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Young DJs Take To The Airwaves

B

billalm

Saw the following today in the St. Petersburg Times. The guy thinks he's legal but is he really? I heard at one time that as long as you weren't interferring with legal stations, not over a 1/4 watt, and you didn't have an external antenna, you were ok. Is that still the case? Sounds to me that 30 foot antenna might get him busted. I'd imagine he's using a Ramsey box with small mixer or something of that nature.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/30/Neighborhoodtimes/Young_DJs_take_to_air.shtml
 
30 feet Height of the antenna the kids use to broadcast

1 mile Radius the station reaches from the south Clearwater home = Knock on the door from someone special! ;D

Yeah that's far from being part 15 compliant. Carrier Current FM was always a great way to go too. Yes I said carrier current FM. Made a homebrew coupler to match up with my 2 watt FM back in the day and got great use from that. I saw people doing it on AM and figured why not FM? Works better than the troublesome "leaky cable" method out there. Got some great old pics from the bedroom studio I gotta post on the mysapce page. Those are good for a laugh :D

Not a really smart interview to do, but then again I'm sure someone is already probably aware of what they are and have been doing. It would be sad to see someone screw with them but who knows...

ronnie
 
Hello, just wanted to say that the transmitter is a 25mw ramsey fm stereo transmitter "fm100 kit" that i assembled 2 years ago. The antenna is only about 15ft above the ground, When the reported asked about specs I had told him that the unit will transmitt about 1 mile on a good day with a very car stereo and thats were you really can't here it anymore. It transmitts clear about 1/8 to 1/4 mile on average. The antenna is also a ramsey on a 30 foot pushup pole "which is were he got the 30ft from" connected to about 20ft of lmr400 and tuned perfectly to the frequency. There are about 15 kids that are on the air but of coarse not all at once they are responsible for picking clean music, funny and interesting news, and management of the station. There reading skills and grades have greatly improved since they have been on the air reading the news, weather, sports, neighborhood classifieds on sundays at noon and also great stories. These kids really look up to me, and I always try to teach them right from wrong and how to settle there differences with each other. I always take measurements to insure that it is as legal as i can keep it. But as you all know with a cheap home made kit it is very unstable and also varying input voltages from florida power can change output of the transmitter slightly, usally + or - 10%. luckally we live on a high area of clearwater so the ground around us is on a down slope which also helps extend our range. The kids love to get emails and questions so please send some, [email protected] Also they have a little digital recorder to do interviews so if anyone knows of someone that is famous please let them know they would love to come and do an interview. Thanks, Rodger Baker "96.7 fm"
 
Technically you are illegal. You have too much antenna. But if that is all you have, the FCC will probably leave you alone. Just as long as you dont interfere with any local FM's they will probably leave you alone. Go ahead and have fun playing radio. Legally, you cannot have any more antenna than the whip antenna it came with.
 
Thanks for the info! I didn't know that. I've been trying to find updated requirements on the fcc cite but the only info i can find is 250mv @ 3 meters. On my hand held untuneable meter it's around 230 - 265mv @ 3 meters. I did not know that you could not have an external antenna. Thanks for the info!
 
It really does sound as if you are trying to do things right and keep your station in line with the regulations.

And, of course that's a far cry from others who seem to think they can crank up a kilowatt radio station anywhere they please to "stick it to the man".

Our industry is badly in need of good, young people who are interested in the profession. I can only encourage you and the kids to dream about being responsible broadcasters. And, that's the key. Don't just be "disc jockeys". Be "broadcasters". There's a big difference between the two.

Anytime those of us can be of help or advice, don't hesitate to ask.
 
Thanks for all the great advice! I tryed the factory supplyed antenna on the unit and it transmitts about 150ft to 200ft about 2 1/2 houses away. So what should i do? The drive in theaters in tampa transmitt about 1/2 mile or more on fm, do they have a special permit for an external antenna? And can we get a permit for external antenna use? can't seem to find anything on the fcc site.
 
wkid967 said:
Thanks for all the great advice! I tryed the factory supplyed antenna on the unit and it transmitts about 150ft to 200ft about 2 1/2 houses away. So what should i do? The drive in theaters in tampa transmitt about 1/2 mile or more on fm, do they have a special permit for an external antenna? And can we get a permit for external antenna use? can't seem to find anything on the fcc site.
Click to expand...

No, you can't get a special antenna permit from the Feds. You're either a part 15 station or a licensed station. And if you're a part 15 keeping pretty close with the law, the FCC wants nothing to do with you.

I doubt the Feds will really do anything. You're not interfering with any licensed stations on 96.7, and if there is any sideband interferance, I doubt it would extend off your property.

I would stick to your original antenna...I just dont think you'll have a problem.

