THE BLARE BLOG Spring 2019
Center of the Bla Bla Galaxy
April
/ May
Friday May 31, 2019 12 MIDNIGHT
-- The Blare Blog is Expired
Friday May 31, 2019 9:20
PM CDT -- Member of KDX Staff on the Forefront of Space
Stag
Pinstripe, attorney-at-law with the law firm of Pinstripe, Stripmine
& Shaft, legal counselor to KDX, went to the junior college to
sign
up for a course in Space Law and was told no such course exists but if
he wanted to prepare a syllabus he could start and teach a space
course. KDX is contemplating moving up to a saucer hovering in
a
cloud above the school. The location is presently not served by public
transportation but something might be worked out involving drones.
Friday May 31, 2019 8:29
PM CDT -- Technicians Like the Rear View
Friday May 31, 2019 7:02
PM CDT -- Slogans Are One-Line Mission Statements
The
slogan generally used by KDX is "The Talking Point". Years ago we
briefly identified as "The Official Station of the New World Order"
until we figured out that Nazi Germany used much the same thing. Last
night about midnight I came up with "KDX is the Master Station of the
Known Universe", which is probably true.
Friday May 31, 2019 6:45
PM CDT -- Is It Possible?
Two
spectrum topics recently blogged include the 5G frequency use of 23.8
GHz and the Wi-Fi use of our "broken" studio-transmitter-link
at
2400MHz-2483MHz. Aren't those in fact the same frequencies simply
expressed in different terms? Is it possible that my Wi-Fi device is
being blanked out by new 5G equipment out on the poles? It IS a possibility and
I'm fit to be tied!
Friday May 31, 2019 5:29
PM CDT -- Honesty is a Big Mistake
For
most of a lifetime I was a very successful hypocrite until the
self-confidence of success turned me honest. I started telling people
"I am a big hypocrite", thinking they would admire my honesty, but it
all backfired. I am reminded of all this by having just broadcast the
Blare OnAir program titled "The
Year is Half Full"
in which I shared a load of true beliefs, findings and opinions which
has resulted in being gruffly excoriated and ostracized, including
ouster from the ALPB by its owner. Don't make my mistake. When people
suspect you of hypocrisy shout at them angrily: "No I'm Not!"
Hypocrisy depends on denial.
Friday May 31, 2019 2:48
PM CDT -- Things That Are More Equal
Representative Steve King of Iowa makes it clear what is superior about
white racists:
We
would go on to say that not all fruits are equal. Not all birds are
equal. Not all mail is equal. Not all dicks are equal. Not all instants
of culture are equal to all instances of that same culture. Not all
stupidity is equal. Not all state representatives are equal. Equality
depends on relativity which itself tends not to be equal. Not all
expiration is equal but we all face it equally sooner or equally later.
Friday May 31, 2019 1:50
PM CDT -- Shooting Trouble
For
reasons that were discussed previously the media player VLC was added
to our signal distribution chain to route Virtual Cable 2 out the USB
Audio Output, and at the same time the incoming stream connection from
The Thom Hartmann Show became eratic. Up until that change the Hartmann
Stream was solid and reliable for many weeks, but another coincidence
became part of the picture as Thom began expressing frustration over a
failing telephone system making his listeners' calls either drop away
or sound distorted. We realized the stream irregularity might be
related to his phone situation and have nothing to do with our hookup,
and today a different set of coincidences serve to compound the
mystery: on the same day we stopped using VLC because the Wi-Fi Audio
Device it was serving is malfunctioning as earlier described, and Thom
Hartmann's stream is rock solid just like the old days, except that he
also mentioned his telephones are now working. Therefore the mystery
lingers and we plan to stage an experiment to find out what is what and
which is which. Hand me that revolver. No no, but Thom's show is over
until Monday so it'll have to wait.
Friday May 31, 2019 10:25
AM CDT -- It Always Happens
We
talk a lot about having plenty of backup systems so we can breeze
through any kind of equipment malfunction then we get caught with our
backups down. It happened yesterday when both KDX AM and FM went silent
and lost audio. We talked just the other day about our
amazing string of software and hardware and how well
it all
works. But when part of it fails it all fails, so we sit blinking at
the computer screen trying to diagnose the situation which requires
being hopelessly baffled before effects and causes can be put in the
right order. The problem this time turns out to be failure of our Wi-Fi
Wireless Audio Device, which was marketed by MCM Electronics under the
name "Wireless Stereo Audio Kit" operating at a frequency of
2400MHz-2483MHz, consisting of a USB Dongle and blackbox receiver, used
to deliver audio between control room and transmitter room without the
use of wires. KDX has the last one ever produced before they were
discontinued, and it has worked reliably for several years. This device
was a replacement for a previous signal delivery system using a C.Crane
FM1 Transmitter and Panasonic FM Tuner which had several imperfections
which resisted attempts to improve and resulted in ruling out standard
FM as a signal delivery method based of two inter-acting facts: the FM
band has become overly crowded in our area and indoor send/receive
antennas cannot compete with moving and stationary physical objects
which interfere.
Thursday May 30, 2019
2:38 PM CDT -- Expiration Update
The decision to expire The Blare Blog makes 12 Midnight CDT Friday May
31, 2019 the designated time. More about it to follow.
Thursday May 30, 2019
9:18 AM CDT -- Weaponized Radio
Thus
far The Blare Blog has quoted frequently from the philosophy
of
Frederick Nietzsche who may never have mentioned 'radio'. From the book
shelf here's Marshall McLuhan's "Understanding Media" quoting
sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld in discussing the effects of radio:
The
monopolistic effects of radio have attracted most public attention
because of their importance in the totalitarian countries.
If
a government monopolizes the radio then by mere repitition and by
exclusion of conflicting points of view it can determine the opinions
of the population.
When those words were published in 1964
America was not considered among the 'totalitarian countries' but in
2019 a nationalist right-wing monopolizes the radio media and KDX is
stigmatized and ostrasized for its "conflicting points of view".
Thursday May 30, 2019
8:51 AM CDT -- Insanity in individuals is something rare--
but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule.
- Frederick Nietzsche
"Beyond Good and Evil"
Thursday May 30, 2019
8:11 AM CDT -- On Expiration
By
midnight May 31st we plan to set an Expiration Date for The
Blare
Blog. One likely date will by Friday, June 21, 2019, the Last Day of
Spring. More will be said about it.
Thursday May 30, 2019
7:57 AM CDT -- John Bowlbrush likes war because it's legal
to hurt people in war. We could hurt Iranian people and have blood
everywhere.
Thursday May 30, 2019
7:42 AM CDT -- Mixed Messages
On
Memorial Day we remembered those who gave their lives to defend our
freedoms. The day after Memorial Day I was advised to keep my mouth
shut and avoid speaking so freely.
Jullian Assange & Chelsea Manning merit our respect and
gratitude
Thursday May 30, 2019
6:29 AM CDT -- Alert! Urgent! Vital! Trouble! Warning! Oh My God!
Thursday May 30, 2019
5:42 AM CDT -- Quotes and Sayings
You can only escape reality
while it exists
- said by Carl Blare
It is a curious thing
that God learned Greek when he wished to turn author-- and that he did
not learn it better.
- F. Nietzsche "Beyond Good and Evil"
If man is built in God's
image then God must be on the stupid side.
- Carl Blare moments before being struck by lightning
If this can be put off
until tomorrow why are we doing it now?
- C. Blare
There are many questions
and many answers. You've just got to match them.
