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Author Topic: First came part 15 AM, then came part 15  (Read 1759 times)

Offline tybee

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First came part 15 AM, then came part 15
« on: October 30, 2022, 0153 UTC »
You know it's kind of interesting.. The very first part 15 devices ever sold were AM transmitters (phono-occilators), they came on the market sometime around November of1938.. about a month before part 15 was created.

So technically they were illegal. The Part 15 rules allowing for intentional broadcasting were literally created to accommodate the legal use of those tinytransmitters, as well as for the upcoming Philco remote control - which went on the market slmost immediate after Part 15 was inacted, as did also electric garage door openers.

But the original part 15 device was LPAM,

Part 15 in general is a multi-billion dollar industry today (I think 90 billion has been quoted). If it hadn't of been for a little 1938 AM transmitter with a range hardly capable of crossing the room over 80 years ago, we might not have things like wifi, cellphones, remote controls and what have you today.

I still haven't pinpointed exactly who was manufacturing phono-occilators in 1938, but they were on the market.

Offline tybee

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Re: First came part 15 AM, then came part 15
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2022, 0544 UTC »
After an inquiry at https://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=419324&p=3583238#p3583238
I've come to realize phono-occilators had actually been around for years, at least since 1935, yet despite it being illegal they wer not causing a problem so evidently the FCC just looked the other way while they were manufactured and sold.


Offline tybee

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Re: First came part 15 AM, then came part 15
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2023, 1555 UTC »
Been meaning to comment further on this...

Brown Universitys unlicensed carrier current station (via multiple phono-oscillators) began in 1936 and with its growth eventually gained national attention in Radio World January 1938 (11 month before Part 15 was even a consideration) and there are numerous other examples of ongoing operations at the time; such as wired hotel/motel entertainment programing and standard intercom systems in homes and businesses, as well as were wired remote controls and burglar alarms.

THE POINT IS; originally, Part 15 was created exclusively because of WIRELESS devices, specifically 3 new products; wireless remote controls, electric eyes (wireless burglar alarms), and wireless phono-oscillators (LPAM transmitters).  The rules were not instigated due to existing wired phono-oscillators and carrier current operations, but it did directly affect its use

Offline Pigmeat

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Re: First came part 15 AM, then came part 15
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2023, 2349 UTC »
I know Philco was making them in that era, I've seen advertising copy on the interweb from that era from them. If they were making them, I would think any radio manufacturer from that era worth it's salt was making the things to keep up.

Popular Communications used to have articles about this stuff, including one about a church radio station that modified an early schematic for a phono oscillator to set up a radio station, which they managed to get licensed. They were shut down by the agency that preceded the FCC due to the fact that their frequency shifted wildly when large trucks and cars went by the church. The antenna was strung from the steeple to a post in the churchyard facing a busy street. They were either a 5 or 10 watt station.

Offline tybee

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Re: First came part 15 AM, then came part 15
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2023, 1605 UTC »
Right, particularly the "Philco-Phone", heavily marketed for home and business use in 1937. A simplified carrier-current system capable to "a fifth of a mile", easily set up in a couple of minutes. It was a intercom system. - On a side note, that same year Philco built its nine millionth radio set and had manufacturing plants all over the world. Their "Mystery Control" wireless remote the following year was one of the very devices which prompted the creation of Part 15.

Ive not heard about the licensed church station affected by passing traffic story, but sounds interesting.
I recall a story from the early 1970s about a large number of churches in Idaho broadcasting 10watt FM transmitters for years without a license. When the FCC eventually shut them down the churches contacted their congressman, who in turn asked the FCC why this was happening. They actually thought their operations were legal.

Around the same time, but somewhere else, a church built an additional wing on their building with a massively large window facing the parking lot. It was specifically built for people sitting in their cars to see the preacher while listening to the audio provided via part 15AM. There were others, and the Billy Graham Crusades used part15AM also.

But anyway... Before Part 15, carrier-current was already perfectly legal, both before and after the Commuqnications Act of 1934. It was a non-issue in regard to the Act.  It was not considered broadcasting and there were no rules, (so far as I can tell) concerning it, providing it didn't cross state lines.

Although created for wireless devices, induction continued to be the most popular AM method used for the next 25 years.

Offline Pigmeat

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Re: First came part 15 AM, then came part 15
« Reply #5 on: June 12, 2023, 1345 UTC »
That sounds like Robert Schuyler and his "Crystal Cathedral" in California. He used to preach from a drive-in theater while the flock sat in their cars and listened on their radios and adapted when he built his church.

A lot of drive-in theaters used Part-15 AM in those days. There was a drive-in across the river from my house whose audio was on, I think, 830 kHz.? Down the road about 3/4's of mile there was a wide spot on a slight curve in the highway on the hillside where you got straight look at the screen. Tune to 830 and squint and you got to see a free movie. During the summer that area was full of cars, and people in lawn chairs with transistor and portable radios.

I never went down there much, it was a dangerous place. 65 mph speed limit and people all over that two lane road. The best thing as far as I was concerned was they had fireworks every Friday and Saturday night from Memorial Day until Labor Day. I could sit on my front porch and catch the fireworks every weekend.

Offline tybee

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Re: First came part 15 AM, then came part 15
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2023, 1503 UTC »
No, this one wasn't the Crystal Cathedral, it was another. I've got a few newspaper clippings and I think with pictures, I'll post it later.

In 1971 the Cinama Radio franchise for drive-ins was formed with exclusive rights to Halsteads leaky cable. Several other companies began offer similar setups for drive-ins.

