The Blare Blog
Center
of the Bla Bla Galaxy
For
Lack of Better Words
JULY 2022
Sunday July 31, 2022 4:50 PM CDT -- Marketed Kits --
Mark the Moderator takes a lunge at the kit question:
Are kits legal? The FCC
says.....
“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.”
The FCC goes on to
say.....
“Equipment
authorization is not required for devices that are not marketed, and
are not constructed from a kit, are built in quantities of five or less
for personal use.”
I
interpret this as if you don't design it yourself, for yourself,
.....if you got it from a MARKETED kit like SStran, Ramsey, Sean
Cuthbert(who designed his AM transmitter and sells them on Ebay), for
examples, they are not legal.
Not
marketed and constructed from a kit, meaning, a kit that someone else
designed that is marketed and you put together is technically illegal.
You have to be the engineer and build it yourself and you alone use it.
But,
the FCC defines a kit as an assembly of parts and a circuit board that
you put together from instructions....That seems to contradict the
FCC's own rule. You first have the kit definition but then says that
is not legal as it was
"marketed".
Do I need a lawyer here?
- Mark
Trying
to make sense of it ties the brain into knots. I keep coming back to
that line about "Equipment authorization is not required for devices
that are not marketed, etc.", but I don't think so-called
'authorization' is required for any type of part 15
intentional-radiator (otherwise known as a transmitter), but for
fully-made transmitters 'certification' is required before marketing is
allowed. The other word, authorization, applies to transmitters in the
licensed services but also common carrier transmitters which are
covered under part 15, except that they are not intentional radiators.
And yes, as Rich points out, the part 15 rules contain a detailed
description of what a kit is, thus opening a kit category under part
15.Do we really think a lawyer can sort it out?
Sunday July 31, 2022 11:15 AM CDT -- Shifting Hypocrisy --
In
a July 28 blog titled 'More Misinformation', Artisan Radio touches upon
a supposed transmitter kit being lauded at 'Hobbycaster's' shifty
website. Dubbed the 'BT6000', this kit is not to be confused with
Philip's Wireless Speakers or a model of Brothers Printer bearing the
same name, and is said to be an improvement of the classic
AMT3000
& 5000, which received never a good mention at the Hobby
Transmitter Challenge. Why would anyone improve upon kits that were
deplored continually in every possible aspect. They claimed that the
5000 was not truly Class E, the manual was incomplete and packed with
false claims, and most of all kits were not legal in the eyes of the
FCC. Since the air has settled following the as yet mysterious closing
of SSTran, maker of the much derided products, Hobbycaster has turned
to promoting a forthcoming kit based on the scorned originals. The
question of intellectual property rights comes to the fore. And we need
ask, has the FCC decided to allow kits?
Friday July 29, 2022 8:31 AM CDT --
I
love radio - its immediacy and especially its intimacy.
It is part of your life, whispering into your ear. You can't see it,
but equally importantly it can't see you.
- Malcolm Turnbull, Former Prime Minister of
Australia
Friday July 29, 2022 8:21 AM CDT -- Offline Safety --
This
website goes offline during storms to protect sensitive server
equipment from possible damage. To review our policy we sought advice
from Artisan Radio, experienced in the professional computer field:
There definitely is a
risk, unless you're using a laptop on
battery
only.
A power surge caused by lightning or an outage can
easily destroy
things.
I usually turn off everything during
thunderstorms.
- Artisan Radio
Friday July 29, 2022 12:56 MIDNIGHT -- Trajectory --
On
a night in 1960 I scanned the AM radio dial across highly active
receptions from all over the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and I think even
Cuba was coming in. At 11:30 PM I'd reached 780 and Chicago identified
itself - WBBM. A brief pause and then a voice from center stage - "Now,
Nordine." I took my hand away from the dial knob and listened. What
followed for the next half-hour formed the yolk of my radio education
still resonating these decades later, an audio tour that connected
minds across the aether through a switchboard of thoughts, thinking,
wondering, discovering, realizing and a bit of knowing - I was spoken
to in a new kind of language modulated against musical undertones and
took the experience to work with me the next day at the FM station
where a co-worker knew who I was talking about when I relayed the
experience - "Oh yeah, Nordine does a lot of radio and TV commercials
and
has a couple of LPs called 'Word Jazz'". To the record store. Another
guy I knew was an ad agency executive who'd actually visited Ken
Nordine's fabled house in Highland Park and been to the
now-famous
third-floor tape studio where Ken produced 'Now, Nordine'. My home had
a third-floor, so I took my Wollensak Tape Recorder up there and began
experimenting with microphones. The idea, as I understood it, was to
get inside of that microphone as closely as possible - to press the
larynx right up with the voice-coil and dominate the acoustic space. I
settled on uni-directional mic patterns as most conducive to the
intimacy sought, but that deep depth of register was the key ingredient
belonging exclusively to Nordine and kept all the rest of us sounding
thin by comparison. Not only had he made me conscious of how I sounded,
but how I wrote and spoke - how words were connected into phrases in a
way that transferred mutually realized images to the minds
of listeners. And other technechalia became part of it - the
WBBM
shows were monaural to fit the media as it was. Then soon stereophonic
FM opened a broader soundscape and Nordine brought a new binaural
edition of his art to the newly established NPR Radio Network under the
title 'Word Jazz'. From my perch at a public radio station I noticed
that the local NPR affiliate opted not to carry 'Word Jazz' so I
applied for the privilege and quickly received a giant carton of
reel-to-reel tape direct from the Nordine Groop in Chicago. To
celebrate this proud association I arranged to speak by phone for a
45-minute visit with Ken Nordine on New Years Eve 1984 as his wife was
preparing scrod. A tape recording of that conversation exists in the
archives of the Internet Building right here at KDX Worldround Radio.
What I think distinguishes Ken Nordine from the regular crowd is that
he can see that we are all on a trajectory. We came from somewhere, and
much of his wordcraft asks and ponders about it. We are headed
somewhere, and he quizzes the possibilities while always detailing
wherever it is we think we are right now. He was a trajectionist.
Narrating a tour we are on without knowing what the tour is really all
about.
Thursday July 28, 2022 12:08 NOON CDT -- Class E Transmitters --
Richard Powers writes about Class E:
Hi Carl. Artisanradio's
blog
just made a couple posts concerning range capabilites of part 15
transmitters, in which he pointed out an important factor often
forgotten, it's not just the quality and efficiency of the transmitter
itself but the capabilities of the receivers used as well; both play
their part. This, in the way, became evident at Yellowstone (where the
whip and mast part 15 AM transmitters originated) in the early 1970s
when a survey concluded that about 10% of car radios could not receive
their broadcast (this was because the fcc had instructed them to change
their frequency to 1606 or 1610 in an attempt to appease the NAB by
getting them out of the broadcast band (which at the time only went up
to 1600).
Artisan also mentioned
something else:
"..SSTran
transmitters used Class E amplfiers, which, at least theoretically, can
have an efficiency of 90% or more. More mw's out means a
greater
field strength, and more range. One of the issues with Class
E
amplifiers, however, is that they can be difficult to tune
properly. Hobbybroadcaster found that out in their flawed AM
Transmitter Challenge..."
It
so happens that what Yellowstone and other parks, and the Hwy
departments where using in the early 1970s (the ITT, DTI, and TSI
transmitters) were all Class E transmitters!
Interesting
technology, Richard and Artisan! The SSTran AMT5000 here at KDX came
with a very detailed manual which I found very easy to follow in
setting up Class E operation, and I spent a lot of time going over it
since it was more complicated than other transmitters. I've found that
some people who want to send out a radio signal have no knack for
technical engineering and easily blame anyone but themselves for their
bad results. Call them Class F.
Wednesday July 27, 2022 3:58 PM CDT -- I Feel a Eulogy Coming On --
Learning
of Nordine's death shook today off of its watery foundation, given
yesterday's rainy deluge. To me personally it's like hearing that
Beethoven died or any other original genius who's influenced our own
creative path. But this isn't it. I'll need time to reflect on this
different world, without the best radio voice ever to visit by air.
Wednesday July 27, 2022 3:54 PM CDT -- Ab & Stract Hold a
Coversation --
Wednesday July 27, 2022 3:27 PM CDT -- I Found Out 3-Years Late
or Would Have Attended the Memorial Service --
All
this time I've been going around telling people Ken Nordine is alive in
his 90s. I was right, until three-years ago when he died age 98, which
I learned minutes ago on YouTube.
YouTube
Wednesday July 27, 2022 6:43 AM CDT -- He Has His Ego Under Control --
Tuesday July 26, 2022 3:39 PM CDT -- About Legal Unlicensed --
Richard Powers speaks to the matter:
It
seems to me the phrase "licensed by rule" has been used by the fcc
numerous times, but I've not seen it used specifically in relation to
part 15 AM.
