Radio Re-Volt: Broadcasting For The Common Man

An anonymous reader writes "Well, almost for the common man. This Wired article describes a project of the Walker Art Museum in Minneapolis to teach people about the power of radio through the use of cheap low-power FM transmitters. Although each transmitter is limited to a range of about a block, they're cheap enough that I could see them being spread out across a city to cover it with a signal. It'd be interesting to do something like that and feed these inexpensive networks via a netcast. You could use something like this to air programming that commercial stations won't broadcast because it's not commercially viable or because it doesn't fit in with the interests of big media. You can read the above article or go directly to the Radio Re-Volt Web site."

Oh, I get it...

[rts008 (812749)]

"Radio Blogs"...I should probably be scared, yet somehow I'm fascinated!

First Amendment Recovery

[Baldrson (78598)]

The government has been defaulting on the First Amendment ever since it started licensing broadcast rights to centralized groups and excluding others from those rights.

Of course, such small radio stations will not recover the First Amendment -- the Internet has done a lot more to recover First Amendment rights anyway.

However, even with one person one watt, the failure of the government to protect freedom of religion and indeed impose politically correct beliefs upon the private lives of citizens continues not only unabated but exacerbated through the multiplication of government agencies overseeing out compliance with federal mandates about with whom we must associate in our private affairs.

The damage caused by that interference has now built up a debt as large as slavery. Such debts are so enormous and the government so unlikely to pay down those debts that basically the current US government cannot claim any legitimacy any longer.

Open Source radio

[ir0b0t (727703)]

I think this is a really interesting comment. But doesn't Lawrence Lessig (who thinks a lot about electronics and free speech) write that private interests pose at least as large if not larger threat to free speech rights on the internet?

Maybe low power radio will make a comeback in part because of commercialization of the internet? That is, low-power broadcasts represent an affordable, noncommercial space for creative experimentation and communication within a community (a/k/a free speech)?

The homebrew quality of the transmitter also recalls early descriptions of the personal computer kit-builders in the 70s, also a good time for free speech fans.

The small scale of the communities recalls Linus Torvalds posting about his Minix-alternative project.

Its fun stuff. What's not to like?

religion?

[poptones (653660)]

What the hell does any of this have to do with "freedom of religion?" If you want religious programming come to mississippi - there's a transmitter every ten goddamn miles. There's one about a mile from here that comes in so strong on top of this hill I can only get three herringbone covered stations - and that's WITH an FM trap.

"Mandates about with whom we must associate? What, are you a convicted felon? The US certainly has its share of troubles at the moment, but your tirade on the cause of it sounds ab

Yes, exactly as Declared at Independence

[Baldrson (78598)]

You are quoting the Declaration of Independence which lays out the foundation for the rest of the official documents of the United States and itself is founded on its first paragraph:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the

separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind

Re:"Beliefs?" Like "all men created equal?"

[Baldrson (78598)]

And what the FUCK does any of this have to do with "bootleg radio stations?"

It has everything to do with it only almost 70 years too late. The Telecommunications Act of 1934, by recentralizing control of disemination of ideas under the new technologies of broadcast, undid the Guttenberg revolution. The Guttenberg revolution was the undoing of the theocratic control of Europe which was maintained largely through monopoly on the disemination of ideas through the written word. It was the theocracy of the

Alternative uses...

[terraformer (617565)]

Although each transmitter is limited to a range of about a block, they're cheap enough that I could see them being spread out across a city to cover it with a signal.

Or as a micro station at outdoor festivals, concerts and sporting events to name a few. If you have ever been to Grass Roots, Jazz Fest, or a phish anything, you could see how this could be viral and allow for some interesting intermissions.

Or you could broadcast on the internet.

[Lispy (136512)]

Of course I like the idea of the classic 80s pirate radiosenders but today you can just broadcast whatever you want via the net and make it available to a much larger audience. I really like those for iTrip like applications, though.

Re:Or you could broadcast on the internet.

[Hoplite3 (671379)]

The trouble with web "broadcast" is that it isn't a broadcast. You have to spend bandwidth for every lister connecting. The beauty of radio is that you can send one signal to everyone at once. Also, it is difficult to get proper internet connections in moving vehicles for the price of a radio receiver. If there were a similar initiative where I'm at, I'd love to operate a transmitter.

A further reminder. . .

[TimmyDee (713324)]

That culture and new ideas can come from "that place you fly over on a SFO-JFK flight."

Re:A further reminder. . .

