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Radio Re-Volt: Broadcasting For The Common Man
An anonymous reader writes "Well, almost for the common man. This Wired article describes a project of the Walker Art Museum in Minneapolis to teach people about the power of radio through the use of cheap low-power FM transmitters. Although each transmitter is limited to a range of about a block, they're cheap enough that I could see them being spread out across a city to cover it with a signal. It'd be interesting to do something like that and feed these inexpensive networks via a netcast. You could use something like this to air programming that commercial stations won't broadcast because it's not commercially viable or because it doesn't fit in with the interests of big media. You can read the above article or go directly to the Radio Re-Volt Web site."
How much to liscense the spectrum to transmit this on?
"Radio Blogs"...I should probably be scared, yet somehow I'm fascinated!
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
I know low-power FM broadcasts are legal without a license (such as an mp3 player that broadcasts to your car radio,) but would current regulations have anything to say about a network of such transmitters spread out over an area larger than an individual transmitter is allowed to broadcast?
Art Schools Dietzilla
Of course that wouldn't work if you were in the US because they don't have the Internet there yet. Perhaps for a backwards nation like the US where the media is tightly controlled by the Stat^H^H^HCorporate overlords, this is a really big step. But for modern countries net streaming a far better broadcasting alternative.
Of course, such small radio stations will not recover the First Amendment -- the Internet has done a lot more to recover First Amendment rights anyway.
However, even with one person one watt, the failure of the government to protect freedom of religion and indeed impose politically correct beliefs upon the private lives of citizens continues not only unabated but exacerbated through the multiplication of government agencies overseeing out compliance with federal mandates about with whom we must associate in our private affairs.
The damage caused by that interference has now built up a debt as large as slavery. Such debts are so enormous and the government so unlikely to pay down those debts that basically the current US government cannot claim any legitimacy any longer.
Seastead this.
Or as a micro station at outdoor festivals, concerts and sporting events to name a few. If you have ever been to Grass Roots, Jazz Fest, or a phish anything, you could see how this could be viral and allow for some interesting intermissions.
Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
Of course I like the idea of the classic 80s pirate radiosenders but today you can just broadcast whatever you want via the net and make it available to a much larger audience. I really like those for iTrip like applications, though.
when you have some its never enough
That culture and new ideas can come from "that place you fly over on a SFO-JFK flight."
Per Square Mile, a blog about density
I don't like the idea of more EM radiation flying around. What kind of hazard would all these broadcasts be to people's health? Is it worth even thinking about?
RHZ radio is already up and running and streaming content on the internet so that remote stations can rebroadcast it. Very cool stuff!
Signatures are a waste of bandwi (buffering...)
Hopefully we'll get more music to listen to. But probably they'll just be ore radio stations for more people to talk about nothing. Democracy and the internet offer the same thing the opportunity for anyone to voice their opinion supposedly freely and without harm. Funny thing as kid you knew when to shut up cause if you didn't you knew you would get beat up.
How does it work out buffering and syncing? How does it avoid "ghosts" or echos in the broadcast when a radio is simulateously received broadcasts from two base stations broadcasting the same broadcast on the same frequency, one getting the source broadcast over a DSL line with some latency, the other over fibre with much less latency?
I expect that is something that must be solved in software, and, according to the article, this is a hardware device. The original poster's dream of a blanket grass-roots radio station is a little far away. That being said, a small FM broadcaster would be great for broadcasting something in the house and being able to tune in from any simple FM radio around the yard.
The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. -Einstein
This would work better with Wi-Fi enabled boom boxes. Wi-Fi can handle multiple transmitters. An Wi-Fi enable Walkman-like device has real possibilities.
except that only someone on your block can hear you, unless the signal is constantly repeated to extend range by fans/fellow radio low watt types.
Anyway, looks very cool to me.
Freedom of speech, even if a small voice. Rock On!
.
If I had a real
Yeah, they are going to remake Pump Up the Volume but this time using Podcasting.