One example:
"The
Commission does not issue individual licenses for certain types of
personal radio equipment and mobile units used in conjunction with
licensed base stations. These types of transmitters are said to be
"licensed by rule." Such services share the use of radio spectrum and
one user is not denied use by the presence of prior users. These
services do not have construction/coverage requirements. The following
services are “licensed by rule”: • Maritime mobile services (domestic)
• Aviation Services (domestic) • Family Radio Service • Radio Control
Service • Citizens Band Radio Service • Low Power Radio Service
(domestic) • Wireless Medical Telemetry Service • Medical Device
Radiocommunication Service (MedRadio) • Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS)
• Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) • Dedicated Short Range
Communications Services On-Board Units (DSRCS-OBUs)"
Information Source FCC
unlicensed or licensed by rule
operations
(2)
Unlicensed or licensed by rule operations The term “unlicensed or
licensed by rule operations” means the use of spectrum on a
non-exclusive basis under— (A) part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations ; or (B) licensing by rule under part 96 of title 47, Code
of Federal Regulations
Information Source Cornell Law
Very
interesting information, Richard, and previously not known by me nor
probably most part 15ers. I would say that this level of knowledge is
for insiders while the simpler comments I made take into account
language we might use in communicating with the common public based on
their limited notions about what is legal or illegal.
Tuesday July 26, 2022 8:52 AM CDT -- Fall --
RADIOWORLD
Tuesday July 26, 2022 8:39 AM CDT --
Tuesday July 26, 2022 8:31 AM CDT -- Historic Rain --
Today's
startup of the KDX Website and streaming radio programs was
delayed by continuing rain described by the National Weather
Service as historic. Beginning about 2:30 AM CDT we have thus far
experienced up to a foot of rain which is expected to continue during
the morning hours. Some lightning has ocurred. Flash flooding is
widespread and a few thousand are without power.
Monday July 25, 2022 9:43 PM CDT -- Movie About Being Record Producers
--
tubitv
Monday July 25, 2022 1:56 PM CDT -- Suspicious Radio Stations
--
I'm
just back from a visit to several part 15 radio station websites and
were it not for my insider's awareness of how things have come to be
defined in the minds of typical hobby station owners, I would be
inclined to distrust the legality of these stations. In other words, if
I were an ordinary member of the general public I would think these
were "pirate" radio operations based on two words used in their
self-descriptions: "legal, unlicensed". Being blunt, that sounds like a
contradiction in terms. In fact, either term on its own gives rise to
doubt. Claiming to be legal amounts to answering the unasked question,
something advised against by lawyers. Admitting to be unlicensed is
like a confession of guilt, since it is generally assumed that
broadcasting requires a license. Most commonly the FCC notification is
posted on a station's "About" page, which is also ill advised. Our
advice would be to devote "About" to a description of what the station
offers by way of format and purpose, i.e., "Top Hits of the 60s with
Hourly News and Informative Entertainment". Way at the end of the menu
tack on an "FCC Facts" page, noting that your station is "Authorized by
the Federal Communications Commission under Rules and Regulations Part
15". Legality is assumed and licensure not under question.
Monday July 25, 2022 1:16 PM CDT -- Sirius XM Bashes Terrestrial Radio
--
RADIOWORLD
Monday July 25, 2022 12:43 NOON -- NRSC is Active --
Saturday July 23, 2022 10:02 AM CDT -- But How
Far Does It Go? --
Somebody wasn't thinking when they wrote about this wireless device.
tvtech
Saturday July 23, 2022 9:55 AM CDT -- Hottest Yet --
105 Farenheit predicted for today, it's already up to 88.
Friday July 22, 2022 1:17 PM CDT -- Half a Second Without Electricity --
At
4:42 in the early morning we were watching a YouTube video when the
power to the building went off. Half-a-second later the power came
back. The video continued and the computer remained online without a
stutter.
Friday July 22, 2022 1:15 PM CDT -- Catholic Authoritarianism --
The Nation
Thursday July 21, 2022 12:04 N CDT -- Short Trips Around the Dial --
Two
local AM talkers (talk stations) which imitate each other have hosts
who talk superficial trivia as if the audience consists of juveniles,
when the reality is that real juveniles have never listened to AM radio
and are busy "exterminating" whole populations in computer games while
texting each other about suspicious activities concealed
from parents. There may be life on this planet but not
intelligence.
A very brief stop on a sports talk station fed
my unending curiosity about how is it possible to talk incessently
about simple children's ball games without at least sparking things up
with drunken profanity. For the adult, all sports are a drinker's
pastime but the sobriety required on radio results in shallow
insipidity.
My takeaway from these radio moments is that dullardry is not as easy
to sustain as it may first appear.
Thursday July 21, 2022 11:53 AM CDT -- Poking Around at Radio-Locator --
Never
caught by boredom I was scrolling through radio stations at
radio-locator.com and noticed some call letters from the distant past,
once belonging to a legendary station that has since turned religious
and renamed itself. The old letters are now reassigned to a 37-Watt
LPFM station and although the programming in no way resembles what the
original station was known for, the little station fills their "About"
page with glorious details of the older station's popularity,
and
by so doing essentially lay claim to a past in which they had no part.
Thursday July 21, 2022 8:39 AM CDT -- An Ideal Mixing Board for Low
Power Voice Radio --
Wednesday July 20, 2022 10:29 AM CDT -- Playing the Part of Scientist --
Knowing
only a little about things is a fun starting point for trying to
imagine more about them. Two areas of interest come to mind. There's
the radio frequency science touched upon in recent blogs about our
transmitters, and human functioning in exposure to heat, ourself the
subject of experiment. Let's use paragraphs to isolate these two
explorations from one another.
In this paragraph allow me to
layout my reasoning as to why our C.Crane FM1 performs observably
better with its antenna placed vertically compared to the paltry result
when adjusted horizontally. It's the wavelengths, so I think. Consider
first the fact we are indoors and subject to reflections from walls,
ceilings and floors, the building interior serving as a badly tuned
wave-guide within which the signal travels on the way to randomly
placed radios. During horizontal operation the floor-to-ceiling
distance is less than one full wave at the FM frequency and so presents
a badly phased circumstance in which cancelations filter the effeciency
at an accelerated rate with distance through the rooms and halls. By
the simple change of verticallizing the antenna the null portion of the
radiance is reflected upward and downward, allowing the main
donut-shaped-lobe to express itself at full-wavelength-plus in the more
ample dimensions presented from wall-to-wall. That's all there is to
it.
Now what was the other thing? Oh ya... heat and its
affects on human performance. For me, knowing the estimation to be
scientifically subjective, 84o Farenheit is the
critical
point at which my enthusiasm drops off abruptly and even small projects
appear too strenuous to attempt. Add to that a recent news report
revealing research finding the threshhold of human health
danger
to be 88o F, lower than previously believed.
Exposure to
heat can result in spontaneous death. Everything needs to be postponed
starting with this blog.
Tuesday July 19, 2022 5:27 PM CDT -- As Our Troubles Increase --
The
problems set against humanity are increasing with no prospects for
coming out of it intact. In a short while the world population will
reach 8-billion at the most inopportune of times. Employing
contraception and abortion, which have always been true human rights
despite bad laws and ignorant men, would be valuable mechanisms for
trimming unbridled reproduction, but theocrats in government and
Christian fanatics have chosen now to posture themselves as belligerent
enemies of humanity and the world. We've got to talk about pest
control.
Tuesday July 19, 2022 5:23 PM CDT -- Self Managed Abortion Now Very
Important to Know About --
TheNation.
Tuesday July 19, 2022 4:24 PM CDT --
If
you think
outside the box,
After taking it
to a whole new level,
You might find yourself
on a slippery slope.
- Carl
Blare, 2003
Tuesday July 19, 2022 3:05 PM CDT -- Higher is Better --
By raising the C. Crane FM1 Transmitter 1-foot higher, signal strength
at key reception locations increased by 6-dBu.
Tuesday July 19, 2022 2:43 PM CDT -- Weather in Various Places --
A look at Vancouver, BC, Canada, shows temperature of 67o.
Is that right? Don't they use the Celsius scale up there? My Duck Duck
Go must have done a conversion. Meanwhile, here in the Midwaste of the
U.S. we have 92o and are keeping the equipment
online
for today although the rest of the week will be headed back up toward
100 F and
we'll be locking down during the peak of it. Of course we checked
Canada because Artisan Radio operates from there, and correspondent
Mark is on the eastern side but I can't remember exactly where. Rich
Powers, also known as End 80 Radio, is at Tybee Island, Georgia, with 90o.
Somewhere near the New England States are both Bruuuce and Boomer, and
it's 91o in Boston.
Tuesday July 19, 2022 10:59 AM CDT -- Twisted Polarity --
A
transmitter of concern we've been writing about is our C.Crane FM1,
located on the southern wall of the Internet Building and recently
adjusted to radiate horizontally by simply orienting the onboard
telescopic antenna appropriately. Since doing that, as we've already
mentioned, trouble ensued. Most notably the field strength dropped to
the extent that its signal was no longer receivable at the far northern
wall on our Sangean ATS-505 desktop radio.
From a centrally
located monitoring point under a ceiling light fixture we measured the
signal strength from the FM1 using a TECSUN PL-310 radio, indicating 18
dBu, but only with the radio's antenna oriented vertically. If the
radio was tilted into the horizontal plane the signal strength was
less. A comparison reading was taken from the C.Crane FM2, located an
equal distance away and also oriented horizontally, the TECSUN showed
the strongest reception on the horizontal plane as would be expected.
