Robert, I don't know if your post was in response to mine but if it was I don't think you know whose side I am on. I am all for relaxing the rules.
What I posted was a warning about the argument that will be used against this. Be prepared for it.
Neil
Neil, I think you hit the nail on the head.
Perception IS important. People confuse Part 15 with operating pirate radio all the time. I had to struggle to convince the Bowen Island community that Artisan Radio was operating legally (and there always was a faction of the population that preferred to believe that we were operating as a pirate!).
If we are going to convince the public and authorities to relax the rules for Part 15 equivalent radio in any country, then we as a group need to demonstrate that we can handle that responsibility.
As far as I'm concerned, most pirates are lazy and selfish. These pirates (other than some of the shortwave ones that I've picked up), tend to play the same old crap as any licensed station - they just don't bother to go through the decadent process of getting a license and worrying about such details as interference and other niceties.
It's a lot harder and more expensive to operate legally and still get decent range and some listeners. And you can't do real community radio for the people by broadcasting in the shadows. You have to be 'out there', promoting what you are doing. In fact, hiding is furthering the perception that you are indeed doing something wrong.
not directed at anyone except maybe the fcc, nab, clear channel, etc.
I'm not ignoring that, but there was
something I wanted to say from a DXers
perspective.
I have been DXing for about 45 years, and
again, have heard many AM and FM pirates.
Shortwave was not so easy. Back in the
1970s and 1980s I heard a few shortwave pirates
in the 7400 to 7425 kHz range. Those were
the pirate stomping grounds in those days.
Most were weak, and transmitted with
good old amplitude modulation. I did
hear "Radio Clandestine" around 1988 or 89,
and it was about 40 dB over S9. A whopping
signal from a famous SW pirate. I do not
remember the frequency. "Radio Clandestine"
jumped all over the spectrum and had no regular
schedule. That was their approach and style.
One Saturday morning long long ago, I was surprised to log a
pirate called KQRP, on 15.050 MHz. I thought
this was an odd place to put a pirate, 50 kHz
up from WWV and 20 kHz down from the BBC 15.070 MHz
power house. (Speaking of the BBC 15.070 power
house that is no longer with us - I also heard
their second harmonic on 30.140 on a Radio Shack
PRO-2005 scanner with the whip antenna on the
unit. This must have been a time of extraordinary
ionospheric conditions. The MUF must have been
right around 30 or 31 MHz on that path, and the
ionosphere must have been almost a perfect "mirror"
for that frequency at that point.)
Getting back to the pirate thing, I have always been
interested in listening for them in the 6900 to 7000 kHz
range, but I have never ever heard any of them. Some of
these guys build 10 watt transmitters and bring them
to remote places. I'm not saying that this is right -
but from a DXers perspective, it is interesting. I guess
I have just listened at the wrong times. I have been
very busy, so time for that is hard to find.
The other comment on this was - again from a DXers point
of view - so many of these "new" pirates transmit with
single sideband. That's fine with me, but listening to
rock and roll music on SSB is going to sound real weird
if it isn't tuned in right. I feel these guys should be
doing AM if music is part of their programming.
Again, I'm not condoning this, but if the signals are
there, and you happen to be a DXer, it can be interesting.
And yes, you have to have a very good listening post.
And then there are the "numbers stations." Man. What
a strange mysterious bunch of signals to DX. They are
truly peculiar.
Bruce,
Big Ear Monitoring System
"So Large, it fell over onto my wife's car."
(Only kidding. sshshsh. Secret message to carl
blare. you don't have to mention that on the
low power hour) (let's just keep this secret humor
between ourselves)
P.S. The following is a part of this post that
somehow got to the bottom of the page. Instead of
trying to fix it - I will just leave it here
at the bottom. Take it for whatever it's worth:
I never heard the famous "Voice Of Laryngitis" -
it was widely liked for it's humor. I think I
read in one of the blogs that the operator passed
away - BUT it could be wrong. That pirate was on
for many many years.
As some of us know, the main SW pirate frequency range,
now and for many years, has been in the 6900 to 7000 kHz
range, and I am told mainly around 6925 kHz. -bruce
You pirates have decided to operate and that is your choice as a free agent, but for the love of pete don't interfere with licensed stations operating legally.
Be a polite pirate and select blank channels a few notches away from the licensed stations of the world.
We may find you entertaining, but only if you provide undistorted clear audio. Otherwise we might think you to be fools wasting your time.
Don't mess with part 15ers by disobeying my few conditions.
We could mobilize and pretend to be hunting you down. We won't do that, but a part 15 guy doesn't often have the chance of talking tough from the safety of a keyboard.
On the other hand I could call your mother.
Well Neil, have you taken into account the majority attitude towards us Part 15'er's? Must have otherwise you would not have said what you said to begin with.
No matter how much you don't want to hear "my" ranting about how unfair things are, the simple fact is that it IS there, like it or not. Though most do not have to worry about that kind of thing right...your in those golden slide by years right?
How wrong that notion is.
Point being Neil, is that no matter what is done with Part 15, it will always be looked upon as breaking the law by those who go around preaching to obey the law. Chances are quite high that those who preach do the exact opposite.
They do seem to be the ones constantly declaring Part 15'ers as law breakers.
And I differ from your "opinion" that my post is not topic related. It is VERY much topic related as it discusses pirate stations. And given most of the majority of sugar and spice wannabes declare us all as pirates, my points fits the discussion perfectly.
