RichPowers

I don’t know if any of you read this before, but it was a first for me…

I don’t know if any of you read this before, but it was a first for me…

I have heard it expressed repeatedly that part 15 originally was NEVER INTENDED as a means to publicly broadcast radio to a listening audience. It’s been said numerous times on this forum and that forum, by advocates and foe alike..
Well, guess what an official FCC document stated 36 years ago?..

I excerpted some key points from this document, not all of it positive, please read it all, but make special note of the paragraph in bold..

Part 15 of our Rules permits operation in the AM Broadcast
Band of a miniature transmitter, called a Low Power Communication
Device, without an individual license provided that the input power
to the device does not exceed 100 milliwatts and that the total length
of the transmission line plus the antenna does not exceed 10 feet.... etc. etc.

These technical specifications are designed to limit
communication range for the protection of authorized radio services
from harmful interference, and yet are considered to be sufficiently
lenient that a reasonable operating range is provided for a Low Power
Communication Device. Moreover, regardless of strict adherence to
the technical limitations in Part 15, a Low Power Communication
Device is permitted to operate on a sufferance basis only,

Intermision..
===============================================================
suf·fer·ance
Noun: Absence of objection rather than genuine approval; ie: toleration.
================================================================

Because of this overriding noninterference condition and the severe technical
limitations imposed, Part 15 cannot be used to provide a regular broadcasting service.
The intent of Part 15 is to provide the radio enthusiast with
an opportunity to experiment with radio, and to entertain friends or
neighbors within a very limited communication range.

Ain’t that great!!.. unfortunately in the next line it dampened it a bit..

The Commission never intended that Part 15 be used to establish a low power
broadcast facility to service an entire community.

Well, I never intended to drink more than a couple beers last Saturday, but the actual result was that I got drunk off my butt. – Probably a bad example, but the point is that intent only gets the ball rolling, it doesn’t determine the extent of how far it will go. — In other words, initial intention ain’t the law (is it?).

But anyway, the big ta-da is that the FCC acknowledged the intent of part 15 is to enable broadcast to your neighborhood – 36 years ago!

What do you all think about that?

Source:
http://transition.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Databases/documents_collection/74-87.pdf

OK.. off course a little bit again, but this is a delight! Provided are the circuit diagram and everything! Who here is gonna build one?

The Radio Hat

OK.. off course a little bit again, but this is a delight! Provided are the circuit diagram and everything! Who here is gonna build one?

The Radio Hat
Radio-Electronics, June 1949
It is refreshing to note that not all radio manufacturers in this country believe that radio broadcasting is doomed to early extinction. It seems certain that American ingenuity and inventiveness will do much to keep it in the foreground for generations to come.
This is exemplified by an entirely new radio receiver – the Radio Hat – illustrated on the cover of this magazine. Communication, reception of news, time and weather reports, are a constant necessity to people in this country. So is a light and portable receiver, such as the Radio Hat, illustrated in these pages…
http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/RadioElectronics/Jun1949/Radio_Hat.htm

and..

Sun Hat Has Built-in Radio
Popular Science, June 1949
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/02/14/sun-hat-has-built-in-radio/

and then back to the present for a video of:

The Radio Hat Replica:
http://tenwatts.blogspot.com/2011/12/radio-hat-revival.html

Not really a Christmas story, and not exactly part15 related either, but an interesting radio related story nonetheless:

Not really a Christmas story, and not exactly part15 related either, but an interesting radio related story nonetheless:

Back in the 1930’s a kind of war erupted between radio stations and newspapers.
So in December of 1933 in an effort to try to make peace “…William S. Paley of CBS and David Sarnoff of RCA met at the Biltmore Hotel in New York City with representatives from all the three wire services, ANPA (American Newspaper Publishers Association) and NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters)…

At this meeting they compiled a list of specific rules (described in the link below) for the radio networks and the newspapers in an attempt to keep them from stepping on each others toes and make peace..
Agreements were made and the meeting was concluded, and the radio stations and newspapers went along their merry way..

But it didn’t work, and nasty competitive feuding continued.
In the end the newspapers found an easy solution.. They bought the radio stations!
Problem solved.

I thought this story was a hoot!
Read the more detailed account at the Arcane Tadio Trivia website: http://tenwatts.blogspot.com/2011/12/biltmore-agreement.html

OK, You might get a kick out of this. Just came across this little newspaper article (via a “google alert”). Here is a teaser glimpse of the key points:

–

OK, You might get a kick out of this. Just came across this little newspaper article (via a “google alert”). Here is a teaser glimpse of the key points:

–
===================================================================================
Dec 13, 2011. From the Lake Chelan Mirror. Chelan WA.
Church launches radio station
ENTIAT — Pastor Mike Sanders.. ..checks up on the church’s low-range radio ministry that broadcasts a variety…. …reach between 1 and 4 miles of the transformer,…
..”Our radio station operates under the provisions of the FCC part 15 regulations. We are transmitting with FCC type certified LPAM Part 15 transmitters with a specified carrier power of 100mW on 1610kHz & 1700kHz.” More information about the radio station and its planned outreaches can be found at www.winfac.org.
====================================================================================
–

Read the whole thing here: http://lakechelanmirror.com/main.asp?SectionID=9&SubSectionID=9&ArticleID=5294 – I’m sure you’ll notice that they call their transmitter a “transformer” twice! And it was the editor who wrote the article!
Anyway, really not trying to knock the editor, just thought this worth passing along.

I’m pulling my hair out on this..

I’m pulling my hair out on this..
I bought this VU meter on ebay to hook up as a the main output indicator after it has gone through the processing chain. – It seemed like a neat idea at the time (I’ve always just had this thing for the glow of VU meters) ANyway, I can’t seem to get it to work.

It wouldn’t have anything to do with the processing gear would it? — I mean is there some incompatibility occurring? Do I HAVE TO put the meter in line before the gear? (I don’t see how that would make a difference really).
I did some research on the net trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong, but I’m not having any luck solving it

I really like it cause it’s a little bigger than the ones I already have, and it’s rather unique looking (I’ve never seen one like it), and I’d really like to use it and am hoping someone here can give me some advice.

I took a close up picture of it, I think maybe this needs to be wired differently or something?
Please take a look: http://end80radio.com/brokemeter.png

Please advise.

Thanks
(By the way, I still haven’t figured out how to post a picture on this forum)

Stumbled across this little video on youtube. Thinks its pretty cute.

Stumbled across this little video on youtube. Thinks its pretty cute.

When Scotty Iseri of scottygotanofficejob.com and Matthew Latkiewicz of zendesk.com can’t afford the license rights to famous Christmas songs for their upcoming web series, they enlist help from some special guests to write a Creative Commons Christmas Carol.