I am going to be gradually selling off some of my excess FM and AM transmitting gear over the next little while on e-bay. Here is the link to the first item - a near mint condition BroadcastVision FM Stereo transmitter that is Part 15 certified (and therefore legal in the U.S.).
It can transmit on all North American FM frequencies, and comes with the wall wart power supply.
I checked out your ad on e-Bay and then I was intrigued... so I looked up Bowen Island on Google Maps. What a fabulous place! I never quite got there, although I have been to North Vancouver and Horseshoe Bay more than a few times. You reminded me of how much I love BC and how much I wish I could go back there this summer. I didn't think Canada allowed low power AM and FM operation; is this something new?
Thanks. Bowen Island is indeed beautiful.
Unlicensed transmitting is allowed, but complicated up here, as we have 2 watchdog bodies - Industry Canada and the CRTC. Industry Canada looks after the spectrum and the equipment, the CRTC the content.
We actually have very similar regulations to the U.S. for non-broadcast unlicensed use of AM and FM - 100mw input for AM, but we're also allowed 4 times the field strength for FM (100uv/m at 30 meters).
However, if we are deemed to be broadcasting (and there's a very liberal definition to that term), then AM is further restricted to a field strength of 250uv/m at 30 meters - we're not allowed to use the 100mw rule (although this is somewhat ignored by the manufacturer's pushing their gear). FM is unaffected, although we have to use a transmitter certified for that particular use. So, in effect, FM is actually better suited in Canada than AM.
Artisan Radio, the little radio station I run on Bowen, has been able to achieve a 1 km range on FM under ideal conditions (line of sight to the antenna, good car radio) which suited us fine, as our listening audience was a little village - Snug Cove - and the ferry lineup which ran through it. That range drops significantly, of course, with any obstacles in the path to the receiving antenna (we're still only operating with output less than a millwatt).
If you want to use copyrighted material and broadcast over the airwaves, you need a license from SOCAN (our music watchdog), even operating under these rules. Currently, there is no such requirement for that license if you are streaming over the web, but that is likely going to change shortly, according to my contacts in the industry. Artisan Radio is now only streaming over the web - both in Windows Media format and Streaming MP3 - as I closed down the store we were originally operating in. That will change in the near future, when we relocate to the Cove (and so we've retained our SOCAN license).
You can listen to us at www.artisanradio.com, or, if you're ever up on Bowen, tune into either FM 99.7 or 103.9 when you get off the ferry (I'm unsure which will be used when we move there).