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FM modulators for iPods are becoming very popular…

FM modulators for iPods are becoming very popular…

Almost as popular? Modifying an iPod mod, photographing your handy work, and posting a “how-to” web page.

Is it Part 15 after you hack it? That’s probably out the door as soon as you crack the case. The only sure answer is that you’ve smoked your warranty!

With that stern disclaimer in in mind, please to be enjoying the carnage below…

Start here, about halfway down the page:

doc.weblogs.com Overview

Then read these:

www.jiggybyte.com Mods

mypage.iu.edu Mods

www.xmfan.com Mods

www.geek.com Mods

www.broadbandreports.com Mods

www.mediageek.org Mods

And here’s some oldies but goodies

www.i-hacked.com More guts

www.ee.washington.edu Husky electronics

members.tripod.com Mycal memories

Send us your frankenpodmod link up! Use Feedback

Carl Van Orden, antenna guy writes “It is no surprise that FM part 15 broadcasting creates more interest than AM part 15 broadcasting…”

Carl Van Orden, antenna guy writes “It is no surprise that FM part 15 broadcasting creates more interest than AM part 15 broadcasting…”

I guess that if I were not acquainted with broadcasting at all I’d want to be on the FM band, provided I wished to supply a broadcast service.

With both AM and FM part 15, you can broadcast very easily about 200 feet. The difference between the two bands is that with FM, you can only broadcast about 200 feet legally; that is the FCC limit in range.

All part 15 AM transmitters will achieve that range with a simple wire antenna and without any kind of ground system. Since I build AM part 15 antennas, I get more emails that ask questions than I get actual orders, but that is ok.

The main question I get is about range: “how far can I broadcast?” With a SStran transmitter and one of my coil-loaded antennas we can guarantee 1 mile at least, but there are things you can do to improve that range, all 100% legal!

Remember, AM (to most people’s surprise) is basically a ground based medium, meaning most of your listenable signal will be heard via a ground wave.

Based on your particular soil conductivity, and the availability of a clear frequency at the high end of the band, you may immediately see a better signal than 1 mile, albeit perhaps not clear.

Using a transmitter kit like the SStran, and my antenna with a properly installed ground system, I’ve had reports of up to an amazing 4 mile radius of range! Even in the poorest conductivity areas, I’ve had reports of solid, 2-mile signals!

For my money, I’d rather have a superior strong signal in a 1-mile contour than a poor signal over a 3-mile radius. As the FM band continues to clog, the AM band actually continues to open up, and with the onset of HD AM radio, surely more channels will open up in the future.

The key to being successful in part 15 AM broadcasting is to provide programming that no one else is doing. If you can do that, you can not only provide a great community radio station, but maybe even make a little money using your station as your own “on the side” business.

Don’t forget, your community has people providing lawn-mowing services, there is garage sales, perhaps you close to a church that would like to broadcast their services, there are baby-sitting services too.

Do you live in a community whose people are mostly retired? Or an apartment building with more retirees than working people? Perhaps a big band format (instead of the rock and roll you prefer) could be an option!

Again, the key is to find an open frequency, or as clear of one as you can, build your ideas of format for the people you live close to, and cater to them.

As an antenna builder, I’ve been thinking of offering part 15 antennas, but the truth is that overall, I feel most people are not satisfied by the range of the FM transmitters you are allowed to use. On even a stereo system, some of the best AM kits sound FM like, and strong, and you will have range if that is what you want.

The most important thing is that we get more part 15ers on the air, to promote community radio, to provide for potential listeners, and to do it in an economical way.

Carl Van Orden,

antenna guy

[email protected]

One of the best radio blogs going was written up recently…

One of the best radio blogs going was written up recently…

The June issue of Monitoring Times Magazine carried a very complimentary write up of the most excellent radio blog futureofradio.typepad.com. The article, appearing in George Zeller’s Outer Limits column, calls webmaster Harry Helms’ futureofradio.typepad.com “thougt provoking, and well worth a visit.”

If you didn’t catch the article, be sure to visit the site!

Here’s some tips about construction, site maintenance and web marketing…

Here’s some tips about construction, site maintenance and web marketing…

Once you get your URL and your Web Space, what’s next?

