i'm trying to acquire the atu and would run it w/o a ground lead and hope with good modulation/processing that the iAM and external ATU together would cover a 1500ft radius max which is what i believe my complex is here.
i'm not going to run with anything else as the iAM and external ATU combo w/o ground connected is the only thing i can be sure of being in compliance with living in an upper floor apartment.
i can't even trust carrier current as none of the ham / broadcast engineers here (although they say they are) don't really seem interested in helping me setup a legal install which means they are just being close enough friends to know when i turn on tx so they can call fcc (which is 15 mi to NE of here) and turn me in.
so my only current option is to get an ATU for my iAM (and a decade ms100m for fm) and not use a ground to be completely sure i'm in compliance and not have to rely on or worry what interpretation might be made of my setup.
...the installation follows examples set by the manufacturer and the "system" is Part 15 accepted.
Just as a "heads up," the installation examples shown in the published documentation of some manufacturers of transmitters with FCC certification for unlicensed use under Part 15 did/do not necessarily protect users of such installations from FCC citations.
For example unlicensed AM systems using such transmitters can be installed such that those systems are non-compliant -- most commonly due to their use of long, radiating "ground" conductors that render the transmit system functionally non-compliant with FCC 15.219(b).
Sorry if this post is judged by some as being anti Part 15, because in reality it supports the manufacturers and operators wishing to observe the limits permitted by Part 15 to unlicensed operators in the AM/FM broadcast bands.
"i can't even trust carrier current as none of the ham / broadcast engineers here (although they say they are) don't really seem interested in helping me setup a legal install which means they are just being close enough friends to know when i turn on tx so they can call fcc (which is 15 mi to NE of here) and turn me in."
Who cares what those engineers think or say. What matters is your setup meeting compliance, which you currently have gear to test and measure for compliance. Only thing you really need to do is have that FIM calibrated.
With all the blatant violations of licensed stations everywhere, and there are far more of them than us, is the priority with the FCC to go chasing after hobby tinkerers playing Mr. Broadcaster with a couple extra uV or a few extra feet of range?
The example being given over the last several years has been "licensed to break the law", which ironically seems to be the theme on all levels of authority.
What is even more ironic is the unlicensed who go to great lengths to adhere to the rules, yet are the first to be targeted while the "big boys" get away with practically murder, and "big brother" looks the other way.
Why don't all the rule book thumpers go after the licensed stations? Wouldn't that be a bigger feather to put under the cap?
Why go for table scraps when you can chase after the big game.
They have far more assets to freeze up than any pirate or Part 15 ever will have.
Perhaps the notion of "protected" goes much further and beyond the realm of just frequency protection. The evidence to date seems to suggest that.
RFB
John Anderson, PhD, at diymedia.net keeps a constant enforcement database, and right now it's updated through May, 2012.
The enforcement actions are for FM, FM, FM, FM, FM, FM, FM, FM, FM, FM, FM, FM, FM, FM, FM and at long last, 1680 AM.
The problem is in Fullerton, California where EPI Limited Partnership has ignored repeated contacts. The NOUO reports 17,900 uV/m @ 60m. That is really a puncher.
"Ground lead ran down the length of the antenna tower..... well in excess of 3-meters."
Well? What do you expect.
"Just as a "heads up," the installation examples shown in the published documentation of some manufacturers of transmitters with FCC certification for unlicensed use under Part 15 did/do not necessarily protect users of such installations from FCC citations."
Perhaps that is why almost all of them who used a particular certified unit got tagged or shut down themselves because they set up their system according to the instructions on both the manuals and website..where said installation info was removed from said website shortly after the fiasco, as well as the certification documentation no longer to be found anywhere, even on the FCC database.
Ironic..isn't it. I call it "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"..or should I say "Twice Denied"..oh wait it was approved for a short while until put into the field..didn't solve anything.
Too much mystery in all that and still ongoing with missing documentation once readily available. Kinda hard to prove something when those in power remove the proof of the pudding.
RFB
i didn't even get a reply to that 22pg manual FOIA request beyond the initial "yes we got your request reply"
something is being hidden BIG TIME
the 22pg field manual, am1000 certification stuff, and the iAM/THII certification stuff
look up the chez procaster for an example of the docs that should be there for the hamilton and THHII/iAM.
Rich, your exact, original statement was "...a typical Part 15 AM system on 1700 kHz even with a zero-loss ground connection to a perfect ground plane would produce a useful, but not noise-free signal at a distance of about 1 mile. So that is pretty much the upper limit"
NOT very scientific or accurate. You then went on to provide a few details, including the 150uv/m field strength calculation, which I have not checked, but I will assume is accurate. That one fact does not justify any of the conclusions that you have come up with.
Someone who is interested in providing factual information and a scientific approach needs to provide ALL assumptions used. Including, but not limited to, defining what a useful signal is, what a typical Part 15 station is, what the receiving equipment is, what the receiving antenna is, etc. I could say that the maximum limit for a Part 15 stations is 5 miles, and I would be correct, given the appropriate receiver and antenna, topography surrounding the transmitter antenna, etc. It all depends on assumptions.