Radio-X
 
However..you could always get a weather proof enclosure and mount the transmitter with the whip antenna on the roof. Did that and it worked really well. As I saw it, the antenna was not of an illegal length and I got the height I needed.

riggie
 
BIGRIGGER said:
However..you could always get a weather proof enclosure and mount the transmitter with the whip antenna on the roof. Did that and it worked really well. As I saw it, the antenna was not of an illegal length and I got the height I needed.

riggie
Click to expand...

That's what I did back in the day, mounted the x-mitter at the top of my tower, and ran the power/audio lines up from my "studio". With just a short jumper between the transmitter and the antenna, it worked great... almost completely eliminated any line loss...

But honestly, as everyone else has said, I really don't think you have anything to worry about with your current setup. At one point, I ran a 1-watt PLL kit for almost 2 years at 50 feet... you guys never read about me in the paper did-ja?

Have fun

Cedric
 
I think he's OK too. I live nearby and his signal doesn't get out far. I discovered him a few months ago and DFed to the house, knocked and got the tour after convincing him I wasn't Ralph T. Barlow. A nice little setup and board, and the kids love the experience!

Not FM, but here's a company that sells an inexpensive AM transmitter kit that I understand is pretty decent.

http://www.sstran.com/index.html
 
No it doesn't sound too out of line..but to be sure try Internet radio

Not too shabby to steam online either..Legal, and potential to reach as many listeners as you like. I have an actual WiFi radio (google "AE WiFi Radio") and I listen to "Radio Stations" from all over the world and every genre ever known. IT is the modern day equivelent to the RCA Radiola of the 30's. A stand alone actual RADIO! No computer needed..just a WiFi connection. I use it with hughesNet and it works flawlessly..It refeshes the directory of over 5000 stations every time you power it up. AWESOME!

More imortantly is that THIS is the very first of what will surely be an entire industry that will spring Internet delivery of "radio" as the defacto standard for years to come! Watch out Satcasters!

And yes the need for really good, mass appeal air talent is crucial. This will always be an industry that depends on the human factor if not as presenters then as listeners..and as hard as it is to believe or keep in our minds..a human being is who is listening to this medium.
 
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your support and all the great e-mails to the kids. They really enjoy reading and responding to your e-mails. Someone has volunteered there time to set them up a web sit and streaming audio, so I will keep all of you in touch when that project is complete. Thanks again, Rodger [email protected]
 
UPDATE: Tryed putting the transmitter outside with supplyed telescopic antenna. I mounted the unit on a shelf on my push up pole approx 10ft up with 20ft of RCA cables and the results are as follows, output at 3 meters, 170-190 mv. Range - 1/8 mile max with static on a good car stereo. Inside home receiving - 3 houses away from transmitter clear reception, 4 to 5 houses away static. Also noted some increased background noise due to the extra length of RCA cables I suppose or possibly due to bad SWR from telescopic antenna. Also- largohomeforsale.com donated a web site for the kids - wkid967fm.com "still under constuction" and Dynamic Solutions Group has donated a computer and online streaming for the kids "still being constructed" Again the kids and myself do appreciate everthing that everyone is doing my costs everymonth for paper and ink, food and drinks, field trips and interviews every month exceeds $1,100 a month these kids are from low income and broken familys so the parents can't do much to help and I wouldn't feel right asking them. So again I do thank all of you that have helped donate items to help expand this fun and educational broadcast project. THANK YOU EVERYONE! Rodger Baker 96.7 FM [email protected] (727)423-9400
 
Back in the day, We put a station on in Gainesville Florida built out of a Heathkit color bar generator..Dropped the antenna wire from the top of the Towers...We were doing well, until the Aribitron, Pulse or whatever came out and we were #1 in Gainesville, Yeah we were illegal..but it was fun back then! APE
 
Does anyone have an auto leveler for the audio? Music levels are really varing and i heard there is an auto leveler unit available to go between the mixer and the transmitter. After checking on one and finding the cost to be way more than i can afford, I was hoping someone upgraded there system with digital equipment and is willing to give up there old analog audio leveler as a donation to the kids or for a good price. Please call me or e-mail me or the kids. Thanks, Rodger and the 96.7 Kids. 727-423-9400 [email protected]
 
Veronica Kits sells a very nice audio limiter/compressor, its in the neighborhood of $300. Probably the best bang for the buck...

You can't have mine though, I might need it someday. ;D

Also, this isn't the best place to look for the kind of info you want... I suggest you take a peek at the alt.radio.pirate newsgroup. Have fun...

Cedric
 
WTSP news 10 to air a story about the kids and the little neighborhood station tonight 7/31/07 between 4:00 and 5:00 pm.
 
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