Therefore we surmise that physical circumstances near the FM1 are
causing its polarity to twist from H to V.
By restoring the FM1 to vertical operation it is once more
heard at the Sangean desk location.
Tuesday July 19, 2022 10:55 AM CDT --
People
truly engaged in life have messy houses.
- Ottessa Moshfegh,
writer
Tuesday July 19, 2022 9:46 AM CDT -- Democrats Plan to Restore Net
Neutrality --
Monday July 18, 2022 5:45 PM CDT -- Part 15 on the Lower AM Band --
Reacting
to a discussion on another website about the well established
advantages of broadcasting on the AM X-Band as opposed to the low end
down around 540 kHz or so, I can only add that the way to do it with
desired result is to use carrier current, an alternative Part 15 mode.
Monday July 18, 2022 4:58 PM CDT -- Heat Induced Delirium --
Women
should not be forced to act as reception centers for incoming life if
that's not what they want, but numerous forces work against them, bad
court decisions and religious dictats true, but some of it occasionally
from their own inner conflict of desiring mutually exclusive outcomes.
Men are nature's unwitting dupes in the whole process because they
wrongly estimate that women exist to provide comfort and pleasure for
them personally, whereas in fact men are lured by the deceptions of
biology as it blindly presses reproduction of species taking
no
regard for consequences at any scale. Women find themselves existing to
serve the offspring which in one way are intruding strangers but in
another take up the role of being cute and hungry. Dogs do much the
same thing. Catholic and other
Christian authoritarians soil the matter further by imposing guilt and
claiming fraudulent authority over already beleaguered human breeding
business. Porky bishops in their gay upholstery fabrics backed by
legions of "fathers" and "sisters" have infiltrated
the secular
democratic republic of the United States holding men by the gonads and
women by the wombs on behalf of the Nation State known as "The
Vatican", a "kingdom" representing "God on earth", something akin to
science fiction without science.
Monday July 18, 2022 4:43 PM CDT -- Self Administered STA --
Given
a knotty set of transmission problems KDX Worldround Radio has granted
to itself a status of Special Temporary Authority to close KDX AM
pending a number of repairs and upgrades, operate KDX-FM at below
normal power until we determine why the C.Crane FM1 isn't radiating at
its previous more robust strength, and until a second set of backup
transmitters are placed into service to fill the gap during the entire
restoration. Talking about this is the easy part. Doing anything is
delayed by the attitude problem on the part of the station owner who'd
rather not be bothered with it.Thing is, though, it's the only way he
can expect to have decent radio programs for listening.
Monday July 18, 2022 3:51 PM CDT -- Security Report --
People
receive so many Amazon deliveries they should probably
have warehouse permits.
-
neighborhood busybody on the watch
Monday July 18, 2022 11:53 AM CDT --
Television
contracts the imagination and radio expands it.
-Terry Wogan, Irish broadcaster
Monday July 18, 2022 11:35 AM CDT -- Wi-Fi Tax Under Consideration --
RADIOWORLD
Monday July 18, 2022 10:54 AM CDT -- FCC Proposes U.S. Broadband
Standard --
Monday July 18, 2022 9:48 AM CDT -- Mistuned
Cognition --
Our
transmitter site at the rear indoor corner has been found inadequate to
deliver the fine broadcast quality associated with KDX Worldround
Radio. The corner itself is not the problem. The actual problem has to
do with poor placement of components in a high RF
environment.
Relocation of components will require support structure that presently
does not exist. To further complicate an already compound set of
problems there is no one available to undertake the re-design work,
given the fact that I am too high in the executive ranks to do menial
labor. But I do have a plan. For an undetermined length of time I will
pace about, think a little, and formulate an approach. Check back with
us every year. Meanwhile we may be off the air a lot.
Sunday July 17, 2022 8:45 AM CDT -- Do You Prefer Baked or Roasted --
Today was set for another 100o heat alert, but
along came the rain and dialed things down to a lower high of 88o.
Not so lucky this forthcoming week as temperatures ratchet back up.
Sunday July 17, 2022 8:41 AM CDT -- If Remote Work is Too Quiet for You
--
bOiNGbOiNG
Friday July 15, 2022 8:37 AM CDT -- One Phone Call Away --
It's
been announced that 9-8-8 will be the National Suicide Prevention and
Mental Health Help line. But a recent experience of mine causes me to
believe that 9-8-8 may often be outside the reach of the same people
who need it. In my situation all communication was lost when the cable
company totally removed my cable in what was supposed to be a simple
re-attachment of a wire that had drooped to the ground. In order to
reach the cable people I drove first to a grocery store where I was
told there are no public phones. By good luck my automobile service
station allowed me to use their phone to report the outage and get my
cable restored. For three days I was cut off from the world. But a
suicidal person might not find access to a telephone even if their
desire to thwart their own plans was strong enough to reach out. There
is a substantial liklihood that 9-8-8 will be beyond the reach of a
large number of people who might need it.
Friday July 15, 2022 8:11 AM CDT -- As the COVID Mutates --
We
are informed by an urgent sounding voice speaking by radio that the
newest COVID Variant known as BA5 is the most contagious form yet and
spreading rapidly.
Friday July 15, 2022 7:54 AM CDT -- Discovery of the Day --
Since
the success in getting the C.Crane FM1 back in service we kept it on
the air through the night broadcasting Tower Time from our KHZ/KDX
Talking Tolking Clock. This morning at 6:55 AM CDT we switched on the
Procaster AM Transmitter and right away the audio from FM1 became
choppy and floppy. As a seasoned person of experience we immediately
realized that radiation from the AM antenna, located only 1-foot from
the FM1, was strongly interfering. Thinking back, we realize that the
troubles began about the time we changed polarity of the FM
transmission from vertical to horizontal. "Oh", we thought. "So that's
it."
Thursday July 14, 2022 7:18 AM CDT -- FM1 In Recovery --
The
C.Crane FM1 Transmitter called out to me not to abandon it, so I opened
its egg-shell casing and looked again, seeing nothing particularly
different than before. But each time I've re-assembled it and tested it
for audio it either produced choppy meat-slicer sound or wouldn't turn
on. Tonight's result started with the thing not turning on, but then it
came to life, so I applied audio and set the modulation. Since then
it's been sending crisp quality renditions by Abe Lyman and the
California Ambassador Hotel Orchestra. For now it's back in the game
serving KDX-FM. Kind of acts like an intermittancy, don't you agree?
Thursday July 14, 2022 7:20 AM CDT -- Mysterious Part 15 Signal from a
Distant Galaxy --
Tuesday July 11, 2022 7:24 PM CDT -- StereoTools AM Radio Audio
Processing - Part 7 - Final --
Our
Blog commentary combined with the links and references given throughout
this subject point the way toward understanding and possibly utilizing
StereoTools AM Audio Processing capability.
One aspect covered
in the documentation which we consider worth empasizing is the greater
advantage of employing StereoTools L+R Mixdown for blending the two
stereo channels of your program feed for reasons well explained in the
literature.
We also reiterate the need to study the FCC rules
pertaining to modulation science unique to Amplitude Modulation, a
requirement for generating an RF signal on the radio band.
Questions or other input to this subject are welcome.
Tuesday July 11, 2022 6:54 PN CDT --
You
cannot prove a negative.
But how could it be a negative if you can't prove
it's a negative?
- Carl Blare, author "The Positive Side of
Negative Thinking"
Monday July 11, 2022 8:09 AM CDT --
RADIOWORLD
Sunday July 10, 2022 7:29 AM CDT -- A Plate Full of Engineering --
Every
Sunday afternoon is Maintenance Time at KDX and this week most of our
job list pertains to computers. We'll be doing an inventory of USB
Flash Drives so we'll know which standard each one is designed for,
i.e., USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and so on. Then we'll look up manual
information about the actual USB ports on the various computers to see
what they support. We'll be placing an order for a handful of USB 3.0
Flash Drives in anticipation of a future Sunday when we'll install
Windows 10 on one of them as part of restoring that computer back to
service, as it no longer boots probably because the installed Windows
10 was not 'Activated' during the 90-day opening. And we'll be putting
KDX into another of the drives. Also on the list is a check of the
power cube for the C.Crane FM1 Transmitter to be sure the transmitter
isn't being blamed unfairly for failing. And lastly we'll fully test
and return to service the Ramsey FM35B Transmitter. But I don't work
here. This is only a hobby. I could easily blow the whole day snacking
and watching free movies. Even now I'm stalling by messing with The
Blog rather than getting KDX ready for the morning's
schedule.
Sunday July 10, 2022 6:36 AM CDT -- Get in Line --
Message from a member of the general public:
Hello
Mister Blare. You don't know me, but I read your blog and feel moved to
respond to the post titled 'What Lies in Store'. I have an uncle who's
a county judge here in Arizona and he was talking to a portulent
Catholic bishop at our July 4th soiree, and they were discussing the
idea of requiring people to apply for a license to have sex. They even
thought it could be made part of the registry now in force for
so-called 'sex offenders'. They mentioned that having sex
without
a license would be a crime for which an arrest warrant would be issued,
and sex outside of marriage would be a sex offense with a prison term
attached. The bishop was chewing on pork chops as he spoke, but I could
still make out his words when he said he might call Amy about it. He
knows Amy Coney Island the Supreme Court Judge because they were
members together of some Catholic cult that believes women are the
handmaids of men. I am very scared about the way things are going
because I'm a woman who likes men who believe they are women trapped in
men's bodies.
