For my 3 meter FS tests I'll be in an open field well more than several hundred feet away from anything but the Earth itself.
There may be some confusion about the "3 meter" spec defined in FCC §15.239.
That 3-meter distance applies to the path length between the radiation centers of the transmit and receive antennas themselves -- not to a 3-meter elevation of the radiation centers of those antennas above the earth at any arbitrary distance in the horizontal plane.
Yes. There will be precisely three meters between the transmit and FIM receive antenna. Potomac indicates the receive antenna for the unit is intended to be used 7 feet from the Earth.
My comment quoted above was to mean that I will be far from any likely reflector of sich a meger signal.
TIB
I'd be delighted if he could site that specific rule. I'm aware of different rules for college carrier current stations on AM, but absolutely nothing for FM, and I strongly doubt that every summer camp qualifies as a "campus" anyway. I would think that if the statement above were true, there would be some sort of reference to that fact in the FCC rules and that they woudn't expect colleges and universities to simply "know" this secret rule. I would also think it to be quite a challenge to tailor your signal pattern to not leave the property in any given direction at a strength exceeding the rule.
But then he said there wasn't an actual rule permitting it, and that it was "unlikely" to receive a NOUO for the violation? It's OK to break the rules if it's unlikely to get caught then? That does seem to be an odd stance for that group. Being unlikely to get caught does not make for a new rule.
TIB
I noticed the same thing over there, Rich.
In some of their earlier posts it seemed like they actually believed that campus rules included FM, then, realizing the error, began spinning so as to retrospectively make themselves right to begin with.
Who would have thought that if you had a campus your field strength is 250 uV/m @ 3 meters beyond your campus no matter where the transmitter is inside the campus. OK well that sheds some light. So you could have a campus 1 mile or 2 square miles and you put an FM transmitter right in the middle that transmits a mile and your safe from any action. Well all you have to do is get your property considered as an institution where you teach Radio. What if someone in your family was a professor and since they have a teaching degree they set up Radio classes in your house and maybe get a few houses in your block in on this. I know its a long shot but this is what I mean by fudge factor here.
Tim I can't wait till we can get real tests on field strength with certified FM transmitters so we can see how the real world receives these transmitters at full 250 uV/m @ 3 meters. Yes AM is looking like its easier for hobby broadcasting. I may advertise when I get a good AM transmitter up and running. If I get better results than FM I'll probably use AM most of the time and use the low power mode on my FM transmitter just to transmit stuff like the ALPB meeting from one room to the other and it won't leave my house. All may be better we'll soon see with the Talking House AM Transmitter for now. I'll feel less like my butt is in a sling with the 100mW Talking House Transmitter. Reports are 1-2 miles with this. Well its still more than a FM transmitter even if 1/2 watt even became legal which I don't think will happen anytime soon. The AM Stereo mod too is of interest to me but I want to see what this thing could do for getting me listeners. I'll advertise then at the library and places around me once this is Rocking.
I witnessed a carrier current AM broadcast station on a KOA campground that played horrible banjo music but was covering the whole campground.
Every hour or so the station would stop playing the banjo music and announce this is KOA Radio and then give announcements about camp ground prices, weather reports then the looped banjo would start all over again.
How big was the KOA camp? We have one of those in Elizabeth City, NC. I wonder if they have the same sort of set up there? If I ever go there I'll have to check it out. I only heard about the camp from other folks that went there. Yea I'll have to see if there is a station there. Too bad however that they don't really have like a format or something. If you are gonna play the banjo stuff what they could have done is played Bluegrass music on the KOA Radio station. Maybe even have different formats every so many hours. Lots of folks like Oldies so that would have been a good format or even Classic Country for the older folks who like to camp out. They could hear the latest happenings at the camp and what not. Maybe even have it where folks could come down and broadcast. Now that would be neat. I wonder how hard that carrier current station was to set up? Don't you have to wire it into the 210 portion of the current? I'm sure you can't just find a coupler that plugs into the standard 120 or 110 VAC. How far could you pick it up on say a Car Radio?
A small panasonic AM-FM radio picked it up all around the campgrounds, knowing KOA it probably had more than 100 campsites. Most with some type of hookup for RV's as well as lighting and other ammenities.
