Thank you Robert. I can wait, for both the FCC update and the results of the manufacturers going to bat for one of their users.
And Rich, I was being a bit sarcastic in my comment about 'criminal hams'. I don't (and didn't) believe for a second that that was the cause of The Crow's raid. That's the problem with Forums - sometimes it's difficult to pick up the intent of the poster (although I thought it was pretty clear).
Hams and broadcast eingineers have been known to make visits to micro broadcast radio stations. Normally they just look around, but some have been know to exceed their athority.I had a few pay a visit to one of my facilities, a few years back, they did not take into account I informed and I knew they were commiting a serious crime. When I went to contact the FCC, they turned tail and ran back to their vehicles and fled. I had another ham, who just wante to see the station; no big deal.
Unless there were marshals present in a for of a raid, and that means a dozen or two heavily armed individuals; as well as some local law. Somebody just got weakkneed and buckled. Who besides Jim Crow, has had an FCC agent barge their way into a home and forcably have equipment removed? Also, most agents, arrive in pairs.
If equipment was lost, it is because it was surrendered voulentairly. Especially if it was Part 15 equipment; certified by the FCC.
The story is a little fishy, does not smell right!
Right at the beginning, I noted that we were only getting one side of the story, information available on other Forums was being left out here, and a lot of other basic information was missing.
I'm a ham myself, and I wouldn't let anybody in my studio other than a properly accredited and identified regulatory agent (other than friends, of course). I have nothing to hide, but why would I let in just anybody off the street whose identity and motives are unknown?
And given the varying offences to the radio rules by (a minority, admittedly, of) both licensed stations (many examples related here in previous threads) and hams (tune into 3.840 or 14.313 Mhz sometime to get the drift), why would I trust those guys either? The vast majority of them know as little about Part 15 and its rules than the average joe on the street.
I've publicized my Part 15 Canadian station (local and regional papers, even national radio stations) and I believe I was checked out when I was on Bowen Island (shortly after I started up, there was an Industry Canada van with all sorts of antennas seen driving around my vicinity). If you're legal, shout what you're doing from the rooftops. But if you're not, well, as I've stated before, I have very little tolerance for what you're doing.
I have created a so called station file consisting of the Receipt for the
TH5.0, the manual for TH5.0 and ATU, the form 731 (since the FCC data is
NLA), a printout of dan bravermans statement on HB.net about the transmitter
system and a cover letter with the following.....
------------------------------------------
Quote
Classic Hit's 1670 AM
Frequency: 1670 AM
Format: Classic Hit's / Oldies / Disco / Funk
FCC Rule Part: C.F.R. 47 Sub-Part 15.219
Power: 100mW
Antenna: 3 meters total including ground lead
Transmitter: Talking House 5.0 with it's Associated ATU System FCC ID:
DLB5LTT98
About ATU: According to Radio Systems Global (see TH5.0/iAM Manual) the
"the model ATU outdoor manual antenna tuning unit is FCC accepted within
this certification as serving as the final output stage.
Station Owner Contact: Robert P. Chrysafis
Cell: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Transmitter Location:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Note for inspecting agent: should you come across this installation when I
am not home and you encounter a 3rd party please call me directly on my cell
with your issues and/or concerns so that any problems can be discussed and
corrected without issue. Also in most cases I am at most 20 minutes drive
away and can be here in a timely manner to discuss concerns face to face.
Thank You,
Sincerely
Robert P. Chrysafis
end quote
-------------------------------------------
this is my studio as it is currently configured.
the atu is painted white to match porch ceiling color and appease the
landlord and is hung from my porch ceiling and has only a 16" ground wire (not pictured)
with one end connected to ground lug on atu and the other end is not connected
to anything. the total length of antenna and ground lead from ATU is 118" or 3m. from there the coaxial cable goes from tuner along ceiling down wall and into the wall box for my A/C unit and runs along living room floor behind couch where it comes up vertical a short distance to connect to the TH-V. the TH-V is connected to the proffessional studio gear via a balanced +4dbu to unbalanced -10dbv matchbox.
the station file is conspicuosly marked and placed below the tx where anyone inspecting tx can see it.
One lesson that should come from The Crow situation is that a part 15er should be firm in asking for valid FCC I.D. when some person arrives without an appointment and claims to be an agent.
There are probably other legal steps that one might consider, such as giving the person an appointment at a future convenient time, and simply refusing to argue about it.
Ultimately it would be reasonable to require a search warrant.
Persons in government service should be held to a high degree of professionalism, and thuggish behavior should be loudly complained about when it comes from these people. It paints the government as low class and third worldly.
Being macho is not the same thing as being superior. It's actually a disorder.
Artisan asked, "Where does legal part 15 end and pirate radio begin?" That's the problem, because the decision is not in our hands.
As many have said, agents can decide any outcome they want.
All this other stuff aside, I hope he is doing OK.
It will be interesting to find out what happened -
and I am very curious - but we all need to be
thinking of him and wishing him well.
