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Check out Radio Pirates Forum for all your pirate radio needs everyone is welcome to join http://URLREMOVED/
Total posts : 45366Thanks, but no thanks! I prefer to stay on the LEGAL side of the fence when it comes to broadcast radio.
Total posts : 4536610-4 on the legal. Amazingly, they have a poll on that site claiming 20% of their members run 101w to 200w! Holy crap! How do they get away with that?
FCC asleep at the switch, or somebody’s tellin’ fish stories?
Don
Total posts : 45366I removed the URL link. This site is about LEGAL operation. Please do not link to pirate sites, or discuss operating illegaly here. thanks! 🙂
Total posts : 45366So I guess I have to ask, why is there sites advertising on Part15.us that clearly market uncertified equipment as well as cater to FM radio pirates?
Total posts : 45366I asked that question a while back and didnt get a response. I would like one this time. Advertisers selling amps,tv transmitters and uncertified transmitters sends the wrong message. I may have to review my participation here…
Total posts : 45366Thanks for your feedback on the products advertised on Part15.us
Both of you make a good point and it’s certainly an important question to ask. I didn’t respond the first time the question came up and I can see that I should have.
The advertising here is driven by two factors – bandwidth costs and our global audience.
First, the bad news – bandwidth costs.
The visitor volume on this web site is phenomenal, which is wonderful. Serving all of those wonderful visitors, on a server that makes the site pleasant to use, is rather expensive. We tried saving money on servers and you might remember how poorly the site worked…
We’ve tried oodles of different advertisers over the last five years and different sponsors pay different rates. The current group of sponsors comes very close to paying the bills, and for that I am really grateful. If anyone has a better idea then we’d love to hear about it.
Now the good news – we are a global web destination!
Our logs indicate that we are getting a huge number of visitors from places other than the USA. For each of us that have registered with a user name and password there are hundreds of visitors who stop in to learn about low power radio. Our regular posters might not realize it, but this site has become a global thought leader in low power radio. Every time you post you are reaching an audience that could exceed 50,000 global readers over a year’s time.
Because the part 15 regulations for which we are named apply only in the USA, our global visitors might be interested in products that we can’t use. Canada is a perfect example.
So there you have it, fellow global thought leaders in the low power radio hobby, thank you all for your continued support!
Total posts : 45366That was a very nice explanation,but….there should be a disclaimer on anything advertised that isnt USA legal. This way,nobody would get the wrong impression or think it might be legal when its not. A simple note stating “for export only,not available in USA” would assure folks that the buyers are informed and the sellers arent trying to sell them here.
I have a problem when they knowingly market illegal equipment in the USA. The folks using such equipment are at a greater risk of heavy fines and forfeiture. Do we need to promote illegal equipment to sustain our own existence? I hope not!
Lets go back to the roots here,the name of this forum is part15.US.
It speaks specifically to the part 15 enthusiasts in the USA,to whom I now feel we are doing a disservice. Sure,the global community can participate,but a clear line should exist between what is legal in the USA and what is not.
Total posts : 45366Reading the last few posts in this thread, I wondered what the big fuss was about. It was extremely obvious to me that the reason some of the non-US legal equipment was advertised was because people from other countries read this site. It may be a huge discovery to some that the internet is global, but why should their narrow view limit not only the technical discussions, but also the means that this site uses to support itself.
There is a big difference between providing information and advocating illegal activity. This is especially true when what is illegal in one corner of the world is perfectly legal in another. Yes, I am from the US. No, I don’t advocate operating what in the US would be a pirate station.
Must we have disclaimers on every piece of information provided here and elsewhere on the net? I’m sure the lawyers and the thought police would love such a policy, but I sure wouldn’t. Information is neither good or bad. It is how we make use of that information. It is up to the individual to determine what is legal in their particular country. There is ample information posted here to make it clear what is legal in the US. If someone is too stupid or too lazy to comply, then the responsibility is theirs, not this web site’s.
Total posts : 45366One other point. The “.us” in “part15.us” does not necessarily mean that only US content can be discussed. It is simply a top level domain (TLD). In fact, anyone in the US can get a domain name in the “.us” TLD. All that we can factually infer from such a domain name is that it is located in the US. That is the purpose of this TLD.
Total posts : 45366Well, if one was looking for logic in that direction, I think it’d only be called “part15” in the US. The name might make little sense to someone from another country where a different document and part would relate to whatever rules they can transmit under legally without a license.
But it has to be called something and be someplace, I never assumed that meant that people from other countries were unwelcome or discouraged here. Nor have I seen any sign of that.
I think that the concern being voiced is that ads for 15 watt fm boosters (to pick one example) combined with threads about pirate radio could make this site/forum seem at a first glance to be endorsing or encouraging activities which are illegal in the US under part 15. I don’t personally think anyone would have that impression if they actually read many of the forum topics/threads, but first impressions can be lasting ones.
Daniel
Total posts : 45366My apologies to the poster if I am quoting out of context:
Do we need to promote illegal equipment to sustain our own existence?
Please remember that Part15.us does not promote or sell any product or service. Part15.us promotes legal, low power broadcasting and discussions related to that activity and nothing else.
In order to pay for the rather significant out of pocket expenses of making this site available, Part15.us sells advertising space to vendors, who promote their own products in the space paid for. Visitors who are interested can visit the advertisers’ web sites and purchase, or not purchase, whatever they choose.
Without those vendors’ payments for advertising space, there is no source of funds to pay for the out of pocket costs of making this site available.
There are already a number of people who command pretty significant salaries in the working world who donate quite a bit of time and talent to keeping this site going. I’m sure no one is suggesting that the admins cover the bandwidth expenses out of their own pockets, too.
To repeat, any suggestions for different advertisers, or different funding sources, are always welcome.
Total posts : 45366“Our logs indicate that we are getting a huge number of visitors from places other than the USA”.
We too get traffic from all around the world, like you said; Part 15 rules only apply to the USA. We still get folks coming from around the world looking for information on our Part 15 sections; while they may not enter the words “Part 15” in the search engine; they still end up on our pages. That’s why we expanded our low power pages to include Micro broadcasting for FM & carrier current for AM. PCS is a global seller, some of its products can be old in the USA legally, and some can’t and you order at your own risk. PCS reminds users to check their local laws before using any product.
While we don’t have PCS on our site, we do have EDM; which sells high quality FM transmitters around the world, and many of those sold came from our site. Like SCWIS said; running a site like this is very expensive, anyway to defray the cost has to be taken into consideration.
We should be glad some advertisers are will to step forward to help defray the cost & keep this site free.
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