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Post by thelegacy on Feb 18, 2020 21:52:42 GMT
Every time I keep reading about Pirates (Usually stations running High Power without an FCC license) blaring uncensored offensive language Rap music on the airwaves it makes me want to throw a fit because it totally ruins any initiative that some of us Hobby Broadcasters like myself are desperately working towards and that is to either have a part of AM from 1620-1700 Khz for Hobby Broadcasting where there are no stations on a frequency and instead of the restrictions set for antenna and ground rules have them relaxed and maybe 5-10 watts on AM.
There are people like myself who do the best we can to run a clean station that a parent would not cringe if his or her child stumbled onto it. I've played Stairway To Cleveland which is about critics trying to force Progressive Rockers and Album Rockers to make Top 40 hits and the band said "F you we do what we want!" but I don't play that everyday and the song does not have every other word the F word.
I've even stopped using Voodoohippie as a name on air because I got complaints that it sounded like I was into Satan and the listeners would not associate with someone into Satanic activities. Rather than argue about what Voodoohippie meant I simply dropped the name and went by Dj Troy which many people in the broadcast industry I associate with said is more professional and I'd get taken seriously.
If you know anyone running a Hobby station playing offensive language please encourage them to STOP with the on air abusive language. People like myself would practically sell their soul to get an FCC license to run a High Power station and yet because of money we can't ever get one and Hobby Broadcasting with the hopes of the FCC working with us is all we have to hope for.
Thanks for reading this and hopefully you see my point.
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Post by Boomer on Feb 19, 2020 23:47:52 GMT
It goes out over my station sometimes
I've had some harsh stuff get out there, mainly because I have so many songs, and I get collections from friends and online, and I don't know exactly what's in the playlist at all times. I don't think about commercial broadcast rules as much as my own preferences. I find that some rap and comedy bits are the ones to watch, and individual artists like Bloodhound Gang and Tenacious D. It's probably no big deal on my station anyway, it's called underground radio, and it's freeform programmed, and on an AM frequency, a format which taken together probably serves to chase most listeners away to begin with.
The song I was surprised about was The Who's Who Are You title track. On AM, hit radio stations played a short version of the song, but I heard the Album version on FM at a later time, and was surprised that the F-word was in it, somewhat muffled the way Roger voiced it, but still clear as to what it was. Not only that, but Who Are You was a huge hit on all Rock stations at the time.
Language can be liberating, but also overused. When Howard Stern was going to satellite radio, people said he'd he able to let loose and use the F-bomb every minute, he said no, realizing that would get old, and he doesn't use it that much, just when the occasion needs it.
I kind of liked the handle Voodoohippie that you had, sounding like a mysterious late night DJ out of the 1960s and early '70s.
I see your point, that if we try to be good stewards on the airwaves, respectable professionals, we can earn the privilege of broadcasting with more reach. With the industry going to nationwide stations, they'd have little use for a mile or two radius on the AM band, but a dedicated local radio enthusiast might be able to do something with it and run specialized programs for the under-served in the best of cases.
It seems like people ought to be talking now about low power AM, and I think there's enough of a scene out there to make it somewhat workable. When you look at radio, and especially the AM band, the people who are into it now are radio enthusiasts, the broadcasters and listeners who like radio and want to stick around and hear something on their sets. Things may not be that way in every situation, but I think we could agree that's where radio looks like it's heading, and a reason to think about standing up now if it's important to have something.
One problem I notice is that Part-15 people aren't on the same page or really organized that well, everyone is scattered on different sites that satisfy their needs for discussion, and on locked groups like Facebook, or simply have differences of opinion, other uses for Part-15 or don't know about other groups.
Taken together it seems like there are enough fans of Part-15 broadcasting, but it doesn't look like there's hope of getting low power broadcasters together at this point.
I had an idea that this is where manufacturers could step up. There's precedent for companies asking for and receiving favor in rules changes, new applications for technology and frequencies to use, when they have a market to sell to.
Part-15 itself was petitioned for by sellers of phono oscillators, Family Radio Service (FRS) was created through a push by Radio Shack, and there are plenty of other cases. RF manufacturers know how to make equipment to spec and talk to the FCC, and are not as likely to be ego driven as those of us with stations on the front lines. If companies like Radio Systems, Chez, Hamilton and Schlockwood could put their heads together and win something, we could all be winners.
Boomer
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Post by thelegacy on Feb 20, 2020 4:42:08 GMT
I thought about what you just said about the manufacturers. I thought it was really weird when a member from procaster was on the board and I mentioned making a C-Quam AM stereo transmitter. It was though my voice was ignored or drowned out and all of the other things that we're going on with part 15.
Rewind a good five years from today back to June 5th 2015 when I started a movement to try and get more power. Of course this was before I had the pleasure of messing with an AM stereo transmitter that was feasible for an individual to be able to use. At the time there was talk about the talking house transmitter the rangemaster in the procaster which of course are all mono transmitters.
