I just walked down to West Hartford
Center and went into a place and got
a sandwich.
Everything looks OK at me.
Bruce
Good news from Hartford, Connecticut, no sign of time ending at this time...
predictions may have been premature.
All activities will resume following a brief moment of murmering.
The ALPB may have saved us again.
Right on!!!
You have to advertise your station or no one will know you are there. Here in Canada we can get 4x the FM signal strength than the US and even if a 15 story apt. building is right across the street and houses all around the block no one will listen unless they know you are there. I don't agree that internet radio is replacing regular radio because few people listen to any radio at home. "Part 15" radio in no good in a car because you are in and out of the signal area too fast. Better in one location in the coverage area.
The extended bands is good but all new radios have to have the extended frequency range for it to be any good.
I think 4000uV/M for FM would be OK for a good signal in a large neighbourhood or small town.
Mark
Yeah Canada is lucky. But, down here we have to deal with asinine rules. But, we're working on fixing that clearly. I really hope that the shortwave catches on more. Reason is that you can cover states with just 1 watt.
I've been meaning to reply to this for some time but haven't had time, perhaps now is the time.
First of all internet radio is NOT destroying broadcast radio. Please present figures showing this. There aren't any. I know because I'm involved in commercial broadcast radio, Part 15 radio AND internet broadcasting.
The two commercial stations I work for have been experiencing a substantial rise in listenership over the past 3-5 years along with steady increases in revenue. I've been in the industry for 41 years. I've seen all the trends.
As for the constant barrage of "radio today sucks and part 15 has to save it". Umm, not all radio today sucks. Without even trying I could rattle off a list of two dozen locally owned, locally programmed stations that are very vital in their communities. Successful operations that are committed to their audience. Operations with local staff, local programming, local news, and local political interviews, that carry local sports in the evenings which endears them to their communities and schools and generates a ton of good will and ad revenue.
Now, I can also rattle off a list of commercial stations owned by big corporations like Cumulus, Clear Channel and others. Stations with minimal involvement in communities, stations that blast what many of us consider to be "crappy" music. However, these stations have the same business goal as the smaller privately operated stations and that is to make money. How does a station make money? By selling ads. How do they sell ads? By demonstrating that they have huge numbers of listeners. Which is what they have. You and I, as Part 15 broadcasters do not see this as we want to basically offer what the private stations do, but don't have the cash bo buy a 5 million dollar existing 100,000 watt FM and run it the way we want. Know what? if we DID, we'd go broke most likely. Because to generate the revenue to operate a station like that you need a crapload of listeners and a ton of revenue. You won't get that offering what WE believe to be "quality" programming. To get those numbers you have to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Your odds of being able to change the midset and education of thousands of listeners to come over to your way of quality programming isn't likely, when they want to hear the top 40 over and over. Remember too the general public doesn't listen to radio in the saame mindset that we do.
I caution against all these ideas of more power for Part 15, and FCC petitions and all that. Do you REALLY think even for a SECOND that if the FCC granted Part 15 even a teensy weensy bit more power that it wouldn't come with more regulation? OK, so they give you half a watt. Or maybe a watt. On AM. But then they throw in EAS requirements, station ID requirements, office hours requirements, a yearly proof of performance, maybe some rules on political advertising, etc. You REALLY want that?
What Part 15'ers need to do is reach out as best they can into their actual coverage area. Now, this is easy for me as I live in a town 5 blocks wide and 1/4 mile long. I cover the whole town easily. And the adjacent little town. Potential audience if EVERYONE who could listen did, would be about 4,000 people. But there's virtually NO interference here. But even if you're in a big city and cover a 6 block radius with your signal make darn sure everyone in that 6 block radius knows you're on the air. Put up flyers. Contact every store, shop, church, club, etc in the area and tell them they can have air time for their bake sales, meetings, stores, etc. Sell ads, or don't. Put up signs. Do what you can to make sure that the potential audience you have knows they can listen to you instead of those big ugly corporate stations. Show up at the church fundraiser, or the YMCA kids basketball game, do some interviews, play them, become ingrained in your community as part of the action. YOU have the UNIQUE ability to become involved on a person to person level with your potential listeners that no bigger, commercial station can do simply because they'd have to talk to thousands of listeners on a personal level and that's just not possible. Offer to broadcast a recording of the local church service -- have the minister bring it to you on a CD, or upload it, etc. You'll get every person in that church knowing who you are. You'll get mentioned in the church bulliten. AWARENESS is the KEY. This is how local commercial radio stations do it, just not on the smaller personal level.
