Where do I begin? Anyone have a guide to everything I need to know? Everything I need to get?
Anyone have an estimate as to how much this investment will cost?
Thanks!
Welcome revolution. To answer your question better we have to know what type of radio station you wish to setup. There are major differences between AM, shortwave (SW), and FM station setups and equipment used.
Some basic equipment that you need to look into is getting a transmitter, antenna/cable for the transmitter, simple audio mixing board so that you can use CDs, records, microphones and so on and be able to fade from one audio source to another or be able to talk on air while music plays and so on.
Cost for the equipment you need at first to get on the air can vary from as little as a few 100$ all the way up to as high as you want to pay for your gear. If you are only interested in broadcasting 1/4 mile or less then you can do it legally with part 15 FCC accepted transmitters like that which Ramsey Electronics sells. With FM you will be looking at 1-100 watt transmitters which can get you from a few miles to 100+ miles depending on your antenna height and other factors. AM radio is a whole different beast and requires really long antennas to get out far. Shortwave is great if you want to broadcast thousands of miles but your listeners will need SW radios to pick it up.
It's not easy to answer your question w/o some more information about what you'd like to setup, how far you wish to broadcast and what your budget is.
Post by revolution on Apr 15, 2008 16:49:52 GMT -6
Thanks for the help. Here's what I'm looking to do.
I want to have a pirate radio station of a highly political nature that will come on on popular frequencies and grab the attention of people specifically in working class neighborhoods, but I would also like for it to branch out around the city. I'm thinking a 25 mile radius, and definitely FM.
My budget is between 500 and 1200 dollars.
What happens when you broadcast over a popular frequency? Will people hear both or could you blot the popular station out?
What do I need to know to not get caught? Should the station be rigged up inside of a van or in my house? What is the longest period of time you think it is safe to stay on the air?
Could you recommend good equipment based upon the price range I mentioned?
Thanks for the help. Here's what I'm looking to do.
I want to have a pirate radio station of a highly political nature that will come on on popular frequencies and grab the attention of people specifically in working class neighborhoods, but I would also like for it to branch out around the city. I'm thinking a 25 mile radius, and definitely FM.
My budget is between 500 and 1200 dollars.
What happens when you broadcast over a popular frequency? Will people hear both or could you blot the popular station out?
What do I need to know to not get caught? Should the station be rigged up inside of a van or in my house? What is the longest period of time you think it is safe to stay on the air?
Could you recommend good equipment based upon the price range I mentioned?
Broadcasting over a licensed station is a very bad idea. Most radio stations constantly monitor their signal quality and it wouldn't take much time for them to find out you are trying to use their channel. You could do it but it's very risky and you can get in a lot of trouble so there is no good reason to really do this. Your best bet is to find an unused frequency on the FM dial and broadcast there.
Even if you were to broadcast over another stations spot at the same time they are on the air you would need a lot of power to really compete with their signal because of the large antenna and transmitter they would have.
It's just not worth it for the risk and the trouble. Just get yourself on a channel that is free and tell the people that listen to that other station to tune into yours. Not only that but because if you are on a clean free channel your signal will get out much farther and you would actually have more listeners.
The best way to not get caught is to stay under the radar so to speak. Some simple tips are to broadcast infrequently or at random times so the FCC doesn't expect to tune in at a specific time and try to track you down. Don't do things on the air that you know will get you caught like giving out phone numbers or information about yourself and any other operators. Just basic commen sense things. Also if you can take the station mobile or have the transmitter at a different location then the studio will greatly help that way if the FCC tracks down the transmitter they won't find you but this is harder to setup then it sounds because you need some kind of a safe audio link between the studio and the transmitter.
If you run only a few watts on FM mostly at night even from your own house and keep a low profile you may never get in trouble. I have been doing this myself for a few years now and cover about 5 miles of my town and never had any complaints or trouble.
Also you will want to make extra sure your signal is clean and doesn't cause interferance to other stations.
How long you want to run the station is up to you. I have been running my programs on the air for up to 5 hours in the evening. You probably don't want to run the station everyday and/or night unless you are a risk taker.
As far as equipment, I can't really say what is good to get and what not but I recommend checking ebay often for good priced stuff. Ramsey Electronics sells some professional DJ equipment also. Broadcast Warehouse is good but very pricey.
I too am now interested in starting a pirate radio station. I'm a complete beginner to everything radio. I am a DJ however, and am good with mixing, fading, all things music gear. Anyways, what will I need to ACTUALLY broadcast from like my mixer and everything?
What exactly should a person look for in a transmitter for an FM radio station? Anybody have an example of a good FM transmitter?
Sorry it took me or anyone else for that matter to reply. A very simple way to get on the FM with 10 watts or more is to get a basic simple FM exciter and then add an RF amplifier to it. To put it simply if I can.. an exciter is nothing more then a very low power transmitter usually in the range of 25mw (legal part 15 power) to around a few watts. Then you take the exciter (tiny transmitter box) and hook it's antenna output into a good RF amp to get it to the desired power level.
However it's obviously more complex then just that. With a simple radio transmitter kit like the ones Ramsey electronics make (usually around 25mw flea power) you need to get that power up to at least a watt. You can also use their one watt wide band kit. With that you'd get a whole watt lol. That is enough power to cover a mile or two with an okay antenna. If you want to get to 10 watts or more then you will need a good RF amp that can take a single watt in and give you 10+ watts out. It's usually cheaper in the long run to setup a transmitter in stages like that, but you will also want to filter the signal before it gets sent to the antenna to be safe and not make the airplanes fall out of the sky
OTOH if you have the cash to blow, just get on ebay and get yourself a 10+ watt PLL FM transmitter exciter. I warn you it can cost a heck of a lot, but you will get something very stable and easy to use.
As far as the antenna and other things go, I will leave that for a future post. But I will highly suggest to get a good antenna and coax cable made just for the purpose of broadcasting. A nasty old coax cable or bad antenna (or no antenna at all!) can kill a transmitter and you will end up needing it fixed or replaced.
I am a newb in this field but I wanted to start a radio station and any help would be much appreciated. this can be in any shape or form such as links advice etc. anything would really be appreciated.
I have read some things such as you could have a pci transmitter which makes it all the simpler. but i do not really know what I'm looking for.
Post by HighMountainRadio on May 18, 2018 3:24:55 GMT -6
Greetings from High Mountain Radio !
You can pick up a cheap 'generic' Model ST-15B FM broadcast transmitter on EBay for around $50.00 that will work very well. They have an output power of 15 watts maximum which is quite sufficient for a pretty good size coverage area as long as you correctly install and match your antenna and feedline to your transmitter's output impedance of 50 ohms ! Simply do an EBay search for ST-15B FM transmitter, you will find a myriad of them. I use one of these with excellent results, VERY reliable, CHEAP transmitter !! ***NOTE !!! Before ordering one from any EBay vendor or otherwise, ask if it is set, or can be user set to 75us pre-emphasis, the USA broadcast standard !!! Avoid any transmitter than isn't already set for this or can be readily configured for it, many transmitters I see now, can be easily switched my the user from the control panel to 75us pre-emphasis.
73... Spooky...
"Knowledge Is Always Made More Valuable By Sharing It With Others !" Always Remember To Be Kind ! True Greatness Often Has Very Humble Beginnings ! Help A Kid Out Today ! *** High Mountain Radio *** "Broadcasting From Somewhere High In The Remote Appalachian Mountains"
Post by "Skidmark" Fred Douglas on Aug 6, 2018 5:06:02 GMT -6
Hi, I'm "Skidmark"Fred and this my first post. If I were to start a station what about mobility? With the ability to move you could in theory use let's just say a non-Ramsey exciter running at 500mW using a vertical dipole. That could in theory be set up with minimal time to about 12 ft. Run a prerecorded track and after take off for the next rodeo?
Hi, I'm "Skidmark"Fred and this my first post. If I were to start a station what about mobility? With the ability to move you could in theory use let's just say a non-Ramsey exciter running at 500mW using a vertical dipole. That could in theory be set up with minimal time to about 12 ft. Run a prerecorded track and after take off for the next rodeo?
Thoughts?
This is absolutely doable. I assume you are talking about a car? Or do you just mean a quick to setup mobile station? See my other post. I replied to you on the other thread.
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