- C. Blare
Thursday May 30, 2019
5:30 AM CDT -- Off the Radar for 24-Hours
Just after writing "Storm
Time
" KDX did shut down and seek shelter from a thunderstorm with heavy
rain, following which the decision was made to remain silent until
'tomorrow', and here we are. Cooler weather expected today as we start
the 'turn on' procedure. Good morning! And now the sports.
Wednesday May 29, 2019
5:22 PM CDT -- Storm Time
The
afternoon has turned very dark and thunder is circling closer. Next
comes the decision whether to shut down as a safety precaution.
Wednesday May 29, 2019
5:09 PM CDT -- Radio & Mental Health
These
first hot days easily result in emotional flare-ups and it's easy to
lash out at anyone who happens to be around and today it was a
staff-member who lectured me for the 5th time about how much better The
Blare Blog would be if it refrained from political commentary. Having
explained why The Blare Blog touches upon what might incorrectly be
called "political speech" has to do with our program format: journalism
and intelligent talk, subjects and topics banned at the other low power
forum sites because they exceed the IQ limit of the moderators. By
getting all steamed up about it I risk hurting the emotional feelings
of a co-worker, something I'll later regret. So let's come to a
solution
right away and put this to rest.
Wednesday May 29, 2019
2:46 PM CDT -- The Repair of Vintage Reel-to-Reel Tape Equipment
Wednesday May 29, 2019
11:15 AM CDT -- Things Go Well Until They Don't
The
internet streaming done by KDX Worldround Radio exists in a perpetually
experimental state, as we are one of few stations utilizing
open
source software applications to define a portion of a computer's CPU as
a virtual stream server, while another fraction of the same CPU
functions as a website server, also an experimental endeaver.
Approximately 7 individual software apps strung together form the radio
server and from what we learned this morning it seems to matter in what
order these apps are initiated at startup. More about that in a moment.
Our
setup is unique compared to the more typical arrangement practiced by
the majority of streaming stations and their websites, relying as they
do on outboard services that provide price-tiered server packages based
on projected audience size.
As a rule KDX goes offline overnight
requiring a complete re-boot in the morning. Control of the
server-computer is done from a 2nd computer via a VNC Network within
our router's LAN, and consists of opening a port and switching from the
cloud-based "parking page" to our internal website. Zara is opened and
set to generate our trademark 333 Hz test tone, the signal path is
established by Virtual Audio Cable, Sonos Compressor/Limiter, Icecast
Server, Altacast Encoder, and VLC Media Player linking VAC 2 with USB
Audio Outputs sending Wi-Fi audio chain to our AM & FM
transmitters. For many months this has all worked very well but not
this morning.
We noticed periodic audio dropouts and other
digital artfacts so had the thought that perhaps it matters in
what order all these apps are started. Recalling that we had in fact
deviated from the usual startup-pattern, a moment was spent sketching a
starting-order that seemed logical, shut it all down, reboot, rebuild,
pudding of proof! Solid audio the way God intended!
Tuesday May28, 2019 8:50
PM CDT -- More CB Rules
FCC Part 95.413 contains CB rules in addition to the few discussed
earlier here in The Blog. We're chuckling over this one: (a) You must not use a CB
station (1) In connection with any activity which is against federal,
state, or local law. Think about it. If someone were
planning a bank hoist would they not hesitate to use CB for
communication?
Monday May 27, 2019 2:20
PM CDT -- Heroes Forgotten & Ignored
Remember
also the Great American Heroes who have sacrificied everything to
report the truth for the benefit of an informed society. Chelsea
Manning & Julian Assange have been put to civil death by
criminals
in our midst intent on lies, cover-ups and deceptions. Don't let the
flag wave goodbye.
Monday May 27, 2019 8:28
AM CDT -- Memorial Day in the United States
As
an International Broadcasting Station KDX Worldround Radio takes this
opportunity to inform the world community that today is a National
Holiday at our home campus in the Center of North America. Many U.S.
citizens mowed their grass Friday or Saturday and stocked up on select
dead meat for today's backyard bar-b-q with American flags waving on
front porches in every state, district, and territory. Parades with
marching bands have wended through many towns and cities and at least
two of these parades have been broadcast on low power radio stations
authorized under FCC Regulations Part 15.
Sunday May 26, 2019 6:31
PM CDT --
After a day of HAMs we have learned that amateur radio hobbyists are
10X more talkative than ordinary radio broadcasters. It was a joy ride
and perhaps we'll do another day of All Amateur on the next holiday,
which is probably July 4th. Oh, before I forget to mention it, tomorrow
(Monday Memorial Day) we're thinking about having several hours of
Blare OnAir. The Objection Line reopens Tuesday.
Sunday May 26, 2019 10:45
AM CDT -- Amateur Radio Day All Afternoon
This
afternoon from 12 NOON to 6 PM CDT KDX Worldround Radio will deliver
continuous Amateur (HAM) Radio Shows. Listen online at KDX-OGG.
Sunday May 26, 2019 9:29
AM CDT -- An AM Antenna To Go
Low power stations awake!
Sunday May 26, 2019 9:09
AM CDT -- Radio Friction
There
are no rumors regarding the unexplained disappearnce of electric cars
and their drivers who keyed in on CB truckers' channel 19, although the
idea might serve as the premiss for an Alfred Hitchcock Hour, but for
that program having been off the air since the 1960s.
Sunday May 26, 2019 8:42
AM CDT -- Sending Out for More Transmitters
KDX
Worldround Radio is going to need 12 AM radio transmitters, 10 FM
transmitters and 6 shortwave to achieve goals and objectives. Once all
these transmitters are in place KDX will control them from a central
Remote Control Desk being built alongside the Master Program Desk.
There will be two modes of operation made possible, for example KDX
will be able to broadcast simultaneously on 6 AM frequencies, 5 FM
channels, and 3 shortwave frequencies, allowing a sort of "dial
dominance" to compensate for the relatively low power of authorized
operation under FCC Part 15. A second mode will activate "high
security" as KDX "frequency hops", changing dial positions at intervals
to reduce the station's presence in a time when legal behavior is cause
for suspicion. Each transmitter will have its backup. We'd hoped to
employ kits from SSTran for this expansion, but that avenue being
blocked we turn attention to the i/AM Transmitter and its Range
Extending ATU presently being wheeled out by ISS (Information Station
Specialists).
Saturday May 25, 2019
1:26 PM CDT -- Righteousness
speaks aloud however ignorant.
Carl Blare Nov.26, 2013
"Seeing Ahead"
Saturday May 25, 2019
12:53 NOON CDT -- Being
born again may be a fertility problem.
Carl Blare Jan.
13, 2012 "So Far As We Know"
Saturday May 25, 2019
12:46 NOON CDT -- The
time to depart may be best before ever arriving.
Carl Blare Mar 19, 2012
"So Far As We Know"
Saturday May 25, 2019
12:39 NOON CDT -- It
is the nature of government to find out what you are doing and then
prevent it.
Carl Blare Apr. 12, 2012
"So Far As We Know"
Saturday May 25, 2019 12:31 NOON
CDT -- Many
persons are as cruel as the God in which they believe.