Announcing the launch of
RHZ AMATEUR RADIO NETWORK
The RHZ Amateur Radio Network is a articipatory experiment aiming to create
the possibility of a legal, publicly owned and operated radio that grows
successively with each new participant. Based on the FCC allowance for individuals to operate a one milliwatt> > micro-radio station, RHZ uses the internet to share content between micro-stations so they can broadcast the same content at the same time.
> > Anyone can have their own radio station, starting with a hobby kit as
low as $30!
RHZ is designed to follow the parameters of FCC regulation, abide by
copyright law, and use only free open source software to distribute
information, while simultaneously allowing the broadcast network to grow
to
the size of the social network that creates it.
Blending amateur technological experimentation and social activism, RHZ
was
designed as project for REBEL REBEL project series for Leefahsalung at
the
New China Town Barber Shop.
Broadcast Launch
Friday September 10, 2004
Location
AM 1680 in Chinatown
REBEL REBEL Public Opening and RHZ website launch
Saturday September 11, 2004 - 6 to 9 pm
The New China Town Barber Shop
930 North Hill Street, Los Angeles
and rhzradio.net on the WWW
dorkbot: people doing strange things with electricity
http://dorkbot.org
_
My roommate (a student at the University of Minnesota) was required to build a radio transmitter for one of his classes. Beyond that though, he's supposed to create flyers for his station to hang up around the block (graphic design major). Anybody else find it weird that the university is endorsing something like this? I thought it was their job to stiffle creativity...
There's a product along these lines I've been interested in checking out.
It's called the "MP-308 Car USB / FM Transmitter", Here's a review of it.
Strangely enough, it seems to be the only Car MP3 player out there that takes a USB card - the discontinued "EMPEG" used to have such an input, but it's hard to get now. I've been wanting to use a nice cheap USB stick instead of CDs for the sheer convenience of popping it into the car and listening with an interface that's much more casual than CDs. Instead of plugging into the car's existing audio system, it works by sending out a short-range FM signal across the 87.7-88.7 dial (you select which subrange). That makes setup easy (so long as you have a good radio in the car), but I can't help but wonder how many radio markets have that FM signal open at that range, and what interference this would have with nearby cars. Fortunately, the device is fairly cheap to experiment with - you can find it for around $50 on pricewatch.
Ryan Fenton
> Remember: signal strength is 1/n^2 where n = distance.
So this means you have an infinite signal strength if the antenas are touching each other?
I think this is a really interesting comment. But doesn't Lawrence Lessig (who thinks a lot about electronics and free speech) write that private interests pose at least as large if not larger threat to free speech rights on the internet?
Maybe low power radio will make a comeback in part because of commercialization of the internet? That is, low-power broadcasts represent an affordable, noncommercial space for creative experimentation and communication within a community (a/k/a free speech)?
The homebrew quality of the transmitter also recalls early descriptions of the personal computer kit-builders in the 70s, also a good time for free speech fans.
The small scale of the communities recalls Linus Torvalds posting about his Minix-alternative project.
Its fun stuff. What's not to like?
I'm laughing at clouds.
What so many people are missing about the importance of this idea is that the mass media has created a world for us. Big Money used the media to convince Americans that lower taxes for the rich and lower trade barriers and tariffs were going to be good for Americans. Those ideas were found laughable by most Americans 40 years ago. But when the billionaires and corporations fund think tanks and foundations with billions of dollars, funding and developing rightwing talent, they were able to convince Americans to hold beliefs that were actually detrimental to their own well being.
THat is why this kind of grassroots media is so important.
eat shiat and bark at the moon
I'd be interested in browsing through their site but the diagonal green and white lines over the text makes reading a chore rather than a pleasure. Looks like a sample from the Bad Interface Hall of Shame.
If a message isn't commercially viable enough to get people to simply tune in and listen, what makes you think that somehow one dude on every city block will invest in a transmitter and the upkeep necessary to re-broadcast a singal they're receiving?