When situations beyond my control literally force me into using a.m. as the only form of hobby transmission I began to look into a way to get AM stereo. There was the Sean Cuthbert transmitter at the time which was a good entry level transmitter into the C-Quam AM stereo scene but actually putting out the full 100 million watt output unlike the Chris cuff plus it had a built-in antenna tuning unit which you had to manually tune.
Of course the Sean Cuthbert transmitter may have to be tuned twice a day because of its capacitor being very subject to temperature changes. But the range was slightly better than the talking house with its built-in antenna tuning unit connected to the wire antenna.
I found out later that Sean Cuthbert did attend the C-Quam AM stereo forum on Facebook. I have been in many discussions with him and others about trying to revitalize AM with the C-Quam AM stereo transmitters for part 15 users. we have actually talked about trying to get more power in the United States on the am broadcast band for unlicensed radio stations.
And this is where I started finding out about these reports. I am trying to work with many people I have written to Meduci asking them to make a boombox capable of AM stereo. I actually got a response that they have been working on it.
The way I see it one way to sort of get around this is 2 encourage a hobby Broadcasting Service that is in a m stereo. the object would be to revitalize a m but yet be usable for folks that do not have an AM stereo receiver. Remembering the comments about a need for more power should be justified in order for the FCC to entertainment. What better way to do this then to use AM stereo as the push for higher power.
Of course this would mean that all stations using the hobby broadcast service must run an AM stereo transmitter. Some folks on part 15 argue that they don't always play stereo material. That is irrelevant the fact that C-Quam when run and true Motorola AMAX standard will sound better on a AM stereo capable receiver regardless if your programming is separated into two channels meaning that is long as you are transmitting in C-Quam you will have the FM fidelity on the medium Wave band. So instead of only using part 15 hours to try and push for more power I have decided to use real enthusiast that are out for audiophile-quality to do so.
The ones on my side believe truly that otherwise the am broadcast band is a dinosaur ready for extinction and the only way to keep it alive is 4 a.m. stereo. Since commercial stations are unwilling or for otherwise claiming it's too costly hobby broadcast Rose can do it for a few hundred bucks. Thus it shows the need for hobby broadcasting because we are able to do something a commercial broadcaster absolutely refuses or cannot do.
The second part of this revitalization act is going to be getting manufacturers to make AM stereo radios again but my proposal is to stop calling it a m radio. The new name for the band would be called C-Quam Radio but if a station is asked buy a user that doesn't have a C-Quan receiver then and only then will you mention it is compatible with conventional am receivers.
The younger generation of the general public is pretty easy to fool so when they see the new C-Quam band they might be willing to try it and if they like it for just a receiver.
The service should be between 1620 and 1700 kilohertz because I doubt that the FCC would entertain the entire broadcast fan for hobby use.
All of this has been tried before for the part 15 users including a website which none of them go to anymore. so now I've decided to go a different route with this and pretty much try to pull in the AM stereo enthusiasm because I'm sure that they will fight more so for this hobby Radio Service than the actual hobby broadcasters themselves who do not use AM stereo. So far I have been right more of them seem to be on board with what I'm thinking. Hence the push for the AM stereo transmitters for the increase power. Those that do not have C-Quam will still be restricted or could be still restricted to what they have now.
I tried looking into the new HD a.m. service but found out that the modulation or should I say bandwidth is much wider which could cause more interference. The new MA3 service as far as certain companies would like it they want to keep it locked down so I am sure it'll be next to impossible to get it for hobby broadcasting use. The only way is if the FCC were to step in. In other words it would have to be somehow written in the law to revitalize a I'm with the AM stereo use.
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Post by Druid Hills Radio on Feb 20, 2020 14:16:45 GMT
TheLegacy said: "The service should be between 1620 and 1700 kilohertz because I doubt that the FCC would entertain the entire broadcast fan for hobby use."
I said: What would you do with the displaced stations already operating in those allocations?
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Post by mark on Feb 20, 2020 18:20:58 GMT
Well, there's lots of space for them to move to elsewhere in the band. Even in major cities the band is half empty.
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Post by Druid Hills Radio on Feb 20, 2020 18:42:58 GMT
Well, there's lots of space for them to move to elsewhere in the band. Even in major cities the band is half empty. It's a little more complex than that. AM broadcast towers are typically 1/4 wave, so moving around the frequency required changes to the tower. Then you have those pesky FCC contour requirements. Stations that were non-directional are possibly now directional. I live in the 19th largest radio market and I can assure you the band is not half empty. |
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Post by thelegacy on Feb 20, 2020 20:17:42 GMT
I was not proposing to force the commercial stations off of the frequencies if they're on them already. When I said where there are no stations I meant the hobby broadcaster has to find an area in that range were there is no stations. It could mean that somehow we broadcasters would have to go off the air at night in order to avoid issues if they're going to use the 10-watt allocation.
