Thelegacy, you know, I should be the one who knows the whole story as to why my station was the center of attention and why Hobbybroadcaster became involved in it. But, since Bill Defelice is the Wizard of OZ and somehow has the whole scope on those events, he should publish a book on it.
This book should first hand identify the radio station that hired Tom Terrell and how or why Ray F. Burns was involved, besides being a possible co-pilot studying the signal meter or spectrum analyzer for a signal peak on 87.9MHz while Tom drive around playing fox hunt.
My first reason for reading Bill's book would be to find out what pissed the complaining radio station off in the first place.
Okay let's assume WXTZ had an ERP of 1000 Watts and I was it's owner and operator and I intentionally operated it as Norwich's Pirate Radio 87.9MHz. Besides being illegal, there had to be a reason that radio station contacted Tom Terrell to track us down. Was it.......
1. We stole a few listeners?
2. We played better music then them?
3. We operated at a lower cost than they did.
4. We did not have to kiss the NAB's ass with BIG fees like they did?
5. This radio station just wanted us off the air because they knew they can do it. Just remember, I have NO rights, while they have EVERY right. The FCC rules make that very clear, they can step on us, but heaven help us if we step on them!!
Okay, you all want me to go AM, thinking, who gives a screw about AM, they'll never bother you there. I have a feeling my complainant is not going to be happy with us being AM either, legal or not legal. I believe Hall Communications is the initial complainant. They own 6 stations in my market they are WCTY FM, WLNC FM, WICH AM, WKNL FM, WILI AM and WILI FM
Here is a link to their national website, check Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT Market
http://www.hallradio.com/stations.htm
Hall is getting to be like IHeart radio, stingy and buying up the stations.
Now tell Bill to publish his book called "How I helped take down a Blatant FM Pirate in the Norwich area".
Please keep in mind, there NEVER was a visit from the FCC on this matter or any public notices to such, nor was I ever served a citation, nor was the FCC involved in this matter. Just hobbybroadcaster dot net and the grammer-school playground crew.
I feel that once I acquire ONE AM listener, they'll be back playing fox hunt at hobby broadcaster again.
Bruce.
The world of the unknown is larger than the known.
-- said in the year zero-plus-seven by the town philosopher Chauncey L. FitzKilpatsky in Leaning Mountain Village, Switzerland.
I post this not for those that have already made up their minds about Part 15 AM, but for those who are thinking of getting into Part 15 at all, and even those currently on AM but pondering whether they should move to Part 15 FM.
First, Part 15 AM can sound good. I have to wonder if those saying otherwise have ever actually listened to a Part 15 AM broadcast from a quality transmitter such as the Rangemaster or the ProCaster on a good receiver. I think they'd be surprised how good these transmitters sound, especially if you do some audio processing. I used a Rangemaster, along with an Inovonics 222 and a Symetrix 421 compressor, and my signal sounded better than most licensed AM stations. Did it sound as good as a Part 15 FM transmitter such as the Decade, which I've also used - no. But then, I was getting over a mile of decent sounding range to my car receiver, as opposed to the 600-800 feet range of the Decade (1/10 of a mile or so) that I would have gotten in the U.S.
The question was asked whether I would want to listen to Deep Purple or the Moody Blues on AM. My answer would be yes, but I would also ask, why would I play Deep Purple or the Moody Blues? If my Part 15 station was just for my personal listening pleasure around the house or yard, then sure I would. But if I wanted to pick up other listeners, there are plenty of licensed stations that play 70's & 80's music. And they do it just as well or better than I ever could. How can a puny Part 15 signal compete?
I believe it has to different. It has to have a different programming philosophy than the licensed stations. How many of those licensed stations play 80's music from such groups as The Man From Delmonte, or the Cramps, or the Suburban Lawns, or Lenny & the Squigtones? When was the last time you heard vintage jazz? Even old time radio? The fact that those interested can even listen to this programming overshadows any concerns you might have in the sound quality of AM. And if you're oriented that way, how many of those licensed stations will concern themselves with your particular community, and its goings on? Its local businesses? It's individuals?
I also found that special event programming generated a surge in listenership. Taping a local concert and then playing it. Even though I never did local sports, there is at least one station represented here on this Forum that does that with great success and community involvement.
And did you know that there was a rabid fan base out there for Cliff Richard? I didn't. At least until one of my programmers hatched a scheme for a Cliff Richard weekend (he himself was a Cliff Richard fan). We advertised it on Facebook and other social media sites, and managed to get 120+ simultaneous streamers from around the world (our average was 5-10 for the same period). It probably would have been a lot more, but we were running up against bandwidth restrictions (I run my own server, and it has an upload cap).