[Jeff DeMaagd (2015)]

that place you fly over on a SFO-JFK flight."

Do you mean the Midwest?

I think it is sad that this innovation had come because small radio stations aren't being licenced.

Mandatory RHZ Radio Network mention

[MCRocker (461060)]

This reminds me a lot of the RHZ Radio Network [rhzradio.net], which aims to

create a publicly owned and operated broadcast radio network that is built like a peer to peer network.

RHZ radio is already up and running and streaming content on the internet so that remote stations can rebroadcast it. Very cool stuff!

sync

[reverse flow reactor (316530)]

How does it work out buffering and syncing? How does it avoid "ghosts" or echos in the broadcast when a radio is simulateously received broadcasts from two base stations broadcasting the same broadcast on the same frequency, one getting the source broadcast over a DSL line with some latency, the other over fibre with much less latency?

I expect that is something that must be solved in software, and, according to the article, this is a hardware device. The original poster's dream of a blanket grass-roots radio station is a little far away. That being said, a small FM broadcaster would be great for broadcasting something in the house and being able to tune in from any simple FM radio around the yard.

Re:sync

[theMightyE (579317)]

I was wondering about similar issues - the idea of a distributed raido 'station' is an interesting one but likely not really possible in the sense of 'multiple cheap transmitters' that the original author seems to have in mind.

Not only would there be problems caused by two transmitters getting a signal off the internet with different latency times, but even supposing the transmitters were in perfect sync the signals from the two transmitters would only be perfectly in phase if you were standing on a line

Re:sync

[Ford Prefect (8777)]

How does it work out buffering and syncing? How does it avoid "ghosts" or echos in the broadcast when a radio is simulateously received broadcasts from two base stations broadcasting the same broadcast on the same frequency, one getting the source broadcast over a DSL line with some latency, the other over fibre with much less latency?

Simple - the naïve concepts of universal free speech over an inherently limited electromagnetic spectrum will overcome the physics-induced difficulties of multiple transmitters on the same frequency.

It doesn't matter if a technology is completely unsuited for a proposed mode of usage; all that matters is that it's the thought that counts. With a good heart, bandwidth shall be greater than what is physically allowed, and overlapping FM broadcasts shall not encounter the same problems discovered years ago by broadcast engineers!

I've got a radio astronomy background. The electromagnetic spectrum is an incredibly valuable resource, and is heavily regulated for a bloody good reason. Don't mess with it.

Boom boxes with Wi-Fi

[Animats (122034)]

Putting multiple low-power unsynchronized FM transmitters on the same frequency in a small area is going to yield mutual interference, not wide area coverage.

This would work better with Wi-Fi enabled boom boxes. Wi-Fi can handle multiple transmitters. An Wi-Fi enable Walkman-like device has real possibilities.

Re:Boom boxes with Wi-Fi

[ir0b0t (727703)]

Can you say in more detail how the Wi-Fi boomboxes would work? Its an interesting idea. Would the user need a kit to make it work? Software?

Re:Boom boxes with Wi-Fi

[Animats (122034)]

The hardware is coming. [pcmag.com] The next step is to reprogram it to do more for local microcasters.

Re:Boom boxes with Wi-Fi

[Animats (122034)]

Oh, and here is the first Wi-Fi enabled boom box. [bass-station.net] Community Media Platforms is working this area.

MP-308

[RyanFenton (230700)]

There's a product along these lines I've been interested in checking out.

It's called the "MP-308 Car USB / FM Transmitter", Here's a review of it. [the-gadgeteer.com]

Strangely enough, it seems to be the only Car MP3 player out there that takes a USB card - the discontinued "EMPEG" used to have such an input, but it's hard to get now. I've been wanting to use a nice cheap USB stick instead of CDs for the sheer convenience of popping it into the car and listening with an interface that's much more casual than CDs. Instead of plugging into the car's existing audio system, it works by sending out a short-range FM signal across the 87.7-88.7 dial (you select which subrange). That makes setup easy (so long as you have a good radio in the car), but I can't help but wonder how many radio markets have that FM signal open at that range, and what interference this would have with nearby cars. Fortunately, the device is fairly cheap to experiment with - you can find it for around $50 on pricewatch.

Ryan Fenton

Re:MP-308

[RyanFenton (230700)]

Not only that, but these devices are very basic. There's no directory management or playlists, no random play, just play-in-order of the files on the USB drive. Also, the audio quality will inherently be worse than a devoted car CD player.