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
I sure hope they actually mean soldering.
Microwatt transmitters have their uses, but I'm afraid that ain't one of them.
So... what's the point? Do people even listen to the radio anymore? I mean, maybe in their cars - but anywhere else? I've been involved in one way or another with radio since I was a teen and even operated my own fleawatt when I was a kid, but that was a long time before the internet.
If you want to be a pirate it seems to me you'd reach a lot more people taking the max headroom route. When I was a kid I actually wanted to be a radio pirate - now I see no point in it at all aside from being any easy means of civil disobedience. But now, with the internet and the ease with which we can build a vast video library (not to mention it's just as easy to locate a tv modulator as an fm modulator) I'd much rather be Reg.
no.
There's a Starman, waiting in the sky / He'd like to come and meet us, but he hasn't got the time.
CB radio consists of 40 different channels anyone can use.
Let me tell those of you who have not used a CB radio before, they are incredibly handy to have. I have a good setup on my car (although my transceiver just took a dive, will be upgrading that unit this next week!), and on the open highway in open country, you can send and receive a good distance.
A CB radio is the best "radar detector" money can buy. Truckers are always on the lookout for speed traps, and will continually call out the position of law enforcement officials, whether they're stationary or on the move.
Having a CB radio when you're traveling to places you've never been is also a godsend if there's some kind of detour, and you don't know your way around the area. Call out for directions, and a local driver will usually help you out.
CB radios are also nice in an emergency. There are decent people out there who will help someone when they're on the side of the road, and need help. At the very least, someone will be able to relay the message to law enforcement, or a tow truck or garage in the area.
Probably the best thing CBs are good for is helping one stay awake while on a long drive. It's always nice to be able to chat with someone to help you stay awake. Usually there's someone else looking for exactly the same thing.
CBs are a lot of fun, but keep in mind they are public channels. There are a lot of individuals who use incredibly foul language, and some truckers despise people in "four-wheelers", so you won't always get an answer to your questions. Be polite, though, and you'll find someone willing to chat or help out.
"Mandates about with whom we must associate? What, are you a convicted felon? The US certainly has its share of troubles at the moment, but your tirade on the cause of it sounds about as disconnected from that reality as shrub's foreign poilicy.
I originally submitted this article to Slashdot, and I'd like to follow up on some of the posts I've seen so far, in hopes that you can see where I'm coming from here.
Using FM as opposed to Internet streaming: Don't get me wrong, I love streaming audio and video, and I use it daily. However, not everyone does, and I've yet to see someone have it set up in their car. However, FM receivers are everywhere. To me, technology is a tool, a means to an end. If you reach more people using FM, then that makes it more effective than streaming is right now. And besides, there's no reason you can't do both.
Multiple transmitters in a small area: Yeah, the issue of out-of-sync audio bothers me, since it can be extremely annoying to the listener. I don't have a concrete solution, but I do think that specialized software might be the answer. A program that would sync the receiving computer's clock to, say, NIST, then check the incoming audio stream for timecode should be able to make sure the audio is being played when it's supposed to. But like I said, this is only a theoretical solution, something that would require testing.
When I made the original post, my intention wasn't to say that this is a ready-for-prime-time solution, and I apologize if it came off that way. However, I think it has potential that should be explored. And heck, it could be lots of fun to try.
At best, your gear will be seized. If you're feeding your station with a computer, it will be seized, too. You may also face fines.
If your broadcasts cause interference to a licensed service and results in injury or loss, you could be held liable.
Using a transmitter kit mentioned by some of the other posters is also risky, even if they claim to be "legal" devices. I am not aware of any type-accepted hobby transmitters, and you will be personally liable if they do not conform to FCC rules.
I think the FCC should create a hobby service for low-power, non-commercial use. But that's not currently the case. Beware if you get involved in this movement.
It just don't work the way the OP "imagined" it. This isn't digital, it's not a "software" problem.
Since your listeners are so close you could use a FRS radio for requests and chats. Just list the frequency and CTCSS in the same place.
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity but they've always worked for me" - HST
You could use something like this to air programming that commercial stations won't broadcast because it's not commercially viable or because it doesn't fit in with the interests of big media.
This is a highly flawed concept, because "broadcast" of programming of this type would require the coopertion of hundreds of transmitters, which would interfere with each other at the edges of their individual ranges. Cell phones fixed that problem by broadcasting on a range of frequencies instead of just one, but that isn't practical when you have to manually adjust your dial.
Most audio programs with this kind of popularity problem will, instead, perform their show as normal, then put an MP3 of their show on the web for people to download. Here's a good example of this:
Cultural Baggage
Wake up - the future is arriving faster than you think.
1984. The height of communism in at least one Eastern European country. We were teenagers, and very much into AC/DC, Judas Pries, and ever'thing western. One of us knew some electronics; so we got ourselves some parts and soldered together some FM transmitters. Then we broadcasted AC/DC, other heavy metal rock, stupid teenager rants :), and sometimes even Radio Free Europe. All this at random times all around the neighbourhood, so we don't get caught. Those in the know realize how much the secret service hated people like me and my friends (and they really hated AC/DC). And we knew that is was dangerous to taunt them. Nevertheless, it was fun.
Present: people probably realize how powerful it is to be able to disseminate ideas, even in a limited and local setting. And this type of radio TX is all but forgotten in these day of the web, but it can be much more personalizable. People react different to hearing a real voice for a change. I'm glad to see people pushing the idea of microradio. In fact they should make radio TX free, not hand guns.
I could see them being spread out across a city to cover it with a signal
I can't. It's hard to have on-channel repeaters of the same signal work together propery... issues with phase shift will end up causing the signal to be spotty even right next to transmitters. It just wouldn't work on a city-wide basis.
http://pittsburgh.indymedia.org/news/2004/10/15699 .phpn dex.ph p/ 115 95/index.phph ive_by_id.php? id=1407&category_id=12
:
http://www.tnimc.org/feature/display/2762/i
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/feature/display
http://www.indybay.org/archives/arc
From http://pittsburgh.indymedia.org
" Two community radio stations, one in Knoxville, TN and the second in Santa Cruz, CA have been raided in the last 2 weeks by armed US Marshalls (and/or FBI) and the FCC. Last October, San Francisco Police and the FCC raided a popular Bay Area radio station. Despite the federal government's war on community media, radio activists across the US are operating community stations in open defiance of FCC regulations. The FCC strives to squelch community radio so that the airwaves remain free for media conglomerates like right-wing ClearChannel Communications, which owns 1,250 radio stations (six in Pittsburgh), and Viacom-owned Infinty Broadcasting, which owns 180 stations (four in Pittsburgh).
Also, in Pittsburgh, two broadcasters were shut down in the past week due to FCC intimidation. South Side Radio broadcasting at very low power on 102.9FM, and "WCSA Radio" in Plum, PA (Allegheny County, east of Pittsburgh near Oakmont). Indymedia Rustbelt Radio, our biweekly news program on (licensed) WRCT 88.3FM, will feature reports on these actions in Pittsburgh and around the US this week on Tuesday, October 5th at 6pm.
Next week the National Association of Broadcasters, a powerful lobby group, will meet in San Diego. In opposition to their corporate agenda, independent media activists will be holding a four day convergence of workshops, speakers, and actions to tell the NAB "We Want Our Airwaves Back!"."
Sugapablo
Is this something more than a distributed pirate radio network? FCC will bark on it, be sure.
If there's a physical connection, then you might lose a little due to attenuation of the medium, but not due to distance.
Great! Now if they could finish the damn building!
I don't plan on running a pirate radio broadcast anytime soon, nor do I d/l copyrighted material, all my computers are in FCC approved cases, etc. However, most Americans DO have the idea that it's only illegal if your caught.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people using BitTorrent or other p2p programs... (I can't think of any others at the moment)
If IY was a PC:
/bin/sh: command not found
[InuYasha]~$ sit
Yes. A friend of mine in the early 80's had the idea :->) to design a transmitter, and stereo encoder. Beautiful design. Better spec than the BBC. I almost built the thing.
of re-broadcasting a rolling stones concert (live in Bristol from Ashton Gate football ground). He commisioned a good friend from the MoD (popularly called the Ministry Of Death
One night, at 3.a.m. he climbed one of the 120ft lighting towers and set up his (small) FM transmitter. His plan was to send the signal to a line of sight apartment and mix it down onto his Revox.
Unfortunately, 10W was a *lot* more audible than just LOS. 1/3rd of Bristol (c.a. 100,000 people) got to hear the stone's live for free!
There's more to this story, but I won't bore anyone with it...
Don't underestimate how far a low power (QRP) signal can travel...
here in Canberra, Australia we just got a new FM station which uses lots of smaller transmitters for stuff not played by the big networks:
Raw FM
Tie the radios together with a central Internet feed and you could have the same station all over the world (or at least all over the state) I would think if they are cheap enough and not covered by FCC someone should jump on this...maybe call it "Rebel Radio"
=)
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
Decades ago, the Children's Museum in Indianapolis had little transmitters all over the building, continually broadcasting interpretations of various displays. You could pick up a receiver and wander around until you found something interesting, and hear all about it.
And folk have been broadcasting their own musical choices for fun, license free, for decades. Check the _Electronics Illustrated_ backfiles for "Making like Murray the K on 1/10 Watt", for example.
You used to require one, though it was just a matter of filling out a form and sending some cash.
There were no tests, beyond being able to spell your own name, unlike a ham license, or a license to support a commerical broadcaster.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Coordinating with other 'micro broadcasters' so that you blanket a city, might pose a legal problem.. Since the intent was for you to have limited coverage of your content..
.. I would bet there is something in there to account for such an idea.
No, I don't have the law handy, but
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Just watch the government step in and try banning such a thing.
I do think this kind of broadcast is a good idea, but perhaps a certain frequency could be used for public use. Like certain number(s) that no one currently uses, and limit it to that.
Hook each node in the mesh to a WiFi A.P. Each individual node does not violate broadcast rules. Together they form a broadcasting mesh that blankets the city. WRT54GS WiFi repeaters which broadcast the same content.
If you are going to try something like this, Ramsey electronics has a MUCH better quality transmitter. It broadcasts in stereo, not mono, and is crystal controlled, so it wont drift in frequency and need to be tuned like they recommend in the article. The maximum output is right at the legal limit of 1/10th of a watt.
? pa ge=amfm
They also have compressor/limiters that make the audio sound louder (STC1C).
http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/hk/default.asp
I personally have the FM25 (predecessor to the 25B) - the audio quality is comparable to commercial stations - $119 in kit form. Assemble it, plug the line/speaker output of your computer into it, start winamp/itunes in shuffle play, and you are on the air. (and no, I don't work for them)
http://www.radiosausalito.org/ has been on the air in our neighborhood for years. It is a web of repeaters, tied to a PC, in a small town.
Being a Minneapolitan, I'm skeptical that this could achieve much in a practical sense, though it's an interesting idea from an artistic standpoint. It could work on a larger scale, but that would require a significant percentage of the city population to help out.
If my browser ever manages to load the main page without barfing on the Flash, I might try to do something, but it's hard to say. Still, I've played with milliwatt radio transmitters before, and you're often lucky to hear anything even in the next room. But, considering the lack of quality in the big stations that currently exist in the Twin Cities, a lot of people would be interested in doing something to overcome that situation.
When I was a teenager the "CB boom" was in full swing. I sat in front of a radio many an hour. I applied for a first class license years ago and built my first crystal set when I was like five. But travelling down the highway on a trip, having to listen to the crap that flies over channel 19 the entire duration is my version of hell.