It would be nice if the laws allowed for greater range on Part 15 FM. But right now they don't. So the reality is that Part 15 AM gives you the best range and therefore, with the right programming, the best chance of gaining listeners in your community. And if you supplement your over the air presence with Internet streaming, you potentially have the world as your listener base.
AM can still live, at least in the Part 15 world.
Depending on who is talking, the part 15 world might sometimes seem shallow.
I mean, using pop music as a measure of quality to compare AM to FM is like seeking nutrients from candy snacks compared to chips.
Pop music is generated by public address systems amplifying artificial synthetic instruments that are measured by their distortion and is from its roots counter-cultural and intentionally simplistic. The pop sound, or "poop" sound, as it's known by music educators, is about bodily function.
To say that pop music sounds better on FM means that FM is better able to accurately reproduce a particular pile (compilation) of distortion.
For a most complete discussion of radio sound quality one must consider acoustical instruments playing solo and in mass-ensembles with their infinitely richer palette of tones, harmonics and overtones. It isn't about what one "likes" but about a complete overview of musical language. Acoustic music is about intellectual function.
New Orleans dixieland brass bands and drums are a good example of acoustic sound and cannot be artificially synthesized by electronic (MIDI) computer based PA amplification, therefore offering an ultimate demonstration between FM and AM audio quality.
Gustav Mahler's 6th Symphony played by over 100 musicians would be too big a thought all at once which is why I'm not bringing it up.
When I was growing up and listened to everything on AM radio I seemed to notice that when I heard the same songs on "45" records it sounded different than on the radio but back then never knew why. It was later that I learned about the restricted bandwidth and frequency response. Listening to AM is like watching a video or movie in standard or low definition as opposed to high definition. You get the general idea but you loose the detail in the music, just like the low definition picture.
For example, in the song "Game of love" by Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders, in the second part if the intro. just before the vocal starts there is a tamborine that comes in but if you only heard that song on AM you would never know that. Just one of hundreds of examples....what about the alarm clock in the song "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees? FM is high definition, AM is low definition.
Carl also brought up the subject of synthesized or electronicly made music which most of what you hear is (except for country or maybe jazz), which I liked, but that is a subject for another post.
Mark
Exactly.
So you use the tool that fits your need.
If you need the maximum range, then choose Part 15 AM. If you want maximum fidelity, and don't care about range (i.e., for your own personal use), then use Part 15 FM.
If most of the stuff you're playing is vintage jazz, or old time radio, the source material often is suspect, and it's in mono anyway, so there's really no point in using FM - at least from a fidelity point of view.
Part 15 FM transmitters are simple to install for personal use; more difficult if you want to achieve the maximum range (you need to get that antenna elevated, out in the open, difficult if the antenna is permanently attached as in most certified transmitters). Part 15 AM transmitters require some specialized knowledge during installation to achieve the greatest possible range.
I actually see a Part 15 FM or AM transmitter as an advertisement for my internet stream, where I will get most of my listeners. The come-on, so to speak, to draw more people in. I know that some purists will say that an Internet stream isn't radio, and they're probably right. But it certainly is broadcasting, and that's what I want to do. I'll use any means necessary to get the word out that I'm broadcasting.
And there is something inherently awesome about hearing your own radio station playing in the car, or in the home.
Check this crap out, it's not related to part 15, but it shows what our biggest enemy the NAB is all about, they are looking to hurt LPFM as well.
NAB Moves To Quash LPFM Power Boost
Me? I've totally lost my interest in this hobby. The type of entertainment I want to provide and it's not adult oriented music with foul language, it's album rock music from my personal 33 1/3 vinyl record collection of 1,469 record LPs is just not going to be allowed here where I live.
The local commercial stations are just not going to go for it, it's been already proven to me.
If I can't be an Album Rock station playing 50's thru 2015 's rock music, then I'm finished with this hobby.
I am not interested in sitting and being Rush Limbar (or whatever his name is) number two creating talk talk talk talk radio. See I love talk radio so much I don't even know how to spell this jerks name. I only hear people speak of him being a jerk and that is it.
Bruce.
