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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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.