Coverage was most of the park as i recall, i am 48 yrs young now and this was around the time i was 13 or 14 yrs old. Not sure where the KOA was, somewhere in Ohio i guess.
The voice announcements sounded professional , the music however sounded like it was played on wind up victrola and the microphone was shoved in the horn of it. Just not very good at all.
On another subject , kind of lol
My wife and I are ordained ministers, does that mean we can get some kind of tax break and extra field stregnth if we claim to be a church? How about we call it The Church of the Almighty Radio Gods?
One can only dream.
The Reverends Barry and Stephanie, jot me down as members of your Church of Radio Gods! I want to worship at your tower!
Now, about camps.
In the modern world, camp grounds are intended for getting away from the city, goind back to nature. Why would there be radio in a nature getaway?
If you add enough features to the camp taken from city life, you'll have a city.
i have heard the little tid bid from various sources that the FCC inspectors only measure at the property line and if you are at or under 250uV/m@3m from the property boundary they will pass you regardless of how it is wriiten under 15.239. has something to do with property rights i don't know the specific details but i have heard this from more than a few sources who understand part 15 very well. i think they take the interpretation as your antenna being your property boundary versus a physical antenna. i think it might be a little different for schools and campuses because they are actually legally allowed to go onto semi public places such as school campuses versus not being allowed to trespass on privately owned property and before you refer to refer to the don imus bust for running large transmitters on his ranch many years back he got busted because even though it was intended to only cover his ranch it was well over 1000uV/m@3 beyond his ranch boundaries that is also another unofficial fcc fudge factor they typically don't initiate an action if you are under 1000uV/m@3m from what ever they consider the radiation source be it a property boundary, or physical antenna. and again these fudge factors vary from agent to agent the same as they do with part 15 am. here in denver they will likely go by my previous statements versus that oregon agent who throws the book at you if you are 1uV over. it would be quite nice if they would just allow 100uV/m @ 100m the same as canada does and also have it written into the rules that the measurements be taken from the property boundary and this should apply equally to apartment complexes, camp grounds, trailer parks, resideential single dwelling properties, churches, board walks at the shore, schools, etc.
it won't raise the interference potential to stations or the listening puplic substabtially and will allow for much more broader economical use and applications for part 15 fm hobby radio.
KC8GPD Said: "and before you refer to refer to the don imus bust for running large transmitters on his ranch many years back he got busted because even though it was intended to only cover his ranch it was well over 1000uV/m@3 beyond his ranch boundaries..."
I asked: Where you get this information?
iirc, it was in radio world shortly after the incident or it might have been on ARNewsline. i forget which.
Don Imus Ranch Gets Visit From FCC
It looks like the FCC has been focusing on bigger fish in the pirate sea. On Monday morning, nationally syndicated radio talk show host Don Imus announced on his radio program that the FCC made him shut down a low-power FM transmitter on his cattle ranch near Ribera, N.M., 50 miles northeast of Santa Fe. An unlikely pirate, Imus had installed the FM transmitter so his ranch-hands could listen to an Internet simulcast of his radio show, which originates in New York and is not carried locally in New Mexico. It’s not clear just how much wattage Imus’s unlicensed station was running, but Don claims it couldn’t be heard oustide his seven-mile-wide ranch property.
On his Monday program Imus vowed to have frequent guest, incoming Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. John McCain (R-Ariz.), place a call to Colin Powell’s son to resolve the matter. As Imus producer Bernard McGuirk pointed out on air, the Commerce Committee oversees the FCC, and Imus said McCain is known for “follow-through,” unlike another occasional guest, Sen. Domenici (R-N.M.), in whose state transmitter was located.
Back in 2000, Sen. McCain came out as the only republican senator to strongly support the FCC’s creation of a licensed low-power FM radio service, and floated serveral unsuccessful pieces of legislation that attempted to broaden its reach. However, these rules would do Imus no good because has no license.
An FCC spokesman said any transmitter that wasn’t licensed and exceeded a certain geographic range would be in violation of law regardless of wattage and would be subject to removal, although he didn’t know specifics of the Imus case.
i don't believe his claim that it could not be heard beyond his property boundaries and the fcc nov or nouo does not seem to exist on the fcc's website. i believe he called in some high placed favors and made it go away.