Have Fun!!
FCC had L. D. Brewer face down on the floor with cuffs on for his pirate operation. Took every piece of equipment he had, his records, etc. Understand, he had quite a powerful operation and that was about his 3rd bust. Brewer's a nice guy and has a business selling transmitters, et. al. I've purchased things from him in the past. JimB
Have Fun!!
That is not an el-cheapo FSM! It looks like a Potomac Instruements FIM that sells for close to six thousand dollars! It is a very accurate meter. I can say that because I have used the AM version of this meter before to do proofs for an am broadcast directional antenna. It was obviously used to gather evidence of illegal high power operation!
Not to be argumentative but, when calibrated by a lab, the FIM fsm's give reaults that stand up in a court of law. I have defended stations I have consulted (AM & FM) with the FCC for over 3 decades. These particular fsm's are considered by the feds as state of the art. Monitoring stations and vans are equipped with these or Delta brand fsm's. They also use high tech Racal receivers, spectrum analyzers and calibrated wide-band RF micro-voltmeters. A note: for the FCC, they are considered "el cheapo" only when their results don't hold up in court.
Rev. Marshall Johnson, Sr.
Senior Pastor, President
Rhema Christian Fellowship, Inc.
Rhema Radio - The Word In Worship
AM 1660 - FM 93.5
http://www.rhemaradio.org
I know the FSM is not cheap LOL!!!! Bad choice of words. However, when compared to an esotaric OATS measurement with high priced test equipment, calibrated antennas, real esate investments, etc., the style of a quick and dirty field strength observation is el-cheapo relativly speaking..
WDCX AM1610 Part 15
John
Owner-Operator-Chief Engineer-Program Manager
FCC had L. D. Brewer face down on the floor with cuffs on for his pirate operation. Took every piece of equipment he had, his records, etc. Understand, he had quite a powerful operation and that was about his 3rd bust. Brewer's a nice guy and has a business selling transmitters, et. al. I've purchased things from him in the past. JimB
Actually I think it was the BATF. He was raided by the BATF, FCC, and local sheriff, this according to Doug. If I remember correctly, the local PD would not take part in the raid. Two other raids happened the same day at the same time in the Tampa Bay area.
I have the mixer Doug used for 102.1. I am getting restored for my Part 15 gig here.
Boy, you nailed that one on the head. But the Potomac units have been the industry standard for a long time. I have used other equipment and other set-ups to bring in directional Am arrays over the years with as many as six sticks. I think both of us are still searching for the homebrew, low-back solution to FM field strength measurement though. And Until the FCC comes up with a better practical solution in the rules, we got what we got.
Marshall Johnson, Sr.
Senior Pastor, President
Rhema Christian Fellowship, Inc.
Rhema Radio - The Word In Worship
AM 1660 - FM 93.5
http://www.rhemaradio.org