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A visit from the FCC

J

jimbo

(I posted this under "can part 15 be legal" but this deserves a new topic) I thought I was legal but then I didn't have megabucks for a field strength test but no matter, the senior agent of the Devner field office measured for me and my station is dead.The Ramsey FM100B I had is history. I was using the whip antenna and the agent said my field strength was well above 250 microvolts from the street, about 60 yards from the transmitter. My notice of unlicensed operation will have the exact measurement. I'm telling ya, nothing fills your Depends like having the FCC calling from the road at 9am to say "hi, you're out of compliance". I had a nice chat and showed the agent the web site for the ACC10. Now that should be fine. It's certified but the real key is the field strength. Hopefully that's legal. I don't want to be spending time as a guest of the Feds in Florence, Colorado.
 
I'm curious--did the FCC field agent say you couldn't use the Ramsey FM transmitter no matter what you might do to reduce its field strength? If memory serves, it can be "jumpered" to increase its output to 1 watt or perhaps more. You could use it feeding into a terminated coax as a cable FM system, with the field strength limited to Part 15 FM levels. (Panaxis Productions has a book on Cable FM radio systems.)What kind of range are you seeking to achieve? A Part 15 AM transmitter can more easily achieve a given range than a Part 15 FM unit because of the more generous power limitation for AM. -- Jason
 
The agent said the Ramsey FM100B was putting out 2,000 microvolts at 60 yards. I was using the whip antenna supplied with the unit. My intent was to pipe my mp3 collection and some internet programs around the house. While the Part !5 AM might have greater ranger I preferred the stereo offered by FM. As far as I knew the FM100B was the .25 millwatt kit, I bought it assembled from an eBay auction. The agent measured my Sirius unit, which uses FM transmission, at 40 microvolts at about 20 feet. That Sirius unit covers about 2/10's of a mile. I imagine that's the intent of Part 15, just enough range to cover your home.
 
jimbo said:
The agent said the Ramsey FM100B was putting out 2,000 microvolts at 60 yards. I was using the whip antenna supplied with the unit. My intent was to pipe my mp3 collection and some internet programs around the house. While the Part !5 AM might have greater ranger I preferred the stereo offered by FM. As far as I knew the FM100B was the .25 millwatt kit, I bought it assembled from an eBay auction. The agent measured my Sirius unit, which uses FM transmission, at 40 microvolts at about 20 feet. That Sirius unit covers about 2/10's of a mile. I imagine that's the intent of Part 15, just enough range to cover your home.
Click to expand...
Did he also say that you couldn't use the Sirius FM transmitter (even though it is FCC-Certified)? I wouldn't be surprised if he did, as even 0.2 miles is pretty far for Part 15 FM.Also, the Panaxis Productions ACC100 is a monaural FM transmitter. At this very low power level, using stereo noticeably reduces the effective range. My C. Crane Company FM Stereo Part 15 transmitter sounds great, but I can't get clear reception on a Walkman more than about 30 feet away at ground level. The ACC100 is good out to 50 feet at ground level. -- Jason
 
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