But the usage of one of these things would be different than a CD. I personally mostly want to listen to voice (books, philosophy, debates, talk shows, etc.), so the linear play is fine. I also want to casually pull out the USB stick from my pocket, throw something on

Black==White; Slavery==Freedom;

[Cryofan (194126)]

What so many people are missing about the importance of this idea is that the mass media has created a world for us. Big Money used the media to convince Americans that lower taxes for the rich and lower trade barriers and tariffs were going to be good for Americans. Those ideas were found laughable by most Americans 40 years ago. But when the billionaires and corporations fund think tanks and foundations with billions of dollars, funding and developing rightwing talent, they were able to convince Americans to hold beliefs that were actually detrimental to their own well being.

THat is why this kind of grassroots media is so important.

Re:Black==White; Slavery==Freedom;

[LWATCDR (28044)]

No not really. There as been public access TV on cable systems for years. It is mostly crap. The Web is mostly drek as well. If you give the average person the ability to publish what ever they want guess what you get mostly crap. Sure the these micro radio stations could be fun for small local events. It could also be cool for local hot spots. A fun idea would be to have a large collection of MP-3s/Oggs and let people program the radio station by vote. Or even by taking turns. A request style system where

Re:Black==White; Slavery==Freedom;

[Cryofan (194126)]

you wrote:

No not really. There as been public access TV on cable systems for years.


Interesting insight into your logical processes: you seem to think that public access TV is as influential as all the other mass media networks, just because it exists at all. Go figger!

It is mostly crap. The Web is mostly drek as well.
If you give the average person the ability to publish what ever they want guess what you get mostly crap.


How about we tax some of these rich people and use that money to provide soci

Re:Black==White; Slavery==Freedom;

[ConceptJunkie (24823)]

Well said, Anonymous.

The irony is that the same group of people who insist we must forcibly take money from the rich and redistribute it are also statistically less likely to contribute to charities themselves. We can allow people who can afford to pay more do so without being punative about it.

I'm tired of people acting all morally superior by pretending that redistributing other people's money is charity. I'm tired of hearing that the government is giving you something by taxing you less. I get tired

Lines, lines, lines...

[magarity (164372)]

I'd be interested in browsing through their site but the diagonal green and white lines over the text makes reading a chore rather than a pleasure. Looks like a sample from the Bad Interface Hall of Shame.

Feasible?

[Junior J. Junior III (192702)]

If a message isn't commercially viable enough to get people to simply tune in and listen, what makes you think that somehow one dude on every city block will invest in a transmitter and the upkeep necessary to re-broadcast a singal they're receiving?

Welding?

[certsoft (442059)]

only requiring users to do a little welding and drilling.

I sure hope they actually mean soldering.

A beowulf cluster?

[poptones (653660)]

This isn't something that can be made into a "cluster." Either you have to put them far enough apart there are holes in the signal or you end up with overlapping transmitters just a few hz apart - essentially "stepping on" your own signal. Either that, or you'd have to ask your listener to retune every 500 feet to another channel so you got no overlap.

Microwatt transmitters have their uses, but I'm afraid that ain't one of them.

So... what's the point? Do people even listen to the radio anymore? I mean, maybe in their cars - but anywhere else? I've been involved in one way or another with radio since I was a teen and even operated my own fleawatt when I was a kid, but that was a long time before the internet.

If you want to be a pirate it seems to me you'd reach a lot more people taking the max headroom route. When I was a kid I actually wanted to be a radio pirate - now I see no point in it at all aside from being any easy means of civil disobedience. But now, with the internet and the ease with which we can build a vast video library (not to mention it's just as easy to locate a tv modulator as an fm modulator) I'd much rather be Reg [webtv.net].

Re:A beowulf cluster?

[tlhIngan (30335)]

This isn't something that can be made into a "cluster." Either you have to put them far enough apart there are holes in the signal or you end up with overlapping transmitters just a few hz apart - essentially "stepping on" your own signal. Either that, or you'd have to ask your listener to retune every 500 feet to another channel so you got no overlap.

Actually, what you really do is tune them to the same frequency - as long as you're using FM. FM has the wierd property that if you have two FM stations tra

Ummm... not exactly

[poptones (653660)]

What you describe is fine if you're just talking about talking. But one would assume the objective here is to be able to broadcast something people will enjoy listening to - and "capture" is limited by a factor known as capture ratio and it's not infinite nor perfect not consistent from radio to radio, which means you cannot "engineer it in." And in the transition you get exactly what's described: multipath distortion; picket fencing; swooshing... people finding another station.

Taking requests

[hotspotbloc (767418)]

Since your listeners are so close you could use a FRS radio for requests and chats. Just list the frequency and CTCSS in the same place.

Re-inventing cellular technology?

[MythoBeast (54294)]

You could use something like this to air programming that commercial stations won't broadcast because it's not commercially viable or because it doesn't fit in with the interests of big media.

This is a highly flawed concept, because "broadcast" of programming of this type would require the coopertion of hundreds of transmitters, which would interfere with each other at the edges of their individual ranges. Cell phones fixed that problem by broadcasting on a range of frequencies instead of just one, but t

Fun, annoying, powerful, and probably illegal

[ikoflexer (779106)]

1984. The height of communism in at least one Eastern European country. We were teenagers, and very much into AC/DC, Judas Pries, and ever'thing western. One of us knew some electronics; so we got ourselves some parts and soldered together some FM transmitters. Then we broadcasted AC/DC, other heavy metal rock, stupid teenager rants :), and sometimes even Radio Free Europe. All this at random times all around the neighbourhood, so we don't get caught. Those in the know realize how much the secret service hated people like me and my friends (and they really hated AC/DC). And we knew that is was dangerous to taunt them. Nevertheless, it was fun.

Present: people probably realize how powerful it is to be able to disseminate ideas, even in a limited and local setting. And this type of radio TX is all but forgotten in these day of the web, but it can be much more personalizable. People react different to hearing a real voice for a change. I'm glad to see people pushing the idea of microradio. In fact they should make radio TX free, not hand guns.

Not so easy...

[LostCluster (625375)]

I could see them being spread out across a city to cover it with a signal

I can't. It's hard to have on-channel repeaters of the same signal work together propery... issues with phase shift will end up causing the signal to be spotty even right next to transmitters. It just wouldn't work on a city-wide basis.

Be Careful or the Feds will get you.

[sugapablo (600023)]

http://pittsburgh.indymedia.org/news/2004/10/15699 .php
http://www.tnimc.org/feature/display/2762/in dex.ph p
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/feature/display/ 115 95/index.php
http://www.indybay.org/archives/arch ive_by_id.php? id=1407&category_id=12

From http://pittsburgh.indymedia.org :
" Two community radio stations, one in Knoxville, TN and the second in Santa Cruz, CA have been raided in the last 2 weeks by armed US Marshalls (and/or FBI) and the FCC. Last October, San Francisco Police and the FCC raided a popular Bay Area radio station. Despite the federal government's war on community media, radio activists across the US are operating community stations in open defiance of FCC regulations. The FCC strives to squelch community radio so that the airwaves remain free for media conglomerates like right-wing ClearChannel Communications, which owns 1,250 radio stations (six in Pittsburgh), and Viacom-owned Infinty Broadcasting, which owns 180 stations (four in Pittsburgh).

Also, in Pittsburgh, two broadcasters were shut down in the past week due to FCC intimidation. South Side Radio broadcasting at very low power on 102.9FM, and "WCSA Radio" in Plum, PA (Allegheny County, east of Pittsburgh near Oakmont). Indymedia Rustbelt Radio, our biweekly news program on (licensed) WRCT 88.3FM, will feature reports on these actions in Pittsburgh and around the US this week on Tuesday, October 5th at 6pm.

Next week the National Association of Broadcasters, a powerful lobby group, will meet in San Diego. In opposition to their corporate agenda, independent media activists will be holding a four day convergence of workshops, speakers, and actions to tell the NAB "We Want Our Airwaves Back!"."

Coordinated Broadcasts

[nurb432 (527695)]

Coordinating with other 'micro broadcasters' so that you blanket a city, might pose a legal problem.. Since the intent was for you to have limited coverage of your content..

No, I don't have the law handy, but .. I would bet there is something in there to account for such an idea.

Its an art project

[gone.fishing (213219)]

I live in Minneapolis and am pretty sure that this project will have absolutly no effect on the population at large. I see it as an "art project" done by the Walker ART center. The majority of these transmitters will be used for a brief time and shelved. The participants in the project will feel that they have learned something about radio and will have shared a common experience and that's about it.

Commercial and to a lesser extent public radio in the Twin Cities is pretty big thing. We have a couple of "giants in the industry" here with two AM stations that are historic giants of the industry (WCCO-AM and KSTP-AM) both 50,000 watt clear channel stations and an FM station that consistantly captures the highest market share of any station in the country (KQRS-FM). On top of these giants, there are many other stations on both the AM and FM bands that cater to nearly every taste imagineable. Our airwaves are crowded.

