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I’m looking for some realistic ideas of what I would expect if I started broadcasting on AM. I used to run a small pirate station in the UK in the 80’s/90’s, I’ve lived in TX since then and want to set up an AM station in Houston, which would be trying to get out to the blind (in particular), with announcements for the disabled, and others from the local community. However I am somewhat put off by the FCC and the punishments they seem to dish out for what seems like almost nothing. Let me say that I am an Engineer and as such have no desire to fork out $600 upwards for a basic AM transmitter. Am I right in thinking there is a form of blackmail going on if you use homebrew equipment? Or is it all bs, that the FCC man will go over your equipment with a fine tooth comb and still find something wrong with it? I just couldn’t afford $10,000 fine for doing practically nothing, nor am I interested in paying out $600+ for something I could build myself for under $100. So basically how can I keep my station legal, and yet do it cheaply? Any thoughts on the AMT3000-SM, and/or the Spitfire? Seriously I’m trying to keep it legal.
Total posts : 45366AM can be fun and can give a few blocks of usable signal, even a portion of a mile on a good car radio or if the audience uses an external receiving antenna.
AM is probably the least likely to get FCC scrutiny with a home built unit. Complying with the “100 mW DC input to the final amplifier and 3 meter antenna” guideline is a fairly easy standard to follow and results in a slightly higher than statutory but predictable uV/M that can be measured and confirmed by any FCC field agent.
Some publications hosted on this site offer schematics for AM transmitters:
FCC reports indicate fines are levied when an experimenter repeatedly refuses to comply with the FCC’s directives or sells prohibited equipment. The process for a reasonable but unsuccessful effort to be a compliant broadcaster appears to be to issue an NOUO.
Citations, NALs and attempts to collect fines reportedly come from refusing to comply with the instructions in an NOUO. You can review the actual actions of the FCC in these matters here:
Total posts : 45366Thanks for replying. Some interesting reading there. It certainly is a challenge getting any signal out at all and still remaining within the law. I am interested in maybe using the internet to cover a larger area between txers. I feel the FCC should give a little and allow the broadcasters more power to get out to local communities. I saw much the same issues in the UK where the laws are more strict still and ‘Pirates’ are hunted down and fined. The best way to go is to legalise a lot more of it. Small ‘cheaply licensed’ stations of say 10-25W shouldn’t bother too many people and should be welcomed since they are beneficial to local communites – I’d like to see it go that way eventually, with responsible broadcasters taking responsibility for their programs. I think that probably is the real issue, the big boys don’t like it when the enthusiasts are doing it better. Here in Houston the radio stations are frankly awful. The radio ‘talent’ is mostly talentless and unremarkable. SUNY is about the only one that comes close to a radio station, and KUHT for something a bit more civilised. The rest (Clearchannel owns them all, and they lost the plot long ago) are very poor and unremarkable. I really feel there is an opening for the right bunch of people working in collaboration for something worthwhile around here.
Total posts : 45366Greetings piratenomore. Everything you’ve been saying reflects everything I find regarding programming quality, station power levels, and the “king of the hill” tactics of big dull stations. The FCC serves the rich, has no interest in cultural quality or improved program service. Those of us who care are a special group who very welcome on the dial by many many listeners. Here in St. Louis I just talked to a woman who agrees that the dial is unsatisfying but she would like very much to hear something good. We need a redress of grievances.
Total posts : 45366Hi there, that would seem to be a common concensus around here! I am seriously considering in putting together a Part 15 station. My site is exactly 1 mile from downtown in a residential area where houses sell and have kept selling (what recession?), and close to a major shopping area, so I am looking for a possible realty market? I’m thinking it could even be profitable in that area, if I was able to hammer out a clear idea of what I’m trying to do. The biggest bonus is that it is a corner lot with a large back garden, and no HOA or similar to worry about. So my station would be pretty much ‘Out of sight – out of mind’, and few neighbors to worry about. Even at that I think I’d go down the road of a P.O. Box as an official address. It’s just a pity that the power is so limited. So currently exploring the possibilities and puzzling over whether my ideas are realistic.
Total posts : 45366I too used to pirate the fm and am bands back in the 90’s and around 2003. I never got caught but several of my friends did, including one I helped build a station for. Even my CB Radio was doing way more than allowed by the fcc.
After a few life changing events I folded up the jolly roger flag and my station went dark. Now several years later I am back broadcasting again but this time with certified transmitters and i am not doing anything to hide my operations.
If anyone ever questioned the legality of operating my little station I would gladly invite them to visit my studio and then point them in the direction of Part15.us.
But i wasn’t always this open with my operations.
A couple years ago I purchased a couple of certified transmitters and one questionable tx. At that time I was a bit too careful with my operations.
I guess running a few watts in the past brought back that paranoid feeling that some fcc agent was in the bushes across the street with a field strength meter and clip board tracking my every move.After joining Part15.us those silly notions soon faded away and now I don’t mind telling people what I am doing.
As the old song goes:
Don’t fear the reaper or in this case, the fcc. If you follow the rules as close as humanly possible, ask questions here and just have fun with it, this can be a great hobby and you just might find out it’s really no different than running 5 watts into a groundplane 25 feet in the air.I would go with AM just for the range and stay away from anything sold without the certification from the fcc. While i don’t agree with everything the fcc does, i do respect the fact they are here to make radio enjoyable for everyone, they have no control over the crappy programming offered by corporate run stations like clear channel.
Thats where we come in, it’s up to us to make radio what it can be and show the big boys how it should be done.
This is,
Free Radio Waynesburg 97.7 fm
er uh I mean, Rock 95 Seven
Signing Off… Good Night
lol
Total posts : 45366I suggest you buy a Talking House II transmitter (they are FCC approved for part 15.219) That’s 100 milliwatts of power in a neat package. Feed it with an MP3 player and you are on the air. If you can find a high location indoors that will help the signal. Have fun.
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