"So there would have to be a stipulation about "Individuals Only", no "Non-profits", etc."
Heh, easier said than done. The only reason why LPFM exists is because of all the cry baby lobbing that was done by licensed stations so afraid of competition, they convinced the FCC to turn LPFM into the nonsense it is and continues to be and will continue to be with the anticipated opening of the filing window later this year...IF they open up that filing window.
It will be the same with an LPAM service or LPSW service. Again why would they change something that is to their advantage now?
RFB
Very true...
It is sad how the system works. I guess you might say we have teh best government money can buy.
I think the entire "can't broadcast SW to the USA from the USA" is a bunch of crap as well...
I really don't see all the religious Broadcasters out there trying to reach any listeners outside the USA, as much as the are the internal listeners.
So the current big money, cookie cutter stations set the rules, religious broadcasters (money talks) basically get to do whatever they want, and the true hobbist/local radio movement suffers...
No wonder there are so many Pirates...
"No wonder there are so many Pirates"
Indeed. I have many friends out there who would love to have a license and broadcast real radio for a real purpose. And you are exactly correct, there is a reason why most of them go pirate.
They do not go pirate just out of spite or to cause havoc or be idiots. They are incredibly smart, have just as good of business sense as anyone else, operate their stations with excellent engineering practices, and a lot of them go through painstaking steps to ensure their signals EXCEED FCC minimums to prevent interference.
I could tell a story from 20 years ago about a certain pirate who did just those things and even got a comment from the FCC field engineer that their station's signal was cleaner, sounded better and had a real radio programing sound than the licensed stations.
We all know it, licensed broadcasting has gone to the toilet in the last few decades..slowly and steadily much like the slow and steady demise by design of the economy and dismantling of backbone industry here in the US.
There is no such thing as serving the public interest in licensed broadcasting anymore, and that is not just an opinion. It is fact, clear as day and as hard hitting in the face as can be. Because of all the special interest being catered to on a silver and gold plate, we will never hear real radio ever again from these licensed stations. And that is so sad too. It is a huge waste of a media that gave birth to so much more.
The concept of real radio can live on and survive in our Part 15 operations. We can only hope that one day, much wiser decisions will be made by REAL radio people in the halls of radio power on the hill and return what was once a great medium back to the interest of the public.
RFB
...unlicensed broadcasting. In this area there are many CB channels that are completely empty. The only channel that really sees action is channel 19. I think channels 25 through 40 could be opened to one way broadcasting with 4 watts of power.
It would probably be easy to rig a mobile or base CB for one way broadcasting. In fact, for talk only programming, all you would have to do is duct tape the talk button in the on position.
Also, CB radios can easily be found at many electronics stores, and even garage sales or Craig's list. So, it wouldn't take much effort to start a station or listen to a station.
It's 2012. Time for the government to wake up and realize we don't need 40 CB channels.
Just my late night ramble. Lol
Many people weren't as lucky
as we were but - when that storm in late
October caused my state, and parts
of surrounding states to lose
AC power, most of us were sitting in
the dark freezing. 45 degrees in our
house for 10 days. Just flashlights
and battery powered radios. I'm in
Connecticut, by the way.
WTIC/1080/Hartford/50,000watts was
there for us. They did it all. They
suspended all programing and just went
to storm related info. And they did it
for many days. We would have been lost
without them. I even listened to them on
my crystal radio! I didn't use any
power at all!
So, it's not completely horrible. Also,
here in the Hartford area, anyone who wants
news in times of disaster can also look to
WCBS/880/50,000 and WINS/1010/50,000. Both
are in New York city.
Yes, licensed broadcasting is largely not
in the public interest anymore. But some
stations still feel they have a duty to
serve.
Almost nobody could watch TV. Some of the
smaller stations ran the news from local
TV stations. That was a big help, too.
On the 26 MHz thing - after doing a few
rough calculations (you guys might want
to check them) - it looks like the field
strength is a little less than what is
permitted on the FM band for Part 15.
I am sure that the government will never
change the rules for us. We have to be
happy with what we have.
By the way, speaking of DRM, the BBC world
service transmits DRM from Europe at night
on 3955 kHz (I think.) This year, the skip
on 80 meters has been incredibly long at
certain times. I believe I have heard this
DRM signal. But I have no way to decode it.
I am on the East Coast, which helps. When the
BBC did voice on 3955, I had no trouble hearing
it at all on simple receivers.
I miss the BBC on shortwave - transmitting to the
U.S. so much. And many years ago, when they were
on 26 MHz, I heard them THERE as well.
You can get them on the internet sure, and on
NPR FM stations, but I liked it better before
because it came straight from THEM. At the
university where I work, I meet a lot of
people from all over the world. Many of them
say the BBC is still a wonderful news source.
By the way, Radio Australia still comes in great
here in the mornings. I was just listening to
them the other day in the 31 meter band.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, DRS2
I agree with you, to a point...
I am a HAM and a 11 meter operator... speaking of the legal FCC 40 channels:
Channels 35-40 are officially the unofficial SSB channels (mostly where I roam).
The channels to Avoid would Be:
19 (still the trucker Channel)
9 the official Emergency Channel
6 the "Superbowl" (if you don't have at least 2.5kw carrier, don't bother)
Channels 5 and 7 (splatter from the Superbowl)
Channel 28 The Mini-Superbowl
However, when I first started this thread, I was talking about the 11 Meter Shortwave Broadcast band... around 26 MHz (25.600 - 26.100 MHz)... the is about 1 Mhz lower than the CB band (26.965- 27.405 MHz)