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gcdm
Dragonstar
Joined: 24 Nov 2007
Posts: 221
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 Posted: Tue 18 Dec 2007 19:00 Post subject: Should underground radio be illigal? |
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I know that you should pay the roalyties, but other than that, should radio need a license? It's freedom of speech.
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Ragnarok
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Joined: 27 Sep 2004
Posts: 1091
Location: Tucson, AZ, USA.
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| Posted: Tue 18 Dec 2007 20:47 Post subject: Re: Should underground radio be illigal? |
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Note: I'm assuming that thread is in reference to the US legal system, and not that of other countries.
Also, just to confirm, this thing called "underground radio" is known by other terms such as "pirate radio" or "free radio", correct? The only references I could find are on the above, not on something specifically called "underground radio."
Anyway...
| gcdm wrote: |
| It's freedom of speech. |
Given that the FCC owns the radio frequencies that commercial radio operates at, no it isn't.
For the actual subject, though, I don't know anything about the issue, and wikipedia is, surprisingly, not giving me very much information. However, digging a little deeper yields information from the FCC, or more specifically, Title 47 CFR Part 15, which reads, in part:
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Unlicensed broadcasts on the FM broadcast band are limited to a field strength of 250 µV/m at a distance of 3 meters from the antenna.
The FM broadcast band is limited but not restricted to 87.6 MHz (but see note below on TV) to 107.9 MHz. Any unlicensed broadcasting over a signal strength of 250 µV/m at a distance of 3 m from the antenna is punishable by law and confiscation of all broadcast equipment.
Unlicensed broadcasts on the TV broadcast bands are prohibited, except for certain medical telemetry devices. 87.5 to 88.0 MHz is considered part of the VHF TV band (channel 6 audio is on 87.75), though it shows up on most FM tuners. For TV, 15.241 and 15.242 deal with high VHF (channels 7 to 13), 15.242 also deals with UHF.
On the standard AM broadcast band transmission is limited to 100 milliwatts of power (with restrictions on size, height and type of antenna) or, alternatively, under 15.221, if the AM transmission originates on the campus of an educational institution, the transmission can theoretically be any power so long as it does not exceed the field strength limits stated in 15.209 at the perimeter of the campus, 24000/F(kHz) µV/m. |
Assuming that the underground broadcast meets the legal criteria, there's no reason for it to be deemed illegal. As for whether it should be illegal, I don't have enough information to make a decision.
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gcdm
Dragonstar
Joined: 24 Nov 2007
Posts: 221
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| Posted: Tue 18 Dec 2007 21:14 Post subject: |
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about how big is 3 meters?
oh and my sig, i do have a small radio station, its range is more or less then 30 feet of antenna, its one of those FM transmitters.
88.3 FM Dragon Radio
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Ragnarok
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| Posted: Tue 18 Dec 2007 22:20 Post subject: |
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| gcdm wrote: |
| about how big is 3 meters? |
Ten feet, give or take.
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Raven
Shining Dragonstar
Joined: 11 Jul 2004
Posts: 660
Location: Lost in his mind...
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| Posted: Fri 21 Dec 2007 15:14 Post subject: |
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The regulations of the FCC for radio broadcasts lead in one direction: monopoly. This has already begun to occur. Since radio was first implemented the number of stations have increased exponentially, but, due to competition and the (large) fees to rent a frequency form the government, the actual number of owners of those stations has increased to something like 10% of what it was in radio's hayday. (I've forgotten the actual numbers, my apologies.)
I'm a personal liberties sort of person and firmly believe that this monopolization of radio frequencies drastically reduces the voice of the American populace. I would love to run a large-scale radio station. I could never afford it, therefore it is impossible for me to express my (possibly unique) opinions in any meaningful way. Meaningful meaning actually reaching more than five people.
That being said, the actual question was should underground (pirate) radio be illegal. Yes. Because pirate radio operates outside the bounds of the law it is not tracked and frequencies override each other and cause interference. I think pirate radio should be illegal, but I also believe the FCC should act only as regulators and there should be no fee to rent frequencies.
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Hyraxylos
Shining Dragonstar
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
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Location: Atlanta, GA
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| Posted: Fri 21 Dec 2007 20:36 Post subject: |
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And I think I can safely assume I speak for millions when I say @#$% the FCC. They hope one day to appoint themselves as our "thought police", and someone should censor THEM for a change.
As for the radio thing I don't see what the big deal is about it. Are you cheating anyone out of money? And if you are, who's to say that they even need your money, or that they don't deserve to lose it?
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gcdm
Dragonstar
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| Posted: Fri 21 Dec 2007 20:38 Post subject: |
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all the above is true, but you are taking money, you're not paying royalties for the songs, but all you have to do is pay them, not the FCC!
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Ragnarok
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| Posted: Fri 21 Dec 2007 23:30 Post subject: |
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| Raven wrote: |
| I'm a personal liberties sort of person and firmly believe that this monopolization of radio frequencies drastically reduces the voice of the American populace. I would love to run a large-scale radio station. I could never afford it, therefore it is impossible for me to express my (possibly unique) opinions in any meaningful way. Meaningful meaning actually reaching more than five people. |
Well, these days you have blogs and podcasts, some of which are actually fairly influential, or at least have large numbers of readers/listeners. The lack of ability to be broadcast on the airwaves is in no way a violation of any sort of free speech right. You can say what you want, but there's no reason for you to expect to be able to get what you say sent to (potentially) millions of listeners.
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| I also believe the FCC should act only as regulators and there should be no fee to rent frequencies. |
Wouldn't this potentially be even worse than what we have now? Unless there is even more regulation on the number of stations that any given company can own in any given market or on the renters themselves, there'd be little to stop one company from sweeping everything up, or keep individuals from taking the slots and then charging broadcasters to use it, which is an even less regulated form of what exists.
| Hyraxylos wrote: |
| And I think I can safely assume I speak for millions when I say @#$% the FCC. They hope one day to appoint themselves as our "thought police", and someone should censor THEM for a change. |
That's a rather bold accusation, could you back it up with a few examples of FCC actions that make you believe this?
Though, again, since they own the radio frequencies, why should they not be able to set regulations on what is broadcast?
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| As for the radio thing I don't see what the big deal is about it. Are you cheating anyone out of money? |
If you're broadcasting licensed materials without paying the costs to use it, then yes, you are. If you're operating at a frequency in use by another station, and interrupting people from receiving their transmissions, you're cheating them out of what they own.
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| And if you are, who's to say that they even need your money, or that they don't deserve to lose it? |
If someone breaks into your home and steals your stuff, who's to say that you even needed it, or that you don't deserve to lose it?
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