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Post by Druid Hills Radio on Feb 21, 2020 12:56:36 GMT
I was not proposing to force the commercial stations off of the frequencies if they're on them already. When I said where there are no stations I meant the hobby broadcaster has to find an area in that range were there is no stations. It could mean that somehow we broadcasters would have to go off the air at night in order to avoid issues if they're going to use the 10-watt allocation. OK. That makes sense. |
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Post by End80 on Feb 21, 2020 13:53:38 GMT
Someone at HB mentioned there are currently five licensed stations operating at only 1 watt, which made me think about this thread and ones like it with dreams of petitioning the FCC for more power for part 15.. like 10watts! To me it's always been obvious such hopes are pure fantasy - but I never realized there were actually 1 watt licensed broadcast stations! - Even licensed TIS are allowed more than that... I supposed a new LPAM is a more realistic hope, but then you lose all the freedom and free reign which part 15 provides. There will never be more power allowed without regulation, applications, reports, fees and everything else required to operate a station.
That's a lot of crap to deal with.. With Part 15 all you need to do is buy a transmitter and broadcast whenever you damn well please without requesting permission or answering to anybody. I think that's great.
The 15 licensed 1 watt stations on the US: radio-timetraveller.blogspot.com/2012/06/radio-timetraveller-maps-3.html |
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Post by station8 on Feb 21, 2020 16:02:07 GMT
Howdy y'all:
First of all you guys need to stay on topic of your titles!.
That means talk about the title you wrote not yammer on about other stuff That's for another place!!!.
Second playing foul language or music is a big no no in my book, this is do to several problems
It's the program director to listen to the music prior before putting into over air station library
But its also the on air personality to cut the song off the air if he see an issue with a song as well.
Here is another problem i seen personal when i tried to cut a song out of the over air library
For some reason it did not delete or move the song out but kept in the file i Traced it
Down to a software problem so be aware!.
Hope this helps out
Station 8
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Post by Boomer on Feb 21, 2020 20:32:58 GMT
Thinking of LPAM
Well, I was thinking more LPAM service rather than Part-15, something like the TIS model which would be do-able for many would-be neighborhood or community broadcasters.
I definitely want to always see a form of Part-15 preserved, for those who like it or need it because of their circumstances, but there are some stations who have the means, ability and knowledge to go beyond that, brimming with the desire for more, and fully capable of doing it. I can think of a couple of members of this board right now who would probably take that on.
There's precedent with other countries now too, Britain has moved many of the state broadcasters off of mediumwave, and there are community stations on the air, like Radio Caroline and some ethnic broadcasters who got licenses. There's another European country that has 1 watt license free, which seems every bit like Part-15 here, in the way that it's set up.
I think the Part-15 interference regulations could be due for some sort of modernization though, due to the higher levels of noise everyone seems to be accepting these days, from TVs, phone chargers, light bulbs. Some say the electronics is over the limit for causing interference under Part-15, or could it be that the combined fields from all of those gadgets are what's causing the problem? In any case, it sounds like things are out of control, yet Part-15 rules haven't been changed to account for those higher signal levels.
In light of the higher noise levels we have, it could be argued that the rules specific to actual transmission in the AM broadcast band be relaxed, like antenna or ground rules in some way in some way that would help get over the noise a little better.
Since that rule was written, (in the era of vacuum tubes, as it mentions filament and heater power), things like baby monitors, phono oscillators and cordless phones have moved to higher frequencies. The only signaling use of Part-15 on the AM broadcast band seems to be by those who want to broadcast and experimenters running beacons. In light of that, maybe the rules could be revitalized?
There is a 1-watt allocation in my area, a station on the upper end of the band that drops down to a watt night power non directional, and Radio-Locator shows it has 1.25 miles of range to the red circle, 2.5 millivolts, considered a 'local' signal level, and a purple circle at 3.5 miles, distant coverage, 0.5 mv.
Even at 1 watt, that's more coverage than a TIS station should have with a 10 watt transmitter, which is 2.0 millivolts at 0.93 miles. The reason is that TIS antennas and grounds are short for the broadcast band, and only a fraction as efficient as a full size broadcast antenna would be, and so the ERP is less than a watt for TIS service. I don't have the figures now, but calculated that one TIS install must have been 200 milliwatts ERP. Contrast that to our Part-15 antenna stations, at best they're about 1 milliwatt ERP.
That shows how efficient a little bit of power can be on the AM broadcast band, and a small signal can actually get out! The TIS signals skip too, before dusk this past fall, 2019, I heard a TIS from Cleveland on 1620, on a web receiver near Uniontown Pennsylvania. It was weak and fading in and out, but I heard part of the ID and the location clearly, and looked it up. That's about a 200 hundred mile hop, and on the broadcast band, not some funny frequency like 1720!
To keep on topic, as Station 8 has requested, maybe we should just throw out the dirty word rules on broadcast, let the people decide. As for the P*r@te5, they can't be talked about here, that's illegal. (Insert A Current Affair bong sound effect here)
Boomer
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