If you had a wider viewing angle you would clearly see that it is on topic. You just don't want to acknowledge it because it means you too are a pirate to all those goodie two shoes out there who contract for their licensed law breakers racking up more NAL's than pirates or Part 15'ers COMBINED.
The truth hurts..bear it and wear it because that is what society has declared us to be...lawbreakers when in fact we are not.
The political correctness strikes again!
Doesn't mean that it is correct or wanted.
RFB
"Well Neil, have you taken into account the majority attitude towards us Part 15'er's? Must have otherwise you would not have said what you said to begin with."
I polled one hundred (100) people on the street asking their opinion of Part 15 radio operators.
One hundred (100) percent had no idea what a Part 15 operator is. There was no secondary association with Pirate operators resulting from objectionable material heard on the radio either.
From this I would extrapolate that all Part 15 operators are causing no public concern. As listeners intently scan their radio dials they hear nothing out of the ordinary.
This is testatment to the fact that Part 15 operators fit into the norm. Bringing interesting content to the listening public. And for that matter, if they associated Part 15 operators with Pirates, the Pirates must be doing a fair job as well.
It must be very disconcerting performing services for employers who blatantly violate laws. Realizing the compensation for doing so is very lucrative it would be difficult to turn away these law breakers advances. As they say, everyone has a price.
I suppose this type of activity would tend to jade a persons outlook after accepting the fact they work for criminals.
I have two distinctly separate but related blogs to post at this time.
Blog # 1 - Regarding operation as a part 15 station, I think it is important to understand public psychology. If you tell the average person you are running a radio station from your house, they very well might believe it is illegal in some way, because they have no frame of reference in their heads to compare it with. The solution is to have some BS to make your story fit the common mind: let people know you are "with a radio station", allow them to wonder where it is... be sure to add "thanks to computers I can do my job from home." This is something people have heard about, and it will not seem unusual. If they actually ask, "Where's your transmitter?", you can say, "Have you ever seen those towers over there?" Point toward the south. "There are many stations on those towers." This is not a lie, it's just that you have left out the fact that your station is not one of them.
Blog # 2 - If I think of it again I'll be back, I forget....
The problem with pointing to those towers, Carl, is that the next question is, invariably, Why can't I receive your radio station at [location], which is generally most places?
I had to come up with a one liner to explain what I was doing (anything more and people lose interest) - something to the effect: The [FCC, Industry Canada, choose your poison] lets me operate this radio station without a license if I use extremely low power, less power than your cell phone, in fact [don't confuse them with any more terms and conditions]; that low power means that you can't receive the radio station very far from [the location of the antenna], but you can listen anywhere on the Internet.
But yes, there will always be people that will think you are doing something wrong, as it's out of the ordinary and they really don't understand (or they do understand and don't want you to do it). I don't think it's anything to lose any sleep over, as long as you AREN'T doing anything illegal. Getting upset over those that are, licensed stations or otherwise, is just a losing proposition.
In every case where someone has inquired as to what I do, I say things like "I'm a broadcaster" or "I run a small radio station".
The first answer almost backfired when someone asked, "Oh, what station do you work for?" But my answer did the job:
"Do you remember a station over on Dibble Avenue called KFFM?" They said, "Yes."
I replied, "I worked there for 18-years."
"That's cool" I was told.
People usually glaze over and think about their own life after about the first question and answer.
The other answer, "I run a small radio station" works very well. To this time NO ONE has ever asked any more details nor expressed any desire to listen.
Somebody recently published a psychology book stating that "No one, however honest they might pretend to be, is entirely honest". If I remember, I'll post the title and author for anyone who doubts the premise.
My comment about being off topic was intended to relate to this thread only and was not intended to quench discussion about the issue of people's perception of part 15 operation. This is not a case of me not wanting to hear your "ranting" rather since the thread was focused on pirate operation I didn't see the connection and was trying to get the thread back on topic. You didn't see it this way apparently.
As far as your "your [sic] in those golden slide by years right?" comment is concerned you have put me in a defensive position. To be fair to you, you know very little about my situation or about what I do in my "golden years" so you might have the impression that I sit idly by watching the world pass by but to proclaim this based on no knowledge is presumptuous and out of line. You might be surprised at what I am doing to change laws and to address community problems since, being retired, I have the time and interest to do so.
Now, back on this topic as it relates to part 15. In response to your comment "...no matter what is done with Part 15, it will always be looked upon as breaking the law by those who go around preaching to obey the law." I must state that I neither see the logic in this nor agree with it. Maybe a specific example would help. You see this as an issue and I don't therefore I am not going to engage in a crusade to change this. I remain open to be convinced otherwise.
May I ask who the "they" would be in your remark "They do seem to be the ones constantly declaring Part 15'ers as law breakers. " Knowing this might help me understand your concerns.
"The truth hurts..bear it and wear it because that is what society has declared us to be...lawbreakers when in fact we are not." Your experience must differ from mine since from the time I first started broadcasting to the neighbors while in high school and doing the same to dorm residents in college with my Knight Kit and being involved in making the campus carrier current station work to the present where some friends, family, and neighbors know I "play" with radio broadcasting no one has ever asked "is that legal" or said "won't you get into trouble doing that?" If anyone had so said I would have replied that it is legal if you follow the FCC rules which I am doing. That is a simple and truthful answer.
Now, I am going to restate as clearly as I can that my original post here was that interference caused by pirate stations can and will be used as an example and a reason to oppose changes to Part 15.219 rules which would allow more range.
Neil