Sites with web site construction and maintenance tips:

wilson.howtoguide.html Web How-to Index to Quick Guides and Links for Web Authoring

tlc-systems.com Art and the Zen of web sites

amasci.com Webpage design flaws

watson.addy.com Spell check your site on-line, check links

tinaja.com/web Don Lancaster’s PDF files on web design

Free content to help perk up your pages:

www.syc.k12.pa.us A resource site with amazing quantities of stuff

davidpye.com More fun content, scripts and trivia

Marketing your site:

mikes-marketing-tools Mike the magnificent marketing maven

wilsonweb.com Ralph Wilson’s mega-marketing tome

And remember – your wild, wacky, wonderful web world is not complete without a listing in the Part15.us Station Listing, so be sure to send us feedback when you’re ready to take on the world of visitors!

I finally found my old files – here is a copy of a ground conductivity chart for the USA…

I finally found my old files – here is a copy of a ground conductivity chart for the USA…

Here’s a retouched preview copy, a reduced size GIF format file for faster loading.

Click here for a gigantous JPG that’s 970 X 650 or so, in all its ugly glory.

Click here
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/m3/ for an even bigger map, and more in depth info from
the Friendly Candy Company.

Hope there’s a “30” near you!

We’ve explored this topic before, but we need to revisit it…

We’ve explored this topic before, but we need to revisit it…

I build part 15 AM antennas (as a hobby and a business) and I receive a ton of email questioning the need for a ground system.

Some of us can appreciate the need for highly technical information on these boards, but for the beginning part 15 broadcaster, some of these terms can appear to be frightening. So, here is the gist of the story regarding ground systems:

AM radio is basically a ground based radio service: people don’t realize it due to its great sky wave value. But in terms of very low power broadcasting, it is more important to concentrate on your ground wave than it is to imagine a huge, or even a mediocre sky wave. Your goal should be to serve your immediate area; we are talking in terms of 1 to 5 miles depending on your terrain and ground conductivity.

I’ve been quoted on this before, but I need to say it again; nearly 50% of your AM signal is due to your ground system; if you choose to merely pound in a ground/lightning rod, you are not building a ground system; you are merely grounding your system.

With some exceptions, nearly all LPAM kits or ready-built transmitters benefit from an AM antenna mounted in the ground.

As an example, the antenna I build is legal length; 108″ long or less after it is tuned. You can mount it on a mast pipe that is no longer than 18″ so in essence we are talking about a unit that is not much higher than 10 feet.

The ground radials are attached to the mast pipe; the transmitter ground is attached to the mast pipe so, we have a ground and we have an extension of the antenna.

What we have done is make the antenna “appear” to be 20 feet tall, instead of 10. Literally, the signal coming off the antenna will tend to dip to ground and not ‘float into the air’ as some people think it will. Those ground radials will serve to push that signal along until it runs its course.

I use 9 foot radials in the ground system I sell with this antenna simply because the antenna, basically, will average out to 9 foot tall. Remember that we want to concentrate as much energy as we can into the ground, not into the air! We are only using 1/10th of a watt!

I believe my message is getting through to the part 15am community; I’m getting a lot of letters about increasing the amount of radials and in so doing, the effect they will have on signal.

The answer is simple: as far as I know, no one has used more than 25 radials and has reported results.
I myself experienced an increase in signal of about 1/2 mile (which is a fantastic increase!) by doubling my radials.

There becomes a point where adding more and more radials will not be of service, just because we are using miniscule power. But to answer the big question, it is true that full power radio stations do use 360 degrees of radials; that is a lot of wire and a lot of work.

You need to look at where you live: if you live in a desert area, it may be best to increase your ground system….that is, to increase the amount of 9 foot radials you use. I’m not positive that increasing the length of them is important, although mine are generally 15 feet long. (I’m an experimenter and builder that is why they are long).

A desert environment would benefit from using 20 or even 30 radials, simply because you are sitting on dry sand. However, a Midwest environment could get by with a simple 10 radial installation. Overall, I do believe that the more radials the better, but I don’t see the need for 100’s of them in this particular installation.

I decided to write this because I got a letter from a customer who wants a 60 radial installation. As a businessman, that is fine with me, but for his location,(and his financial situation) I don’t feel a 60 radial installation is needed.

What I liked about his thinking was that he realizes how important the ground system is to his LPAM installation.

Sincerely,

Carl Van Orden
Antenna Guy
http://antenna18431.tripod.com/antenna.htm