I was flipping through the websites of part 15 radio stations to see all the different designs, and I noticed one common theme. Everyone is a “community station.” So I wrote a commentary for my own website and plan to print it here before posting it on my site:
Tuesday November 16, 2010 — KDX Is Not a Community Station
A moment ago I was flipping through the websites of other streaming and low power radio stations and noticing that all of them are still going by the old model of “serving the community.” That model made sense for stations whose power slapped down a good signal within the city limits of the community, but the mechanism has become entirely different given two factors that change the underlying notion of “community.” Type one, the streaming station, has worldround reach which significantly dwarfs any thought of a local community. And type two, the low power station, reaches the house, yard and a few birdhouses, not quite a community.
My Station
Hi Carl!
My station, at it’s peak, had some listeners on
my street and one listener who was a mile away.
(Although he was a friend who mainly listened
in his car radio in his driveway and around the
town.) Come to think of it, all my listeners
were friends on the street.
If I had lots of time and money, I would do
morning drive everyday from 5 to 7 or 8:AM.
I would give weather, time, news, and local info
about the town, the schools, the traffic (my street
is a long congested one) and local town government.
I would play music from local bands.
I have some friends on the street that I think would
listen. Especially if I gave out info that wasn’t available
in the morning, such as school lunch menus, and that
sort of thing. I would invite everybody everywhere over
to see the vintage studio, complete with phonograph
records, and I would give out lots of good AM radios to
anybody who would take one.
That’s if I had the time and the money, which I don’t.
But it’s nice to dream.
Bruce, MICRO1690/1700
P.S. I would even put my 3 dogs on the air if people
thought that was funny!
Let’s Not Forget Dreams
Bruce MICRO1700 you have reminded me of the real spirit of part 15 and hobby radio, and that is “dream fulfillment.” I think what could be said in an essay along those lines is that we should stay in touch with our dream so that what we are doing is what we dream of doing.
Having your dogs on the air would get me tuned in. I love informality over the radio.
Another example worthy of mention is KPAH in Pahrump, Nevada, who has involved his part 15 (1700kHz) station and his stream into the community life of Pahrump. City officials come to his studio every week to talk over the mic.
His image is that KPAH is the international voice of Pahrump… totally combining community with worldliness.
KPAH in Beautiful Downtown Pahrump
Having lived in Las Vegas for awhile, I have visited Pahrump several times and know a few folks there. The community is unique in that it has a couple of operating Cat Houses (with legal prostitution), an FM station that was taken off the air by the FCC and later granted a license at the considerable “urging” by Senator Harry Reid. The town is a collection of derelict buildings, sand, rocks and sage brush. I have never been accused of being a Welcome Wagon member in Pahrump.
The town is surrounded by mountains several thousand feet in elevation and located in a valley that extends North and South. 40 miles to the North is the Armagosa Desert, Area 51 the Nevada Nuclear Test site (Mercury, Nevada). The N-test sites are still active craters in the earth’s crust. This is all to say, no one gives a rusty rip what happens to the town or the people in Pahrump as long as it doesn’t affect the money in Clark County (Las Vegas), Nevada.
If people in a village, neighborhood or trailer park consider themselves a community, who are we to decide to make some other designation for their “sense of community”? I maintain that my neighborhood is my community. That is MY definition, like it or not. Let us agree to disagree.
In the words of Martin Luther King, “I have a dream”. Dreams, to persist, require faith. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) In many cases, “dream fulfillment” is entirely out of our control. Part 15 enthusiasts not withstanding.
Community of Agreement
Marshall Johnson, Sr., I am in agreement with you about your “community” definitions, but I want to re-visit my own point in the first message that started this thread.
I did not debunk the fact of what a community is, I only recognized that my part 15 signal and the typical part 15 signal cannot blanket a community. Therefore the old model of radio “serving the community” does not apply in my case. I simply offered the idea that there can be other models for the miniature broadcaster.
To those part 15ers who report actually reaching their community with a usable signal I say “What a triumph!”
It is possible to find difference within agreements.
New Rule
Carl,
I think we should call the New Rule, The Carl Blare “Exclusionary Rule of Part 15 Broadcasting- the development of the new broadcast model”.
The rule: If you do not reach, or blanket, a community, you may redefine your purpose according to what you think you might accomplishment in the short run (today, tomorrow, or whenever). Programming to a single listener is NOT your priority because self aggrandizement, a warm and fuzzy feeling and personal consumption are paramount to the effort. Part 15 broadcasting…IS and will always be…A HOBBY.
Based on, “the old model of radio “serving the community” does not apply in my case.” “I simply offered the idea that there can be other models for the miniature broadcaster.” (Carl Blare-2010) The new rule establishes a plethora, an unlimited number, of models that can be adopted all over the world for low power micro-broadcasting.
Carl, I want to be the first to congratulate you on having your own rule regarding the operation of Part 15 broadcast equipment. Your Mom will be so proud. I would shake your hand, if you were here…in my community.
What Rule
There actually is no rule regarding what a Part 15 hobbyist does with his/her station. So I don’t think I’ve made a new rule so much as I’ve recognized that many operators carry on as if there was a rule.
LOL….You’re Right
Carl, I’m joking. You are right there is no rule. I just thought I would help you out and make one up. Please forget my sick sense of humor. Rock on!