Unlicensed station in Alabaster on 88.1

[Chad-Stevens]

From the Alabaster Reporter 6/16/2012

Business offers deals through liquidations

<snip>
Waltz recently moved his business, Clean Sweep, to an air-conditioned warehouse next to the BP gas station near the intersection of Shelby County 11 and Shelby County 68 in Alabaster.
<snip>
Over the past few weeks, Waltz has been advertising the sale by installing a short-range FM transmitter at the warehouse broadcasting information on 88.1 FM.
“It’s pretty neat. I can’t believe more people around here don’t use that. Legally, you can broadcast about half a mile,” he said.

Anyone in Alabaster able to check this signal out? I was in Alabaster today (though not at the junction of 68 and 11) and heard nothing on the channel.

 

[Bongwater]

From the Alabaster Reporter 6/16/2012

Business offers deals through liquidations

<snip>
Waltz recently moved his business, Clean Sweep, to an air-conditioned warehouse next to the BP gas station near the intersection of Shelby County 11 and Shelby County 68 in Alabaster.
<snip>
Over the past few weeks, Waltz has been advertising the sale by installing a short-range FM transmitter at the warehouse broadcasting information on 88.1 FM.
“It’s pretty neat. I can’t believe more people around here don’t use that. Legally, you can broadcast about half a mile,” he said.

Anyone in Alabaster able to check this signal out? I was in Alabaster today (though not at the junction of 68 and 11) and heard nothing on the channel.

Part 15 FM can be that way. Go to their parking lot.

The C. Crane FMT can cover a good 300' feet, which is sufficient for a basic storefront parking area.

http://www.ccrane.com/radios/fm-transmitters/fm-transmitter.aspx#.T98qvZuDyrA

To me, it's a novelty advertising gimmick. And one that sometimes still works in areas where the FM band isn't so congested........

 

[tomservo]

This sort of thing has actually gone on for a while. Does anyone remember the Talking House? It was a self-contained part 15 AM transmitter that broadcast a short recorded loop of information to give passers-by information on homes for sale. One was run out of the Homewood YMCA for a while back in the 90s if I remember correctly.

Drive in movie theatres like the one that is (or was) in Argo used the part 15 FM to send movie audio to cars.

It's not illegal if it's part 15, but modified transmitters and even repurposed translator/LPFM transmitters seem to be easy to come by to people who know where to look. Those can definitely exceed the 300' normal part 15 coverage.

 

[Chad-Stevens]

Wow! I've driven by the Homewood Y dozens of times and never heard any signal from them. I'll have to check it out. Do you remember the freq and was it just an information loop or actual programming?

I went to (what I think is) the Clean Sweep warehouse and parked in the lot but heard nothing on 88.1 except for WMAW-FM Meridian. It was early in the morning (around 7 am) so it may only operate during business hours.

 

[Bongwater]

This sort of thing has actually gone on for a while. Does anyone remember the Talking House? It was a self-contained part 15 AM transmitter that broadcast a short recorded loop of information to give passers-by information on homes for sale. One was run out of the Homewood YMCA for a while back in the 90s if I remember correctly.

Drive in movie theatres like the one that is (or was) in Argo used the part 15 FM to send movie audio to cars.

It's not illegal if it's part 15, but modified transmitters and even repurposed translator/LPFM transmitters seem to be easy to come by to people who know where to look. Those can definitely exceed the 300' normal part 15 coverage.

What your typical novice may forget is those cheap HLLY FM transmitters they sell on eBay and promise 5-250 watts of coverage are not only ILLEGAL to operate, they're poorly made and splatter all over the dial, even on the best radios. The C. Crane is the only one worthy of use for this purpose on FM at 300' feet maximum coverage.

AM however is a little more flexible. The Talking House type is more than adequate with a potential 1/4 to 1/2 mile range average (the Community Radio board is the best resource for your more specific knowledge.)

 

[tomservo]

Wow! I've driven by the Homewood Y dozens of times and never heard any signal from them. I'll have to check it out. Do you remember the freq and was it just an information loop or actual programming?

I went to (what I think is) the Clean Sweep warehouse and parked in the lot but heard nothing on 88.1 except for WMAW-FM Meridian. It was early in the morning (around 7 am) so it may only operate during business hours.

I seem to recall it operated on 1610 or 1620, but it hasn't been advertised or on the air as far as I know for a decade or more. I saw it back in the mid to late 90's and the sign came down afterwards.