Sunday July 10, 2022 6:08 AM CDT -- Thumbs Up for Thumb Drives --
Artisan Radio has previous experience:
Read your blog post
about running KDX off a thumb drive.
I'm running a backup
version of Artisan Radio off a flash drive on one
of my laptops.
This was necessitated, however, as the BIOS on the
computer was locked with
a password (which means it can't be modified),
and it was set to boot
off either a network or USB. Basically, the
computer was a
parts-only affair, thrown into an ebay transaction in
which I also purchased a
working one. It turned out the only thing
wrong with the thrown-in
computer was the BIOS lock (it was also missing
its SSD but that was
easy to add), and it works very nicely booting off
the thumb drive.
If you're going to do
what I did, and what you're planning to do, you'll
need to use a USB 3.0
drive for speed - USB 2.0 is just too slow. If
you're going to boot off
it, you'll need to create a bootable version of
whatever operating sysem
you're running on the drive - I used a program
called RUFUS to do
that. There are lots of other utilities, and I tried
a few, but RUFUS was the
simplest to use, and the only one to work reliably.
Actually, Artisan Radio
is not entirely on the thumb drive. It's only
64GB, and not really big
enough to store all the programming I need.
The programming is
stored on the laptop's SSD. The combination of thumb
drive/SSD makes the
computer extremely fast, and as a bonus, it can be
moved around without
fear of causing a hard drive head crash.
- Artisan Radio
Invaluable
info, Artisan! I was giving no thought to what version of USB Drive I'd
use (1.0, 2.0, 3.0 or whatnot) but of course it makes perfect sense now
that you've mentioned it. Also, I was not planning to boot from the
Flash Drive nor employ a SSD (Solid State Drive) but those are
attractive enhancements that would sophisticate the entire project.
Saturday July 9, 2022 1:05 PM CDT -- What Lies in Store --
CARL:
The Blog welcomes Doctor Emmett Crojohnsanfone with his
reaction
to the Supreme Court's recent take down of the Roe decision. Doctor, it
is an honor to have you at the microphone.
DOCTOR: We
are in greater danger from this Court than people realize. So far they
have gone after easy pickings, since women's rights are already so
discounted due to influences by church religions which have always
considered women to be the property of men. But the end game for the
right wing of the Court is to stomp out all health care on the premis
that illness and injury are Acts of God and interference by health care
professionals is a sin. In short, doctoring is being criminalized and
physicians in the United States are destined to be declared felons.
CARL: That's monstrous! Are there any acts of resistance open
to us now that could ward off this apocalypse?
DOCTOR:
If the people could wake up and listen we might be able to
reverse the course but there's no sign that that's happening. People
are too much into their sports and staying current on streaming movies
not to mention the latest news on rock stars and the royal family.
CARL: What are you going to do?
DOCTOR:
I'm taking my family to live in a train caboose in the Alpine
Mountains of Switzerland where we'll raise goats and try your idea of
operating a radio station from a thumb drive.
Saturday July 9, 2022 12:20 N CDT -- What Did They Just Do? --
While
drippy rain has made our campus squishy we've been setting up the
latest certified refurbished computer with its Activated Windows 10
Operating System. Microsoft placed a notification along the task bar
indicating that a Restart was needed for installation of updates. Why
not now, I thought, calling for a ReStart, which happened in
20-seconds. But the notification was still showing, so I opened it and
used the ReStart button it provided. The 2nd Re-Start lasted 1-hour
10-minutes! What was Microsoft doing inside my computer during all that
time? When it finally re-started I looked for a message about what,
exactly, happened in that length of time, but no explanation was
offered.
Then as if it was reading my mind, the Boing Boing website gave
directions for locating the homes of Supreme Court Justices.
It's
only a fantasy, but I like to imagine that if I was best friends with
those odd cosplayers I might be able to help them overcome their
dickiness. But that can't happen because I'm not going there and
they're not coming here.
Saturday July 9, 2022 11:39 AM CDT -- Radio Station in a Thumb Drive --
As
an experiment we plan to move KDX and all of its computer-based
software and program files into a single USB Thumb Drive, known also as
a Flash Drive. Then we'll copy KDX onto a 2nd USB Drive as a backup.
Other parts of the experiment will include running KDX from each of our
computers to demonstrate how flexible the thumb drive approach can be.
We also expect that KDX could be taken out the door, for a car ride,
and run from a friend's computer 10-miles away.
Saturday July 9, 2022 9:35 AM CDT -- StereoTools AM Audio Processing
Part 6 --
There
is a reason the audio bandpass set in our use of StereoTool ranges from
40 Hz to 10,200 Hz. One might wonder why we're not passing the low end
from 20 to 40 Hz, given that the range of human hearing extends down to
20 Hz, or up to 20 kHz at the top end for healthy ears (?)
The
answer is a little bit due to ears but moreso on account of technical
factors. In his 2010 INSIDE AUDIO column in TV Technology Dave Moulton
describes the 10 octaves of the human audio spectrum.
Octave
1 from 20 to 40 Hz - Bottom end. Little musical content. Fundamental of
kick drum. Mostly not played back by loudspeakers.
But
even though it's not usually audible there might possibly be energy
down in this region that causes unwanted push on compression and
balance of the overall signal. We feel that filtering it out is the
best action.
Octave 10 from
10,240 Hz to 20, 480 Hz - Extreme highs, airiness, hiss and sizzle.
Little musical content. Upper part of "edge" of sound.
No
voice or speech content resides in the top octave, therefore for KDX as
a talk station the 10th octave is unecessary and if not filtered out
would cause overly wide splashing of our AM radio modulation. Because
there are no nearby radio stations on adjacent channels KDX is able to
widen our signal width to include Octave 9.
Octave
9 from 5,120 Hz to 10,240 Hz - Highs, treble, metallic brightness,
sibilance, musical content includes cymbals, upper end of snare drum,
metal guitar strings, etc. Sometimes called brilliance.
StereoTools
provides two locations where audio bandwidth may be set. We use the
settings available for general audio processing. Persons utilizing
StereoTools for processing AM Transmitter Audio would use the settings
available on the AM Processor page.
- To Be Continued -
Saturday July 9, 2022 8:57 AM CDT -- Broken Transmitter --
Back
when C.Crane Company first introduced the FM1 Transmitter we spotted
one in the 'returned' listings for only $40, so we grabbed. It has
provided many years of service even given its various short-comings,
but this morning it took a dive and now won't stay turned on. It
stutters: on/off/on/off/on/off. Probably an electrolytic, wouldn't you
think? We'll come back on the air with the Ramsey FM35B which needs a
little dusting off.
Saturday July 9, 2022 2:08 AM CDT -- Way to Go --
Friday July 8, 2022 6:19 PM CDT -- Porky Catholic Bishops Decide What's
Best for Womens' Health --
salon
Friday July 8, 2022 3:26 PM CDT -- Noise Gate: A StereoTools Extra --
My
estimate that AGC was set incorrectly in StereoTool was not the case
(not to be confused with AOC). When I entered the controls a message
informed me that the Noise Gate was removing too much, so I spent
several minutes trying to locate the noise gate. Eventually I found it,
but probably won't be able to do so again next time. I turned it
off. Matter of fact one of the intimidating things about StereoTool is
its burgeoning set of controls in which one can get lost.
Friday July 8, 2022 11:56 AM CDT --
I
have trouble understanding some of what I've written as I read back
over earlier posts.
That probably means that my writing ability
exceeds my reading skills.
- Carl Blare, author "I'm Sure of That"
Friday July 8, 2022 11:16 AM CDT -- Artificial Thought --
A lot
of what passes for food these days is literally artificial, meaning
it's not the real thing. It only looks like or tastes like actual food.
So what, then, is artificial intelligence (known popularly as 'AI')? In
a July
3rd essay on the Artisan Radio Blog the notion of 'artificial
intelligence' is dealt with
as the silly nonsense it adds up to. As broadcasters many of us use
semi-intelligent software to automate our stations. It can read the
clock, keep programming appointments (so to speak), and switch
things on and off. But you can't take it to lunch or hold a
conversation with it. It does what it's told to do but if we fell on
the floor and needed medical attention the software would keep doing
what it does and ignore our plight. Whatever 'intelligence' there is
was built into it by a human code writer, and that's all it ever knows.
It doesn't get smarter and take our jobs away (except when it replaces
us unthinkingly). It all reminds me of the
goofy thought of 'intelligent design', which is redundant. Design is a
by-product of intelligence and to call it intelligent is just an echo.
The underlying purpose of ascribing 'intelligent design' is meant
smugly as evidence of a magician creator, which sets aside and ignores
the equal possibility that there might be an infinite number of other
reasons for what is taken as 'design'. Maybe ignorance is a
way of
being humble, arrogant though it is.