Based on something said
by Bertrand Russell on p.30 "Why I Am Not a Christian"
Saturday May 25, 2019
8:06 AM CDT -- The Truckers' Channel
Citizens
Band Radio Channel 19 is used by truckers out on the interstate
highways for talking with each other and giving heads-up on conditions
along the way. Use of this particular channel is a "gentlemens'
understanding", as the actual FCC rules for CB Radio say: "95.407 (e)
You must share each channel with other users, and (f) The FCC will not
assign any channel for the private or exclusive use of any particular
CB station or group of stations. An exception to this is (b) Channel 9
may be used only for emergency communications or for traveler
assistance. Being within 1,000-feet of an interstate highway we
monitored 27.185 MHz (CB 19) this morning for 2-hours, nothing heard.
Friday May 24, 2019 2:07
PM CDT -- Free Banders
Conversation
turned to "free banders", a desciption of unlicensed radio venturers
who transmit on the band from 27.405 to 28.0 MHz, top of the CB band
and bottom of the 10-Meter HAM Band. Surprised to find that "free
banders" have not earned an entry at Wikipedia, although several music
groups use names like "free band". That was about it, it was a short
conversation.
Friday May 24, 2019 12:22
NOON CDT -- Fair Outcome
Electrical equipment may be part of the problem.
Friday May 24, 2019 9:09
AM CDT -- Brainwaves Converted to Words
An
imbecile of my aquaintaince fisted skyward and declared that all
immigrants crossing the Mexican border should be required to speak
American! He was quickly disgruntled when I mentioned that all such
immigrants, including refugees, are Americans since they arrive
from North or South America (Mexico, by the way, is located within
North America). Of course I knew what the fool meant, he was talking
about the English language, which is not an American language, so I
mentioned this, and the idiot agreed and said, "Yes, the King's
English". At that point I refrained from pointing out how that was a
stupid thing to say given the point he was trying to make. Getting
along with morons requires delicate steps.
Thursday May 23, 2019
1:01 PM CDT -- We Have Talked About Kits: Correspondent Boomer Reflects
I have a Sean Cuthbert
AM stereo transmitter kit, and it's a great thing! The amount of care
that went into making the kit, and the building experience, with the
attention to detail made me get emotional, and this is over an
electronics product! I've been doing electronics for many years, and
that was beautiful, and fun to put together over a week's time. As for
SSTRAN, I almost ordered one of their kits, and was in the process of
researching it, and found a video and a blog talking about how long
they had to wait for their kit to arrive, and mention of bad service,
so I put off my order, thinking they must be having trouble getting
supplies. When I checked back a few months later, the company was
closed! I hope they could sell the company or design to someone else
who would work to put it out again. By this time it would likely have
to be redesigned somewhat, since parts availability is always changing.
Maybe a new kit could come out that's designed using principals laid
down by SSTRAN, but updated.
Some
feedback from Home Base: There is suspicion around the "bad press" so
energetically leveled against SSTran and its products by a forum site
and its commercial partner, a distributor for certified transmitters.
There are also unconfirmed stories circulating about Sean Cuthbert
being driven to move geographically ahead of threats against him
regarding production of his kits.
Thursday May 23, 2019
12:06 NOON CDT -- Nature's Revenge
Two
days in a row we've had tornadic activity here in the midwaste so
violent it spewed debris up to 13,000-feet into the sky! By sheer
chance our Internet Building, home of KDX Worldround Radio, has managed
to be off the path of these colossal events, which of course are
attributed to climate change which also overgrows our garden campus
with super vegetation and buzzy in-the-face pests which will soon
require goggles. The tone right now is tropical and I'll be leaving
this keyboard to hack a path through the folliage before the next round
of storms The coming extinction is getting bumpy.
Thursday May 23, 2019
11:11 AM CDT -- Coming Up
With
a 3-day weekend before us KDX will be rolling out several new games and
rides for this low power radio theme park. Starting Fridays at 4 PM CDT
Blare OnAir
launches a weekly show with two main topics: low power radio and existence.
This website will expand as we bring back the Demand Radio
page, offering a number of programs for downloading or listening on
demand as well as links to recommended low power broadcast streams
operated in conjunction with low power transmitters under the rules
of host countrys; FCC Part 15 in the case of the U.S. and
Industry
Canada across the northern border. And this weekend we'd like to pursue
a discussion about the desirability of journalistic review and
criticism of the various low power forums and sites which have tended
to discourage internal deviation from narrow and often shallow
views of particular anti-intellectual moderators. Obedience and
conformity is demanded of the membership at each of these sites, with
many having been banned over minor disagreements. Ironically the low
power hobby is arguably the most intelligent hobby extant, served by
forums that oppress freethought.
Thursday May 23, 2019
8:22 AM CDT -- ACLU Airs National Ad Campaign Targeting Restrictive
Abortion Laws
Thursday May 23, 2019
8:11 AM CDT -- Late for Work Award
This
morning KDX Worldround Radio started the day's schedule one hour late
because Carl Blare, the morning man, felt like getting extra sleep.
Having started late almost every morning in recent memory, Carl
has become eligible for the Late for Work Award,
a handsome wall plaque which will go well alongside the oversized desk.
According to the terms of Blare's contract he is allowed to
choose
his own hours, skip work without notice, and change programming to suit
his mood. Being late for work counts toward merit points resulting in
various awards and commendations.
Wednesday May 22, 2019
11:35 AM CDT --
A couple of us got to talking about the old FM band started in 1945 and
closed in 1947, but for which some of the antique radios will always
tune 42 to 50mHz. The band was subject to attacks of sporadic E-skip,
conditions by which stations from over a thousand miles away bang in
right on top of local stations. This also sometimes happens on the CB
band, where Channels 6 & 11 (27.025 & 27.085 mHz) are
known as
"the nut-job channels" because Trumpian morons speak in gutteral
outbursts intended to resemble English, often with thousand-Watt
boosters that resound across the continent. What else goes on in this
frequency zone somewhere between shortwave and the FM band? There are a
few Part 15 openings for "intentional radiators", such as Rule 15.227
allowing operation on a band from 26.96 to 27.28 mHz with 10,000
microVolts/meter, smack among CB channels 1 through 28! Of course CBers
have the power advantage at 4-Watts, but cannot broadcast music the way
Part 15ers can. Rule 15.235 gives 10,000 microVolts/meter in the band
49.82 to 49.90, the top of the old FM band. It would be legal to say,
"Broadcasting on the Old FM Band, this is a guy in his mom's basement
using a microphone with a previous owner who wonders what happened to
it".
Wednesday May 22, 2019
7:44 AM CDT -- The NPR Style
During
this morning's mirror time before going on the air we heard flutey
voices from NPR weighing chances of war breaking out in the Persian
Gulf. It wouldn't have surprised us if those dainty men with their
prominent public radio microphones might offer fashion suggestions
toward dressing for war.
Wednesday May 22, 2019
7:15 AM CDT -- KDX Was Down in the Basement
Tornado
sirens blared repeatedly throughout last evening as a potentially
dangerous weather system moved through the KDX signal area. The
Internet Building, home of Worldround Radio, was disconnected and kept
out of service until this morning. During the heart of the threat the
washing machine became our operations desk alongside the water meter,
where we were prepared to read from "Beyond Good and Evil" by Frederich
Nietzsche, but attention was taken by the TECSUN PL-310 bringing storm
coverage from local storm-spotters out in the field tracking the fury
for both television and radio listeners. Had I taken the moment to read
these are words we'd have encountered: "Woman
has hitherto been treated by men like birds, which, losing their way,
have come down among them from an elevation: as something delicate,
fragile, wild, strange, sweet, and animating--but as something also
which must be cooped up to prevent it flying away."
