Alabama FM pirate fined $15,000

(Source: WAFF)

A Guntersville man is being slapped with a $15,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission. They say he’s been operating an illegal radio station.

Some people in the neighborhood say they were aware of Michael Dudley’s radio operation. Others say they weren’t, but many people say it’s a pretty stiff penalty.

The FCC shut down the makeshift radio station running from Dudley’s home. In documents from the FCC, Dudley was confronted twice last year for sending music through the airwaves on 103.9 FM without a license. The first time was a warning. The second prompted the fine.[…]

Read the forfeiture order here.

Click here to watch WAFF video coverage.

Read the full article at WAFF online.

Spread the radio love

NAB: “Setting the record straight on FM radio in iPhones”

4 Replies

(Source: Contributor Sam Matheny via the NAB Blog)

In recent months, the Southeast U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have been pummeled by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. The wildfires in California have been equally devastating. These storms and fires have wreaked havoc on communications networks and challenged public safety officials’ ability to get lifeline information to affected residents.

At a time when many Americans have come to rely on their smartphones, massive cellular outages were suffered from Texas to Florida on an even greater scale than in Superstorm Sandy five years ago, and California has also suffered major outages in key locations. In Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, it may take weeks and even months to fully restore cellular service because of the damage to the electric grid. This has been a painful reminder of the need for a redundant and pervasive communications infrastructure, especially in times of disaster and emergency.

Radio, television, cellular, satellite, and other communications networks all have a role to play in a crisis. In the wake of these storms, a passionate discussion about activating FM radio in smartphones – and, specifically, Apple’s iPhone – has emerged. This discussion was started by those most impacted by Irma when the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorialized on the issue and Senator Bill Nelson of Florida called for activating FM chips in smartphones. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai also issued a public statement calling for Apple to activate FM chips to promote public safety and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also weighed in with her support.

There has been a good bit of technical back and forth since these calls to “light up the chip,” and this is my effort to try and set the record straight.

Here is the BLUF – Bottom Line Up Front

Apple has built and offered a wonderful FM app in their iPod Nano for many years. They know how to make FM work, and work well, in their mobile devices. Apple even wrote its own Nano app that allows the user to pause live radio and buffer up to 15 minutes of content.

However, Apple has specifically chosen not to offer this functionality in their iPhone. Indeed, Apple has disabled FM chips despite the capability being available on the communications module within the iPhone. This means other app developers cannot offer FM apps either.

Apple CEO Tim Cook hails from Mobile, Alabama and attended Auburn University. Mobile has been impacted by at least 10 different hurricanes since 1969 and that was prior to Nate, which brought a nearly six-foot storm surge and flooding, so I have to believe Mr. Cook has a personal appreciation for the damage these storms can inflict. We invite him and Apple to reconsider activating FM radio in iPhones, and we stand ready to work together to enable this important service.[…]

Continue reading the full article on the NAB blog.

Spread the radio love

eBay Deal: Tecsun PL-660 for 50.90 GBP shipped

2 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, George T, who writes:

Just a tip that I found a bargain price on eBay for a new Tecsun PL-660. The price is £50.90 with free P&P…best I’ve ever seen. I grabbed one. The unit ships from China. The seller has a 97.4% positive rating and apparently sells a high volume. Many of his negatives are about shipping time. I suspect the shipping is basic post from China, so I don’t expect it to arrive anytime soon. Also, eBay will back the purchase. It appears they have at least a few more available.

Oh yes…the seller notes they ship worldwide with the following exceptions: “Germany, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Indonesia, United States, Burkina Faso, Lesotho, China” What an intriguing set of exceptions!

Click here to view deal on eBay.

Thanks for the tip, George!

Spread the radio love

Crosley biographer to speak at National VOA Museum of Broadcasting

3 Replies

(Source: Southgate ARC)

Best-selling Crosley biographer to speak at National VOA Museum of Broadcasting Nov. 10

Rusty McClure, author of the New York Times bestseller, Crosley: Two Brothers and a Business Empire that Transformed a Nation, will speak Friday, Nov. 10 at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester.

Cost to attend is $25, which includes a copy of McClure’s book, a $15 value. Attendees can also view the ongoing Crosley exhibit at the museum, which displays some of Crosley’s most engaging inventions and products. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the lecture beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are payable at the door.

To reserve a place at the Nov. 10 lecture, call (513) 777-0027 or email [email protected] .

McClure will also be on hand at the museum on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. to discuss Powel and Lewis Crosley’s extraordinary lives and work and sign books, said museum director Jack Dominic.

Powel Crosley, Jr., inventor, industrialist, entrepreneur and founder of the Crosley Corporation, is considered the Henry Ford of radio. When his son wanted a radio in the early 1920s, he thought they were too expensive, so built one with him instead.

Blast from the past: The Shelvador refrigerator, which featured shelves and a built-in AM radio in the door, is one of the fun and innovative Crosley products on display at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. (John Kiesewetter Photo)
The Crosley Radio Corporation that resulted from that innovation quickly became the largest radio manufacturer in the world.

Crosley and his brother Lewis built a business empire that included WLW radio station, the concept of radio advertising, ownership of the Cincinnati Reds, the creation of many household products, and an economy automobile known as the Crosley car. Crosley Corporation engineers built the rhombic antennas at the VOA-Bethany Station and operated it during World War II and part of the Cold War.