Friday July 6, 2022 9:33 AM CDT -- Radio Success Stories --
My
name is Todd Fumbly and I have a radio success story. I was unemployed
and couldn't find work as a substitute announcer, so I had some cards
printed that said I was a 'Radio Consultant'. One day at a bar I met a
station owner that was spending a whole day drinking beer because he
said his station was on the verge of bankruptcy. I gave him one of my
cards and told him I'd be glad to help if he wanted to give me a try.
He called me the next day and said he was desperate and putting
everything in my hands. He said, "Save my station. Please." So I went
to work. I recommended replacing his old audio board with the new
massive room-filling audio control desk shown in a catalog. The new
console arrived, was installed, I collected my $10,000 fee, and got a
phone call from the owner saying he was now in bankruptcy and the
station was going on the auction block. I was a total success as a
consultant and lived almost a whole year before I needed another job. I
have no idea what happened to that other guy.
Friday July 8, 2022 9:01 AM CDT -- StereoTools AM Audio Processing No.
5 --
Another
essential element of AM radio transmission is the bandwidth of the
signal, of foremost concern to the FCC in its role of protecting
licensed stations from interference not only from low power devices but
also from each other. Hobby broadcasters are wise to be aware of the
bandwidth performance of their transmission system and be very
fastidious about monitoring their use of frequency space. "Bandwidth"
is a large subject and applies not only to an audio process but also
transmitter/antenna design. StereoTools is an audio processor, and
that's the part of the subject being tackled in this Blare Blog mini
series. More techy aspects can be submitted to part15.org where actual
technicians sometimes respond. The audio part has to do with audio
spectrum frequency response. AM radio channels each occupy 10
kHz
of space on the dial, but given the positive and negative frequency
swings above and below a center-point, the practical frequency response
of a strictly maintained AM channel is 5 kHz. Stations that must
protect other stations on adjacent channels are required to operate
tightly within their 5 kHz band-space. When adjacent channels are less
closely populated the FCC allows some leniency and sometimes its
permissable to swing widely into adjoining space and increase
transmitted bandwidth to 10 kHz, although diminishing returns are apt
to be encountered owing to deficiencies of many radio sets. The point
I'm getting to is that StereoTools includes settings for establishing
audio bandwidth being fed to the transmitter. From that point forward
it's up to the transmitter/antenna combination to be capable of
delivering the widened bandwidth. Since the Schlockwood line of
equipment came up, we mention that they produce a fine AM Modulation
Monitor that would be a perfect companion piece along with everything
else.
- To Be Continued -
Friday July 8, 2022 8:34 AM CDT -- Guns and Guns followed by
Guns and More Guns --
Everywhere
you tune or turn the subject is guns. Public radio, commercial radio,
television channels, online media, it's guns. There's no Ukraine War,
the abortion crisis can wait until some far off pregnancy test,
inflation just means being short of change, and the people who died
from COVID are forgotten. The thing now is guns and at any minute some
creep might drive by and target practice on people cutting their grass.
All the gun talk is aimed at some elusive solution, but in fact
strongly promotes guns. The more it gets talked about the more guns
there'll be.
The very twisted mutant arrested for the Chicago
suburb mass killing is the very image of a shooter who jumped out of
the screen of a sadistic computer murder game which is the subject
everyone should be talking about. Real world mass shootings are obvious
self-upgrading for those who have aced virtual killing games at the
home joystick and want to expand onto real streets. When questioned
about the Highland Park kid an uncle said he "spent time quietly in his
room on the computer". Hello!
Friday July 8, 2022 8:02 AM CDT -- AM StereoTools Tutorial No.
4 --
What is special or different about audio processing for AM broadcast
transmitters compared to other audio processing?
Actual
FCC rules may contradict me and I may not be up to date, but in general
it is possible to modulate some AM transmitters above 100% for a louder
affect for listeners, especially in the outer reception fringes where
more loudness makes the signal stand out and appear to be stronger than
it would sound with lower modulation.
Not all AM transmitters
are capable of the higher modulations, some do not even manage to do
well at 100%, so using StereoTools on a technically inferior
transmitter would not have the full result desired.
The NRSC
Pre-Emphasis we referred to is an audio response curve boosting
particular upper-mid-range frequencies to make the signal sound
brighter than some other stations and compensate for the
oft-encountered high frequency roll-off of many AM receivers. Some
transmitters include NRSC Pre-Emphasis internally which can be invoked
by a jumper switch, in which case StereoTool's NRSC feature would not
be needed.
- To Be Continued -
Friday July 8, 2022 8:00 AM CDT --
The
new national campfire - radio.
- Linda Ellerbee, journalist
Friday July 8, 2022 5:04 AM CDT -- StereoTutorial Tool No. 3 --
Points of Reference
It pays to know where to locate detailed facts about StereoTool.
The *NEW* StereoTool Website is not fully updated and in the
Documentation there are broken links.
The OLD StereoTool Website Documentation contains
working links to that otherwise missing information.
In
addition, for those with a functioning install of StereoTool, holding
the pointer over a setting will bring up a text box with an explanation
of what that setting does. This probably works in both the free demo
version as well as the paid version.
The documentation is always
lagging behind the most current version of StereoTool because Hans Van
Zutphen is constantly issuing updates but the documentation doesn't get
updated at the same time. As of this writing the most recent version is
9.91.
There are YouTube videos about StereoTool but we've not seen
one expressly geared to AM radio processing.
At
present The Blare Blog is exploring the AM Radio Transmitter Audio
Processing features of StereoTool and we're just getting started.
One
must know that rules and regulations for AM radio transmission vary in
different regions and rules undergo changes, the StereoTool AM
Transmitter adjustments should always be made with awareness of your
region's rules.
We see here an opportunity to delegate some of our research and
tutorial effort to fellow bloggers and forums.
For
example, NRSC AM Preemphasis is one function provided within
StereoTool, but we heard a rumor that recent changes by the FCC render
previous NRSC rules void, and this matter could be taken up by any of
our participating blogs and forums. This Blog has previously linked
NRSC information, but not knowing whether it is still current we will
leave it alone for now.
- To be continued -
Friday July 8, 2022 4:33 AM CDT -- Realness --
Much
of what's to be found throughout the media and in life is 'real'.
There's a conservative talk show in our area that declares itself to be
'real talk', we use audio from an excellent progressive internet
enterprise called 'The Real News Network', perhaps the counterpart to
artificial intelligence is 'real intelligence', religion is built upon
artificial knowledge while science is constructed of real knowledge,
and when we think we're in love we wonder if it's 'the real thing'. We
continually get offers to purchase our 'real estate' and heads
are
full of unreal estate. I was once asked "are you for real?" What then
is 'reality'?
Reality is the sum or aggregate
of all that is real or existent within a system,
as opposed to that which is only imaginary.
The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things,
indicating their existence.
In physical terms, reality is the totality of a system, known and
unknown.
- Wikipedia
Yet
certain philosophers would argue that what seems real is perhaps an
illusion, and many of us are inclined to be unrealistic. This is where
The Blare Blog can help. We are your online reality consultant. Your
reality coach. When they ask you to prove that you are not a robot, be
reminded that robots are a real thing and everybit as likely
to
recognize all the buses or sailboats in a group of pictures as any
flesh and blood human.
Thursday July 7, 2022 4:57 PM CDT -- This, That, and the Other Thing --
Thinking
I could find a PSA about Pro-Choice I did a search and was
sent throughout every inch of the universe but not one result
on
topic. So,
I think the search tool is prejudiced and being manipulated by
Republican Swastika Christians. But I did see a promo for a BBC Sounds
podcast labeled as "hilarious" so I clicked but ended up on a mass
podcast website with all sorts of anti-male bash festivals by
misandristic women, pet worshiping topics by those unable to maintain
human
friendships, and endless chats by people who have nothing to say but
like to talk. I never found the BBC Sounds show.
That's when
a beleaguered Fedex deliverer came up the way with a heavy box and I
was able to save him the climb to the top of the parade review stand
(formerly the porch) where I'd stepped to decide whether the heat is
serious enough to lock up and close down. I maneuvered the box inside
where I'll be opening it and setting up our latest refurbished computer
to take over for the previous one which broke down when we tried to
convert it into a railroad simulation gaming machine. It had been
showing symptoms of imminent failure since we obtained it a year ago.
Part
of my mind was still sorting out thoughts about StereoTools, and I am
reminded that one setting needs tweaking on our own system, that being
the AGC (Automatic
Gain Control). It seems that when audio levels on program material fall
below a certain threshold they suddenly become abnormally quiet whereas
the opposite should be happening; they should smoothly increase in
volume. We've been around a circle before with this same problem and
perhaps don't understand how to do it.
The temperature is 90o, right on the border of
heat closure, so we could stay online or go off. We are unable to
decide at this time.
Thursday July 7, 2022 2:19 PM CDT -- StereoTool Tutorial - Installment
2 --
Perhaps
tomorrow I'll add my own explanations as we scroll through the AM
Settings, understanding that I am not a qualified RF engineer and
realize that my understanding is only partial. Only once did I try
these settings on my SSTran AMT5000 and the results were spectacular,
but as I explained earlier, the AM Settings are no good for feeding
other types of transmitters (non-AM) nor for steaming encoders.
