The Future - AM + Streaming only (no FM & HD)

[xmtrland]

Almost forgot the most important thing for something like this.

I'm told the duty cycle on this baby is 45 minutes, so make it count!

 

[Kelly A]

How about something like this?

Big 6000 Gallon Diesel tank


Generator to run your 50KW transmitter

Self contained studio with 10KW transmitter in case the 50KW gets hurt. Satellite feed from FEMA to an ENDEC in the module with the transmitter/studio.

Complete with high tech security! OK I just wanted to include a picture of my dog.

For what its worth I have a hunch that some of this infrastructure may already be in place. I think the weakest link would be the humans that would have to run it. And maybe the fact that most are AM stations, just had to point that out before others do.

Our taxpayer dollars at work. Given people primarily use their smaryphones, and someone would need to travel via Ferry to Vashon Island to actually broadcast from the TX site, it's unlikely much of this expense will see much use, or many listeners if it does.

 

[kfbkfb]

Well...it looks like my idea isn't viable.

(how about an anchored Balloon over the affected area that transmits emergency info using one of the cell phone system cell frequencies, cell phones would be able to receive this info until their batteries died)


Kirk Bayne

 

[xmtrland]

I do live on Vashon and in the event of an earthquake the ferry docks are not usable till they get inspected. King County is tasked with getting the necessary personal on site in the event of an actual emergency. Is doing something better than doing nothing? I'm with you in hoping this never has to be used for the intended purpose. The thought of being stuck in one of these things with only powdered Coffee Mate for the Coffee ration is something no one in the Seattle area wants to think about.

Balloon with a Cell Phone transmitter? Now that's silly.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

(how about an anchored Balloon over the affected area that transmits emergency info using one of the cell phone system cell frequencies, cell phones would be able to receive this info until their batteries died)

This essentially exists, and was deployed in the aftermath of certain disasters (Hurricane Maria specifically) Project Loon

 

[davideduardo]

How about something like this?
View attachment 4605

And in an emergency, where is the landfill / foundation dry gravel coming from? Or the molded concrete base holders. Or the truckload of chain link fencing. Or the guys in clean service vests and Lilly-white helmets?

I wonder how many months, if not years, of government paperwork and planning went into the construction of that facility. Particularly the "Latrine, portable, chemical, chrome with white seat and tubing" that likely had to pass a dozen environmental and sanitation approvals before being requisitioned.

 

[CTListener]

So to sum it all up, this is about far, far more than preserving amplitude modulation on the 540-1710 kHz frequency range. And whatever the solution is is not doable on a national scale, AM or no AM.

 

[davideduardo]

This essentially exists, and was deployed in the aftermath of certain disasters (Hurricane Maria specifically) Project Loon

If those balloons were deployed after Maria in Puerto Rico, I did not hear about it. And even if deployed, about 90% or more of the Island had no power for days, weeks and even months so a cellular service on a balloon would have been useless (and not taking into account that Puerto Rico frequently has winds that likely would render the balloons "unsustainable") as nobody could hear them.

While Puerto Rico is not Iowa, I use this as an example of how emergency communications only work if there es both a transmitter and a receiver.

 

[kfbkfb]

I really don't care about AM, IMHO, it's just a stepping stone on the way to ubiquitious wireless broadband, it was kind of fun to receive WLS-AM in stereo (~40 years ago) in central MO though.

(could drop AA battery based cell phone battery packs with suitable USB connectors combined with the Balloon)


Kirk Bayne

 

[Mark Roberts]

I really don't care about AM, IMHO, it's just a stepping stone on the way to ubiquitious wireless broadband, it was kind of fun to receive WLS-AM in stereo (~40 years ago) in central MO though.

(could drop AA battery based cell phone battery packs with suitable USB connectors combined with the Balloon)


Kirk Bayne

When KFAL wasn't interfering with it, even at nighttime power.

