could i use a part 15 fm translator??

you can, as long as the translator station operates legally under the part 15 rules and regulation, there should be no problem with it.

ok awsome 🙂 ibeen broadcasting for 6 years abut a covergae of 1-2mile on fm but its because i live in a tall building and ihave a antena outside.....
but now it will be awsome haveing translator

This may or may not be of concern here...

Sorry, but just to point out that any unlicensed FM transmit system meeting FCC Part 15.239 (whether considered to be a main station or a translator) could not provide useful, consistently receivable signals to an average, indoor, consumer-level FM receiver beyond a radius of several hundred feet from the transmit antenna, no matter how high above the earth the transmit antenna is located.

PS: Apologies to all those who see this post as repetitious on this board. But it might be the first time that some readers are exposed to this information, and it could be useful/important to them.

"it might be the first time that some readers are exposed to this information, and it could be useful/important to them."

This is absolutely correct, and agree with Rich that some may not be aware of the changes that took place in Part 15.239 back in 1989.

Not long ago, some 23 years ago...my station was a prince...a tower of power. Signals could legally reach 1000 feet (+/-) with the 250uV field strength.

Then suddenly a devious group decided that flea signals were a threat to their well underway agenda of taking over the airwaves. They lobbied and pushed and prodded and convinced both Congress and the FCC that such a signal caused such harmful interference that birds would collide with airplanes and whales would swallow Typhoon Class submarines.

Since then, the distance at which the 250uV field strength limit was reduced to the couple hundred feet as noted earlier.

The only "non-beefed" FM that I know of that was cited was a recent operator of a Ramsey 25c feeding a Ramsey Tru-Match antenna. That was recent I think. All the other FM busts have been setups running several watts to several kilowatts.

In the wider prospective of balancing public interest and legal obligations of both preventing interference and operating within the specifications of 15.239, and taking into account of other Part 15 devices labeled as "Non-Intentional Radiator" blanking out radios and possibly the cause of public safety communications at intersections and near other "hi-tech" LED billboard signs, a 50mW FM signal reaching a mile + is no reason nor any worthwhile effort for the FCC to be concerned with.

There are licensed operations out there right now violating the law FAR more severely than this 50mW station.

Not trying to say ignore Rich's point because it is valid no matter which way anyone wishes to see it, including me.

But even I believe that a 50mW FM signal is incredibly tiny..both station coverage wise and level of violation of federal law.

Changes can take place only if enough go after it.

RFB

ireally dont anderstand ya guys........
ibeen 6 years on the air and everything has been good with the part 15 rules

What they are politly trying to tell you is that if your tranmitter has a range of 2 miles you in violation of FCC Rules as your signal is higher than the law allows without a license and you're lucky the FCC has not paid you a visit.

In past postings on part 15 compliant FM broadcasting I recall that a ballpark output power that might be encountered is around 5mW.

Up above we note that kcbradiofm has output power of 50mW, which could be brought into compliance with a very poorly matched or small antenna, but with a proper antenna would most likely go over the top.

Something to keep in mind, however, is that kcbradiofm transmits from a "high building", the exact height of which is unspecified, the FCC takes its field strength measurements down on the ground, so I'm not sure what they would find.

However, the claimed several mile range doesn't sound like something the FCC would allow.

One way to find out for sure is to continue operation, which may never result in an inspection, or, if a NOUO (Notice of Unauthorized Operation) letter is received by mail, shut down at that time and follow the instructions in the letter.

And on top of all that, please come back and give us a report of the experience.

Point Two, going back to the opening question, "Can You Operate a Part 15 Translator". Our answer was not literal because we didn't take the question literally. We allowed that a normal compliant part 15 transmitter could be informally called a "translator", but it would not be the same status as a licensed FM translator.

I recall that in 1972 or 1973
the FCC did their first really
big clamp down on Part 15 emissions
between 88 and 108 MHz.

I had bought an FM wireless mike from
Radio Shack in about 1971, and it put
out a whopping signal. I went back
to get another one in 1973 (?), and the
guy behind the counter told me not to
buy it - that the rules had changed for the worse.
There was a "new" wireless mike made by
Radio Shack at that point, and it put
out a puny signal. I bought it anyway,
and yup - it only went about 30 to 50 feet.
The previous mike slammed out a signal way
way way down my street. (This first mike
was the Radio Shack FM-90 - one of our members
produced a picture of the actual unit not
too far back.)

Does anybody else remember this rule change that
took place?

Buy the way, I feel bad having to say that the
permitted emissions are so small now.

250 uV per meter at 3 meters. It's not much.

Back in 1970, we all assumed that 100 mW input
was what we had to play with. We also weren't
thinking of the antenna gain then, either.

i would love to go back to those days.

Bruce, GNAT 90.9, SLUG 88.3, MOSQUITO 1020 CC testing again

The Sludge Radio Network

A radio engineer genius I knew in the 1980s built me a 3-transistor FM transmitter with an output of about 1-Watt. I stuck a VHF TV antenna up in the attic of the 2-story house way up on a hill, and every Saturday night, 1-mile away, a minister and his wife tuned in and we jabbered by telephone as my special program of comedy and wild talk went from me to them at 88.1 mHz. In those days that frequency belonged to a 10-Watt high school that only went on during after school extra curricular hours.

Despite working in pro radio I was rather dim on FCC rules because I was generally an "announcer" and not a technician.

88.1mHz was taken up by a 50kW station so I junked my 1-Watter and went on to what was to be "the future", which rapidly became "the past".

Today, 2012, I look at that FM band on the spectrum analyzer and I see a massive squirming heap of pulsing signals, all trying to outrace bankruptcy. Before talking about expanding the FM band we should expect it to become a blighted mall parking lot ready for new part 15 rules.

prior to 89 rule change our fm limits were the same as canadas. 100uV/m @ 30m which was equiv. to 1mV/m @ 3m

LPB along with NAB screwed that pooch for us.

well my radio station is in a public building
were am 100 ft high
and everybody here in ct and also the radio stations are helping mhe with this 🙂

What a Croc Of S''' that is! now if your signal is going 1-2 miles and you havent been caught, you can still broadcast and having good coverage for several miles if you get your field strength lower than the legal limit! the key is getting your field stregenth lower than the legal limit to broadcast, the farther the signal will go!