There
is a bizarre misunderstanding still pushed at hobbycaster which claims
that outboard AM processing cannot be done to an AMT3000 or AMT5000
unless the
onboard audio chip is bypassed, but the actual fact is that the
compressor on those transmitters simply needs to be set to OFF in which
case the processed sound passes through without difficulty. These same
remarks probably apply to all of the common part 15 AM transmitters.
The 'Modulation' control on the transmitter is a limiter that should
always be used to set the maximum modulation peak intended for that
particular transmitter, and the 'gain' control should be increased only
until the processed sound coming from Stereotool touches the peak
setting of the modulation control, using a spectrum analyzer.
Thursday July 7, 2022 12:34 N CDT -- A StereoTool Tutorial Begins --
Rich Powers had a "By
the way" idea:
You should present a
simple step by step tutorial
how to utilize Stereo Tool for use with an AM broadcast.
Well,
not necessarily that you should, but it would
be cool if you did!
That is something we can do! So let's get
started, and we'll do this in a continuing series of blogs:
It
is true that StereoTool has an entire section especially for processing
the audio for an AM radio transmitter, and since that was the focus of
Rich's request, we will write about that.
At the present time the Standalone Version of
Stereotool can only run one instance on a single computer, and if you
set it up for AM processing then the audio will not be right for an FM
transmitter or streaming. That is why KDX uses a generalized setup,
since we feed the same audio to an Icecast Streaming Server, a C.Crane
FM1 Transmitter, and Procaster AM Transmitter, also to mention the STL
(Studio-Transmitter Link) TP-Wireless Transmitter/Receiver that gets
the program audio from the computer to the transmitters. The inventor,
Hans Van Zutphen, has said that he may eventually offer a Standalone
Version capable of running several instances on a single computer,
otherwise, at the present time, a person could run two different
StereoTool setups on two different computers, but that's more
complicated than what we'll be talking about.
- To Be Continued -
Thursday July 7, 2022 12:07 N CDT -- More Background on the 1938 News
Clips --
Rich Powers adds details about the 1938 Articles:
Carl, concerning the
two documents I sent you, I
failed to mention even from where they originated! And I also want
to elaborate on what they reported....
One was from page 7 of
the September 20, 1938 issue
of: "Heinl Radio Business Letter, 2400 CALIFORNIA STREET
WASHINGTON, D.C." which was a bi-weekly publication, (1926-1950)
about FCC activity, manufacturers of radio equipment and the
broadcast industry.
It's interesting that back then the first page always included a
heading stating:
"C O N F I D E N T I A L — Not for Publication". Later they dropped
the "confidential" claim. Anyway, what that article was reporting
about was FCC Docket 5335, which was actually a transcription of an
"lnformal Hearing Before the Chief Engineer In the Matter of
Proposed Rules and Regulations Governing the Operation of Low Power
Radio Frequency Devices" which took place September 19, 1938, I
have come across reference of Docket 5335 numerous times,, but as
of yet have not been able to get my hands on a copy of it... I
really would like to read it, but it's seems so elusive! Docket
5335 is where it all began, but where is it?
Anyway, a lot of
interesting history can be found in
the old Heinl Radio Business Letters, including more Part 15 stuff.
Very interesting to browse through the issues.
The other clipping
originates from the October 1, 1938
issue of "Science News Letter". I found it interesting for two
reasons; Evidently Phono-Oscillator record players were already
being manufactured before part 15 was created even though they were
clearly illegal in regard with the Communications Act of 1934. The
same goes for the "Philco Mystery Control", which the article
doesn't mention by name, but it was the remote control in
question. Philco knew it wasn't actually legal when they put it
on the market, so they attempted to dance around the legal issue
as described on Philco's History website:
Quote:
".....Philco initially called it “Mystery Control,” refusing even
to admit in its dealer catalog that it was wireless remote control,
instead calling it only “a mysterious force!” The same catalog
falsely claimed that Mystery Control was “not a radio beam,” when
in fact it was just that – a low-frequency, battery-operated
transmitter with a dial very similar to a telephone dial, which
sent pulsed signals to the radio receiver.... announced for the
1939 lineup.... Philco finally admitted to what its “Mystery
Control” really was, by using a more correct term – wireless remote
control...."
https://philcoradio.com/library/index.php/philco-history/chapter-4-diversification-and-war/
The April 1942 QST
magazine article (titled: The Field
that Stays at Home) strongly suggested that the Philco Mystery
Control was the major factor behind the creation of Part 15, but
that really doesn't appear to have been the case, it played a part,
but apparently only a small one.
For at least the last 5
or 6 years I've been digging
up the history of Part 15 AM, decade by decade, from the 1930s onto
the present date, and its a rich and fascinating history. I swear
I'm going to write a book.
- Rich
Nice, Rich! If it weren't for those early
beginnings we would be standing here without hobbies!
I
have a suggestion for searching old government archives... you could
contact a reference librarian at a public library which serves as a
federal repository, there is normally at least one such library in
every city and/or county. They might be able to locate the document you
want. Also maybe a law library might have a suggestion. Does the FCC
have a law library?
Thursday July 7, 2022 10:32 AM CDT -- What Else Can the NAB Do? --
By
admissions made in their own filing the NAB describes the weakening
place of licensed radio in the media marketplace, in effect confessing
that the NAB has been and is unable to 'save' radio, so seeks to lessen
the sting of particular fees and regulations required by the FCC, as if
reducing the cost of operating stations declining in popularity will
ultimately matter. What does it cost to belong to the NAB? There would
be a place to cut costs. Maybe the NAB is no longer needed,
but
that goes beyond the matter of the moment:
RADIOWORLD
Thursday July 7, 2022 9:36 AM CDT --
There
were influences in my life that were more important than journalism,
such as comic strips and radio.
- Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban novelist
Thursday July 7, 2022 9:26 AM CDT -- Holy Heck !! --
RADIOWORLD
Thursday July 7, 2022 6:53 AM CDT -- So Much to Say but Too Tired to
Say It --
Incoming message from Richard Powers of End 80 Radio:
Been awhile Carl. Been
browsing through several
months of your blog, and kept wanting to comment on a whole slew of
topics, but in the end I just sighed in silence. I did notice your
little player widget is working for me now, for several weeks it
just would flash something like "network error" in its status bar
(whereas Artisans stream always seemed to work), but now when I
hit the play icon on your player it comes in bold and clear.
I
recall you've always used Stereo Tool for your
processing and your programming (live and mp3 downloads) has always
has that bold quality sound. Stereo Tool always seemed so
complicated to me, which is the primary reason I never set out to
use it, but I want to simplify and get away from using a rack of
processing gear before my transmitter. I have (and still am)
considered replacing it all by purchasing the apparently highly
rated Schlockwood's compact
all-in-one processor, but hesitate over the $440 price tag... Your
broadcast sounds pretty darn good with StereoTool.. What should I
do?
Well,
in closing, attached are two documents
from 1938.. the FCC (then) is getting ready to create something which
will
come to be known as Part 15...
Best
to you, glad you're over your slump.
-
Rich
Hey!
Very good to hear from you, Rich, glad you are keeping things going
there on Tybee Island, Georgia. Yea. The slump. Everything turned out
alright, I was convinced to stay online and keep the radio project
active even while poking around with railroad gaming as a new outlet.
Along with it I found that some of our Muses Radio Player Widgets were
not updated with the right IP address to connect to KDX, mostly because
I often changed the audio format having tried MP3, AAC, OGG, and now
OPUS.
StereoTool
is a wonderful audio utility that absolutely
turns a plain computer into a professional audio processor and yes it
is loaded with baffling tweaks and adjustments that can cause your
airplane to crash, but there are safe ways to use it. The
choice
starts with having the right variant. For a long time I used
the DSP Plugin with Winamp, but once I tried Zara I was hooked on its
great features and started using the StandAlone Stereotool which
requires also using Virtual Audio Cables. Once the input and output
connections are established the safest thing to do is use a PreSet, of
which Hans Van Zutphen the inventor provides many built-ins; pick a
PreSet pleasing to your ears and avoid tampering with all the
fine-tuning controls. But at the same time I have no doubt that the
Schlockwood Processor is an ideal bit of hardware. And now your links:
Carl
Spots Something He'd Like to Comment About: in FCC Newsclip
No. 1
we note in the first paragraph that "Low frequency radio devices" are
introduced for discussion, but in paragraph four the language uses "low
power radio devices". The editor in us believes that "low power" was
the concern and not "low frequency".
Wednesday July 6, 2022 12:27 N CDT -- Sequel to 'Affects of Heat on
Computers' --
Yesterday
we have a link titled 'Affects of Heat on Computers' but Mark informed
us the link was bad, and we lost track of the original link which we
replaced with a related article. But just now I found the original and
link it here:
MUO
Wednesday July 6, 2022 11:50 AM CDT -- Updating of Electronic Education
--
Mark responds to our question of TECSUN radio thermometer function:
The sensor in the radio
is the
same as it is in any digital thermometer. It is a sensor inside on
the circuit board not on the outside and just holding it will cause
a warmer than true reading as you are warming up the case. It has
to be sitting in a place where it has time to acclimatize to the
surroundings. The sensor is a special kind of mini resistor called
a thermistor that is very sensitive to small changes in
temperature.
When I went to the
article on heat and computers I got an
error.