Wednesday May 22, 2019
7:14 AM CDT -- One of the Most Beautiful Features on Earth is Dead
Tuesday May 21, 2019
11:29 AM CDT -- Report from Hartford
Look down at May 10 for a pic showing Brooce's Zenith Holiday Tip Top
Radio with the Top Flipped Open (Tip
Top Flip Top).
Hartford is the Capital of Connecticutt, and to get around town Brooce
uses back streets by bicycle.
Monday May
20, 2019 5:08 PM CDT -- Later That Same Day
There's a communique coming in from Correspondent Boomer. Hi Boomer!
It would make sense that if
pirate radio is out there in large quantities, and a growing problem,
that there must be a need for the service it provides. It seems that pirate radio in
years past was a teenage hobby, where electronics-minded guys wanted to
be DJs and play records for their friends from school. From all
accounts I've read, the new breed of pirates are community stations for
small groups who can't get access to commercial radio.
Established radio has
been looking for someone to blame for its declines as media has been
spread out by the many choices and outlets we have now, but... They
would always look to stamp out competition if they can get some
leverage with some 'problem' and I'd guess that pirates are enough of a
sustained service now, for broadcasters to put the FCC's focus on at
the moment. At
the same time I don't think the FCC really could care as much about AM
and FM at this time, when they are working to set policy and broker
many gigahertz of radio spectrum in the upper ranges, where the
competition and money is right now. Passing the problem of pirates on
to someone else makes sense. Upping the stakes with new laws
might also allow for more access to low power broadcasting to be
considered, because it will make it a serious thing out of the idea
that there's still little access to the airwaves. Just like the law
change that allowed consolidation created less access and a rallying
point for low power FM (LPFM). It draws a line in the sand that people
can organize around.
I think so too standing by this line in the sand.
Monday May 20, 2019 4:40
PM CDT -- Scientists Seriously Concerned as 5G Goes Up Nationwide
Monday May 20, 2019 9:11 AM CDT -- Lucid Moment One Morning
Carl
Blare standing at the control desk as today's programs stream to the
world and spring greens the window, looking around at the station
volunteers each concealing whatever they are doing on the internet.
None of them are real, I know that, these volunteers are made-up radio
characters that save me plenty on office furniture because the theater
of the mind is all free. There's Flotilla DeGlued, my impersonal
assistant, either playing spider solitaire or shopping at Amazon. In
the corner is Rock Jocko, over-cover detective moonlighting here as
Commanding Director of Security Supervisors, catching up on his
forensic examination of porn confiscated during no-knock raids. Then
there's Ned Stedy, audio operator, paging through video catalogs
dreaming about his television ambitions. Morgan Ford, special events
announcer, rehearsing scripts for possible program interuptions in case
of tornadoes, air raids or panic in the streets. But aside from all
that what I'm really thinking about is the corruption in the part 15
radio community, which I mentioned the other day but deleted because a
reader objected. What we'll do is wait awhile before mentioning it
again, also we're out of oatmeal so will probably head over to
Save-So-Much...
Sunday May 19, 2019 8 PM
CDT --
A large jolt was experienced this evening when Harry Schearer
opened his show by declaring this as Memorial Weekend. What? Whaaat? I
quickly double-checked my math and from what I can tell next weekend is
Memorial Weekend. Mr. Schearer does le Show from New Orleans
(on
weekends when he's not in London or Santa Monica) and maybe they have a
different holiday schedule. I think it's a week too soon to have any
memories. While we're talking, some things are going on with the KDX
Schedule... the station has finally given me an air time for my radio
show, Blare OnAir will be heard Fridays at 4 PM CDT. Another change is
the new daily shut-down from 4: 30 to 6 PM. Our weekly Sunday shut-down
from Noon to 6 has been very, very um, just very.
Sunday May 19, 2019 12:44
NOON CDT -- Know More by Looking Beyond the Usual
Sunday May 19, 2019 10:44
AM CDT -- Paid a visit recently to REC Networks? Let's
go there now for this well worded roundup about legal part 15
broadcasting.
Sunday May 19, 2019 9:02
AM CDT --
This is the radio I've talked about as the official KDX "Yard
Radio" or probably even better would be "Campus Radio", used during my
work as landscape architect. I've been calling it a "Grundig" but the
front is labeled "Sangean", but either way it's a radio that
incessently drifts and requires re-tuning all the time. Also they built
in a thumpy disco-lounge bass-boost which burns up battery time and
obscures speech, but we took care of that by setting a special
equalization-curve using VLC Media Player and now the radio sounds so
good that I find myself sitting outdoors every evening listening
raptly. The amplifier/speaker in this set has "throw", meaning it can
be distinctly heard over a wide area. By comparison the small TECSUN
PL-310 can only be heard very locally; within a few feet. One thing
about this radio is that it resembles a gas meter and could easily
raise suspicion if it were carried in public.
Saturday May 18, 2019
6:15 AM CDT --
Brooce sent a picture of his Litz Crystal Radio, an imitation of the
Heathkit Crystal Radio. Both of them can be seen together at the May
15th llinks titled Bomb
Shelter Radio and Convincing Imitation.
One slight difference between them is the special markings on the
Heathkit at 640 and 1240 kHz designating the CONELRAD frequencies for
national emergencies. We asked Brooce how the authorities could come up
with signals on those frequencies upon short notice, and what he told
us sounded like a real debacle. It seems that stations on nearby
frequencies needed to hastily re-tune their transmitters and towers, a
feat that cannot be done hastily. To make it even more prone to mishap
the first station to manage a CONELRAD signal only operated for a brief
time until a second station took over, moving the geographic locations
around to trick incoming bomber planes from being able to home
in. So
far as we know CONELRAD was never activiated and would easily have gone
all helter skelter. But consider this... today, with some of our part
15 stations being concerned about being unfairly targeted as "pirates",
they could put "PLAN CONELRAD" into effect, changing frequencies all
the time as an evasive strategy! KDX will be experimenting along those
lines.
Friday May 17, 2019 7:28
PM CDT --
At one time in the fading past KDX was an active promoter of the Part
15 radio hobby, resulting in this massive Central Repository of
resources.
Friday May 17, 2019 10:46
AM CDT -- Why We Care About the Pirate Radio Act
This
Blog Site is part of the media enterprise surrounding KDX Worldround
Radio, authorized under FCC Rules Part 15, defining the lowest tier of
approved stations based on low low power. There are several
thousand Part 15 stations operating in the U.S. complying with Federal
technical requirements. Meanwhile there are unlicensed radio stations
employing field-strength in excess of Part 15 levels and it's this gray
category being targeted by the Pirate Act. The Problem as we see it is
that the Act does not specify or clarify what I have just told you,
leaving the likely impression that Part 15 stations are pirates for not
having licenses that they can't get in any case. But that's only one
thing wrong with this Act, which is altogether unnecessary for the
reason that the FCC is already obligated to police the airwaves and
seek out illegal signals, which they do as a routine. The real problem
being ignored by all this is massive growing interference from
electronic devices ranging from home computers to radar installations
and including light bulbs. Too many legislators have learned how to tie
neckties while believing that this earthly life is only an interlude
before the Apocalypse and coming Rapture, which they strive to provoke.
First they came for the women by outlawing reproductive health care now
they're coming for hobby radio.
Friday May 17, 2019 10:39
AM CDT -- Another Poorly Written Piece RE: The Pirate Radio Act
Friday May 17, 2019 9:47
AM CDT -- The Pirate Act -- We are all actors upon life's
stage but we are not all pirates.
