Placing metal on the roof could be serious if the wind blows a sheet of metal up into the air.
Yes, if your signal sounds really decent 5 miles away you're much more noticable and probably in violation. Bu.....
Bob, It DID really sound strong and clear the next island over 5 miles away.. during my original install at the pavilion with it's grounding system as my ground (and elevated ground plane).
But it also scared the crap out of me, I didn't want that kind of distance, I knew there was no way it could legally fly.
I'm not interested in being perceived as a pirate. What would be ideal is to cover the 2 miles of the island with a legal install (most probably having to utilize a second Rangemaster when funds allow).
My initial objective is to install the first transmitter on the north end, in what is known as the 'business district' here, and call it something like "Tybee's North End Broadcast.. -work out the bugs, establish some kind of programing schedule, recruit voice volunteers, and get local establishments and organizations involved.
Then once a sense of professionalism and structure is accomplished, purchase a second transmitter on the south end, get a business license, and go commercial within the confines of the island.
That's the objective anyway.
And Ken, to answer your question; yes, I can still set the station back up on the pier - and have considered that.. and might even do it. But there's a weird situation with that, which could cause difficulties later when I plan to make the station a for profit..
I don't know how to explain it exactly, but the pier and pavilion don't really belong to Tybee, it belongs to Chatham County.. They built it, they paid for it, and although maintained locally, Chatham County still pays for that maintenance. Any special events permits taking place there has to be got from the Chatham County - not Tybee.
So if I were to set up on the pier, (which I can, I just happen to have associations with the right people), but when the time comes to go commercial and get a business license, I would have to go thru Chatham County and not Tybee - which potentially opens up a whole can of worms. Getting a city license would be so much less hassle.
And here's another twist.. Tybee Island is.. I forget the word, I think its "incorporated"(?).. Chatham County goverment rulings have little jurisdiction here.. as a matter of fact the only thing Chatham County does really have control over on Tybee is the pier and pavilion...
Well, I don't understand it all to well myself, but you get my point.
But as far as setting up wireless to feed the transmitter.. I am toying with that idea, not for the pier, but for a chimney on a almost 3 story apt building across the street from where I'm to put my studio.
But if I do do that, it won't be immediately.
I tell you what; this forum is so invaluable to me. Not only does it supply such pertinent and valuable information, but it gives me a place to air my contemplations with people that comprehend the subject.
"....it shouldn't be too difficult or expensive to establish a wireless audio connection from your new studio location to that building...."
Ken, in an old post you said something about planing to experiment with using this: http://www.ccrane.com/antennas/wifi-antennas/point-to-point-wifi-antenna.aspx
How did that ever pan out?
On a whim, I just ran a search for converting satellite dishes to wi-fi, and found this interesting project..
http://www.ab9il.net/wlan-projects/wifi3.html
I can think of about 5 unused satellite dishes - just of the top of my head; sitting like a giant useless paperweights on top of houses.. people don't generally bother to take them down after they switch to comcast or whoever.
Matter of fact there is a dead one up on our roof right now, don't know when it was originally installed.
Just a thought.
Wonder if there any use for the direct tv satellite receiver boxes? I know where a few of them are too!
When I operated a commercial recording business I never had a business license because I was NOT open to the public and did not have any store or office located where people could just walk in. The business was private by word of mouth and by appointment only. You could say I was a sub-contractor for each client. My attorney never made a comment about this.
In your case, if the transmitter were in the remote town but your actual station is in your home town, it would seem to me you would only actually be doing business in your home town, with non-public facilities (transmitter) in the remote town.
We have a 50kW AM station with towers and studios in a farm yard in Illinois, licensed to serve St. Louis and Festus in Missouri, with an office in St. Louis. Do they need a business license in all those places? I doubt it. Probably only for the public office, if there. A radio station office is not actually open to public customers.
My comments are not legal advice, but are intended to say that your assumptions need to be checked out.
Carl your kind of losing me when talking about my remote town and home town.. I think you may have misread my post - or I miswrote it. But no, this is just one place, it's just that the pier is under another jurisdiction.
As far as the need for a business license.. Well, true, I am making assumptions and haven't actually inquired the matter at all, but I can't imagine the city just letting me sell ads as a business without a license!
However, the thought of 'subcontractor' is intriguing, but my gut reaction tells me it wouldn't fly.