And just because someone is claiming more than your 1 mile range does not mean that they are not working within the Part 15 rules. That appears to be another one of your undeclared assumptions, since you keep coming back to the long ground wire discussion. And it is also a red herring, when it really has nothing to do with what you are saying (i.e., I assume that YOUR typical Part 15 station is a legal one, is that the case?).
I would recommend keeping your OPINIONS (which is all that they are) to yourself, unless you're willing to provide the framework within which you're working. And I would hold off on the self promotion as well (as an example, calling those opinions technical reality) until you're also willing to demonstrate that you've actually attempted to implement what you're talking about.
"And just because someone is claiming more than your 1 mile range does not mean that they are not working within the Part 15 rules."
Indeed. Once again I toss out the question...why is there so much attention to Part 15 when right now licensed stations are violating rules left and right and getting away with it!!
What justifies the ignoring of that? Why all the come down on flea power that just so happens to get a tad further than what the numbers say?
This is like letting bank robbers get away with robbing a bank but saying it's against the law, but pay attention to the poor customers suspecting them as being crooks.
Letting the fox guard the hen house. Priorities all screwed up IMO.
Is it any wonder why everything is so goofed up?
Too bad none of it will change...watch come after November and after the new year. Don't say no one told you so. Just like last time, and the time before, and before that, and even before that.
Pitty no one cares.
But there seems to be a lot of care going on about totally irrelevant and harmless things. Keep smiling, keep cheering and keep the false premise that someone is coming to save you. That's what they expect, and strive for.
Just in case anyone forgot, radio is a part of the press, and when oppressive governments start censoring the printed press, radio will be included in that too. All forms of radio. What makes anyone think that models of other nations that control their media by censoring it believe it cannot happen here?
The blind leading the deaf being told where to go by the mute.
Freedom isn't free. Freedom isn't rewarded to couch and arm chair patriots. Freedom comes at a price...vigilance.
So when it is all yanked out from under us..don't wine and cry. Go look in the mirror.
Perhaps Barry or Romney will hold out their hand and catch all the tears of the clowns.
RFB
RFB ...
My only comment was along the lines that I intend to keep truckin' along the airwaves, sayin' what I believe, here or anywhere, in spite of fear-mongering. You're exactly right ... freedom isn't free, never has been.
Guys like yourself have paid their dues in radioland may times over, but at my age, having done it elsewhere (radio-stuff is relatively new to me), it certainly looks to me like the government is doing things bass ackwards. It's borrowed trillions to bail out big companies (bless their greedy black little hearts) which it can't afford to pay back, repeating the same behavior that started this mess in the first place.
Picking on these Part 15 guys who are doing no one any harm, and obviously do more good locally than any of the big-money ops, while seemingly supporting those giants when they screw up reminds me of the "what's wrong with this picture?" syndrome.
I could say a lot more, but I think I'll save it for on-air commentary.
ArtisanRadio wrote: I would recommend keeping your OPINIONS (which is all that they are) to yourself, unless you're willing to provide the framework within which you're working.
Thanks for your reply. To clarify, the spreadsheet clip in my link shows the framework being analyzed. The groundwave field strength at 1 mile for those parameters is shown at the bottom of the clip. That calculation is not an opinion.
Opinion applies as to a judgment of the performance of receivers with that or any other field intensity, and the acceptance of that performance by a listener. My post made no absolute statements on those subjects.
I remember that.
Gotta give you an A plus, RFB,
for remembering that one.
I remembered it too, but I don't
get a grade, because because
ummmmmm....
Brooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooce
DRS2
Welcome back Mr. Fry. 🙂
Thank you for the welcome, John.
I'm also considering the iAM transmitter with the ATU. I'm glad to see mram1500 is legally getting some range with it.
We've been dodging torrential downpours and storm conditions from T.S. Debby here in North Florida. Reminds me of 2004, when almost every AM station in Tallahassee was off the air. I kept my part 15 on 1160 on air and gave out closures, Red Cross information, shelter openings and such.
We didn't get that kind of outages but it makes me want to get my little AM back on the air ASAP. I'm still moving music to the radio trailer, between rains.
I'm trying to save $ for the Radio Systems set-up. I'm about halfway there.
My transmitter savings is still at $0.00 lol. I keep trying to save, but the bills are killing me. As soon as I save up a few bucks, something comes and takes it away.
I had a huge tax refund this year (enough to buy a Procaster), but my car's transmission decided to lose 2nd gear and my cell phone decided to bite the dust.
I've heard about T.S. Debbie down there in Florida. I'm glad I'm not down there in the middle of it. But, on the other hand, we could use some cooling rains. The weatherman sats it's gonna be 102 degrees and sunny on Thursday and Friday.
Keep up the good work and stay dry. You'll be on the air with your Radio Systems setup in no time!