Did you notice Line 6? "The PIRATE Act also defines
pirate broadcasts as “ the transmission of communications on spectrum
frequencies between 535 and 1705 kHz, inclusive, or 87.7 and 108 MHz,”
meaning compliant Part 15 operators are clearly excluded."
Clearly excluded? Where is that said? I don't see it. Do you
see it?
Friday May 17, 2019 8:49
AM CDT -- RT
America's Rick Sanchez on What's Behind the NYT 5G Hit Piece
Wednesday May 15, 2019
10:23 AM CDT -- Side Jobs in Radio
We
think of the radio profession in terms of particular job descriptions
such as announcers, DJs, engineers, sales people or fund raisers and
managers. What else could there be? Truth is there are side jobs one
never hears about and I've had several of them.
New
owners of an
AM station where I hosted a daily program also hired my recording
services to record "air checks" during certain hours of the day
delivered on 7" reels of tape. An FM station where I worked a night
show gave me a side job voicing sample commercials onto casstte used by
the sales force to entice prospective advertisers. Oh, and another FM
station booked my studio to pre-tape hours of programming including DJ
and music on large 10.5" metal reels.
Brooce
in Hartford does side work too as a Monitoring Station. The
manager of WAPJ in Torrington, Connecticut, relies on Brooce for
feedback on stream quality.
We
here at KDX hear from Brooce about our own stream broadcasts and the
vast assortment of radios used to listen from various low power
transmitters all over the AM & FM dials.
Wednesday May 15, 2019 9:49 AM CDT -- In
response to my lamentation over the absence of great low power
transmitter kits, Boomer mentions several catalog items currently
available for learners and beginners:
Vectronics has had this kit available for years, I found it again
through your link:
I've looked but haven't
jumped on it yet. It's supposed to be one of the better beginner kits
out there, and antique radio collectors seem to talk about it to use to
run programming to their radios. It's VFO tuning, not locked to a
crystal, so it might be better for analog radios, and might cause
heterodyne squeals if it drifts off frequency. The enclosure is
separate.
Here's probably one of
the best values in a frequency locked PLL kit today:
I got one of these and
built it last year, the earlier model without the final amp booster
transistor which they say is good for coverage in a room, which I found
to be true. I assume the transistor boosts the signal up closer to 100
milliwatts since the 2N3904 is a low power part commonly used in
Part-15 antenna transmitters as a final amp. I think it's the best deal out
there right now, and for better or worse you order it from Asia
directly, and may not have the service of a US company to call with
questions or for repairs, but when I ordered mine, I sent a note that
they could offer the 10 khz spaced version for US builders with the
option of sending a 10.240 khz crystal. Now they include it, and I
guess they got some other requests for it. Mine came with the crystal
for 9 khz spacing, but I had a 10240 and it worked fine in the circuit. Another thing about the kit is
it's not always in the listings, so maybe they do different production
runs.
I also note that the
Spitfire 100 mw pre-built transmitter is back on Ebay. It's another I
haven't tried, but it seems to get good marks from users.
I've also seen the
'trolling' of transmitter kits across different forums and video demos
over the years, trying to sow the seeds of doubt, and push people to
expensive commercial solutions. We must always be aware that when
you're seemingly having more fun, or getting more value for your money
than someone else had, certain minds will find resentment in your good
fortune and try to bring you down. Sometimes folks just want to start
with a simple kit and have some fun with broadcasting, and I have to
wonder how many have turned their backs on hobby broadcasting after
meeting those trolls that want to make it too hard.
Boomer
mentioned the "expensive commercial solutions" and here's my (Carl's)
beef with them... for that much money, average $1,000, they should do
more. Paying that much for small part 15 range is absurd.
Tuesday May 14, 2019 2:39 PM GDT
-- Brooce shares a glimpse of his faithful Akai reel-to-reel which
still runs but has a scraping noise. Back when I operated a whole room
full of tape decks I used a stethoscope to locate noises inside the
machines, such as roller-bearings and other moving parts.
Tuesday May 14, 2019 12:21 NOON CDT -- Another
problem solved in the KDX Worldround Laboratory! It was 10-days ago
when I explained the destructive bass-boost built into the Grundig U1
Construction Site Utility Radio. By experiment we found that inputting
the audio feed from the output-side of the audio processor before
stream encoding straight into VLC Player there is an equalizer for
tailoring the sound, connected to the the USB audio-out from the
computer which sends a Wi-Fi signal to our AMT5000 transmitter.
Happiness has been recovered.
Tuesday May 14, 2019 10:57 SM CDT -- Boomer has been
watching the 5G situation:
It
looks like that New York Times article wants to convince me that RT is
trying to sow fear of 5G. I've had more of a fear of the uses 5G could
be put to in the future, especially constant and invasive surveillance
that seems to be possible when everything is connected to everything
else. Already we have that with phones, TVs, and our internet
connections, but what about when smart refrigerators, cars, and any
electronic devices can talk to each other, getting privacy might be
hard and might have to involve going to live in the woods. I also have
concerns about the amount of bandwidth being taken, essentially using
the RF spectrum all the way to the top. I also note this from the Times
article, "In January, The Times announced a joint venture with Verizon
to build a 5G journalism lab." Hmm.
I've also
noticed wireless nodes popping up in my area, looking like a bucket
mounted to the top of a telephone pole, with a big box about half way
down the side of the pole and connected to the 'bucket' by cabling,
with lines going to a nearby power pole. It seems that when a node is
put in, they also replace the power pole that feeds it with a new one.
I've taken photos of several nodes, as they've started to pop up
everywhere in my area, like mushrooms. I know of two that are across
the street from each other in the center of town, maybe 100 feet apart.
There are dozens of them that I see on my Dog walks, with the first
appearing several years ago, I found it in June 2016 along a main road.
Could the antennas have something to do with 5G that far back?
I don't know who runs
them, there's no company name, frequency, or other details listed, like
we're not supposed to notice, the right ingredients to get a conspiracy
going. Where is Art Bell when you need him? He's out partying with
aliens.
Pictures of the first
node I found, in 2016: Serious Mushroom Outgrowths by
Boomer's House
By the way, Boomer's dog was first to sniff the pole.
Monday May 13, 2019 3:03 PM CDT -- Poca, West Virginia,
signs in with this message from Tha Dood: "Hey Carl? Boomer read your blogs
'n the decline of kits today, but they are still out there. Maybe we
don't have what Heathkit, Knight, and even Lafayette use to be, but if
you search there are some neat kit offerrers out there. Look at..."
Carl
speaks in reply... First of all, good to hear from you Tha Dood! You
are one of the only other carrier current radio operations along with
KDX. Second of all, it is important to mention the kit makers of the
present day so you are to be thanked for doing so and Third of
all
may I say that I was talking about transmitters when I brought up the
sorry state of kits in that category. The great transmitter kits have
been run out of existence.
Sunday May 12, 2019 9:06 AM CDT -- A Liar Calls "Liar!"
The New York Times has that reputation among journalists;
It tells lies on behalf of special interests.
An Example
The
sly headline is true: 5G phones will not hurt anyone, at least no more
than cell phones already pose a risk. But that's not what RT America
said in their reports, as carried on KDX Worldround Radio. 5G will be
implemented from cell antennas located nearby everywhere, poles on the
block, by schools, every street, plunging the population into a bath of
28 GHz millimeter wave spectral energy. There's the danger.
Sunday May 12, 2019 8:52 AM CDT -- Mothers Day is a time
when seeds should remember their pod.
