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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.
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
And I think you do need a license to operate a CB radio.
No you don't.
Citizens Band (CB) Radio Service is a private two-way voice communication service for use in personal and business activities of the general public. Its communications range is from one to five miles.
Licensing
License documents are neither needed nor issued and there are no age or citizenship requirements. As long as you use only an unmodified FCC certificated CB unit, you are provided authority to operate a CB unit in places where the FCC regulates radio communications.
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
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?
Switching from an aluminium foil hat to tinfoil should be adequate for a one watt FM transmitter.
And whenever someone walks near you with a cell phone? They're trying to hack your brain.
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.
The relevant documentation can be found here
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.
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.
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.
It just don't work the way the OP "imagined" it. This isn't digital, it's not a "software" problem.
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.
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