I need to correct a few things I said about the previous church story.. First off, it took place in Iowa, not Idaho, and it was their Senator, not their Congressman who they contacted...

So... It's the 1970s.. About 40 churches throughout Iowa had been using LPFM transmitters to broadcast their sermons. They had been led to believe no license was needed and apparently had been broadcasting with them for years.
In August 1973 the FCC began shutting them down. The church's, were outraged, thinking that the law had been changed, rallied together and contacted Iowa State Senator Hughes, who then contacted FCC Chairman Dean Burch concerning their matter...

The following is the complete text of FCC Chairman Burch’s response to Senator Hughes in October 1973. The whole thing is quite interesting, but don't miss the FCCs stance that if anyone is to blame for this unfortunate situation, it is the manufacturers and distributors of those FM transmitters, and it's the consumers responsibility to take them to court for misrepresentation --wouldn't that actually be a Federal Trade Commission responsibility?, I don't know, let me shut up, here's the letter:



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Dear Senator Hughes:

This with reply to your letter of August 31, 1973, concerning the operation of low-power FM transmitters by a number of churches, primarily in Sioux County, lowa.

 The recent action of the Commission’s Engineer in Charge, Kansas City, advising users that their transmitters were being operated in violation of Commission rules, did not reflect a change in Commission policy; rather, it only reflected a delay in detecting and closing down these unauthorized operators.

Our fleld organization had been aware for several years that some churches In lowa were operating low-power carrier current devices in the AM broadcast band, as permitted by part 15 of the rules. These "restricted radiation devices"’ have an effective range of only several hundred feet, and normally rely on institutional wiring to distribute the signal throughout a building or cluster of buildings. Because of their extremely limited interference potential, they are not licensed and regulated as broadcast stations. However, the churches Involved in the recent investigation were found to be operating with conventional FM antennas, and with transmitter power outputs between 3 and 20 watts, thereby providing usable signals up to five miles away. These installations greatly exceeded the part 15 radiation limitations for “unlicensed” operation and, as you will appreciate, would carry an enormous potential for interference to licensed broadcast services if allowed to proliferate on a national basis.

Section 301 of the Communications Act requires that transmitting equipment of this type be licensed by the Commission. Moreover, section 319(a) of the Act requires that, as a condition precedent to licensing, a construction permit be first applied for and obtained. Since these are statutory requirements, they are not subject to waiver by the Commission.

The question thus becomes: on what basis, if any, can these operations be legalized? While considerations of efficient radio spectrum managment milttate against any general scherne of licensing characterized by large numbers of low-power transmitters, provision has been made in the educational portion of the FM broadcast band for 10-watt noncommercial FM frequency assignments.

The problem here is that to establish eligibility, the applicant must be a school college, university, or some other entity with a bona fide educational mission. Although there is no policy against issuing broadcast licenses to religious organizations, relatively few of them have a chartered educational purpose. Therefore, to the extent that they engage in broadcasting, most are licensed on commercial channels.

Any proposal to open the educational portion of the FM broadcast band to churches and religious organizations per se would involve fundamental policy considerations which could be dealt with only in a major rule-making proceeding. Because of the crowded state of the FM broadcast band nationally, the likelihood of favorabie Commission action on any such proposal is somewhat remote. In any event, a final decision on a proposal of this nature could not come in time to meet the ongoing needs outlined in your letter.

With respect to the possibility of commercial FM broadcast operation, there is, of course, no educational eligibility restriction, and it might be possible to organize a consortium of churches or denominations into a licensable entity which could then apply for an FM broadcast construction permit. Commercial FM broadcast licensing is based on a pre-engineered national table of assignments, under which specific channels are reserved for use in particular communities, While most channel assignments in north western lowa are already occupied, there is an unoccuped channel assignment for a Class A FM station at Spencer. Operating with the maximum facilities permitted for stations of this class, a station at that location could be expected to provide primary service within a radius of 15 miles, with a usable service range of up to 40 miles for listeners willing to install outdoor receiving antennas. If necessary, the usable service range might be extended by means of FM translator . stations.

As you know, there are FM broadcast stations presently operating in LeMars, Sholdon, Cherokee, Sioux Center, Spencer, and other communities in north western Iowa, which serve portions of the areas and populations which the unlicensed stations were attempting to serve. Since these licensees are expected to ascertain and meet the needs and interests of the communities served, it is suggested that audience preferences for religious programming be made known to these stations.

I am keenly aware, Senator Hughes, that the termination of these meritorious services might appear, on the surface to be arbitrary and unwarranted. However, in light of the Commission’s statutory obligations, outlined above, there is simply no way of restoring these unauthorized services as formerly constituted.

If fault is to be imputed to anyone, it should be to the manufacturers and distributors of transmitting apparatus known by them to be incapable of meeting the Commission's licensing requirements. If warranted by the seller as legal devices, the buyers of this equipment should certainly pursue their remedies in the local courts.

Please be assured of the Commission's willingness to work with the affected organizations in an effort to find a solution. If it is determined that a single, centrally located FM station Is not feasible or would fail to provide service to what appears to be a widely scattered audience, it may be that program distribution could be accomplished by the delivery of cassettes, or that arrangments could be made through the telephone company for parishioners in given areas to dial a number reserved for the carriage of Sunday sermons.

Should further information be desired please call on me again.

Sincerely,
Dean Burch

Offline Pigmeat

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Re: First came part 15 AM, then came part 15
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2023, 2000 UTC »
Interesting, a couple of small colleges where I grew up had their transmitters shut down in the same time period. One was a HBCU, no more R&B and Jazz in the area until the state started funding public radio about 1977/78.