Over the years we have had our share of pirate and "underground" stations. Most of them have gone off of the air before I even heard them - but the several that I did get a chance to hear reminded me more of "Bob and Ted's Excellent Adventure" than anything else. Nothing special at all.

I do believe that there is a major problem with public airwaves here and probably in most every major market. The stations are locked into playing the same old stuff. I really do think that stations should be required to devote a portion of their broadcast time to programming local and new talent. They are too locked into the charts, the major music labels and other things that sort of homoginize and blend the music into pablum for the masses.

There is a whole lot wrong with radio but a bunch of low power transmitters aren't going to do anything to fix it.

Re:Key question?

[StateOfTheUnion (762194)]

No license needed as long as you transmit as less than 250microvolts/m^3 at a distance of three meters. This implies that the transmitter range will be limited to about 200 feet. This would conform to unlicensed very low power transmitters at cited in Part 15 of title 47. These devices are commonly referred to as Part 15 devices.

The relevant documentation can be found here [fcc.gov]

Re:Key question?

[Air-conditioned cowh (552882)]

Except they seem to be talking about each station running 1W. That is enough to reach at least a few miles line-of-sight. They also have an example of a case being filed against an unlicensed 10W station on their website, though the link is broke so I don't know more than that.

Somehow I get the impression there is some element of risk involved in this venture...

Re:Key question?

[StateOfTheUnion (762194)]

Uhh its actually .001 watt . . .there is a ".00" in front of that "One." the following quote is from the wired article, but it is confirmed by visiting the Radio ReVolt Website [walkerart.org]

At least that's the idea behind Radio Re-Volt: One Person .00One Watt, a project by Minneapolis' Walker Art Center that intends to open the radio airwaves to the general public, one small radio station at a time.

Re:Key question?

[Tango42 (662363)]

Don't walkie-talkies have a set band they can operate in, which is designated for that use? And I think you do need a license to operate a CB radio.

Re:Key question?

[zipoff (62601)]

And I think you do need a license to operate a CB radio.

No you don't [fcc.gov].

Citizens Band (CB) Radio Service is a private two-way voice communication service for use in personal and business activities of the general public. Its communications range is from one to five miles.

Licensing
License documents are neither needed nor issued and there are no age or citizenship requirements. As long as you use only an unmodified FCC certificated CB unit, you are provided authority to operate a CB unit in places where the FCC regulates radio communications.

Good answer

[SaDan (81097)]

CB radio consists of 40 different channels anyone can use.

Let me tell those of you who have not used a CB radio before, they are incredibly handy to have. I have a good setup on my car (although my transceiver just took a dive, will be upgrading that unit this next week!), and on the open highway in open country, you can send and receive a good distance.

A CB radio is the best "radar detector" money can buy. Truckers are always on the lookout for speed traps, and will continually call out the position of

Re:Good answer

[Bull999999 (652264)]

A CB radio is the best "radar detector" money can buy. Truckers are always on the lookout for speed traps, and will continually call out the position of law enforcement officials, whether they're stationary or on the move.

Is there a designated channel that the truckers use for this "service"?

Re:Good answer

[K0AZV (820760)]

Channel 19 (27.185 MHZ)

Re:Key question?

[connorbd (151811)]

You do need a license for aviation and some marine operation though. (The rules for marine operation are pretty strict -- license required for boats over a certain size and ship-to-shore operation, as well as HF radiotelephone. I don't know the specifics on aviation.)

Re:A consideration...

[by Anonymous Coward]

I don't like the idea of more EM radiation flying around. What kind of hazard would all these broadcasts be to people's health? Is it worth even thinking about?

Switching from an aluminium foil hat to tinfoil should be adequate for a one watt FM transmitter.

And whenever someone walks near you with a cell phone? They're trying to hack your brain.

Re:RF power is like bandwidth

[Air-conditioned cowh (552882)]

I know just how you feel. Just check out my conribution [telefunken...systeme.de] to this wonderful 1W radio networking project.

It's not "out of sync audio"

[poptones (653660)]

it's "out of sync transmitters." If you have two adjacent transmitters on the same band and the phase of the two signals is not in sync you will get multipath distortion - this is what causes all that shit you hear on FM when you drive through the city near big buildings. Now imagine you're surrounded by 100 signal sources, all of them very low power, all of them swooshing in and out of tune (because these are just cheap devices, not even carefully calibrated transmitters with stable oscillators).

It just don't work the way the OP "imagined" it. This isn't digital, it's not a "software" problem.