You want listeners? Broadcast what they want to hear. I'm in the midst of writing a long article on programming a Part 15. If you want to broadcast what YOU like, great. Just don't expect the masses to have the same taste. If you want to be the "Punk Rocker Music Mutha" station, great but out of 600 potential listeners in your neighborhood probably 4 will want to hear that. See what's NOT available in the area and meet that. You're not going to succeed by copying the format of a commercial station in the area.
Also, when people talk about more power and better stations, how you gonna staff that sucker? I read about how these corporate stations and their on air juke boxes are so horrible. So, how do you staff your Part 15? Do you beat them at their own game with a staff of 4 or 6 or more around the clock live announcers? Or are you running a computer like they are? EVeryone bitches about how corporate radio has no live shows, etc. But their Part 15 will be or is SO much better. Really? We have a hard enough time maintaining staff for our local commercial stations where we PAY people to work (and we pay pretty good) and we STILL have shifts open. Where you gonna get those announcers? Don't make promises you can't follow up on. Now, granted my station is a computer. But I also make great efforts to incorporate a ton of local announcements, PSA's and news. Commercials change regularly and it's always updated. With over 4,000 carefully chosen tunes in the regular rotation, a polka show, a gospel show, and a modern country music show, it's pretty darn diversified with very little repetition. Are you prepared to broadcast weather emergencies, Amber alerts, and EAS events? I've read here that the big commercial juke box stations don't. Well, they MUST have working EAS equipment installed and stations get fined regularly for infractions in this department. If you're NEVER hearing them it's VERY possible that NO actual alert was issued. i've been on the air in commercial stations for 42 years and think I've had maybe 4 genuine EAS/EBS alerts happen. These were all impending tornados. Hows your "better" Part 15 going to get these on? Got a staff round the clock so when something happens they can get right on the air? Maybe it's YOU. Ever go to the store? Leave the house/station? Then you're not there to broadcast the emergency.
I think we'd be far more successful by not worrying about getting more power and all that and instead putting that effort into making sure EVERYONE in your coverage area KNOWS you're THERE.
You can't BELIEVE the town talk I generated by putting a station office on Main Street with a BIG sign above the door. Now, we've added an LED message sign with frequency, station name, etc in the window -- and the neon sign is still being made. EVERYONE will at LEAST know we're here.
Be careful what you ask for from the FCC. You may get it someday, along with 200 pages of new regulations.
Before you worry about that be sure you're doing everything you can with what you have.
The internet will NOT be the death of radio.
We all hate corporate radio. Millions of listeners don't. Hence their success.
Look at all the Part 15's that stream. Are THEY part of the demise of radio? They probably have more stream listeners than over the air!
I doscovered last night that putting in the office downtown, that the guy next door had NO idea we existed, when he saw the sign he tuned in. He LOVES it, and his MOM loves it. She can't here us 9 miles away where she lives, so now she comes over to HIS house to listen to us!
Work with what you've got and you may be surprised.
Tim in Bovey
Part 15 radio is making some people
happy. I think that's good enough!
If you can get listeners in your coverage
area, then good for you! I had one loyal
listener when my station was on. That was
good enough for me! (And he was pretty far
away, which was cool.)
About 7 or 8 miles
from here there is a Class D AM that is
500 watts, day only. (A few watts at night,
but we won't count that.) They are 2 tower
directional, AWAY from me. They have a great
format. It's soul and R&B oldies. I really like it
because I heard a lot of the songs when I was
young. But it's a "jukebox." Is anybody listening?
Maybe, maybe not. Maybe MICRO1700 (my station)
had more listeners (one) than this Class D has
sometimes. (Zero????) Who knows? They
sure aren't selling any air time. It's a shame.
There is a story about the first UHF TV station
in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was on channel
43 in the 1950s. The people at the station began
to wonder if nobody(!) was watching. So they held
a one hundred dollar bill up to the camera, and
said - "Call us, and we'll give you the 100 dollars!"
Nobody called!! And 100.00 dollars was a real lot
of money in the late 1950s.
So just think. All those people working there.