Saturday May 11, 2019 3 PM CDT -- Only indoor activity at
KDX today with cool rainy weather on our campus. Good
time to send Brooce some technical data regarding internet streaming
radio, addressing why some of the streams heard at
his east
coast Monitoring Station remain reliably connected while others drop
out after a short length of time.
It probably has to do with the settings of the sending station and the
ability of the home internet connection and computer to maintain
continual response to those settings. For example, we are told that KDX
is reliably received there in Hartford, while another station
frequently monitored drops out after half-an-hour. We'll take the
settings one at a time:
There's
the Codec, which can be a hardware or software device/application which
determines audio format, including MP3, OGG/VORBIS, OPUS, AAC+, or FLAC.
The
sample rate determines audio quality in either stereo or mono with
standard settings of 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32,
44.1, or
48 kHz.
Bitrate
determines digital speed/bandwidth with settings 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48,
56, 64, 112, 128, 160, 192, 224, 256, or 320 kbps.
KDX sends medium quality which establishes reliable connections on most
home systems: OGG/VORBIS, 22.05 kHz, 40 kbps.
Many
streaming stations use high quality settings such as MP3, 48 kHz sample
rate & 192 kbps which requires very high speed internet and
extra-swift computer power to receive constantly.
The
software player at the receiving computer adapts automatically to the
incoming format, and VLC Player is one that provides a way of observing
the codec settings of the sender.
Sarurday May 11, 2019 9:30 AM CDT -- Hi
Carl, Boomer here. I saw on the Bla Blare Blog your thoughts
about
the Knight type of transmitter, and it's something I have experience
with, so I can yipe. I think Knight engineers wanted to keep things
simple for hobbyist builders, inexpensive, and also have the tube
filaments in series across the AC line, adding up to near 120 volts
(50+50+12), which is nice and convenient. Using a self-excited
oscillator is something early broadcast transmitters used, and some of
the beginner kits have kept using it to this day. Early broadcasting
circuits were similar to what the Knight-3 uses, Heising modulation
with a choke coil and the modulator and final plates connected across
each other. Free running oscillators like the Knight and others have
unwanted, incidental FM because anything that changes the voltage on
some element of the tube changes the operating conditions and causes a
drift in frequency. Modulation changes the voltage and current through
the oscillator tube, so the frequency bobs around a bit above and below
the dial position it's set to, in response to the audio swings.
Incidental FM isn't the worst thing that can happen in an AM
transmitter, but it's a parasite that you want to account for. It can
make the signal take up wider bandwidth on the radio since it's
spreading out the RF power. It also usually limits the modulation
capability of the transmitter, since the more modulation you use, the
more FM you get, and too much FM will cause distortion in the receiver.
If the FM is kept down to no more than 2000-3000 hertz, then distortion
shouldn't be too bad, but it also depends on the receiver bandwidth
too, a wider bandwidth receiver should have lower distortion, since it
accepts the wider signal produced by the phantom FM. Other than those
issues, an AM detector, like a diode, is insensitive to the actual FM;
it just doesn't respond to it.
Technically it is
better to have separate tubes, so that the oscillator has steady
voltages on it for stability and sends the signal on to the final to do
the modulation job. One way to use a single oscillator tube and make it
more stable is to use a crystal to set the frequency, making it a
modulated crystal oscillator. That should cut the amount of FM down to
a low level where it won't get in the way. As for harmonics, I've built
similar oscillators with tubes in the past, and I didn't find them to
be too harmonic. The oscillator can make a fairly clean sine wave by
itself, but it's something that would have to be tested if you fire up
a Knight, seeing how strong the harmonics are, compared to the
fundamental.
An isolation
transformer can help on the AC line. I don't think the Knight is much
more dangerous than a tube table radio of the same period. It sets up
an internal RF and DC ground that's isolated from the chassis by
resistors and capacitors. The best thing to do for an original Knight
experience is use a polarized plug so that the internal ground is set
to be on the wide blade, neutral in the socket.
I also think the Knight
3 has the potential for more power output than the others, looking at
how its wired and the voltages on the plates of the tubes. When people
talk about putting long antennas on their Knight and reaching their
whole town and their friends from school, that's probably the model
they were using.
Friday May 10, 2019 2:35 PM CDT -- As
the weekly chamber music concert from Music Mountain, Falls Village,
Connecticut, streams out of KDX Worldround Radio, listener Brooce in
Hartford Connecticut, is about to open his Zenith 1949 Holiday Tip Top
Receiver.
Friday May 10, 2019 12:02
NOON CDT -- What
does the FCC actually say about kits? -
FCC
Rules and Regs Part 15 - Radio Frequency Devices Subpart A - General,
Section 15.3 Definitions (p) Kit. Any number of electronic parts,
usually provided with a schematic diagram or printed circuit board,
which, when assembled in accordance with instructions, results in a
device subject to the regulations in this part, even if additional
parts of any type are required to complete assembly.
There we have the authority granted to manufacturers to offer kits on
the legal market.
Friday May 10, 2019 11:11
AM CDT -- The
Kit Konspiracy -
Transmitter
kits have joined the extinction trend and become something remembered
from another time. What happened to them? When Ramsey ended their
tradition of supplying excellent FM kits they said something like "kits
are no longer popular" but avoided mentioning that their message board,
also closed around the same time, was pestered by a nut who
persistently claimed the kits were not FCC compliant. During the same
period the outstanding AM transmitter kits from SSTran abruptly ceased
production with no statement. This followed months of harrassment by a
self-proclaimed "hobby forum site" which staged transmitter
comparison field tests with two objectives determined in advance - The
"winning" transmitters certified types distributed and
installed
by the commercial engineering company that operates the "hobby" site as
an advertising arm, the "losing" transmitter being the AMT5000 from
SSTran, resented for equalling in quality the higher priced certified
transmitters but at significant savings. The owner of SSTran was
personally ridiculed for a whole year for not "donating" a free
transmitter for the comparison tests, the kit manual was even attacked
on grounds of being deceptive, incomplete, and confusing. But now
that SSTran has closed, all is quiet on the subject like it never happened.
Then there's the case of Seth Cuthbert and his growing fame as maker of
a stereo AM transmitter kit and companion mono kit, but
suddenly
moving physically into silent exile to escape alleged threats from
anti-kit terrorists.
Friday May 10, 2019 8:45
AM CDT -- What
I think I know about shortcomings of the KnightKit AM Transmitters
-
While
it is efficient to use a single tube to generate the RF operating
frequency, inject modulation onto the carrier and provide output at the
desired power level, somebody once said that unwanted frequency
modulation is introduced, but I can't remember why this is a bad thing.
Anyway, the recommended way to "do it right" is to add a buffer stage
and a final RF amplifier. The modulation would be applied to the final
tube, keeping the oscillator stage "pure" with the buffer serving to
avoid backward interaction between the amplitude modulated
final
and the oscillator. Another problem in the original design is that the
KnightKit outputs plenty of raw harmonics which predictably go against
15.209, so adding a filter between the output and antenna is
recommended. One other thing that has been recently discussed at the
part15.org forum is the desirability of using an AC isolation
transformer to which I'd also suggest adding a full-wave rectifier.