Did you play any songs that they play? This too could have an impact on their decision to track you down and have you squashed like a bug. You made them look pretty dumb when you proved you don't need a megawatt station to reach a mass audience and raised a few questions such as do I need a 50'000 watt or even a 500 watt atation to reach an audience and get noticed? Is there a cheaper and more efficient way to broadcast? Should we try part 15 cellular FM in small market areas. If he can do that why are we paying a thousands per month when a license is not necessary to do what we have done for years? should we set up trap websites to find these folks God knows we can't afford to be out smarted by someone paying nothing. This is why we should be encouraged so we all can learn. I hope the FCC takes this discovery as an opportunity for all to learn. Whis gives more credence fore more power on FM
Well it would have been great if more about the radio station that was having me tracked down was known. But they choose to be a mystery. Ask Hobby Bill he seems to know who they were, but I don't. Was my station playing music any other station in the area would have played?
The answer to that is yes and no. I would have to list my entire record library for you to get a taste of what we had for music. It is very possible to do that, as we keep an alphabetical list of every album we have in this library on a computer in a text file. It would really consume a lot of space in this forum doing such, but it is possible.
You know, I follow a lot of what gets posted over at the FCC Daily Digest and I've been following the mess that the FCC is about to make of the television broadcast band with this stupid channel repacking they have proposed for digital television in the USA.
This is what the NAB is allowing to happen to their financial supporters? To have the UHF band condensed down to channels 14 through 21 and have a channel share program where all your local channels will be on one main channel and the rest on the sub-channels to fit them all on that piece of spectrum. I know, this post is starting a bit off topic, but hang in there, I'll get it back on topic in a bit.
Okay, lets say you're like me, you have access to over the air television with your own outdoor antenna. Right now, you're most likely getting several of your local channels quite clearly without dropouts. In the proposed repacking deal, stations are being asked to release their frequency and agree to be moved to another stations sub channel in the process. Now, what if your favorite stations were moved to another stations sub-channels that you were never able to get? Now you lost all your channels. That is what the FCC has proposed and it is going to happen regardless of what you say or think. The latest issues being presented to the FCC is the wireless microphones and white noise devices having authority over licensed stations for open channels. I'll post 3 links to this announcement:
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0616/FCC-15-68A1.pdf
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0616/FCC-15-68A2.pdf
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0616/FCC-15-68A3.pdf
After you read through those long notices, I'd like to say, if the NAB and the FCC had anything positive to add to our rights as consumers or to be truthful the broadcasters as well, I'd say they were alright in my book. BUT, that is not the case here!! I truly think both the FCC and the NAB are nothing but the total demise of all over the air broadcasting as we know it today!!!
Instead of people putting emphasis on shutting down pirate radio stations that do their listeners true justice, I think we should be shutting down and putting out of business the NAB and the FCC instead!
Bruce.
I do have to say Moody Blues is Far Far from Pop. It is Progressive Rock'Album Rock. Songs like our Guessing Game hardly Pop commercial stations don't play that stuff anymore. Now Deep Purple even though Smoke On The Water is over played is Not Pop. Id hardly put them in the same class as Backstreet Boys or Justin Beiber. Think Led Zeppelin, Mott The Hoople, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes now that is Album Oriented Rock. Its what the focal point of my Internet/FM station is. All im saying is my format would be a hard sell for AM. It however was a small thought of mine to try. I think 50s music could work on AM and there are few oldies stations in some areas. AM may work there too.
Okay here is a VERY short list of JUST our LPs I'm just grabbing a quick copy and paste anywhere in the last. We also have tons of commercially sold pre-recorded cassettes tapes, CDs and 45's as well. If it says 2 LPs that means we have two copies of it, if you see CA that means we also have on cassette tape. CD means also a copy on CD.