- Mark
That's
good to know, Mark. I've heard of thermistors, but it's been so long
since I built circuits that I cannot remember what all the parts do. I
recall that there's a type of resistor that changes value in response
to light, but I can't remember what those are called. Unless maybe
they're varistors.
Affects of Heating On Computers - Thank you
for letting me know the link was not working. I have fixed it, but the
article is different than the one I originally pointed to which I
cannot seem to find again. I think I've found a better and even more
informative article, so check it out. To save you from scrolling in
search of that link here is a shortcut:
lifehacker
Wednesday July 6, 2022 11:38 AM CDT -- Free Orban Loudness Meter --
KDX
has utilized the Free Orban Loudness Meter since earlier versions as a
valuable tool in measuring modulation levels of our various
transmitters. How we do this is beyond the scope of this blog but radio
stations have the opportunity of devising their own methods.
Wednesday July 5, 2022 6:05 AM CDT -- Vinyl Has Resurged Bigtime --
Safe
to say that all of us radio people have a lasting love for vinyl
recordings and will be heartened to learn how fully the medium is
coming back into the mainstream. Turntables turn again!
MIX SmartBrief
Tuesday July 5, 2022 12:52 N CDT -- The TECSUN PL-310 is a Thermometer
--
Not only an LW/AM/FM/SW radio, the TECSUN-PL310 is also a clock and a
thermometer. Ours says it's 81oF
here at the workstation right now. But where is the sensor that detects
the temperature? A close inspection of all external surfaces of the
device shows no obvious element that might be sampling the surrounding
air for heat content. How?
Tuesday July 5, 2022 12:41 N CDT -- Keeping
Computers at Safe Operating Temperatures
--
Tuesday July 5, 2022 12:12 N CDT -- Mercury Rising --
Already 97o! Getting ready to close the store.
Tuesday July 5, 2022 11:38 AM CDT -- The C.Crane FM1 Transmitter --
The
FM1 was replaced in the C.Crane catalog some time back with the better
FM2 which remains available. We have previously posted about these
devices, of which we have both. There is a "review" of FM1 at hobbycast
which overlooks most of what's important about the transmitter, so read
it only if you want to end up as uninformed as you were in the first
place. This morning we discovered yet another bug, this one involving
the volume control which is important because it sets the modulation
level of both the left and right channels. It is very prone to
intermittant drop-out of one channel, causing overall modulation to
collapse to 50% until it pops back in, making listen levels rise and
fall. I might not say this if it weren't so hot today, but a solution
would be to rent a bulldozer and crush the transmitter. Now 95o.
Tuesday July 5, 2022 10:55 AM CDT -- Climbing Steadily --
Already up to 93oF
as Thom Hartmann gets ready to open his first show of the
week.
We'll probably miss most of his program as we anticipate closing until
early Wednesday to protect servers from over-heating.
Tuesday July 5, 2022 8:36 AM CDT -- Getting Warmed Up --
Temperature is up to 87o
and climbing while we prepare for breakfast here in the midwaste. The
Michael Moore program was not what we expected, but was very
entertaining anyway... we presumed that Moore would be talking with
75-year old David Letterman, but that's not what happened. The show
turned out to be a homage to Letterman starting from the early days
when Letterman did a morning show on NBC which Moore followed raptly,
recognizing Dave as the talented showman he is. We learned that when
RCA/NBC was purchased by General Electric (GE) David made an
unannounced on-air visit to the GE building to deliver a fruit basket
to his new bosses but was denied entrance by the security staff who
said the visit was 'unauthorized', an event that inspired Michael Moore
to produce his movie "Roger and Me", an unscheduled attempt to find
Roger Smith, the head of General Motors which had devastated Moore's
hometown of Flint, Michigan by closing the auto plant. The success of
the film led to numerous guest appearances by the filmmaker on
Letterman's NBC & CBS shows.
As a broadcaster under FCC Part 15 I still
have a daily habit of visiting the only three forums known to exist for
this shrinkingly arcane activity. The original is part15.org where
almost nothing happens anymore. Moderator Mark, who also posts here,
would very much like to see his forum revive its activity, but weeks go
by in dead stillness. The only regularly recurring event is the weekly
posting of the Oompa Hour by Tim in Bovey, who happens to be the
champion of part 15 broadcasters with his popular Procaster transmitter
mounted atop his house providing Bovey, Minnesota, with popular music,
while Tim hosts a daily morning show on the town's high-power AMer and
provides
engineering services to three licensed stations. That's not all. Tim
also owns and manages 'the world's smallest record store' in a
storefront location. Something Mark could try as time allows is re-post
some of the great posts describing Tim's activities which hopefully
remain in the archives. This might inspire others to offer their
stories.
As a kind of pointless exercise I like to see what
the hobbybroadcast website spends great effort concealing from public
view by posting provocative remarks with dummy links
that
deny 'non-members' after providing a place where they can be denied. I
usually fail to guess what's being kept from view but enjoy the
gamesmanship.
Last and absolutely least is the stolen remnant
of the old ALPB forum hi-jacked while its late Chairman Jim Henry lay
dying in hospital taken-over by Trumpian Rammer Bob who still
plays the game as mild-mannered Clark Kent while his sneaky behind-the
back attacks happen beyond public view. Rammer feels
that "ex-chair" stands as a current title of note so long as
no one recalls that he expressed displeasure while actual chairman.
Ongoing frauds can be entertaining along with roadside accidents.
Tuesday July 5, 2022 7:13 AM CDT -- Heat --
Parts
of 7 Central States are under an excessive heat warning. The weather in
Canada is expressed in Celsius but we don't have a conversion chart
handy.
Tuesday July 5, 2021 5:37 AM CDT -- Hot Week Ahead --
Today may reach 101oF, and looking further on,
tomorrow again 101o, Thursday 98o,
Friday 94o, Saturday 87o,
Sunday 88o and Monday 94o.
During this period the chance of storms ranges between 20% and 50%. For
KDX and the Website it means a lot of closing down as we duck and
dodge hazardous conditions. Is weather so severe around the
continent? We'll take a look.
Monday July 4, 2022 12:17 N CDT -- Anachronism All But Said --
Woody
Allen, in his appearance on KDX, said that the world today is not the
same as the film world in which he grew up. Now, at age 88, he's about
to make his 50th movie but says streaming and COVID have put movie
watching in the privacy of homes which is not the same as watching with
a crowd of others in a movie theatre. The word 'anachronism' never came
up, but it would have been appropriate.
Monday July 4, 2022 11:35 AM CDT -- Planning the Day --
We've
been here doing things since 5:30 AM and have paused to look around and
do any planning necessary as we enter the afternoon hours. As we'd
promised, Alec Baldwin is talking to Woody Allen over KDX and will be
followed by Michael Moore visiting with Dave Letterman. The temperature
now is 90oFarenheit with a predicted high of 94o
and a vivid pink heat advisory in place, which probably means that
we'll close the website and radio stream, entering also a 20%
possibility of storm activity. Later, as temperatures subside, we may
log back on unless it's past our bedtime which will put our return
early tomorrow. Thom Hartmann will be back having taken a four-day
holiday. Refocussing on the present moment the Alec Baldwin-Woody Allen
Zoom visit has dropped out for the 3rd time, their connection in New
York is not doing well. Also, our TP-WiFi Audio STL system is
stuttering as its pairing has become disrupted by a neighbor's 2.4 GHz
phone call, so we'll abandon the fight earlier than expected and move
Moore-Letterman to Tuesday morning. We'll be shutting down about 12:22
N CDT. We've been blown up like a firecracker.
Monday July 4, 2022 7:25 AM CDT -- Happily Shackled --
In his message on Saturday Mark said, "As I told Artisan the one good
thing about computers and what you can
do with them is how we can do our part 15 broadcasting that wouldn't be
possible back in my "era".
Absolutely!
"The one good thing,"
as Mark said. That leaves open the other side of
computers, 'the bad things', of which there are more than one. But
first the good side, being their use
as a central control for easily running a virtually professional radio
station without a warehouse full of specialized broadcast equipment.
That is the thing we anachronists have in common, we each operate radio
stations generated from personal computers.
In my "era", when
I first broadcast using a "toy" transmitter, a Knight Kit, a Wollensak
Tape Recorder served as the 'automation system' when I wasn't sitting
at the microphone spinning records. It wasn't until the 1980s that I
started experimenting with computer control using a Commodore 64 that
was able to start tape machines based on an internal clock and local
area radio stations were installing large automation mechanisms that
shuffled tape cartridges containing pre-recorded commercials,
announcements, and music. TV stations were beginning to use
computer-based systems that controlled film projectors, videotape
players, cameras and microphones, all of it headed toward the
replacement of human talent and technicians.
Today almost
everyone finds the internet as necessary as food and housing thus
shackling us to the web of computers mostly with our acceptance because
of the pleasures and entertainments it affords. We are voluntarily
under 'house arrest' because the whole apparatus is used to inspect,
investigate and surveil what we think and do. We wear an ankle-bracelet
on our head.