Thursday May 9, 2019 6:28
PM CDT -- Boomer in Pittsburgh responds: "Thanks for archiving the Knight
Wireless Broadcaster manuals, I don't think I'd seen any that were
complete before, usually just the schematic being shared on line, or an
electronics magazine article about construction. We can see the circuit
evolve through the versions, starting with octal socket tubes, with a
tube rectifier, to going to miniature tubes and a selenium rectifier
and adding more features."
Tuesday May 7, 2019 2:55 PM CDT
-- Our correspondent in Saint Leo, Florida, sends notice that the Range
Extender for Talking House / iAM Transmitters is getting ready to ship.
For ordering information contact Bill Baker.
Tuesday May 7, 2019 2:50
PM CDT -- "Radio Song" composed by Mike St. Clair of Austin
Tuesday May 7, 2019 1:19
PM CDT -- Knight Kits
Monday May 6, 2019 11:55
AM CDT -- Mysterious
Force Baffles Small Ohio Town
Monday May 6, 2019 11:27
AM CDT
-- Sunday was the final day for this year's New Orleans Jazz &
Heritage Festival and listener Brooce in Hartford added a 3rd Radio to
his Monitoring Station, sending a note along with some
pictures: "The
New Orleans jazz celebration was streamed from KDX and also transmitted
through this radio on both FM 92.9 MHz and AM 1580 kHz. We are a jazz
family here, by the way. My son is a jazz musician and we have
jazz on fairly often. About the radio: A Radio Shack
Patrolman SW-60 from the 1970s. Not a great radio - but I
started out with multiband analog portables. I love the way it
looks, and it's still fun. Best Regards, Brooce."
KDX Not
Responsible for Wrenched Neck
Monday May 6, 2019 7:55
AM CDT -- Message
to the Digital Gentry: Radio is already invented. Stop
trying to invent it again.
Monday May 6, 2019 6:39
AM CDT -- Life
Without Weather Forecasts
Sunday May 5, 2019 10:05
AM CDT
-- KDX Worldround Radio provides programming from and to the
International Civilized Community, not the easiest thing against the
debased authoritarian carnival rejects and their stupid nationalism,
but today we'll take a break from all that for Cinco de Mayo, the 5th
of May, honoring the Hispanic Peoples for all they offer. The lovely
song linked here is played throughout the day every May 5th on KDX, and
is
presented for you under a Creative Commons License.
Saturday May 4, 2019 6:40
PM CDT
-- Some highlights of the broadcast day today here from the Center of
North America. The Jazz Festival was delayed again by rain but this
time WWOZ started the broadcast promptly at 11 AM and shared recordings
of yesterdays performances that were not previously aired. The New
Orleans Fairground opened at 12:30 NOON and attendance built
steadily throughout the day. Again the VLC Player has kept KDX solidly
connected across the internet, and one of our correspondents explained
why VLC does such a good job: at instances when the stream
drops VLC goes to work repeatedly trying to reconnect until it
gets its way, whereas Zara and Winamp move on to the next item on the
playlist whenever a stream fails. I actually saw it work a few times
when VLC opened a window and showed itself trying to reconnect. At 2 in
the afternoon the Jazzfest host identified us as KDHX St. Louis and
that made me very nervous because there is a KDHX but they are
unrelated to KDX. The Festival Coordinator made sure her hosts would
not repeat the same mistake. While all this was going on I put new
D-Cells in the Grundig U1 Utility Radio and went to work trimming
hedges and grass, reminded that the Grundig has an unfortunate
bass-boost that is not user controllable and 2 things make that
unpleasant: bass eats up more expensive battery juice than any other
part of the audio band and muddles speech clarity. Previously I used
the EQ on Winamp to correct the audio curve being sent to the radio
from our AM transmitter, but this newer setup has no convenient way of
solving the problem. We'll eventually open the radio and surgically
remove the bass-boost parts. Brooce in Hartford has put KDX on a second
rare and unusual radio, which I'll post for you in a short time. Just
sit right where you are.
Has
6-Transistors Claims to Have 14
Friday May 3, 2019 3:44
PM CDT
-- Yesterday the Jazzfest stream coming from WWOZ in New Orleans went
silent a number of times and took awhile to re-establish. Speaking by
telephone the coordinator told me one other station was having
similar problems and she asked what software we use to capture
their stream. I explained that our main control software, Zara V 1.6.2,
would not accept the WWOZ stream but by grabbing it with Winamp we
could port it to Zara. She then advised we use the VLC Media Player
which her experts find more reliable, explaining why today's Jazzfest
is flowing undisturbed with VLC newly installed, free by the
way.
Along for the ride is Brooce MICRO1700 in Hartford, Connecticut,
listening on his refrigerator.
1959 Zenith AM/FM Tube Radio
Friday May 3, 2019 9:56
AM CDT
-- As several recently told at the part15.org forums I also started
with a Knight Kit AM Transmitter assembled from parts in the 1950s and
beaming KCAM at 1620 kHz, just on the last edge of the AM dial squeezed
above local 1600. That was more fun than sex and obviously has lasted
longer since we're now broadcasting from an AMT5000 kit made by SSTran.
It was the tubes that made it a living experience in those days and
I've even considered hiding the AMT5000 inside a fake tube transmitter
with glowing filaments. Over the course of years there were 3 different
Knight Kit versions and I promise to give you the manuals for all 3 in
the very near future as a reward.
Friday May 3, 2019 7:46
AM CDT
-- Like any justice on the supreme court what I have in common is this
appointment for life as the curator of KDX Worldround Radio, all at
once non-commercial or possibly commercial, we can talk. But where are
we? Another interesting difference with licensed stations which must
identify their city of license is that mere part 15 stations have no
requirement to declare any particular locale affiliation. It would not
matter if we claimed to be aboard a giant kite sailing in the clouds or
coming from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The only reason we are
announced by WWOZ as "KDX Worldround Radio St. Louis" is for their
benefit in demonstrating connection with the major cities. Otherwise we
are "coming from FEMA Region 7". Fact is we're "practically within
sight of the city limit of St. Louis", but otherwise neither represent
that city nor have much to say about it at all, except that I believe
the Pope decanonized Louis XIV making the "Saint" part of the name
defunct but the cost of re-printing all the stationary, you understand.
So figure this into the legal maze: "Users of nonlicensed, low-power
devices operating under part 15 may use whatever identification is
currently desired, so lomg as propriety is observed and no confusion
results with a station for which the FCC issues a license". What? What?
But I've never seen that in the part 15 rules!? Of course not,
because it's rule 73.3550 (1). Makes perfect sense.
Thursday May 2, 2019 1:53
PM CDT
-- While exciting jazz music streams from the Jazz Tent at the
New
Orleans Fairgrounds we'll spend a moment talking about radio stations
authorized under the FCC's Part 15 Rules, of which KDX AM & FM
are
two examples. In fact, Part 15 encompasses many important technical
rules with the main theme being prevention of interfernce to the many
licensed forms of radio that occupy the electromagnetic spectrum. It
takes getting used to, but KDX is classed based on limiting the
"interference" which might ensue if we exceeded the boundaries of our
allowance to exist. Before turning on the transmitters we search for
the quietest unused dial locations so that our signal does not block
an existing licensed station, and once transmitting we watch the
modulation level to avoid "splashing" outside of the designated
bandwidth which on AM, for example, amounts to 10 kHz of space.
Powerwise our AM facility cannot exceed 100 mW (1/10th
Watt) and
the physical antenna is confined to 3-meters (10-feet). What we call
"transmitters" are referred to in the rules as "Intentional Radiators"
and in early history were first marketed as "phonograph oscillators"
which saved the cost of a good audio amplifiier and played records over
radio sets. Streaming on the internet is a whole other class of radio
service not covered by FCC rules.
