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Low Power FM Report Rejects Interference Concerns
akb writes "Back in 2000, Slashdot covered the Low Power Radio setback by Congress, detailing a law which gutted an FCC initiative that would have created thousands of Low Power FM radio stations (LPFMs). Congress overruled the FCC, ostensibly because of interference concerns, and cut the number of stations from thousands to a few hundred, with hardly any in urban areas. A concession was made to allow a study of the interference caused by LPFMs, and that report has been released. The verdict: 'Based on the measurements and analysis reported herein, existing third-adjacent channel distance restrictions should be waived to allow LPFM operation at locations that meet all other FCC requirements, [with the exception of several minor technical requirements]'. There's more coverage at DIYmedia.net"
Does this mean we'll be getting good radio stations now?
Seriously, this is a good thing, especially if someone can find a way to harness this for some sort of digital traffic.
I have no tag line
I would assume that lower power FM radio stations would have lower overhead costs (power being one of them). This could allow for a subculture of small radio stations similar to public-access cult-followed TV shows.
Media reform, here we come!
It's only when we've lost everything, that we are free to do anything...
Where do they have stations that are .2 MHz apart? I think that's just the minimum interval between stations.
I'm guessing with a little hardware hacking, an additional input can be added and I can either tie it in to a net stream (Soma!) or run mp3s through it, and listen throughout the house and yard. Would make any walkman into a local-only mp3 'player'. I am reasonably sure that no licence is necessary.
I just have to get an antenna. Damn these laws of physics!
FM radio is so completely devoid of useful things to listen to (with the one exception of NPR, thankfully)
FYI, NPR is one of the big lobbyists going against LPFM.
No, it doesn't. Have you ever heard a pirate radio station? Generally it's someone with their MP3s on random play who cuts in for the occassional rant about how cool this is or how the FCC sucks or whatever. I can't imagine why the average low-power station would see an increase in quality just by going legit, except that it might drive away some of the more untalented people who aer just doing it because it's illegal.
No, *I* wonder if you might not be able to think different here.
Picture this: Rather than just a transmitter, you also set up a web feed of your programming. Other people who find your show can set up their own low power transmitters and rebroadcast it, and maybe add their own shows and content to the "network" (so I'd be on for a few hours, then the owner of another transmitter would be on for a while, making it possible to have live content for larger portions of the day -- this'd be trivial to set up).
This would hopefully lead to a situation where democratic radio stations would emerge. If enough people like your content, the area in which it could be heard would grow as more transmitters are added. This could snowball to the point where, at least in urban areas, you'd have something like a real coverage area. If your show quality drops off, well, transmitter owners can go elsewhere.
Would it work? You got me -- there might be technical or regulatory issues, and certainly there's no accounting for the taste of the masses, but it's still a more interesting concept than just having many pirate-wannabes broadcasting...
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
The FCC is given power from the Federal Government of the USA, which argues that it is regulating "Interstate Commerce", as per the Constitution. What most people don't realize is that in order for a radio station to fall under FCC jurisdiction, from a legal standpoint, the station needs to broadcast outside of a state's borders. (The only exception being if a state has made a law that the FCC has power in that state.) Otherwise, it is Intrastate Commerce, not Interstate Commerce. If you're in Michigan and your signal doesn't reach Canada, Wisconsin, Ohio, or Indiana, your station cannot be under the FCC's evil thumb! I know of at least one pirate station that has used this argument and has won in court. So, even if low powered stations can be regulated by the FCC, it doesn't matter as long as your station's power is low enough not to leave the state.
You would still get those low quality radio hippies, but I belive the quality in general would improve. Why? Because the people who are going to do the crappiest job are the kind of people that WOULD set up a pirate radio station, whereas people like me who would do a decent job wouldn't dare might the FCC triangulate us.
I'm currently writing a Windows-based radio station automation system (no jokes about the blue sound of death, almost all radio stations are run off Windows) modelled after OpLog (http://omt.net), and I would take the care and time to schedual, voice track, and even go on live when I had the time. Not only that, but I have a good taste of music (to me).
I personally hope the FCC gets off their asses and does something good for the PEOPLE once instead of Entercom and Clear Channel. Does anyone remember when 'The Airwaves Belong[ed] To The People'? I think it was back when ONE company could own ONE FM, ONE AM, and ONE TV station in a single market.
So, from this I'm sure you can tell how I fell about the new legislation Clear Channel and Entercom passed through the government allowing single corperations to own EVEN MORE stations in a single market.
I hate you FCC.
I hate you Clear Channel.
I hate you Entercom.
If the airwaves belong to the people, why can't the people own them?
From the FCC regulations:
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/lpfm/index.html
"LPFM stations are available to noncommercial educational entities and public safety and transportation organizations"
Pretty much Churches ("God God God!") and Schools ("Snow day today, please floss your cats") can broadcast as LPFM, but no one else is going to get a permit because GOD FORBID some independent vinyl freak may become more listened to than the drabble from MEGACRAPCORP BROADCASTING and their 50k watt transmitter.
"Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect."- Steven Wright
Lots and lots of religious outfits - Calvary Church is a big one. Overwhelming majority are churches. You get an idea of what the programming will be, I think.
Some "interesting" ones in California:
Up here in Anchorage Alaska, we have a LPFM station running right along with the larger radio stations. In fact, one of there bumpers states "KZND, Low power and lovin it!" They play some decent music, but they have been under review by the FCC (not due to the fact that they are low power, but because 87.7 is supposed to the audio band for television channel 6). The music is decent, so I often find myself surfing over to The End . Just my $.02 worth.
We, the unwilling,led by the unknowing,are doing the impossible for the ungrateful.--Author Unknown
Interference is only a straw man if you don't happen to live where the LPFM blows you out. Read the report. Interference _is_ seen in a radius of hundred of meters around LPFM transmitters.
The report is being widely interpreted to open the door, but many who read it that way are missing the strong conditions...including not licensing LPFM stations to locate where there are concentrations of receivers, and specifying that a very strong emission mask must be used.
These are likely show-stoppers for most of the LPFM set.
By the way, anyone missing all those low-power campus and community stations...this has not been standing in the way. If they were there once they worked under the existing rules. Economics has probably led to the demise of most.
I can tell you what worked for us.
In the year 2000, we hooked our 150 watt transmitter up to the Internet and hung a banner over a Mpls/St. Paul I-94 overpass with our website spray painted on it.
Visitors to the website could upload any MP3 off their hard drive to the station and it would be automatically queued up for broadcast. We also set up a voicemail line for those who didn't have computers -- any voicemail left there would be automaticaly queued up for broadcast as well.
It was great radio for the 2 weeks straight that it lasted. The best I've ever heard. We got several hundred uploads and voicemails on the air. When we ran the same station promos too much people began making their own and uploading them. It was wild.
When the FCC agents found our transmitter, we had to go on hiatus. We've worked on improving the software we use, and we may do it again someday. I think a model like this -- with some substantial tweaking -- could make microradio stations the most fascinating audio in town.
He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.
in the 1630 to 1710kHz range. The FCC opened this up in the late 1980s and it remains largely unused. Sure, people are going to whine and say that AM broadcast quality isn't as good as FM, but I'd rather listen to an interesting station on AM, with the occasional crackle of static, than perfectly clear corporate clear channel crap on FM. It seems to me that the FCC could take this space and rededicate it to community low power AM stations.
cheap labor conservatives - they want to keep you hungry enough to be thankful for minimum wage.