 

[xmtrland]

My example up thread is an example of what's being deployed now at some PEP facilities. Not something to be deployed after the fact. Most people reading this thread don't have to deal with helping run a PEP station. I do. Luckily the company I work for takes PEP stations in their group seriously. If anything I wanted to point out that the government is doing some thing with AM and trying to disseminate information on that band. I'm not defending it either way, just presenting what was done at a facility I work for.

I was in no position to stop this project, my job was to help facilitate it at the local transmitter site. I prefer to work with people and help find a positive way to look at things.

I think the real big picture moving forward with technology evolving faster, how do you implement a way to get information out without it immediately becoming obsolete or impractical.

It takes time to design, designate the funding and deploy for the federal government. Is it really a no win situation and no further action should be taken?

Satellite and Cell Phones would be a forward looking solution. More people have Cell phones and text messages delivered via Satellite would be very practical for nature based emergency where information needs to get out. Maybe not so much if an EMP event. So the search goes on for the perfect delivery method.

 

[RadioFan2J3]

I'm actually referring to the transmitter in Marathon, Florida on 1180 kHz that relayed programming to Cuba and that, I believe, later became part of Radio Martí. It was quite audible in the Midwest at night, with audio that was clearly being fed by a conditioned phone line (it had that "network" sound in the days before satellite distribution).

That conditioned phone line was exactly. It was a 5 kHz line from Greenville Site C to Marathon and was simply fed with the VOA Spanish programming. There was no dedicated Radio Marti feed for years.

David might have a good date when Marathon started running a dedicated Radio Marathon feed, but I am guessing it might have been in the late 1980s.

 

[davideduardo]

That conditioned phone line was exactly. It was a 5 kHz line from Greenville Site C to Marathon and was simply fed with the VOA Spanish programming. There was no dedicated Radio Marti feed for years.

But when they separated from VOA content, they changed the audio sourcing system. Obviously, there was no studio on Marathon (although the Key Lime Pie bakery right next to the access road to the site is about the best one there).

David might have a good date when Marathon started running a dedicated Radio Marathon feed, but I am guessing it might have been in the late 1980s.

1983 for Radio Martí. I did the annual revue mandated by Congress in 1985, and I think that was the third one ever done.

 

[Kelly A]

Balloon with a Cell Phone transmitter? Now that's silly.

And the rest of what Kirk proposes isn't?

 

[kfbkfb]

The "cell phone Balloon" would only transmit emergency info on the various frequencies used by cell phones, it would not be used to make calls.

With the cell phone network down (causes mentioned in previous posts), cell phones in the affected area would be looking for signals and would find the signals from the Balloon, which would contain current emergency info.


Kirk Bayne

 

[TheBigA]

With the cell phone network down (causes mentioned in previous posts), cell phones in the affected area would be looking for signals

Reminder that there isn't a "national cell phone network." There are instead multiple networks owned by competing cell companies. Most phones are locked on their particular network, so they couldn't "search" for signals. If AT&T is down, your phone will indicate "no service."

 

[gr8oldies]

The balloon will transmit a continuous loop telling people the brand of kerosene lamps that they bought in the 60s isn't owned by the same company that owned it in the 60s so buy a different kerosene lamp.

 

[gr8oldies]

No need for the Rube Goldberg balloon----there are such things as portable/mobile cell sites for emergencies or to provide extra capacity for things like sporting events.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Or... a brute force type of thing could be done...use drones/small airplanes to drop many AM/FM battery powered radios into affected areas and develop some sort of portable, fairly easy to assemble AM transmitter for FEMA (set up in a nearby unaffected area - possibly run with a diesel generator), maybe just a 10kW AM signal to provide emergency info.


Kirk Bayne

Is this all an elaborate April Fools joke?

 

[kfbkfb]

Is there some tech reason that the cell signal from the Balloon couldn't identify as an AT&T network signal, send the info, then identify as a T-Mobile network signal, send the same info and then identify as a Verizon network signal and send the same info, then cycle back to AT&T?


Kirk Bayne