On another Part 15 site a poster was lamenting that a used certified transmitter he had purchased came with a 1710 crystal but no instructions about the rules regarding operation on 1710 kHz. The speed limit on many interstate highways is 70 mph. Should the car manufacturers furnish instructions about driving faster than 70?
The key there is that it was a 'used' transmitter. Buyer beware. Know what you're getting.
I managed to teach myself to drive faster than 70 mph. Some manufacturer guidelines might have helped.
Also, I have broadcast at 1710 AM, and I can mention it because the statute of limitations has run out.
A case could be made that operators of licensed and unlicensed new and used transmitters hoping/claiming to obey FCC Part 15 Rules necessarily must first know those Rules.
Following those Rules for 1710 kHz means that the useful coverage area of that setup would be much less than unlicensed operation permitted in the AM broadcast band from 540-1700 kHz.
For that reason it is unclear why a knowledgeable operator would choose 1710 kHz for an operating frequency, if s/he intended to comply with FCC Part 15.
"For that reason it is unclear why a knowledgeable operator would choose 1710 kHz for an operating frequency, if s/he intended to comply with FCC Part 15."
John Replies:One can still tune the transmitter and reduce power to comply with FCC Part 15 so that operation is legal.
Chiding aside, it has been several years since last 1710 kHz underwent experiments here at KDX per 15.225 of the Rules.
Toward this end a Ramsey AM25b Transmitter was utilized, described in a rather lengthy thread on this very Forum site in which you (Rich) and others posted comments.
We recall that you (Rich) held a position of disbelief that any reasonable human being could realistically find an earthly use for the low field strength under this rule.
Yet I hold that the FCC considered the matter worthy of their formulating a rule on the subject, and believe that if it were truly a lost cause they wouldn't have bothered.
It would be a service to the reading community if you were to locate that early thread and link to it so we can fully re-live this succesful experiment.
It would be a service to the reading community if you were to locate that early thread and link to it so we can fully re-live this succesful experiment.
A better service would be provided if you re-posted your results yourself, as you were/are their original source, and best able to find and recognize them.
Rich sends it back: "A better service would be provided if you re-posted your results yourself."
I'm not the one who's unclear.
1630 Khz is a Good Frequency to use in the NE to mid SE section of the USA as long as your not close enough to Agusta, GA.
As far as 1710 Khz I clearly heard on the WebSDR in NE Pennsylvania a station on 1710 Khz talking about the Springfield Armery in Springfield, MA. Quite a way out from the SDR's receiving source.
I assume Springfield, MA's Armery is a Government vacility so how come they can use a part 15 transmitter on 1710 Khz and no issues occur. I suppose it OK for some, but not so much for others as the saying goes.
If you do operate on 1710 I'd say do so with caution but then again I'd not lose too much sleep over it unless your in a big wig Radio market and then you'd better have all your I's dotted and your T's crossed and purly take everything at face value when interporating the FCC Rules.
That's not good advice to give anyone, particularly someone new to the hobby.
Part 15 broadcasters using Part15.219 should keep to 1700 Khz & under.
No longer exist other than a museum. There is a technical school located there however.
I enjoyed finding this (now old) thread written by a number of us in our anonymous days.
The argument circulates around the choice of using 1710 kHz in light of FCC rules that change between 1700 and 1710 kHz. But there's another set of reasons that a person might use 1710 kHz that is not decided based on the rules. Namely, radio receivers top off at 1710 kHz, making the appearance that 1710 is the top of the dial. Why do all receivers allow access to 1710 if it's not actually part of the AM band?
The same 'crossover' situation happens on the FM band where receivers start at 87.5 MHz making also 87.7 and 87.9 MHz appear to be legitimate FM channels. And along come 'Franken FM Stations', just recently approved by the FCC, making 87.7 legal for some. Not only that but FCC licenses have been granted for a few stations at 87.9 MHz.
Some jello sticks to walls.
This thread is the perfect place to ask how so many past threads got switched to "Anonymous" when in reality none of us at the time were posting as "Anonymous". We always used our online names, which got blocked-out by some insane moderator.
Tried to find an answer as to why receivers tune outside a selected band. Couldn't but it is not illegal for a receiver to tune to any frequency as long as you can't transmit.
Maybe back then a "guest" could comment without being a member?
The Anonymous labelled posts were a result of cutting over from the older Forum software to WordPress. At least, that is when they appeared. The cutover also generated a huge number of orphan posts not attached to any Forum (now in Temp) that are verrrry slowly being moved out.
I am not sure why that occurred, as not all posts got labelled in that fashion (obviously).