If you're worried about your car breaking down, get a cellphone. Then you can call someone you know you can trust instead of having to trust someone you don't know. There was a time when CB had its uses, but there's also good reason the band has been abandoned even by the FCC.
This is the reason I have zero sympathy for those complaining about not being able to "broadcast" RIAA label artists on their internet stations. If you want to operate a station and play only Magnatune artists then bully for you - but if all you want is another station where you can stroke your ego by contributing to the noise made by our corporate overlords, then you're not being a freedom fighter, you're just fighting freedom.
By the way: "Monkey Man" selling lingerie? What does that even mean?
Ah well, I guess Mick's sleeping even cozier in that unmade bed of broken eggs, eh?
I live in Minneapolis and am pretty sure that this project will have absolutly no effect on the population at large. I see it as an "art project" done by the Walker ART center. The majority of these transmitters will be used for a brief time and shelved. The participants in the project will feel that they have learned something about radio and will have shared a common experience and that's about it.
Commercial and to a lesser extent public radio in the Twin Cities is pretty big thing. We have a couple of "giants in the industry" here with two AM stations that are historic giants of the industry (WCCO-AM and KSTP-AM) both 50,000 watt clear channel stations and an FM station that consistantly captures the highest market share of any station in the country (KQRS-FM). On top of these giants, there are many other stations on both the AM and FM bands that cater to nearly every taste imagineable. Our airwaves are crowded.
Over the years we have had our share of pirate and "underground" stations. Most of them have gone off of the air before I even heard them - but the several that I did get a chance to hear reminded me more of "Bob and Ted's Excellent Adventure" than anything else. Nothing special at all.
I do believe that there is a major problem with public airwaves here and probably in most every major market. The stations are locked into playing the same old stuff. I really do think that stations should be required to devote a portion of their broadcast time to programming local and new talent. They are too locked into the charts, the major music labels and other things that sort of homoginize and blend the music into pablum for the masses.
There is a whole lot wrong with radio but a bunch of low power transmitters aren't going to do anything to fix it.
EEOC compliance requires you to abide by a set of beliefs about how you should conduct your private business. These beliefs are religious beliefs being imposed by the government on private associations. They are a state religion.
Seastead this.
Only a problem if the receiver is moving. Otherwise, even a slightly directional antenna should be adequate to select one of the overlapping signals.
capture effect: A phenomenon, associated with FM reception, in which only the stronger of two signals at or near the same frequency will be demodulated. Note 1: The complete suppression of the weaker signal occurs at the receiver limiter, where it is treated as noise and rejected. Note 2: When both signals are nearly equal in strength, or are fading independently, the receiver may switch from one to the other.
Alternately, you could support your local public/community broadcasters: Here in Melbourne we're very lucky to have both 3RRR (http://www.rrr.org.au/) and 3PBS (http://www.pbsfm.org.au/). They both stream so feel free to listen in.
DSS
I see nothing n there about giving preference to anyone, only limitations on what you cannot do without good cause - one of those being "you cannot screen job applicants by religion."
Private business? In what sense? If you have a church it is likely to be tax exempt and operating in a non profit capacity. if you want to staff it, common sense says you hire people you know from the congregation - you don't place advertisements for "jobs" within the heirarchy of the church, so eeoc compliance at that level is a non issue.
I used to work for one of the largest christian book distributors in the nation. I suspect that is the type of situation to which you refer.
Guess what? You don't have to be a Christian to push a shopping cart around a warehouse and pull books off shelves. You also don't have to be a christian to push a broom around a studio, or to answer a telephone in a professional manner. If a company does business in a state then it is obligated to abide by the laws of the state. Don't like the laws in that state? Move your operation to Israel.
And what the FUCK does any of this have to do with "bootleg radio stations?" Program directors hire based on action: what "message" the talent presents on air. Actions are completely separate from BELIEF (as so many televangelists have proven to us over the years). If the PD is worth his paycheck no law is going to prevent a station from hiring whatever on-air talent management prefers: the applicants will be "screened" before the first phone call is ever made.