As computers become proficient at what we once did,
they are replacing us and eventually our participation will be no
longer necessary but we can still be converted into pet food for the
Trumps in high tower complexes who own seats on interlocking
directorates, assuming they have pets. It's not a sane or rational
plan, but you've met Trump and should know that he's not as bright as
he says he is. And at this point he's only serving as a stereotype, as
by this time tomorrow he'll be too old and the Jarad's and Trump
Juniors will be taking over. As you should have noticed they're even
dumber than daddy.
That brings us to climate change, the grand intervener.
Sunday July 3, 2022 5:04 PM CDT -- Here's a Movie for Y'all --
Sunday July 3, 2022 11:09 AM CDT -- Defining Woman --
During
the Senate's qualification hearing for Supreme Court candidate Ketanji
Brown Jackson the question was asked, "What is a woman?" It was asked
by Republican Marsha Blackburn and was answered: "I am not a
biologist", a scientifically proper side-stepping of what some call an
unanswerable question. However Carl Blare was there when language was
invented and recalls that the word "woman" was founded on the simple
realization that a woman is "a man with a womb", given that all humans
are members of the species "man". They dropped the b.
Saturday July 2, 2022 4 PM CDT -- Not Living in This Time --
A message from Mark, moderator from part15.org:
I saw what Artisan wrote
and I replied to him.
One's
life is lived through many different "times" Usually your "time" or era
is when you were 8-10 years old to 20 or 25 years old. That's what
shapes how you think, your music, etc.....you can tell by the music one
listens to when they were a teenager to early twenties.
I
hate this time (that we have now)! The insanity of it all. What people
listen to and call music, the mad obsession with phones, the fact that
many would like to listen to my station but don't have an AM radio?
What? A radio used to be a staple in every home and is easy enough to
get. Romance and innocence are gone, more and more wild space gives way
to development, things like car jackings/thefts, home invasions, crimes
that never existed before, I can go on and on.
But
as I told Artisan the one good thing about computers and what you can
do with them is how we can do our part 15 broadcasting that wouldn't be
possible back in my "era". How would we do this in the 50s 60s or 70s?
Were there transmitters that were more than toys? How could we have the
playlists and programing ability like we do now? But if I was back then
I wouldn't care as I would have good old AM radio with dramas and rock
and roll and the hit parade stations. Wouldn't need to do this.
I
can never change to get with this time. I will NEVER get a smartphone.
Why? Just because I should be modern and do what everyone else does? I
live in my own little world, I can't change with the times. I
have to see the other world when I have to go out for groceries or
something. Ignore it all.
Everyone has their time
when it was "better". Mine is not the here and now.
- Mark
It
seems the three of us are on the same page living life as anachronisms,
but I would give us one more credit that hasn't been mentioned: life
has made us philosophers because we have thought about the world and
drawn our own conclusions about it.
Saturday July 2, 2022 12:26 N CDT -- Emphasizing a Shun --
The
next time you send out invitations to a gathering of friends, instead
of shunning the less welcome by leaving them off the guest list, send
them a Non-Invitation:
You
are expressly NOT INVITED to our upcoming pool party.
You would do well by making other plans for July
4th,
Because you will be escorted off the property
should you arrive.
Saturday July 2, 2022 11:14 AM CDT -- Guest Commentary --
From time to time I like to invite my personal barber to appear on The
Blog with his guest commentaries.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce Buster Boatrocker!
They
have gone and done it. They have grabbed women by the pussy.
This is Buster Boatrocker.
Buster Boatrocker is a barber in South St. Louis Missouri and
contributor to The Blare Blog.
Saturday July 2, 2022 10:29 AM CDT -- Back Talk --
Movie producer Michael Moore is in full disapproval mode over the harm
being foisted upon women by this Supreme Court and did two of his most
recent podcasts in criticism, both of which are coming up in minutes on
KDX Worldround Radio.
At this exact moment the skies are darkened over the campus of Home
School College and the AM radio dial is bursting with static discharges
from an approaching storm, our AM transmitter is already turned off and
the ground radials disconnected for safety, while we consider turning
off the website until an all clear is reached.
Again Monday Michael Moore will appear on KDX with a May 1st
visit from David Letterman, followed by an already well publicized Alec
Baldwin interview of filmmaker Woody Allen. These programs fill the
time reserved for the Thom Hartmann Program, off for the holiday.
Saturday July 2, 2022 9:44 AM CDT -- Faith in Football --
dailywire.com
This
man is not drunk, but is saying a prayer while held up by a
football and the Supreme Court.
We can celebrate independence from Great Britain
on July 4th, but not from religion.
Friday July 1, 2022 6:45 PM CDT -- Anachronisms Among Us --
On
June 20th Artisan Radio raised the question of whether he is an
anachronism, a person living outside of his own time. I would like you
to visit his website now, read the essay, and return here for my
thoughts.
Perhaps
more people today than at any time in human history are living
anachronisms because we have lived through and adapted to more sea
changes than anyone in earlier times. What sets us apart from more
recent generations is our having been here when the most important
human invention of all time was introduced as radio with everything
that followed being elaborate embellishments on a theme. Knowing radio
at its roots gives us a seniority over internet babies who missed out
on the days of invention when it all started. So, yes, to Artisan's
concluding question: both are true... anachronisms though we may be,
enlightenment comes because of it and it is not so easy to pass the
combination over to uncomprehending youth. But, why should
that be
our job? We need to back this up a little... I seem to have brought a
question into it that wasn't part of the original conversation.
Except... isn't the difference between us and the newer set the exact
thing that determines the anachronistic status? Yea.
Friday July 1, 2022 2 PM CDT -- Quelling Communication Frequency by
Frequency --
In
many large urban areas the FM band is 'sewn up' with licensed glut
sparing no room for alternative messages that might mean something. But
the AM
radio band is thinning out as listeners escape the overgrown static
from electronic noise too plentiful for the FCC to fuss over. But while
crackly light bulbs and fizzing DSL go ignored, small radiation
stations are
aggressively disallowed on open, non-interferring channels, because
information conveyed by words is closely restricted and belongs
exclusively to money pockets operating out of big buildings. The
paranoid state doesn't need proof of actual tabooed content, and paves
over anyone lurking on the edges of the dialscape, as a wholesale
slaughter not of extant ideas but of the slightest possibility there
should be a stray idea.
Friday July 1, 2022 1:52 PM CDT -- Grown Ups in Witches Costumes Steal
More Candy --
With no embarrassment over the hubris of being 'Supreme', a Halloween
Court put Net Neutrality further out of reach.
Friday July 1, 2022 12:25 N CDT -- Julian Assange Appeals --
REUTERS
Side comments by C. Blare: Earlier this morning I was about to link a Boing-Boing
reference to this news event, but upon reading the story description by
their writer I was put off by the extremely biased and seemingly untrue
bashing of the journalist Assange, a tone not at all characteristic of
that website. It even seemed to me their reporter might have been
drunk. Searching elsewhere I was at first unable to find any report of
this important story, typical of U.S. mainstream media which
only
delivers approved propaganda, as my own informed bias would have it.
Than finally I found the above linked Reuters account which is put
forth in a professional manner. It was, of course, Reuters journalists
who were executed sports-style by U.S. soldiers videotaped in a
helicopter (Collateral
Murder Video), the exposure of which war crime is one of the
acts of reporting for which the U.S. pursues vengeance against
Assange.
Friday July 1, 2022 8:20 PM CDT --
Not
everybody believes in your Sky Daddy.
- Pro-Choice Demonstrator message to the Supreme
Court
Friday July 1, 2022 7:28 AM CDT
-- Today is Canada Day
--
Canada
is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories
extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into
the Arctic Ocean, covering over 9.98 million square kilometres (3.85
million square miles), making it the world's second-largest country by
total area. Its southern and western border with the United States,
stretching 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest
bi-national land border. Canada's capital is Ottawa, and its three
largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
Media of Canada
Canada's
media is highly autonomous, uncensored, diverse and very regionalized.
The Broadcasting Act declares "the system should serve to safeguard,
enrich and strengthen the cultural, political, social and economic
fabric of Canada". Canada has a well-developed media sector, but its
cultural output—particularly in English films, television shows, and
magazines—is often overshadowed by imports from the United States. As a
result, the preservation of a distinctly Canadian culture is supported
by federal government programs, laws, and institutions such as the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the National Film Board of
Canada (NFB), and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC).
Canadian mass media, both print and digital
and in both official languages, is largely dominated by a "handful of
major media corporations". The largest of these corporations is the
country's national public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation, which also plays a significant role in producing domestic
cultural content, operating its own radio and TV networks in both
English and French. In addition to the CBC, some provincial governments
offer their own public educational TV broadcast services as well, such
as TVOntario and Télé-Québec.
Non-news media content in Canada,
including film and television, is influenced both by local creators as
well as by imports from the United States, the United Kingdom,
Australia, and France. In an effort to reduce the amount of
foreign-made media, government interventions in television broadcasting
can include both regulation of content and public financing. Canadian
tax laws limit foreign competition in magazine advertising.
WIKIPEDIA
Low Power Radio Devices in Canada
FM
devices may not exceed a field strength of 100 microvolts at 30
meters. AM devices are limited to 250 microvolts at 30
meters. All devices in Canada must have an antenna permanently
attached to the transmitter. See Industry Canada BETS-1.
REC Networks