ASIA - ASIA - 1982 LP
AVERAGE WHITE BAND - AWB - 1974 LP
AVERAGE WHITE BAND - PUT IT WHERE YOU WANT IT - 1975 LP
AVERAGE WHITE BAND - SOUL SEARCHING - 1976 LP
AVERAGE WHITE BAND - WARMER COMMUNICATIONS - 1978 LP
AVERAGE WHITE BAND - SHINE - 1980 LP
BACHARACH, BURT - BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID - 1969 LP
BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE - II - 1973 LP
BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE - BEST OF B.T.O (So Far) - 1975 LP
BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE - FREEWAYS - 1977 LP
BAD COMPANY - BAD COMPANY - 1974 LP
BAD COMPANY - STRAIGHT SHOOTER - 1975 LP
BAD COMPANY - RUN WITH THE PACK - 1976 2LPs (Silver & White Covers)
BAD COMPANY - BURNIN' SKY - 1976 LP
BAD COMPANY - DESOLATION ANGELS - 1979 LP
BAD COMPANY - ROUGH DIAMONDS - 1982 (Promo Copy)
BADFINGER - NO DICE - 1970 LP (SIDE 1 SONGS 5 & 6 HAVE GrOOVE DAMAGE)
BAEZ, JOAN - BLESSED ARE... - 1971 LP
BAND OF JOY - BAND OF JOY - 1978 LP
BEATLES, THE - INTRODUCING THE BEATLES - 1964 LP
BEATLES, THE - MEET THE BEATLES - 1964 2 LPs
BEATLES, THE - THE BEATLES' SECOND ALBUM - 1964 LP
BEATLES, THE - A HARD DAY'S NIGHT - 1964 LP/CA
BEATLES, THE - BEATLES '65 - 1964 2 LPS
BEATLES, THE - BEATLES VI - 1965 LP
BEATLES, THE - HELP! - 1965 LP/CA
BEATLES, THE - RUBBER SOUL - 1965 LP
BEATLES, THE - YESTERDAY AND TODAY - 1966 LP
BEATLES, THE - REVOLVER - 1966 LP
BEATLES, THE - SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND - 1967 LP
BEATLES, THE - MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR - 1967 2 LPs
BEATLES, THE - THE WHITE ALBUM - 1968 LP
BEATLES, THE - YELLOW SUBMARINE - 1969 LP
BEATLES, THE - ABBEY ROAD - 1969 2 LPs
BEATLES, THE - LET IT BE - 1970
BEATLES, THE - HEY JUDE - 1970 LP
BEATLES, THE - 1962--1966 - 1973 LP
BEATLES, THE - 1967--1970 - 1973 LP
BEATLES, THE - THE BEATLES AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL - 1977 LP
BEATLES, THE - ABBEY ROAD - ORIGINAL MASTERED RECORDING - 1980 LP
BEATLES, THE - RARITIES - 1980 LP
BEATLES, THE - (BOOTLEG) LIVE IN EUROPE & US TV CASTS -
BEATLES, THE - (BOOTLEG) BACK IN 1964 AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL -
BEATLES, THE - (BOOTLEG) LET IT BE - LIVE -
BEATLES, THE - THE AMERICAN TOUR WITH ED RUDY
BEATLES, THE - BIRTH OF THE BEATLES
BECK, JEFF - BLOW BY BLOW - 1975 LP
BECK, JEFF - WIRED - 1976 LP
BEE GEES - RARE, PRECIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL, VOLUME 1 - 1968
BEE GEES - RARE, PRECIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL, VOLUME 2 - 1968
BEE GEES - 2 YEARS ON - 1970 LP
BEE GEES - MAIN COURSE - 1975 LP
BEE GEES - CHILDREN OF THE WORLD - 1976 LP
BEE GEES - HERE AT LAST BEE GEES LIVE! - 1977 LP
BEE GEES - SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN - 1979 2 LPs
BENATAR, PAT - CRIMES OF PASSION - 1980 LP
BENATAR, PAT - TROPICO - 1984 LP
BENATAR, PAT - SEVEN THE HARD WAY - 1985
BENDS SINISTER - SMALL FAME - 2011 LP
BENSON, GEORGE - BREEZIN' - 1976 LP/CD
BISHOP BAND, THE ELVIN - ROCK MY SOUL - 1972 LP
BISHOP, ELVIN - LET IT FLOW - 1974 LP
BISHOP, ELVIN - JUKE JOINT JUMP - 1975 LP
BISHOP, ELVIN - ELVIN BISHOP LIVE! RAISIN' HELL - 1977 LP
BLACK SABBATH - BLACK SABBATH - 1970 LP/CA
BLACK SABBATH - PARANOID - 1970 LP/CA
BLACK SABBATH - MASTER OF REALITY - 1971 LP/CA/CD
BLACK SABBATH - VOL. 4 - 1972 LP/CA
BLACK SABBATH - SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH - 1974 LP/CA
BLACK SABBATH - SABOTAGE - 1975 LP/CA
BLACK SABBATH - TECHNICAL ECSTASY - 1976 LP/CA
BLACK SABBATH - NEVER SAY DIE - 1978 LP/CA
BLACK SABBATH - HEAVEN AND HELL - 1980 LP/CA
BLACK SABBATH - MOB RULES - 1981 LP
BLACK SABBATH - SEVENTH STAR - 1986 LP
BLONDIE - PARALLEL LINES - 1978 LP
BLONDIE - AUTOAMERICAN - 1980 LP
BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS - BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS - 1972 LP
BLUE CHEER - VINCEBUS ERUPTUM - 1968 LP
BLUE OYSTER CULT - SECRET TREATIES - 1974 LP
BLUE OYSTER CULT - ON YOUR FEET OR ON YOUR KNEES - 1975
BLUE OYSTER CULT - AGENTS OF FORTUNE - 1976 LP
BLUE OYSTER CULT - SPECTURES - 1977 LP/CD
BLUE OYSTER CULT - SOME ENCHANTED EVENING - 1978 LP (HAS WARPED RECORD)