Has anyone thought about the potential FCC oversight restrictions? Radio and TV broadcasters have been fined millions of dollars for broadcasting "indecent" material over the public airwaves. That's what made internet streaming so open and popular: The government overlords haven't figured out a way to censor/control that yet. If the trend continues, I'd be worried about getting a large indecency fine handed to me along with a cease and desist notice if I wasn't being very careful about what I was broadcasting.
There are only 200 FM channels in the USA, similar to other countries. A significant amount of those are rendered useless by adjacent stations. This is a rare resource and I am glad the FCC keeps little kids from gobbling up spectrum, leaving it to the professionals. Especially when you have enough bandwidth on your DSL line to serve the 4 1/2 people that actually want to listen to it.
Don't get me wrong, I love pirate radio, but the "free speech" argument just doesn't work.
There are certain parts of the bandwidth which are "off limits" to everyone, public or private.
Take a look here for some of the frequencies.
The idea is that, if we want to take clear radio-frequency "images" of distant images, it makes sense to avoid polluting the sections of the bandwidth where those images are to be found. No, I don't think any of these lower-power trasmitters will be broadcasting directly in these ranges. Unfortunately, most transmitters also transmit harmonics of their main frequency, at lower power. Consequently, everyone gives these frequencies, AND their lower harmonics, a pretty wide berth.
... by the Dew of Mountains the thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning
Streaming radio inverts the paradigm - all the expense (ISP, computer equipment) is loaded on the user. Real radio puts the expense on the broadcaster, and the user needs nothing more than a $10 radio - the Radio Revolt project recognizes that real radio microcasting is much more egalitarian than internet radio.
Anyway - I read of the Radio Revolt project this summer - it is local to me - and was impressed. So I bought my own kit and set up shop.
http://radio.mrklingon.org
Works great! Sure it just works within my home and lot - but at least I control those airwaves!
joel anderson * http://www.mrklingon.org* joel@mrklingon.org **mIghghachvo' yImej 'ej yIQaQ; roj yInej 'ej Dochvam yIt
Yes. You're right. I believe in the equal right of any people to separate from others as declared in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. It overrides what any Men may put down on paper.
Indeed the entire point of the First Amendment to the US Constitution was to minimize the need for war against or between governmental entities by allowing people to peaceably separate from one another to the greatest extent possible within the laboratory of the States. The founders understood scientific method -- and the need for control groups to discover what works and what doesn't work in social experiments, involving beliefs about how we should live our lives, as well as physical experimentation. If you cannot allow people to voluntarily enter into their own experiments and impose upon them your perverse ideas of what constitutes "equality" then you have just declared war on the Declaration of Independence and on freedom itself.
That they had been corrupted by slavery in no way detracts from the importance of their overall vision.
Seastead this.
A Neuros is a cheaper, but not as cool-looking, alternative to an iPod. For $250 you get 20 GB and an FM transmitter. And it plays .ogg. Hide it under the seat and blindly hit the pause button whenever you get out.
A belt clip on an iPod/iRiver/Dell DJ will let you walk out without stashing it. But those require a separate FM transmitter thingy (and a budget for AAA cells).
The Delcaration of Independence's first paragraph says:
In the present circumstances, the signatories to the Declaration of Independence would consider you a traitor and have you hanged by the neck until dead for one very obvious reason:
The moment the second man added his signature to the Declaration of Independence according to you it was invalidated because when individuals act as a group they lose their right to self-determination.
As Benjamin Franklin said during the meeting where the Founders signed the Declaration of Independence:
When we are living under the direct guns of tyranny -- not separated by a difficult journey, such as was the ocean in 1776, and without leaders of much material substance to stand with us, such as were the Founders -- the consequences of the treason such as yours are all the more serious.
Seastead this.