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Austin Area Engineers

  • Thread starter brandon_sossamon
  • Start date

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brandon_sossamon

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Any of you Austin Engineer types interested in helping me get a Part 15 station together? Mainly just answering questions I have via email and/or phone calls. I don't want to take up too much of your time but there are a few things I need some help with. If any on-site work is needed I would definitely pay you for your time. I know Part 15 isn't "pro" but thought I'd ask. If interested, please PM me your info. Thanks!

brandon
 
Cheaper to have a podcast. Plus it reaches more listeners. Isn't Part 15 the kind of radio you can buy a radio shack and only has 1 mile if that coverage?

I think this post has been covered somewhere on here, I am not sure where.

There is a high school in Austin that is trying to broadcast on AM radio. I think it is McCollum, you might want to call them.

But the future of FM and AM radio will not last long, as everything is moving to satelitte. In fact, give 5 to 10 years tops, we will be able to pick up all the stations across the United States with 1 special tuner, free of charge, on existing XM, the Premium channels will be still there, at a cost.

Of course, with the FM transmitters that allow your Ipod to work on a normal car stereo will be used to convert those tunes.

Not really far fetch as it seems. They once said DTV wouldn't take off. Well.
 
Whether a podcast reaches more listeners depends on where the part 15 station is located.

They're both audio delivery, and while I do both, I see the podcast as more trouble.

If I lived in a farm house with few neighbors, I wouldn't bother with part 15.
As I live in a dense city neighborhood, there are enough people locally to make part 15 viable.

Austin is known for having an active music scene, and the same people who support the local music acts
would be the likely listeners.

I will certainly help answer questions.

Satellite replacing radio soon?
It's not likely that anything off the satellite is ever going to be free.
Unless it's paid for by all of us out of taxes, and considered a necessary service to society.
As radio is mostly a commercial zone, I can't see how this would work.
 
Cheaper to have a podcast. Plus it reaches more listeners. Isn't Part 15 the kind of radio you can buy a radio shack and only has 1 mile if that coverage?
Click to expand...
For me, it's not about the reach, it's about having fun. Last I was in radio, the station was still on carts, an old Gates Dualux, reel to reels and broadcast over AM. I had fun doing that. It wasn't until I moved to the big city and worked in automation that the fun started to fade. The lure of the dollar bill took me out of radio and put me into live event production for the last 20 years. Over the last few months, the radio bug has bitten me like it did when I was 14. I can't give up my current career but wanted to figure out how I could get back into radio FOR FUN. That's when I stumbled upon Part 15. Seeing as how I live in a rural community (several houses close together but out in the country), I figured I could operate an uber-local station and cover the community "gossip" and play music that the folks want to hear. Podcasts are a dime a dozen and I think most are like me, if you can't dial it up in your vehicle going down the road, it ain't worth it.
Satellite replacing radio soon?
It's not likely that anything off the satellite is ever going to be free.
Unless it's paid for by all of us out of taxes, and considered a necessary service to society.
As radio is mostly a commercial zone, I can't see how this would work.
Click to expand...
I can't agree more.
I will certainly help answer questions.
Click to expand...
My only downfall is the engineering side of it. My knowledge of the inner workings is slim to none depending. Tom, if you're willing to answer questions, I appreciate it! More so, though, I am looking for someone in the area that I can ask questions of and take parts to for troubleshooting if need be. The fine folks on Hobbybroadcaster.net have been a huge help in advice and email assistance but there are few things I need to have checked out physically. I appreciate the offer and will certainly shoot you questions when they come up.
 
Tom Wells said:
Whether a podcast reaches more listeners depends on where the part 15 station is located.

They're both audio delivery, and while I do both, I see the podcast as more trouble.

If I lived in a farm house with few neighbors, I wouldn't bother with part 15.
As I live in a dense city neighborhood, there are enough people locally to make part 15 viable.

Austin is known for having an active music scene, and the same people who support the local music acts
would be the likely listeners.

I will certainly help answer questions.

Satellite replacing radio soon?
It's not likely that anything off the satellite is ever going to be free.
Unless it's paid for by all of us out of taxes, and considered a necessary service to society.
As radio is mostly a commercial zone, I can't see how this would work.
Click to expand...

And Network TV isn't just PBS. There is a slew of Commercial networks. The Commercials will still be there but on satellite. Only those paid channels won't have the commercials kind of like HBO vs. Fox News, or WGN. They probally said the same thing about FM radio. I see it in the future it is a question of when. The existing analog spectrum will be used for police band, and more bandwidth on those smart phones, or for the Airport Traffic Controllers.
 
willdav713 said:
The existing analog spectrum will be used for police band, or for the Airport Traffic Controllers.
Click to expand...

Ooh nice, how interesting! :p
 
Folks, we can argue for days on end about the future of the AM and FM bands. This forum topic is about seeking out engineers in the Austin, TX area that are interested in helping in a Part 15 build. Please don't hijack my post. If you would like to rant about the future of radio, please create your own post elsewhere. Please & Thank You!

brandon
 
Why mess with that? When the FCC did nothing to the 90.1 in Austin.
 
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