmitter has to be constructed using good engineering practices (whatever that means).
Kits are a grey area, but there are no certified kits and there are plenty 'out there' in use, which the FCC sees all the time.
So if someone mods a transmitter, or it is otherwise not certified, can you use it if you ensure that it is compliant?
@artisan-radio In the USA, to answer your question, it's a grey area. The first thing the FCC checks is not the transmitter but the field strength or the interference/harmonics if any.
In Canada the first thing they check is the transmitter. Even if operating in the rules, no certification, no use.
The Decade in question in the illustration 'may' get by in Canada as an agent may see certified RSS 123 and since the antenna doesn't have to be directly connected to the transmitter and what connector is there if it looks neat and appears to be original it may be let go. Is this Decade being sold from Canada or the USA?
In the USA it's up in the air as it seems that, just my impression, that if you are in the legal field strength it doesn't matter what you are using. But my question to Artisan is this...if a transmitter has to be certified to be sold in the USA, how come Sean Cuthbert can build his at home and market them? Even built. Even if a kit form you have to build, he is still marketing it through Ebay. That's why I think the FCC only cares about rule compliance not what you are using or how or where you got it. In a video a while back, I posted about an FCC bust at a house, the issue was it was way over the legal limit not what they were using and they didn't even have to show the transmitter when asked to see it.
The question....the other forum's "police" accused Decade in question to be non compliant but in the USA if you were using it and it was operating within the field strength and that was measured would the technical stuff matter? Just wondering.
There's something really wrong with the way the FCC does things in the U.S.
It states right in the Part 15 rules that it is the manufacturer who is responsible for certification and compliance of Part 15 equipment. Equipment is certified using FCC approved laboratories, under strict testing conditions, presumably also approved by the FCC.
If you are going to go after strict compliance even if you're using a certified transmitter, why bother with the certification at all?
Never mind that it's virtually impossible to measure compliance without expensive test equipment. And that compliance can change outside the laboratory, which the FCC must recognize, based on any number of factors, including transmitter height, weather, length of audio cable, etc.
The certification should mean that you are in compliance as far as the FCC is concerned. It's only those that use an uncertified, homemade or kit transmitter that should be worried about compliance.
If you are going to go after strict compliance even if you're using a certified transmitter, why bother with the certification at all?
That is a good point there. The compliance of the unit is what has been certified. But the installation of which is a separate matter which also must be compliant to the rules.
So if someone mods a transmitter, or it is otherwise not certified, can you use it if you ensure that it is compliant?
Yes you can. You don't have to use a certified transmitter in the US, as long as it complies with the field strength, spectral purity requirements, and any other restrictions laid out in the rules, such as the DC power input, and antenna plus ground lead requirements in 15.219. As long as you are in compliance, then it doesn't matter if your transmitter is home built from scratch, from a kit, or is a certified transmitter, modified or unmodified. You can even use a transmitter that is certified for broadcast, and of relatively high power, as long as you attenuate the RF output sufficiently and ensure the RF emissions are in compliance. I don't know why anyone would do that though!
@artisan-radio In the USA, to answer your question, it's a grey area. The first thing the FCC checks is not the transmitter but the field strength or the interference/harmonics if any.
In Canada the first thing they check is the transmitter. Even if operating in the rules, no certification, no use.
Are you sure that's correct? Yes the FCC does check the field strength first, what else would they check? Knock on the door and see if their transmitter is certified? Your suggesting the CRT does? I have a hard time believing they dont track down stations the same way the FCC does, with feild strength meters
@richpowers As for the FCC it's my guess that it's just field strength and interference they care about not the transmitter as much. That also based on the video I posted of a bust a while back. The home owners didn't have to show the agent the transmitter. That could explain what I suggested that these illegal ones...you can own it, buy it but can't use it. But if it's operating in the parameter of the rules they don't care that much.
In Canada which I know more about the transmitter is what they check first as any transmitter cannot be used whether it is operating legally or not with no certification.
No, in Canada the CRTC/ISED are not driving around looking for unauthorized transmissions.
It's by complaints which I think also most visits from the FCC are.
But yes I have seen that there does exist in the New York, Florida, and other areas in particular(the hot spots) FCC patrols checking for illegal transmissions.
Yes in Canada if you get a visit, even if you are, by their outside measurements legal or close to it they can and will ask to see the transmitter. There will be a knock on the door regardless.
I would concur with what Mark is saying. In my dealings with ISED, they told me specifically that they were complaint-driven. No complaints, no checking.
There are few enforcement actions here in Canada, but in one I know about, the guy was using an MS-100 with a UHF connector to a 20 foot antenna. Not exactly BETS compliant, but the agents just told him to get an RSS123 license.
On the other hand, the certification process here in Canada appears to be much more tightly enforced, as opposed to the U.S. I would guess that is because they do assume that if you are using a certified transmitter, you are compliant.
@RichPowers, I can understand how a Part 15 AM installation has to be compliant. But with FM, there is really nothing to do with an unmodified certified transmitter but plug it in, and push sound through it. It an FM transmitter is certified, it really should be assumed to be compliant. And if not, then either get rid of the certification process, or tighten it up so that transmitters such as the Retekess TR-50 don't slip through.