More General Questions

Hi RickE76 : You can use 107.3 MHz FM for your part 15 transmitter since you have checked out that frequency and found it is not used by a licensed station. The frequency would also be available to another part 15 broadcaster if they found it and decided to use it, but that almost never happens because part 15 stations are usually not very close together geographically. Even if another part 15 station chose that frequency, you could negotiate with them and agree to find separate frequencies so you don't interfere with each other.

If a new licensed station started using 107.3, you would need to move. That happened to me. I was on 101.9 MHz for several years, but a new licensed transmitter signed on and I had to move.

For naming your station, here is a rule located in Part 73 of the Rules:

73.3550 (1) Users of unlicensed, low power devices operating under Part 15 of this chapter MAY USE WHATEVER IDENTIFICATION IS CURRENTLY DESIRED, so long as propriety is observed and no confusion results with a station for which the FCC issues a license.

Let the fun begin.

thanks Carl. I will post as I get the equipment and station setup. i will probably need help as to which forums to post in as to not clog up the General Discussion Board or what not. The next question have is can I do advertising for money to help pay expenses and for new or more equipment or is that frowned upon? Not like I am looking to get rich or anything but from what I remember from my buddies that had Amature Radio setup is it can get expensive.

RickE76 : You are looking ahead and forming a plan, and if you play it slow and careful, you can build a high quality low power part 15 radio station without spending too much money.

But naturally if you talk to equipment suppliers, they will want to sell you a lot of very expensive equipment, but you don't need it.

Step by step.

Expense No. 1 is the transmitter. You need the transmitter, so that's a necessary expense.

You mentioned streaming, so you probably have a computer. The computer can do a lot of the work of expensive broadcast equipment, simply by using the sound hardware already inside the computer; and there is plenty of free (open source) audio software that can do everything.

There are good inexpensive voice microphones that either plug in to the audio port or the USB port, study before buying.

Hundreds of radio programs and tons of music can be found free and copyright free, and this website already has loads of information and you can always ask for ideas.

Set it up simple to start, then improve as you learn more about what you need.

Carl missed the rest of your question..

..can I do advertising for money to help pay expenses and for new or more equipment..

The answer is yes, at least as far as the FCC is concerned. However, since doing so would put you in the posistion of providing a service as a business, you may have to aquire a business licence from the city you live to operate (s0mething like an "entertainment licence" simiular to what a bar DJ, or even a jukebox would require. An alternative method would be to operate non-profit, and receive donation or sponsorship as payments, thus eliminating the need of a city licence.. maybe some form of permit would be required as an organization- I'm not sure..
To me it seems simplest to just pay a city licence for entertainment as the yearly cost is usually less than $100 a year, depending on your local city or county requirements

And by the way, all that being said.. I really think it's a poor choice to choose FM for what you wish to do. There is just no legal way accomplish range.. doubtful you could even be heard a block away.

AM is the way to go, the potential provides so much more to work with.

Many thanks Rich Powers for picking up where I wandered away and skipped the question about commercial operation.

Everything Rich said is, of course, good advice. Yet, I have different experience.

I began running a commercial recording studio in 1961 and kept it running until 2000 and never had a business license. I think the difference is made by whether your business is open for the public to walk in during business hours.

My business was by private appointment only and the public could not walk in.

Many family businesses I know do not have business licenses for much the same reason... a roofing family has mom doing bookkeeping, setting appointments with call-in clients, and her two sons are the roofers.

My nephew works for a painter who runs out of his home, his wife takes calls and sets appointments, and all the work takes place at the customer location.

For a part 15 station if you go out and call on prospective clients in their office, you probably don't need a business license.

The best possible way to be sure is to see a carefully chosen attorney. Beware of sharks who charge money and give bad advice. Selecting a trustworthy attorney is a whole other subject.

I also disagree about needing an entertainment license, unless you plan on having the public actually come to your radio building.

For internet streaming of music you may need to buy a license but there are legal ways to avoid the expense. There are posts about that here on the site.

It doesn't matter as far as FM AM, most will pre-recorded and streamed across the Internet anyway. AM is the strongest however any electrical discharge to ground in the vicinity of the broadcast equipment distorts the signal of the AM broadcast.

Just about everyhing else runs on FM signal; Cell Phone, wifi, Femto Cell Networks, etc. Yes there is more interference to worry about FM but there is more equipment and opportunity. If I can find a Portable AM Transmitater for a descent price I would consider AM.

The AMT3000 from SSTran.com would make a nifty portable AM transmitter except for one thing...

The 10-foot antenna sticking out of your backback might attract the attention of the Department of Homesick Security.

If you mounted the AM transmitter on a truck it would be portable, and Bruce MICRO1700 knows about a guy who did that! He was very portable.

I think MrNaturalAZ has an AM mounted on his RV Home On Wheels.

With portable radio you will offer RADIO TO GO.

that's what I am saying for about $20 I can rig an FM circuit to transmit to a mobile base station in my truck so if I am out at say the mall or something and news happens or if I am at a convention I can transmit to the mobile base station and stream it through my computer and stream it to an RSS feed link. If I can do that with AM, I would. But I haven't found anything that would be inconspicuous.

If you chose to do am as a mobile operation, it wouldn't be too hard to do.
Mount a ball type cb antenna mounting kit on the side of the vehicle and install a stainless steel whip to the mount.

Connect the whip to the AM transmitter, you will proabably have to make a bit of room for an enclosure containing the loading coil and transmitter. Unless you go with the SSTran AMT 5000 which already contains the antenna tuning circuit.  The AMT 5000 and i believe the Spitfire both have the antenna tuning circuit built in.

Having said all that, the idea here is to look like you have a CB Radio in the truck/car.
That wouldn't attract much attention at all.

Good Luck

Rangemaster as well mounted close to the CB mount. Rangemaster is designed to work with a 102 inch whip.

Thanks Rock95Steven but like I said portable. The FM transmitter I was referring to is only the size of a 9v battery and 3x as thick, with battery attached. The antenna would not be more then 18" - 24" tall. It would look like my EMSPoliceFire handheld radio. I can put an FM or Am transmitter in my truck no problem. Where would I get a remote broadcasting AM transmitter from? I can build one but it would literally cost me about $20-$30 to build the FM transmitter. The only plan for the AM transmitter about the same size, would cost me almost double to make. At that point I could just scrap that idea and record to my phone and stream each broadcast live. 

Every discussion about part 15 as a commercial activity has so far taken the position that low power part 15 radio broadcasting is first a hobby, which some have either tried or managed to operate as a business.

In other words the viewpoint has been either/or - either it's a hobby or it's a business.

But I have decided that it can be both.

A professional hobby organization is free to sell ads as a way of raising funds to continue the hobby.

I am a professional hobby consultant, and for a fee I'll answer questions about how to ask good questions.

That's great Carl, I would love to be able to get my future station to a point that I wouldn't have to work so hard. But I am just trying to start this fun. And just to point out, there is no bad questions except the ones you never ask.