Thread 105657332

I made a thread last night but I think it was after everyone was asleep.
Anyway, I’m interested in the idea of AM radio broadcasting. Particularly the idea of late night radio waves that travel across the country- or globally even.
However I don’t have 1000’s of dollars to work with.
So is there a cheap way to do this, and get a license? Or am I gonna just have to look into HAM?
I know Internet stuff is a thing, but I want an actual analog thing I can set up in my room.
Thanks frens.

I saw the last thread and I didn't reply because I have no idea

>>105657410
I appreciate the bump, anon. I guess not a lot of people know about radios. :(

Bump

>>105657332 (OP)
idk about the license, but u can easily build brodcasting equpment yourself if you have a soldering iron, internet and ~50$

>>105659329
Will it be capable of broadcasting like a thousand miles though?

>>105657332 (OP)
I saw your thread too.
There was an anon on here about 2 weeks ago who posted about HAM radios.
He said he had this particular HAM radio of which anytime he told truckers that's the model he was using, it would make them all angry and seethe.
I forgot the name of it though, sorry. Apparently it's a good model. It was a foreign one, maybe Chinese or something.

>>105659397
That’s pretty funny. I guess I’m trying to basically figure out how to broadcast over a long range from my bedroom. Like 1,000 miles.
I want to do it legally though. I know nothing about equipment. From what I understand, AM bounces off earth’s ionosphere at night. Therefore allowing it to travel 100’s or even thousands of miles.
I’m not sure about what you would need in terms of antennas, power, or really anything. Like where do you even buy an AM radio transmitter? lol
Or how expensive, or if my best bet would be to get like a HAM or something.

>>105657332 (OP)
>>105659489
anon that's wanted to do the same thing here
IIRC, the modern way to xmit over oceans is HF radio. You might need a breddy big antenna, but with good conditions, even radios at beginner power levels can make QRP (lofi low power) contacts. You might need to use morse code or some digital text transmission protocol, because HF like that give you a very low bitrate to work with. I don't know much about any of this though. you might wanna try >>>/diy/ham

>>105659512
Thanks for the diy recommendation anon. Ngl I have no idea what any of that beans, but will for sure do some research and check out that thread!

>>105657332 (OP)

Broadcasting AM is pretty much dead.
Power inefficient as opposed to single side band or FM.

AKA very expensive to push signals far,

To broadcast anything in the ether you will need a license and some know how.
You risk getting you shit pushed in by the FCC or you nations equivalent (and every century has an equivalent) or the ITU.
The fines are huge.

Broadcasting in a reserved part of the spectrum can also risk interfering with "reserved" parts of the spectrum. And this will get you V&, your gear confiscated and a felony charge.

In terms of "broadcasting" getting a HAM license wont allow you to broadcast anything "fun" like music news etc. You're pretty much stuck doing contacts across the world. The exact rules very place to place but it's reasonably cheat. You can get a license for less then 100$, and a station shouldn't set you back more then 200-300$. You can also make one if you have to know how or buy a Chinese QRP(low power) station for 25-50$ that's good enough for CW(telegraphy)

You will also need a considerable amount of space for an antenna. You can make a diploe with nothing more then 20m of wire, but you will need to trim it to size and match the impedance.

You can get a national commercial broadcasting license. Since AM radio is pretty dead, the license itself isn't that expensive anymore maybe 1000-5000$ depending on the state, region, and regulations. Essentially, once a year an auction is held for parts of the spectrum. Most AM radio frequencies are operated by religions groups, and may parts of the spectrum are vacant.

That said your station will need to pass an inspection, and have gear that's committal grade and certified and depending on you know how, connections etc, this will set you back a pretty penny. Although i dont have an exact number i can tell you that 1h of a certified labs time will run you 5k and upward. And it will take many hours to certify your station.

If you have any questions, ill stick around a bit more.

>>105659489
>I want to do it legally though.
Buy a radio station. Only way you'll get license. They stopped handing out new ones a long time ago
>AM
Don't do this. If you want long range and since you're doing it illegally anyway (since that's the only way) you should broadcast on shortwave. I do it a few times a year and can reach most of the NA with 100 watts.

There is a forum dedicated to this where people sell hardware and post all the information you need. I'm not going to link it here since it's easy to find and that serves as enough of an idiot test to see if you'll be able to pull it off.

You can try to build your own transmitter but the best thing to do is to lurk ebay and wait for one to go up for sale. Or buy one of the ones the forum members sell on there. There are tons of pirate listeners on shortwave.

If you don't want to do shortwave then I suggest FM. Your range will be limited to your local area of course. But that's the only other thing that's really worth it. We all stay away from AM for three reasons:
>Spectrum is pretty full
>Requires a lot of power and big antenna
>The moment you start broadcast on it you'll attract a lot of attention. Since it's close to a lot of frequencies used by commercial aircraft and the military/Government.

If you want range stick to shortwave. If you want better audio quality do FM and live with the fact that you're looking at 10-50 miles range tops.

>>105659927
I should mention. If you try to broadcast on ham bands the ham boomers will rat you out to the FCC. Don't think about it. I'm not saying you can't get away with it. I'm just saying that no one will listen. If you want listeners there are dedicated communities of people listening for pirates on shortwave. Almost everyone that does pirate radio these days is on shortwave. There are two frequencies pretty much reserved for pirate stations and people actively check them to report on new pirates popping up of long time pirates transmitting.

I personally broadcast from fields or mountains. I hike out with transmitter+batteries/generator and put up my homemade antenna. I broadcast a show I pre-mixed that's usually 1-3 hours long. The frequencies I use are most active on Halloween. That's the night every year all the pirates come out to broadcast. I avoid broadcasting on that night because there is so much competition for the two main frequencies. Most pirates in NA are on the East Coast there are only a handful operating out of the west coast.

>>105659489
>Like where do you even buy an AM radio transmitter?
You have to wait for them to pop up on ebay or find them in rummage sales. It's pretty rare for AM transmitters to pop up. Shortwave transmitters are more common. FM transmitters are easy to get because many people still make them and it isn't illegal to transmit on FM as long as you use very low power. A lot of people operate pirate FM stations and ignore the power limit set by the FCC. Some go years without getting reported. Others get reported quickly and get he knock. Usually the first time they just warn you and ask you to stop. They can seize your equipment if they want though. They can also fine you and throw you in prison.

Basically, as long as you're not transmitting on the same frequency as a licensed transmitter in your area you can usually operate for a long time.

>>105659705
>You can get a national commercial broadcasting license. Since AM radio is pretty dead, the license itself isn't that expensive anymore maybe 1000-5000$ depending on the state, region, and regulations. Essentially, once a year an auction is held for parts of the spectrum.
This stopped being true 5-10 years ago. They stopped having the auctions and no longer allow new stations to open up. There is a large corp. that's been buying up radio stations that's bought off the FCC (they run "iheartradio"). The FCC doesn't have to hold the auction every year they just do it when they feel like it. So what has happened in this large corp. has gobbled up the entire spectrum and all the old licenses. They've become a monopoly and they keep others out.

The reason large parts of the AM spectrum in your area aren't "in use" is because they're licensed to other stations far away from you. Who can be heard at your location if they don't drop their wattage at night time. Those large gaps in the AM spectrum are there to prevent interference. Between the far reaching stations.

It's easier to broadcast to a US audience with a new station now with a border buster station out of Mexico than to legally apply for a license to do it within the USA. The only real legal way is to find an existing AM station that's held a license for a long time and offer to buy them out lock stock and barrel. This has been the only way to get on-the-air legally for a long time now. The religious stations you're hearing are all owned by the same groups. They've been going around and buying out the independent AM stations for years now.

There is a lot of talk that they'll close the AM band to radio stations all together in the near future and repurpose it for something else like they did with VHF/UHF TV stations. Since they can now squeeze far more stations in digitally than they can with the old analog method. They can then re-auction off the other portions for other uses.

Hi anon. I think you might want to consider getting into the shortwave pirate scene instead. The FCC polices the AM band much less than they do FM but your post screams "ambition" to me. The feds don't like ambition. Realistically you could make a station that covers your entire town or city and get away with it as long as you don't draw a ridiculous amount of attention to yourself and don't push the limits. Interstate skywave coverage at night is more than just pushing the limits. That's asking for a raid. But that's something shortwave pirates achieve with less power, equipment that is far easier and cheaper to obtain, and more importantly less risk of life ruining fines.

>>105660049
In addition to less risk. You'll find more guides and help. The shortwave pirates are pretty tight-knit group and they don't mind helping you get started. A shortwave set-up is also much easier to move around and be mobile with.

>>105659968
>Basically, as long as you're not transmitting on the same frequency as a licensed transmitter in your area you can usually operate for a long time.
There's more to it than this. If you're transmitting Johnny Rebel songs and screaming gas the kikes race war now into the mic you're more likely to get reported. You could even be a good pirate who isn't being a dickhead, following nearly every FCC rule to the best of your ability except the one about needing a license, and using a carefully chosen frequency. You'll have two kinds of people who will snitch on you anyway. The first being people who work for local licensed radio stations, especially their broadcast engineers. These guys are your number one haters if you are a pirate. You could be transmitting content that has no similarity to theirs and these fuckers will still see you as competition. Then there are the autistic DXers who know what is supposed to be there and what isn't. Some of them will welcome your presence depending on the type of content you transmit. Others will screech like crazy since you're costing them a chance to hear some station from 2 states away. You need luck on your side, but I kinda implied you should have some degree of professionalism if you're going to be on the FM or AM broadcast bands. If you're making a nuisance of yourself not even luck will save you.

>>105657332 (OP)
>Or am I gonna just have to look into HAM?
get a license or go to jail
>However I don’t have 1000’s of dollars to work with.
ngmi, even old equipment starts at 500 bux. not even covering antennas

How were your math and physics grades? If no all A or B+ get the fuck outta here
this is just your current special interest about which you forget in 1 month

>>105657332 (OP)
>IMG_0735.gif
>>105659489
>IMG_0736.gif
mark of the dumbphone zoomer posting from his phone

this clown will amount to nothing as ham operator

lol

>>105661170
kick rocks I guess.

>>105657332 (OP)
https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/how-to-apply#AM

>need to apply
>recommended to not buy equipment until after you get a permit
>The only unlicensed operation that is permitted on the AM and FM broadcast bands is covered under Part 15 of the FCC's rules, and is limited to a coverage radius of approximately 200 feet.
>...
>NOTICE: THE FCC IS NOT ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR NEW AM BROADCAST STATIONS AT THE PRESENT TIME.

in summary: no.

>>105660873
I’m not for any racist stuff. I’m literally just interested in the idea of broadcasting thoughts basically late night from my room.
Like anon said, I will probably forget about the idea in like a month, but if it’s cheap and simple enough, who knows?>>105659705
I appreciate all that information, anon. AM and FM definitely sounds like way more than I’d care to get into, or would have the means to even.
>>105660049
>>105660080
>>105659927
Hi anon. I’ve never heard of shortwave. That does sound pretty awesome. A few questions I have-
Who can pick up shortwave?
What is the distance?
Is it totally legal?