NO VIEWERS. So now does it seem that bad
if your Part 15 station only has a few listeners
sometimes? Heck - I think that's great!
I really like listening to you guys that stream!
I can appreciate that you have Part 15 set-ups
you are working with, and that's is good enough
for me. And Artisan and Johnny C - you are not
in the U.S. - but you are still radio guys with radio
transmitters. I think that's great. And I appreciate
what you guys are doing - just like I appreciate what
everyone else here is doing.
I think Tim is right on the nose about a Part 15 rule
change. Raise power? Be careful what you wish for -
you may get it! Who knows what the FCC might tack
onto that rule change. Oh my, I don't even want to
think about it.
There are so many other things I could say. We have
2 local stations - an AM Class D (not the one mentioned
above) and a 40 watt FM. These stations are connected
right into their local areas. They both do great!
The small FM is really one to note. They have 2 transmitters.
One is 20 watts up on a hill, and the other is 40 watts
in the downtown area. These guys just raised 5000 dollars
in a marathon. Actually, $5000 was the goal. They got
more than that! They are not an LPFM - they are just
a small FM with 2 transmitters. These are the guys I
have mentioned before - they are special because they
have a beautiful storefront studio! You walk by, and
there they are!
(This is an added comment a little later on - it's not
quite in the right part of the post - but you'll get the
idea.)
I talked to a student at our local university who said
he Never listened to radio stations ever. He just
listened to music online or from his "mobile device."
I said -
Are you sure? What about the morning? He
paused, shrugged, and said - "Oh yeah, I have
to listen in the morning on the way to classes
in my car, or I won't know what's going on."
He had forgotten that. So I think broadcast
radio is still of a lot of use to more people
than we think.
Look what the Part 15 board here has done! We have
made a lot of great friends and we have 2 LPFMs starting
up! Wow! How great is that?
I think what we are doing is great - not to mention
the incredible technical knowledge that comes out
here.
My life is REALLY complicated. I am so
glad to come over here once in a while.
Bruce
Good post Tim. Agreed.
Different people go into Part 15 radio for different reasons.
I ran a Part 15 (Canadian version) on Bowen Island for several years. I attempted to play what some wanted. I ran news and commercials and local stuff (such as tapings of Amateur Hour at the local coffee house). And while it was a marginal success on the island, it became more of a job (a somewhat enjoyable one, but still a job).
Now I play what I want to play. I still have some listeners (those who run across me on the Internet, or tuning around locally), and that's great, but they're really secondary. I listen. I enjoy.
And that's good enough for me.
Tim- I must say you wrote a lot, and did make very good points. Working with what you got is the name of the game, considering my finacial stand point. More to post later, I must get going.
In reply to post 10.
TV channel 5 and 6 are not going to be turned over to FM. There is a reverse/incentive auction where the FCC hopes to free up a good chunk of the “600 MHz block” by indirectly letting wireless carriers buy out TV stations. TV stations have options ranging from going dark, to moving to VHF (high or low), to channel sharing, to doing nothing. There is a financial incentive for a TV station to do anything that frees up UHF space. VHF low (CHs 2-6) is terrible for digital TV, but there is at least one type of station that will flock there with the upcoming incentive auction: the 24/7 (other than meeting E/I requirements) infomercial station. Religious full power TV stations may also flock to VHF-low.
An infomercial station relies on must carry to get their signal on cable and satellite carriers in their market (as do most full power religious broadcasters). A requirement to be eligible for must carry is to have a full power TV license.
The wireless companies (through the FCC) are offering cash for stations to leave UHF. An infomercial (or religious) station will “take the money and run”. By moving to a VHF-low station, they can have their cake and eat it too. They get a fist full of cash and they keep their must carry status.
So for all the broadcasters who rely on having a license to use must carry to get into the cable headend or satellite uplink, VHF-low looks like the place to be. That type of broadcaster doesn’t care if their OTA signal is usable, they know they reach enough viewers using must carry. As an added bonus for that type of broadcaster, the electric bill for a VHF-low transmitter is much lower than for a UHF transmitter with the same (on paper) service area.
Like it or not, money controls spectrum, and money says 5 and 6 (76-88 MHz) stay in use by DTV. Not just any money, but AT&T/Verizon money.
Wow! Is the must-carry rule still around? I thought that went the way of deregulation..