Thursday May 2, 2019 8:13
AM CDT -- Week 2 Jazzfest picks up at 11 this morning and
runs through Sunday.
Wednesday May 1, 2019
3:30 PM CDT
-- Quite a length of time can be spent wondering about the definition
of "community" and the reason one might wonder is that radio is often
seen as "serving the community". Of various possible definitions we
like this one: Community = A group of interdependent organisms
inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other. Going a
step further, we view "the same region" as that penetrated by our
signal. It is a truism that licensed radio holds the mandate of serving
the "public interest, convenience, and necessity" which imposes
a community service obligation of sorts, but the small
stations
authorized under FCC Part 15 have no content mandates nor
responsibilities outside of the purely technical restrictions, yet so
many individuals embark with the notion of serving the community where
their community amounts to one or a few blocks. My question to the
small stations is, why would you take on a project you're not legally
obligated to offer? If small communities might benefit from some bit of
service from radio announcements send them a bill. You're not providing
them with free lunch, are you? Free shoe shines? KDX never serves the
community and no one complains.
Wednesday May 1, 2019
9:34 AM CDT
-- The article linked at the tail of this entry talks about
the peer pressure either felt or displayed when neighbors gawk
at
each others' yards. The common person seems to think that
what
they survey on their immediate horizon is somehow an extension of their
own kingdoms and there's a tradition of green lawns spread
like
outdoor carpet and this custom applies to front yards, spaces that
extend from the parade review stands known as "the front porch".
Somehow the streets and automobile traffic are not seen as the eyesores
they definitely are nor do average people find the din of constant lawn
equipment to be the ugly pollution of serenity that it is.
Things
are quite different here on the campus surrounding KDX where a bamboo
forest and floral trails provide home to a menagerie of assorted
wildlife with silence enforced by use of our precision Brill German
Manual Mower, so quiet we're able to hear the radio station from our
Grundig U1 Construction Site Radio.
Tuesday April 30, 2019
1:37 PM CDT
-- So much for campus landscaping surrounding the Internet
Building, home of KDX Worldround Radio, it's pouring out there with
flash-bang lightning. It's an unexpected change of events given the
original
forecast for storms "after 3 PM". KDX-AM is disconnected to prevent
lightning from entering through the ground-radials which would likely
fry the transmitter. Meanwhile, The Thom Hartmann Show continues on
KDX-FM and KDX-OGG, the latter of which is our online stream which will
also be closed if the winds get furious. More information about going
silent during storms can be found on the Technical page.
Monday April 29, 2019
9:33 AM CDT
-- As a News Talk radio station KDX has not always been shown the
respect that a journalistic organization in the U.S. should expect,
precisely because we happened to post about central issues on
forum sites controlled by radical right wing extremists determined to
control the narrative. Without delving any deeper into it on this rainy
morning, it all comes to mind because of this image borrowed from
thepolemicist.net:
Sunday April 28, 2019
8:12 PM CDT
-- The earth has rolled eastward leaving the sun out west somewhere and
both New Orleans and St. Louis dark on the Mississippi. The close of
today's Jazzfest led into the weekly Sunday evening concert from the
Deutsche Welle Festival on KDX and the first work up was Brandenburg
Concerto # 5 by Johann Sebastian Bach, excellent transition as the
harpsichord soloing in this work foresignals modern jazz by the
incredible excursion the keyboardist takes when the notes depart the
orchestra and rise above the stage circling like bat-birds until the
strings and flutes regain control. Other Bach concerti followed and
eventually will yield airtime to this week's le Show hosted by Harry
Schearer, himself a New Orlean jazz musician, speaking from his
flagship station WWNO. If I describe the evening's programming with
enough detail it will save anyone from listening.
Sunday April 28, 2019
9:24 AM CDT --
With
1-hour to go before sign on we decided on re-patching our entire
streaming network so we could recover "normal" operation that
got
ripped apart fixing problems experienced with stabelizing the
Jazzfest network connection and it began looking like we wouldn't make
it until that one elusive bit of code got tried and we were good to go
with 10-minutes to spare, just enough time for hot chocolate.
"Big
Picture Science" from the SETI Institute, as heard Sunday mornings on
KDX, brought an interesting question into discussion... how can AI
(artificial intelligence) be made to recognize humor?
Turning to the morning news, more talk of coming 5G:
Host
station for Jazzfest is WWOZ with 100,000 Watts at 90.7, and other
stations carrying the Festival in addition to KDX include KFCF Fresno,
California; KGNU Boulder, Colorado;
KPOV
Bend, Oregon; KVMR Nevada City, California; KVRU Seattle, Washington;
KMNO Wailuku, Hawaii; KZCT Vallejo, California; WJSU Jackson,
Mississippi; WPKN Bridgeport, Connecticut; WRFY Reading,
Pennsylvania; WMPG Portland, Maine; WTJU Charlottesville,
Virginia, all of them
either LPFM or full power FCC licensed stations, leaving KDX as the
only station FCC authorized under Part 15 of the regulations with of
course KDX-OGG streaming to all 400 countries of the world. Hold up for Radio
Phoenix in Arizona, joining the lineup later in the afternoon, an internet radio
station serving the Phoenix community.
Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday of this week Jazz Fest takes a rest while KDX
returns to regular programming and catches up on programs displaced by
Week 1 of Jazzfest. Week
2 starts Thursday for another 4-days of Jazz Heritage.
Saturday April 27, 2019 4 PM CDT
-- For 8 fertile spring days the 50th New Orleans Jazz &
Heritage Festival is broadcasting live on a network of stations across
the Nation including KDX Worldround Radio here in FEMA Region 7. This
is about the 7th year KDX has been part of the hookup. Our own group of
stations consists of KDX-AM, KDX-FM and the global stream KDX-OGG.
The
Festival was greeted by a Tornado Warning Thursday, April 25th,
postponing the start by almost 2-hours, and when things got underway
from the fairground tents rain was pounding down but a massive crowd
was no bit discouraged.
The 2nd day, Friday, was sunny and perfect for the entire 8-hour
broadcast.
Now
we're midway into Day 3, Saturday April 27th, and while KDX emerges
from a cool rain, Louisiana is enjoying another perfect weather day.
In
our control room inside the Internet Building the start was challenged
by failure of our automation software to respond to the IP address
linking to the Fest audio, but we feverishly rigged a substitute system
and logged on with everyone else just at the right minute.
We interrupt the Blare Blog for news about a new Laser Radio!
Now,
what was I saying? Oh ya. The Jazz Fest. We've turned on the
Strereophonic Sound for these 2-weeks which contributes greatly to the
sense of a LIVE broadcast. We should have employed stereo for those
many years as a WFMT affiliate when we carried so many major orchestra
series including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Milwaukee and Dallas, but our monaural signal is so crisp it was still
the best radio in the world. Which begs the question, why did we
withdraw from the World's Major Classical Network? It was me. Just me.
The music and technical quality from WFMTwas perfect, but as the Main
Listener here at KDX I decided on the change for highly personal
reasons which maybe we can talk about sometime.
KDX
has not abandoned classical music entirely. Right now there are
2-orchestra series and 2-chamber music series running weekly.
KDX
Worldround Radio is mainly a News, Talk, Think station, and there are
certainly many vital things to think and talk about, and it explains
the mono sound; the human voice is a monaural instrument.
