I can't wait till someone comes up with a device that will do the same as a FIM 71, but for cheaper. This was another reason I wanted to have the field strength rule changed to something everyone can measure and understand. Watts or milliwatts. Going forward maybe what is really feared is the fact our proposal may in fact pass. But I'm not going to publish such a document to the masses only to be judged as a Pirate. It will be published in due time and when iron clad. OK so maybe I could be wrong about a part 73 transmitter, but just as I can check a cable system for a leak, so too can someone check their transmitter for leakage. Just as a CB Radio can be measured with an easy to use field strength meter, so too a meter could be constructed to see if the RF is leaking from the case or coax and if calibrated right could get real close to a Potomac FIM-71. Its a good point and one that will certainly get folks to practice better engineering skills. Look the way I see it is this: many professionals who now have careers in Radio have started with micro broadcasting. Some professionals still do micro broadcasting simply because of the passion. Micro broadcasters offer individual personalities and diversity to exist in Radio. Why should one company own 5-6 stations in a given market and thus gobble up any possible empty space that would otherwise be used for small community or territorial stations. I don't think the AMers should be moving to FM and gobble up not one band, but two. Instead AM should have been fixed. The first thing the FCC should do is FORCE better receivers to be manufactured with proper gain and filtration to block out all of the noise on AM. Second give micro broadcasters a portion of the band to operate. Say 1600-1700 Khz. Some of the frequencies should be meant for small broadcasters to exist.
Alan Weiner has it right and I am sure he'll be on our side (at least for AM). What would be funny is if us hobby broadcasters actually made AM more desirable which would cause embarrassment to the ones who are trying to kill off any improvements we stride for. Its nice to own land where you could put up 10 foot poles or antenna farms, but in the real world these days antennas are looked at as an eye-sour. Some folks ae extremely selfish with this hobby in Broadcasting and they want the rest of the world to sit still while they stroke their own ego. There is things that can be done to at least allow us to have useable range. If it works in other parts of the world I believe it can work here. People just have to help make laws that disallow greedy tyrants to take over everything that could be great about Radio and Hobby Broadcasting.
Alan Weiner used to be a pirate.
Good Point WDCX he was as was Prometheus. Anyone care to chime in here? Why do you think this was? And look at what they both accomplished. Now I don't want to always sound like I'm anti this and that. But there was a Demand and both Alan Weiner and Prometheus saw that which was wrong and tried to correct the situation to even the playing field for who was allowed to broadcast. Now Alan calles himself “The Only Licensed Pirate!” interesting how he does this over the air. Next he calls to action upon the Pirates who are using SSB instead of AM and tells them to Get Off The Side band and use amplitude modulation. He covers both situations that are wrong in the 6.9 Mhz band. Next is let us not forget where LPFM came from. It came from civil disobedience on the part of Prometheus. But it was not just that alone. They fought by writing letters and drawing public awareness to a wrongful situation. Lots of Americans forget just how some things they enjoy now come to pass. In history wars were fought almost in the same way. Sad thing was that LPFM was set up for failure in many cases. And once again someone will stand and fight for a change until it happens. Unfortunately for America it can take around 10 to 15 years for bureaucrats to let things sink into their heads. If the FCC would think outside the box and not allow lobbyists with deep pockets rule their minds. What I want to say is that you eliminate the need for a supply there won't be a demand. So giving us some frequencies and a little range that is usable and you'll curb the need for a supply. Thus you kill the need for a Radio Pirate or should I say in lay man terns the desire for it. All things equal and fair. I believe that was what New Zealand figured out for them and it seems to work well for them.
TheLegacy said: "LPFM was set up for failure in many cases."
The failures have been happening since the start.
We had an LPFM station pop up on 99.5 (KTGP 8W licensed to St. Louis MO licensed to St.L. Majestic Basketball Club).
Their application showed a lot of community involvement, but once they hit the air nothing but automated christian rap was heard.
Sunday I noticed they were on the air with a dead carrier, now it's Wednesday and the carrier is still on the air with no audio.
Meanwhile, all up and down the dial, there's a scramble for moving high power stations to closer towers and juggling translators into every nook.
My opinion is that the LPFMs that succeed will be the ones with a dedicated radio person in charge of running the station.
Otherwise, (still my opinion), I think a lot of people had no idea what they were getting into.