Hello all, first, my apologies for taking the site offline for several days without prior notice - it wasn’t my intention for it to be down as long as it was; however the reason for it was to surprise the community with a new, better, faster discussion forum!
I know the site has been unstable for several months now and that is why we wanted to do this upgrade. Changes are not done yet, we are working on a refreshed look and feel and a few other minor tweaks, but the biggest change is the underlying forum software.
We were not able to fully bring over everyone’s personal profile photos, so I encourage you to update your personal profiles and add both a personal photo and a profile background image.
I really hope these changes are well received and help re-energize this fantastic, supportive community.
Any questions please reach out to me here on the forum!
JP
Speaking for many of us we are very grateful, JPJanze, for having this special website again in service to serve ultra-low power broadcasters of the world.
And I do have a question.
What is the arrangement for permitting advertisements on this website?
Are the ads a condition for using the underlying software?
Do you (we) have any control of which ads are allowed?
Do you, as site owner benefit financially from allowing ads?
I am curious about this because I saw an offensive ad that raised a topic that we as members would be banned from discussing.
I have a question now that this has come up about ads...why do the ads display inbetween posts to break up a post into sections. One could think the post ends when there is more said that will be missed.
The introductory splash page for the site has been updated, hopefully to be more concise (and at the same time, explanatory).
The new 'Splash Page' is a major step forward, but I wish to reconsider the long-standing practice of calling part 15 radio 'unlicensed'. While it is in fact unlicensed, the word gives a definite impression of being illegal. My suggestion is to use the phrase 'no license required'. Give it some thought.
Every time we use our cell phone to make a call we are literally broadcasting under part 15 rules, in a frequency which apparently is not limited by field strength. Cell phones truly are tiny radio stations and anyone who uses one is a unlicensed broadcaster.
But if Samsung began marketing their phones as a device you could use without a license, it would cause more confusion than explanations. But when it comes to AM frequency broadcasting a explanatory phrase or description is neccessary to avoid confusion.
While I see Carl's point, a "legal unlicensed" emphasis in some form has to be present to distinguish it from a pirating operation.
Oh, and the ads, I love them, they are one of my favorite things about this site, it gives the site character. Not good character, but it helps it stand out. We have more ads seeping n and out the cracks than any part 15 relayed site on the internet. Wee saturated with it even more than Facebook.