• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Chautauqua County Radio

Ramsey kits and the like will broadcast a quarter of a mile. An FCC Type Approved Part 15 AM transmitter has a much greater range than ANY kit or FM Part 15 transmitter.
Click to expand...

The Rangemaster is considered the best, is this correct? I've heard they can transmit up to 3 miles(but that's usually in a rural area)?? In urban areas(like Buffalo & Rochester) it would be more like 1-1 1/2 miles?? How the antenna is put together is also important (or so I have read)??

I like your idea of starting a Part 15 network in a community and have come across websites of such stations in other towns. I think it would be hard to compete in Jamestown, which is well covered by it's 4 licensed stations. I think your best bet is to visit a town that has no stations nearby, a town that's friendly and would be nice to live in. Then super serve that community - lots of local sports, election results, holiday canned good drives and so much more. Running it as a micro-business out of your home, you could probably make a go of it. A Part 15 network is the only loophole around the FCC's restrictive licensing policies. IMHO, community radio is a very good thing. Best of luck in your search.
 
Opportunity Knocking

I think your best bet is to visit a town that has no stations nearby, a town that's friendly and would be nice to live in. Then super serve that community - lots of local sports, election results, holiday canned good drives and so much more.
Click to expand...

WBKY, Cassadaga. All Bucky, All the Time...
 
Yes, the Rangemaster is the best. It can reach well beyond 3 miles in some areas but that depends upon the ground in the area. A few years back Northtown Dodge had a cheesy Part 15 AM transmitter on top of their dealership. I could hear that up to five miles away. Range would diminish a bit in urban areas but mostly in areas that have almost no grassy areas. Range in Buffalo is still likely to be a bit better than 1 to 1.5 miles if it is properly installed and tuned.

Putting a Part 15 AM station into a city or town with existing radio will work as long as you find a niche. In fact the most successful Part 15 AM stations that I know did just that. People were not happy with the local licensed stuff and a new niche was created with the Part 15 AM.

I tried the concept in Medina but it was not a friendly town. Mostly City Hall was the problem and really the cause of the downfall. I had quite a few listeners and support from area people but the problems I was having with City Hall were too much to bear at the time. Live and learn. Perhaps, locating in a town where radio already exists poses less of a problem especially from City Hall.
 
Re: Opportunity Knocking

I think your best bet is to visit a town that has no stations nearby, a town that's friendly and would be nice to live in. Then super serve that community - lots of local sports, election results, holiday canned good drives and so much more. WBKY, Cassadaga. All Bucky, All the Time...
Click to expand...
Bucky Updates On The Tens...

More seriously, tonight while watching the Bills game, Channel 7 broke in with updates on Western New York's famous fugitive, Ralph "Bucky" Phillips. Keith and Susan looking serious and tense, throwing it to reporters in the field. Even a photog did a report.

Early in the update, Banks quoted "reliable sources" and reported one NYS Trooper had been killed in an exchange of gunfire. THAT certainly got MY attention.

As the reports from the field continued, around five minutes later reporter John Borsa, stationed at the NYSP barracks in Fredonia, refuted Banks and quoted a NYS Police regional commander who emphatically stated that NO troopers had been killed.

Had Susan and Kieth CHECKED with Borsa first or aired HIS report first, they might not have come off looking like dopes. Apparently, Channel 7 abides by the theory that it's more important to get the story on FIRST and check FACTS later.

To be fair, it may be that Borsa wasn't able to contact the anchors and that engineering was scrambling to make the shots and phoners work in the midst of a Bills broadcast. I'll concede those points and give the Channel 7 News department some slack if that was the case. But I'll not concede the point about CHECKING facts first before reporting, especially in a critical matter such as this, where a trooper is reported shot and killed.

As to those sources who said that a trooper had been killed... they should be crossed off the "source list."

Now, it may be that a NYS Trooper was shot and God forbid killed, but isn't it a rule of journalism that reports should cross-verified and confirmed by two separate sources? It was a long time ago, but that's what was hammered into my head in college and my first radio news jobs.

---
Back to radio...
 
Mike, I must point that WBEN Radio was reporting as late at 11pm that one of the troopers had been killed. I think this is an egregious error. Mistakes like this should not be tolerated.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom