[sudo-discuss] there are no LPFM slots on the FM band in the bay area, period.

Mon Nov 4 13:17:54 PST 2013

I've read about software-defined radio making interference problems 
negligible (can't find anything in particular at the moment - but most 
coming from the IEEE publications).

I'd be interested whether others (a) understood if this is true; (b) 
knew of affordable SDR equipment; and/or (c) thought this would solve 
the problem.

Sidenote: While streaming-only radio stations do not have to deal with 
spectrum licensing issues, their Internet presence make broadcasting 
anyone else's copyrighted content a complicated and either expensive or 
risky endeavor.

sent from eddan.com

On 2013-11-04 12:52, Hol Gaskill wrote:
> it does seem philosophically better to provide content on an opt-in
> basis via existing RF links than to simply radiate it in every
> direction and block that portion of the spectrum from other uses
>
> on Nov 04, 2013, ANTHONY DI FRANCO <di.franco at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> This sounds a lot like the mesh networking projects, which move away
>> from broadcasting as fundamental and rebase broadcasting in a
>> peer-to-peer context, and are already oriented the right ways
>> technically and with respect to regulations for those goals.
>> On Nov 4, 2013 11:31 AM, "David Keenan" <dkeenan44 at gmail.com [23]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I find myself most sympathetic to Naomi's position - although I do
>>> still think FM as a medium has some romance and cool left in it, I
>>> don't know that it's actually worth it, given the cost and effort.
>>>
>>>
>>> Completely naiive riffing follows, but -- since decentralizing
>>> information and the means of production are (for me) integral to
>>> freeing information / culture.. if one wanted to recolonize the
>>> airwaves, I wonder if it might be possible to simply distribute
>>> LPFM?
>>>
>>> Ie, give people a small appliance that transceives internet radio
>>> into LPFM or way lower-power radio, ie just for their block /
>>> neighborhood / whathaveyou.. A device that doesn't take a whole
>>> lot of power, that is innately not geographically bounded, and can
>>> become a diaspora of signal. And not necessarily legal but
>>> decentralized and dispersed.. if enough folks did this in
>>> aggregate in a given neighborhood or community, could that
>>> collectively function coverage-wise as a single relatively strong
>>> broadcast / antenna?
>>>
>>> Has anyone tried anything similar, or does this even make sense..?
>>>
>>>
>>> dreamin'
>>>
>>> On Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 10:08 AM, Hol Gaskill <hol at gaskill.com
>>> [20]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> agree on not having transmitter co-located with hq. dropping
>>>> repeaters nearby can also prevent pinpointing by birds overhead.
>>>>
>>>> on Nov 03, 2013, NAOMI MOST <pnaomi at gmail.com [17]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Dudes I was THERE managing tech for Pirate Cat went that all
>>>>> went
>>>>> down. See also:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
> 
> http://nthmost.com/2011/04/radio-valencia-the-little-radio-station-that-could/
>>>>> [1]
>>>>>
>>>>> The major difference here to what was suggested above is that
>>>>> Pirate
>>>>> Cat hosted its antenna in many many different places over the
>>>>> years.
>>>>> We moved it every 3 months or so. And 95% of the membership
>>>>> didn't
>>>>> know where it was.
>>>>>
>>>>> My point was to ask the question WHY put up the antenna at
>>>>> all.
>>>>>
>>>>> The return on investment for putting up an antenna --
>>>>> particularly,
>>>>> one physically located at the locus of control as opposed to
>>>>> offsite
>>>>> somewhere like in a van or something -- is pretty abysmal.
>>>>> Listenership to the airwaves continues to drop.
>>>>>
>>>>> If you decided to jam some corporate radio station, you'd be
>>>>> implicating Sudo Room and the feds would come down on it
>>>>> sooner or
>>>>> later.
>>>>>
>>>>> If you just wanted to squat some frequency in the lower band,
>>>>> you'd
>>>>> have an abysmal listenership at the cost of the power of
>>>>> operating the
>>>>> antenna.
>>>>>
>>>>> It's just not that compelling an exercise for the amount of
>>>>> risk.
>>>>> Not for me, anyway. I guess a lot of people still feel that
>>>>> the
>>>>> airwaves are somehow inherently exciting.
>>>>>
>>>>> --Naomi
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sun, Nov 3, 2013 at 5:54 PM, Gregg Horton
>>>>> <greggahorton at gmail.com [2]> wrote:
>>>>> > We agree on absolutely nothing so I abstain
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Nov 3, 2013 5:17 PM, "GtwoG PublicOhOne"
>>>>> <g2g-public01 at att.net [3]> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> If someone or a group wants to propose or operate a radio
>>>>> station in an
>>>>>>> act of peaceful civil disobedience, they should research
>>>>> the regs, laws,
>>>>>>> and potential penalties, and talk with an attorney who has
>>>>> represented
>>>>> >> clients who have engaged in similar acts in the past. That
>>>>> would be a
>>>>>>> project for a group that is not formally identical with SR.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The most successful peaceful civil disobedience actions in
>>>>> the past
>>>>> >> fifty years have been conducted by people who were not
>>>>> only
>>>>>>> well-grounded in principles, but also had trained
>>>>> themselves in how to
>>>>>>> interact in a peaceful and effective manner with all of the
>>>>> people they
>>>>> >> would come into contact with, including law enforcement
>>>>> and government
>>>>>>> officials. The civil rights movement and the Clamshell
>>>>> Alliance
>>>>>>> anti-nuclear group are excellent examples to study, and
>>>>> much of their
>>>>> >> material can be found online.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> All of that said, online/internet radio is still the
>>>>> fastest way to
>>>>>>> reach an audience with no geographic limits or regulatory
>>>>> risks, and
>>>>>>> spreading the word is easy. Linkage with other online
>>>>> broadcasters can
>>>>> >> build up a seamless network with 24/7/365 coverage.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> To challenge the existing AM/FM broadcast status-quo, will
>>>>> inevitably
>>>>>>> require challenging station licenses in order to re-capture
>>>>> spectrum.
>>>>> >> And the best place to start is by challenging the crowding
>>>>> of spectrum
>>>>>>> by multiple redundant right-wing religious broadcasters.
>>>>> The case for
>>>>>>> it is clear and obvious in any area with strong cultural
>>>>> diversity, and
>>>>> >> a win is a victory on multiple fronts.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Under-thinking, rather than over-thinking, is the risk for
>>>>> failure.
>>>>>>> Reaction is not action.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> -G
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>> >> =====
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 13-11-03-Sun 4:39 PM, Jake wrote:
>>>>>>> >>> Just put a big fucking antenna on the roof and start
>>>>> broadcasting, if
>>>>>>> >>> you don't, i will, god damnit.
>>>>> >> >>>
>>>>>>> >>> Stop overthinking things and do it.
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> Why? So you can inflict a $20,000 fine on Sudo Room as
>>>>> quickly as
>>>>>>> >> humanly possible?
>>>>> >> >
>>>>>>> > it takes a long time and a lot of work and listeners
>>>>> before you even
>>>>>>> > get the ten-day warning, let alone an unenforcable fine.
>>>>> Don't forget
>>>>>>> > that Berkeley Liberation Radio has been broadcasting for
>>>>> almost ten
>>>>> >> > years now, interrupted more often by their own failures
>>>>> than by two
>>>>>>> > FCC raids where the FCC basically snatched their
>>>>> equipment and fled
>>>>>>> > like cowards.
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > No one at BLR has ever been successfully "fined", and
>>>>> even the NAL
>>>>> >> > (Notice of Apparent Liability) filed against Stephen
>>>>> Dunifer of FRB
>>>>>>> > before them has just sat uncollected, like almost all
>>>>> NALs against
>>>>>>> > pirates, for twenty years now. Stephen's very public
>>>>> response to the
>>>>> >> > Notice of Apparent Liability was "Apparently not."
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > The FCC's fine enforcement mechanism is to threaten to
>>>>> revoke your
>>>>>>> > stations lisence. This works when they fine lisenced
>>>>> broadcasters for
>>>>> >> > the seven deadly words or whatever, but filed against an
>>>>> unlisenced
>>>>>>> > person it's a joke. Witness the fine against Daniel
>>>>> Robert of Pirate
>>>>>>> > Cat Radio, which is an example of a person who put his
>>>>> full name all
>>>>> >> > over everything and even corresponded with the FCC in
>>>>> the mail, making
>>>>>>> > it personal. They haven't even collected anything from
>>>>> him.
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > here's the story of pirate cat's fine:
>>>>> >> >
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
> 
> http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/10/fcc-fines-monkey-man-radio-pirate-10k-war-continues/
>>>>> [4]
>>>>> >> >
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > The point is, if sudoroom decides as a group to broadcast
>>>>> a signal
>>>>>>> > from the roof or wherever (we can stream over the
>>>>> internet you know)
>>>>>>> > then sudoroom can decide for itself whether it wants to
>>>>> keep going
>>>>> >> > after getting a "ten day notice to cease broadcasting"
>>>>> If that EVER
>>>>>>> > happens.
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>
>>>> http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-264276A1.html
>>>>> [5]
>>>>> >> >
>>>>>>> > and if a broadcast is not coming from the building where
>>>>> sudoroom is,
>>>>>>> > then it is not even a matter for sudoroom to have to
>>>>> decide on.
>>>>>>> > Sudoroom can continue to have an internet streaming radio
>>>>> station and
>>>>> >> > leave it at that.
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> > sudo-discuss mailing list
>>>>>>> > sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org [6]
>>>>> >> > http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss [7]
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> >> sudo-discuss mailing list
>>>>>>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org [8]
>>>>>>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss [9]
>>>>> >
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> sudo-discuss mailing list
>>>>>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org [10]
>>>>>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss [11]
>>>>> >
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Naomi Theora Most
>>>>> naomi at nthmost.com [12]
>>>>> +1-415-728-7490 [13]
>>>>>
>>>>> skype: nthmost
>>>>>
>>>>> http://twitter.com/nthmost [14]
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> sudo-discuss mailing list
>>>>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org [15]
>>>>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss [16]
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> sudo-discuss mailing list
>>>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org [18]
>>>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss [19]
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> sudo-discuss mailing list
>>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org [21]
>>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss [22]
>>
>> -------------------------
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> sudo-discuss mailing list
>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org [24]
>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss [25]
>
>
>
> Links:
> ------
> [1]
> 
> http://nthmost.com/2011/04/radio-valencia-the-little-radio-station-that-could/
> [2] mailto:greggahorton at gmail.com
> [3] mailto:g2g-public01 at att.net
> [4]
> 
> http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/10/fcc-fines-monkey-man-radio-pirate-10k-war-continues/
> [5] http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-264276A1.html
> [6] mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
> [7] http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
> [8] mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
> [9] http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
> [10] mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
> [11] http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
> [12] mailto:naomi at nthmost.com
> [13] http://tel%2B1-415-728-7490
> [14] http://twitter.com/nthmost
> [15] mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
> [16] http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
> [17] mailto:pnaomi at gmail.com
> [18] mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
> [19] http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
> [20] mailto:hol at gaskill.com
> [21] mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
> [22] http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
> [23] mailto:dkeenan44 at gmail.com
> [24] mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
> [25] http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss