(I extracted this topic from https://www.part15.org/community/broadcast-equipment/zara-vs-salamandra/#post-60142)
Thanks for the info. We are a hospital radio (sunshineradioiow.com)...
Thinking you misspelled it I tried sunshineradionow.com (presumably the St Marys Hospital station) but that doesnt work either. Anyway Part 15 hospital radio has been around for a long time but not as common today. Would like to hear more about it.. Does it consist of both carrier current and free-radiate?
Hi Rich
No, the url is not misspelled, the iow at the end stands for Isle Of Wight UK where we are located (and not the VA county). We currently only broadcast on the internet and hard wires to the hospital site but are hoping to join a local island DAB consortium in development (if we can raise the funds!)...
My error, I tried your link yesterday and it just sat there, no page loaded so I thought it was a typo in the link but now I see the site loads fine.
I had come across the UK hospital radio service years ago and found it interesting. At the time it was only an online station, but it seems I recall finding a history of it actually originating using the carrier-current method somewhere and you mention the station is also hard wired (cc) and received on standard FM radios? - Is that correct?
SO ANYWAY... Based on a quick glance over, the UK version of "part 15" didn't exist until 2006, and appears more akin to Canada's rules than the US, because it's the transmitter itself and not the individual that's granted the right to broadcast legally without a licence ( did I say that right?.. I guess when it comes down to it it's not much different in the US - I'm confusing myself again now!).
Christopher's post about his UK based station opens a great opportunity to explore the UK part 15 version...
Do you have any links to info about unlicensed low power broadcasting in the UK @RichPowers? I was under the impression that there was nothing like the relatively generous power and field strength limits we have in North America.
As a teenager, I visited a hospital radio station in the city of Worcester in the UK, with a view to volunteering there. The person giving the station tour mentioned to me that they had a list of banned songs which they didn't allow to be played. One of them was the M*A*S*H theme which, if you think about it, is probably not the kind of thing you'd want hospital patients to be listening to!
The splash (introductory) page of this website gives you the basics. I believe the source was RECNET.
The splash (introductory) page of this website gives you the basics. I believe the source was RECNET.
I saw that, and it's in line with what I've long thought - that their power/field strength allowances are much stricter than ours in North America. It was the following statement from Rich that prompted my question -
SO ANYWAY... Based on a quick glance over, the UK version of "part 15" didn't exist until 2006, and appears more akin to Canada's rules than the US, because it's the transmitter itself and not the individual that's granted the right to broadcast legally without a licence
I was wondering where he got that from.
Do you have any links to info about unlicensed low power broadcasting in the UK @RichPowers? I was under the impression that there was nothing like the relatively generous power and field strength limits we have in North America....
No, I've not ever really delved too deep into other countries part 15 type laws.. But the ONLY reason... I DO MEAN THE ONLY REASON we have such generous limits in the US ( for AM anyway) is because of a major FCC blunder in 1956 when they created the alternate rule to accommodate what was then an extreamly popular hobby for kids and teenagers building home units... But the rule didnt say that.
15.219 was never an intended option for manufactures... But they did not word it like that in the rules, and it came back to bite the FCC in the ass 15 years later when Yellowstone's began to commission manufactures to build high quality AM transmitters based on 15.219.
The FCC desperately tried to curb the range capabilities of those transmitters but FCCs hands were tied because according to their own rules the transmitters were compliant. They had dig themselfs into a hole. So in 1974 they officially proposed to eliminate the 15.219 rule option, however by that time their use had become so infiltrated the National Park Services that it was too difficult pull it back, the genie was already out of the bottle, so the FCC basically threw up their hands and said so be it.
That's the only reason why it's entirely legal for a compliant installed part 15 AM station to potentially acheive ranges of approximently up to a 3 mile radius today.
The splash (introductory) page of this website gives you the basics. I believe the source was RECNET.
I saw that, and it's in line with what I've long thought - that their power/field strength allowances are much stricter than ours in North America. It was the following statement from Rich that prompted my question -
SO ANYWAY... Based on a quick glance over, the UK version of "part 15" didn't exist until 2006, and appears more akin to Canada's rules than the US, because it's the transmitter itself and not the individual that's granted the right to broadcast legally without a licence
I was wondering where he got that from.
Sorry Dave, didnt see that. To be clear - I don't know, that's just some info I gathered from a quick search.. I don't know anything about it. It did surprise me that the UK unlicensed permissions weren't formalized untill 2006, and what's more it appears to only apply to walkie-talkie two-way transmissions devices, not AM and FM.. I dont know, dont know, dont know....
I am presuming that the UK does not consider carrier-current as "broadcasting", (neither does the US, in fact carrier-current wasn't even considered a part 15 operation until 1947 when they incorporated it into the rules (Part 15, when created, was specifically and exclusively to allow "wireless transmissions devices. Carrier current communications had already been an established practice for decades before part 15 was ever created and had no bearing on cc untill later, that was only because of problems arising from the growth of college carrier-current stations after 1939 when the students kept taking liberties enabling their signal to travel beyond college walls.
oh.. but I'm rambling.. Point is,.. oh.. what was driving at?.. I guess that the hospitals "wired connection" doesnt require licensing in the UK but the free-radiate signal does.- I guess.
I'm interested to comprehend UK and Canadian and unlicensed rules (and other countries) but it's not particularly something I'm interested in researching. And when we have a UK unlicensed broadcaster in our midst it invites some first hand information, no? So that's what prompted this thread, but me? no, I dont know.
oh.. I never posted about the UK chage it did I? I think this came from wiki:
- "The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 provided the framework for Ofcom to issue licenses for radio broadcasting, but also included exemptions for certain types of radio equipment, including CB radios..."
Also saw the UK 2006 date referenced for unlicensed radio devices elsewhere.. I didn't save the links, I was only browsing around trying to get a general idea
Excerpts from https://radio.co/blog/community-radio-explained?srsltid=AfmBOorYLoYuUVxmJwkmSGt9604G9DuCag2N4aC7zHB59LWEJVVZYp8y
Community Radio Explained: A Guide to Local Broadcasting [in the UK.]
Here in the UK, Ofcom registered community stations have to follow very strict guidelines. These are called ‘Key Commitments’. They include restrictions on speech time, content type, and the area they serve. All of which serve a purpose. And that’s to provide a service for listeners, like local news, whilst being able to fund the station without creeping into commercial radio territory...
...At least, that’s the idea behind stations like Black Sparrow Radio and Boogaloo Radio. Both of which are fronted by businesses, like coffee shops, bars, or music venues... ..They’re not scared of showing their true colours either.. ..Once you lose that, you just become another generic station from the likes of Bauer or Global. Who incidentally bought loads of stations here in the UK. Converting them from unique local radio with a passionate voice, into generic bland radio playing the same old hits.... A majority of stations are volunteer-driven. Those willing to put time and effort into making the station a place for the local community.....
"We’re hoping to hear from some retired or semi-retired folk who maybe have a few hours to spare every week or fortnight." - Johnstone Sound.
Whilst community radio is run with the help of volunteers, it's not easy. But that's what makes community radio better. The fact that all these people are putting effort and time into local content, for free, providing a service people within the community can be proud of....
...