But really, looking at the whole picture.. business license is the least of concerns.
Just change my use of the word "town" to the word you used, "jurisdiction."
I will withdraw from this particular part of the discussion, because I'm not qualified to give real business law advice, but you may also be worried needlessly about attracting unwanted attention by running commercial ads. Thousands of people run all kinds of businesses and services from their home or from some small place, and I don't think anyone is investigating them.
The very best thing to do is find an attorney that understands what you want to do, and get his advice. But select the lawyer with care. I had an attorney help me start a non-profit, and he couldn't comprehend what "public radio" was, and exactly what we intended to do. He got our organization incorporated, but I called in a university communications specialist to explain to the IRS what it was. They couldn't understand the attorney because he didn't understand the subject.
Life is complicated unless you turn to church, then it gets simple (tongue in cheek).
Rich, wi-fi is also governed by Part 15 rules. They're somewhat different for the 2.4 Ghz band, but you should check it out, much like Part 15 AM.
Rich, I did not mean to imply yours is a Pirate station. Rather, for a legal operation the FCC would consider the range inappropriate under the rules even though Part 15.209 and 15.219 do not regulate based upon range. Just because a signal can be heard doesn't necessarily mean its field strength is over the limit and Part 15.219 is not regulated by field strength anyway.
The primary concern of Part 15 is to mitigate interference and of course restricting a transmitting systems range is an easy way to accomplish that. But, if there is no interference there is no problem. I don't see anything in Part 15 to protect an others revenue unless their signal is being interfered with. This is not to imply we should violate the rules, but FCC action just because someone doesn't want to hear us is just not right.
Of course we have to comply with the rules but personally I feel that if a Part 15 station is not interfering with any other service it's a victimless crime to be heard and doesn't warrant any type of action. For someone to file a complaint based solely upon the fact that they can hear a signal where they don't want to is a waste of time for all parties involved.
I came here tonight to say something in particular, but having seen MRAM's comments I would also like to add to what he said.
I have always thought, and it seems like common sense, that if someone picks up a station on a radio they will ordinarily have no idea where it's coming from, for all they know it might be from another city. The only way a station would seem odd is if it broadcast something very peculiar that bothered the listener, then they might start wondering.
The number of persons in-the-know who might recognize an unusual station is very few, and even fewer still whose shoes are too tight so that they feel like being Russian and reporting on someone.
Now to my intended remark. It is snowing very aggressively, and the AM signal reach always gets great in the snow, so I'm staying on later than usual with the idea of reaching listeners in the out skirts.
Looking back, I think things have been misconstrued. Rich is on an small island, like me. I looked it up, it's a small beach town, something like the former fishing village/meeting place where I live. But, of course, my town grew to the horrific population of, umm, about 1800 today.
Anyway, since Rich's old mount point metal roof beach building may not be available because of political jurisdiction (I was just hoping he could set up a wireless STL), I believe the issue is how to get as much legal range as possible in the new location, a non-metal roof top a block away from the original mount point.
Will setting a bunch of radials on the roof work? What are the ramifications of above ground radials? Should he instead nail down aluminum (or whatever) sheets on the roof (no leaks)? Should they be ground or counterpoise?
Will any of that get more legal range?
I'm just hoping to help clarify the issues so we can avoid the spin, running off down bunny trails.
Well Thanks Ken, Yeah, that's what I said.
This new location may not be ideal, but it's available, and one I'm going to try. I don't know whether to expect 2 blocks or a mile. But one clear advantage is that it will cover the main business district, however not hearing it across the island is a downer.
I know it just takes gettin-down and trying things to know what will work, but gathering a set of guidelines ahead of time is a substantial start.
"Ken, in an old post you said something about planing to experiment with using this: http://www.ccrane.com/antennas/wifi-antennas/point-to-point-wifi-antenna.. ."
Sorry, I missed that message.
Well, it's a finances thing again. To do the whole system I was thinking about would require a base station, 4 of those P2P dishes, a couple of bullets, and a couple Barix Exstreamers ... I could use computers, but I want the two satellites to operate on solar-charged battery-powered systems.
Plus various cables and connectors, and solar chargers and batteries.
If I go with 2 Rangemasters, I'm looking at around $3000 investment, not including the station I want to set up in Roche Harbor. So it may be awhile before I can come up with anything like that ... but thanks for asking 😉