An exhibit featuring Crosley products such as the Shelvador refrigerator; a “Reado,” home Fax machine; and Xervac hair-growing machine is free with regular museum admission.

The VOA museum is now open each Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children.

The museum, located at 8070 Tylersville Road, just commemorated the Sept. 23, 1944 dedication of the VOA-Bethany Station with a successful fundraising gala. This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the Voice of America.

For 50 years, the VOA-Bethany Station transmitted Voice of America broadcasts to countries worldwide that lacked a free press, first in Europe during World War II and to South America during the Cold War. The station was decommissioned by the federal government in 1994.

Spread the radio love

Weather Radio Review: Grant recommends the Reecom R-1650

1 Reply

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Grant, who comments on our recent post about weather radios:

I’ve been pretty happy with the Reecom R-1650.

I’ve had it over 10 years and it’s been a solid performer. It has a long battery backup on 4 AA’s. It also does AM/FM, has alarm out, antenna in, audio out etc.

It’s fairly smart and doesn’t alert me when the Wednesday tests are happening but does light up during the test so it’s easy to see that it’s working and receiving alerts as it should. Getting through the programming menu is a little weird (as it is with most weather radios) but I can usually figure it out with having to hunt down the manual even though I haven’t been in the menu in years.

With the advent of the cell phone, where no one thinks they need a radio anymore for anything, the best deal in weather radios is often found at Goodwill or your local thrift shop. You can often find models with S.A.M.E for $2-3.

Thank you for the recommendation, Grant! I was not familiar with Reecom weather products. I’m especially impressed with the 185 hour backup time from a set of four AA cells! Impressive. I doubt other models can claim that amount of backup power time–a full week.

Even eHam has positive reviews of Reecom dating back to 2006.

It appears Reecom only distributes their products through Amazon.com, but I discovered a load of Reecom radios on eBay, many at prices well below $30 shipped.

Grant, you also make a great point about checking out thrift stores. Many people don’t know what a weather radio is, so thrift stores sell them for $2.00 or $3.00 in their electronics pile. Just make sure you find the matching power supply.

Spread the radio love

Weather Radio Review: Steve recommends the Sangean CL-100

3 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Steve Lebkuecher, who comments on our recent post about weather radios:

I have the Sangean CL-100 and highly recommend the radio for several reasons and in fact I bought several for family members as gifts. The Sangean CL-100 looks like an alarm clock and is what I use as an alarm clock but the CL-100 is a full featured weather radio as well.

The audio quality for general broadcast is excellent for a radio this size and the build quality is very good. I bought mine several years ago and have not had any issues. (About $60.00 from Amazon)

Some of the features I like and why:

S.A.M,E (Specific Area Message Encoding) Alerts only for your county. If a thunderstorm passes through a county next to you at 4:00 AM you will not be woken up. This has happened to me several times with my previous non S.A.M.E radio and I just ended up turning the radio completely off which obviously left me vulnerable to the next event.

Selectable Alerts – disable alerts that you may not care about such as wind advisory. Again I have been woken up with my previous weather radio that didn’t have this feature for a wind advisory early in the morning. Very irritating.

End-of-message (EOM) Radio turns off after alert is given so you don’t have to get out of bed just to turn the alert off.

RBDS (Radio Broadcast Data System) You can set the radios clock as well as the radio will display station ID and song name.

Display is excellent and has a wide viewing angle plus you can adjust the brightness. I do wish the display was a little bigger and mounted on the front of the radio VS the top so it would be easier to see the time if you wake up during the night.

Two separate alarms and can be programed for different days of the week.

Human Wake-up System – Alarm starts at a very low level and gradually builds up in volume. You can set the alarm to buzzer or radio broadcast. I hate being jolted out of bed by a nasty sounding alarm.

The jacks include DC power in, stereo earphone, AM external antenna, FM/weather external antenna, aux-in, external alert and grounding terminal.

Thank you for your review of the CL-100, Steve! I had forgotten about this particular weather radio and didn’t realize it was still on the market. I now recall an earlier post where Jeff McMahon touted the CL-100.

I love the CL-100 display and the fact that it doubles so well as a proper alarm clock. At time of posting, I notice one on eBay for $44 shipped–I hope someone buys it before I do. (Seriously–I’m very tempted.)

Shop for the Sangean CL-100 at:

Spread the radio love

FCC lifts local control rule for radio stations

5 Replies

(Source: The Washington Post)

Federal regulators have voted to eliminate a longstanding rule covering radio and television stations, in a move that could ultimately reshape the nation’s media landscape.

The regulation, which was first adopted almost 80 years ago, requires broadcasters to have a physical studio in or near the areas where they have a license to transmit TV or radio signals. Known as the “main studio rule,” the regulation ensured that residents of a community could have a say in their local broadcast station’s operations.

Tuesday’s vote by the Federal Communications Commission lifts that requirement. With the rise of social media, the agency said, consumers now have other ways to get in touch with their local broadcasters.

“Additionally, technology allows broadcast stations to produce local news even without a nearby studio,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said.

But that same technological capability could prompt large media titans to take over small, local TV and radio stations, turning them into megaphones blasting content developed for a national audience rather than a local one, according to critics.[…]

Click here to read the full article at The Washington Post.

Spread the radio love