BLUE OYSTER CULT - MIRRORS - 1979 LP
BON JOVI - SLIPPERY WHEN WET - 1986 LP
BOSTON - BOSTON - 1976 LP/CA
BOSTON - DON'T LOOK BACK - 1978 LP/CA
BOSTON - THIRD STAGE - 1986 LP/CD
BOWIE, DAVID - CHANGESONEBOWIE - 1976 LP
BOWIE, DAVID - SCARY MONSTERS - 1980 LP
BOWIE, DAVID - LET'S DANCE - 1983 LP
BREAD - THE BEST OF BREAD - 1973 LP
BROWN, JACKSON - RUNNING ON EMPTY - 1977 LP
BUCHANAN, ROY - A STREET CALLED STRIGHT - 1976 LP
BYRDS, THE - YOUNGER THAN YESTERDAY - 1967 LP
BYRDS, THE - THE BYRDS' GREATEST HITS - 1967 LP
BYRDS, THE - SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO - 1968 LP
Not very likely Carl as the FCC has a poor tack record of anticipating anything.
@ Bruce very impressive about the Albums you have on your playlist. Yes I'd say you are AOR and definitely would have been a great station to listen to. Wish you were in my area because no one would bother you here and we'd have a grand time on FM that is for sure. I'm trying to re create that 70s FM presence before 1984 when everything went to Top40 and Rap in most areas. Plus I'll through some modern day Progressive Rock and Hair metal at times minus the thrash stuff. Sort of like what if Today was 1979 and what was considered amateur or not worthey back then to play. This way I can play the modern stuff that sounds like and would meet the same audience who are looking for something other than the dull Radio format of Today.
This isn't about anything specific that anyone said, just blowing some smoke.
By "pop" I meant "popular," but that's very general when you look at the size of an audience... thousands like Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker at Christmas and his 1812 Overture on the 4th of July, making them "pop" selections. If "progressive rock" is popular it is also "pop."
The word "genre", for some reason a French word, is used to peel categories down to tighter definitions, although the word "type" would seem more of an American word. Except that Mexico is in America, as is Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru and all the American countries. What's the Spanish word for "genre?" Mexican music is "pop" with me, and Cuban music is good, but off-shore from America.
Tim has the polka program but I have a question about "progressive?"
What is progressive music progressing toward?
Is progressive music related to progressive politics? Has any politician ever progressed, I mean, ever?
If it's an mp3 file how can it be "album oriented rock?" Wouldn't it have to be on an album?
I had some music education and know some keys and scales... D major is good, but g minor might be better these days.
Go back a bit... "album ORIENTED?" What's it got to do with the Orient? Is it recorded in Asia?
There's a lot to learn about programming music for the radio.
I shouldn't post this, it doesn't make much sense.
Carl you have it half right when you are considering album oriented rock being from an album. That said I will give you an example. In A Gadda Da Vida album version vs single version. The single version has three fourths of the song cut off. The album Rock version is 20 minutes long. Hence the term Album oriented Rock. Another example Love is like oxygen by
sweet many commercial so called want to be Classic Rock stations are playing the single. Not acceptable here at The Legacy. That is sacrilegious. I will only play the full version of Love Is Like Oxygen by Sweet. ok I'll give you an easy one how about Boston Foreplay and Long Time many want to be Classic Rock stations do not play the whole song. another song Loving Touching Syesterday's AM Radio. Journey it is supposed to go into City Of The Oriented Rock before it is endangeredhowever if your station does not play the full song you are a pop station because you only play singles. It does not matter if you're playing it from an mp3 or CD it's still album-oriented Rock so long as you follow those guidelines. Part 15 and LPFM is the FM of thr 70s and pop stations is like yesterdays AM Radio. I want to re educate folks on Album Oriented Rock before it is endanger do to corporate Radio.