Bruce, The Dog Radio Group
Bruce, the Dog Radio Group, is the true diplomat of the Part 15 world.
I just had to say something about what
Robert just submitted.
It's looks good. Very good.
Bruce, The Dog Radio Group
Well, I feel like you guys are my
friends. You have all been very
supportive of me and my Part 15
set-ups, and that has always been a
big help in my life.
Bruce, The Dog Radio Group
P.S. Looking at your post, Carl,
it occurred to me that one guy,
i.e., me, isn't really a group.
I came up with the Dog Radio Group
in honor of all my dogs, (here on Earth
or in Doggy Heaven) and my long list
of Part 15 set-ups that have come over
the years. "Dog Radio" came along at
the peak of MICRO1690/1700's coverage
and listenership several years ago, when
my dog, Betty, slept in the studio every night.
There is only one thing that I like as much
as radio, and that's dogs.
Bruce, we're stealing The Crow's thread here, but I also am a one man group owner of several radio stations, less than 10 but more than 8.
Dogs can be very, uh, very, yes they can.
I have more to say about the Big Raid, but I'll wait for a while and look up big words.
Yup, Carl - I'm with you. We'll see what
happens with regard to this important thread.
Bruce, The Dog Radio Group
I'm still around,
Just laying low untill this all blows over.
Here's some suff to nestle down the speculation.
Word has it this NOUO will NOT be posted online.
There were no prior letters or warnings.
The agent's name is Juan Silva. A google search of the name and FCC does bring positive results.
The website and streams were taken down voluntarily by me.
The "account suspened" was a nice touch by the service provider.
If anything, I'm a bit more upset by the loss of my iAM transmitter, but whatever, its the government.
EDIT: as for The Crow Network, I successfully sold that off in 2012 on New Years (2013).
Thank you Jim The Crow for the information to set us straight.
Based on what you said, we now know that there is another layer to the FCC, different than the ordinary way things are done, more draconian and terrifying.
Our members who have an inside track on how things work have never disclosed this covert side of the FCC, or, they are unaware of it, or, maybe it's something new.
The entire part 15 hobby is poisoned by this atmosphere, and new speculation is appropriate as a digging tool.
Who is the pirate now?
Oh, and, there may be a "Juan Silva" with the FCC, but the marrauder might be an imposter simply "borrowing" the name.
Is there any chance the paper work from this event can be posted?
I have watched the mighty1650 and Gerry Gaule actions for long enough to draw some conclusions that I would like to share.
Mighty1650 (aka LibertyNT) was not "raided", he was "inspected" per FCC rules defined at http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/otherinfo/inspect.html By his own admission somewhere in scattered postings on the web, he said he was operating on FM at some undefined level above the FCC maximum. This likely was the lightning rod for the "inspection". The confiscation of all of his transmitters was not necessarily a declaration that they were all illegal. It may have just been a blanket decision by the agent to cover all possibilities. Mighty1650 has not posted any confirmation that these other transmitters, including the TH, were even in use at the time. He had the right to not allow confiscation, but the FCC web page linked above is intimidating in that regard.
The NOUO issued to Gerry Gaule has been confusingly intertwined with the mighty1650 inspection. Gerry's NOUO ( http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-319568A1.html) states that the FS was measured at 1800 uV/m at 175 meters. This is significantly higher than the best expected performance of a very good outdoor ground-mounted 3 meter antenna which would produce about 1300 uV/m at 175 meters, so it seems the FCC has some FS guidelines that basically say: if the FS is above a certain threshold that cannot be produced by a part 15.219 compliant 3 meter antenna/100 mW transmitter, then the setup is not compliant. Gerry has stated somewhere in the web soup that he was using a TH in a second floor apartment with the antenna wire extending up from the ATU to the ceiling and "no ground" wire. No ground wire implies the AC wiring ground was the ground path. This sort of equates to the antenna base being elevated about 10 ft. A good outdoor antenna elevated 10 ft would produce the measured FS. What remains a mystery is how he got his indoor antenna to perform like a good outdoor antenna? We all know that nobody else has ever gotten decent performance from an indoor antenna of any kind. Is Gerry being forthright in his posts about his transmitter and antenna installation? Additionally, Gerry has a big presence on the web, including at least two newspaper stories. A big media presence will naturally invite complaints from local broadcast stations and NAB freaks.
All the part 15 broadcasters out there should not be intimidated by these two recent unrelated FCC actions. If you want to reach out to listeners outside your home, expect some flack. Don't do high power FM. For AM, the best practical legal installation is a ground-mounted transmitter, in the clear, with about 16 radials each about 30 ft long.
Thank you Phil for putting this better than I ever could.
Man if that was just an inspection... I'd truely hate to know what wn actual raid is.
The guy didn't even bother mentioning part 15.
But Phil summed up my original post, don't run experiment or broadcast on FM with any kind of power that gets a distance.
To be honest, I think the only reason Jerry's situation was paired with mine was the common ownership of a talking house (iAM) unit that was confiscated.