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I replaced Spotify with a homemade FM radio station

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Re: I replaced Spotify with a homemade FM radio station

#41

Post by 1317 »

Projectiboga wrote: post #26
kanbankaren wrote: post #7

You don't even need a Raspberry PI. You can simplify it even further. List of things you need. 1. Smartphone or DAP. 2. Car Bluetooth FM Transmitter (~$20) 3. USB to 12 V car adapter(~$10) 4. Existing FM radio. You can set this up in 5 minutes. Connect the smartphone/DAP using BT or AUX cable. Select a free FM channel and you are ready to go. Also, in the photos, the FM antenna is fully extended which is unnecessary…

This isn't an item to cheap out on. Find one with aptX HD support and decent reviews if you have any room in your budget. I use the bluetooth to FM all the time. I have a pair, one in my car and another in my travel kit for rental cars. The key is to find one with aptX HD and other newer hi-fi codecs as there are older chips still being sold with lower specs as BT has been a thing for awhile now. I just did a search…

you can make it as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. A big expensive one I'm sure would be better, but you can still be well-served by a £2 usb dongle off wish.com

Re: I replaced Spotify with a homemade FM radio station

#42

Post by bigbuppo »

While I don't do the radio part of radio, I actually have a proper radio automation setup at home running into an icecast server for my own in-house use. And if you really want it to feel right, spend some money getting some imaging done or buy some sweeper sound effects libraries and have fun with it.

Re: I replaced Spotify with a homemade FM radio station

#43

Post by dredmorbius »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #23
jklinger410 wrote: post #11

Shilling for an old employer. This is a neat super simple device that takes incoming headphone and converts to FM. Whole House FM Transmitter ( https://wholehousefmtransmitter.com/ )

It's a little pricey for the hobbyist but for "normies" it looks really good. Neat product idea.

What would you consider more appropriate hobbyist kit?

$140 for a solution that works with existing receivers compares pretty nicely with, say, Bluetooth speakers (starting at about $50 and running well north, per set).

I've a number of FM-capable tuners lying around, and could pick up more quite cheaply. The transmitter's the key kit.

Re: I replaced Spotify with a homemade FM radio station

#45

Post by dredmorbius »

solomonb wrote: post #36

You could take it to the next level and build a part 15 compliant FM transmitter kit.

For those curious, the relevant FCC regs. Generally:

Unlicensed operation on the AM and FM radio broadcast bands is permitted for some extremely low powered devices covered under Part 15 of the FCC's rules. On FM frequencies, these devices are limited to an effective service range of approximately 200 feet (61 meters). See 47 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Section 15.239, and the July 24, 1991 Public Notice (still in effect). On the AM broadcast band, these devices are limited to an effective service range of approximately 200 feet (61 meters). See 47 CFR Sections 15.207, 15.209, 15.219, and 15.221. These devices must accept any interference caused by any other operation, which may further limit the effective service range.

https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/low-power-radio-general-info...>

More on the regs: https://www.fcc.gov/general/oet-bulletins-line#63>

Another option, addressed at the first link, is "carrier current" broadcasts, which transmit through (building) power lines.

There is also the option of a (licensed) low-power FM transmitter (LPFM), "available to noncommercial educational entities and public safety/travelers' information entities, but not individuals or commercial operations".

LPFM is not to be confused with microbroadcasting, though I'm not clear on just what that entails myself. I'm vaguely aware of some efforts to enable lawful very-low-power broadcasts at the community level, though that's had strong pushback from traditional broadcasters, including NPR in the US.

There are some Part 15 compliant transmitters and information listed here:

https://www.hobbybroadcaster.net/resources/Part-15-transmitt...>

Re: I replaced Spotify with a homemade FM radio station

#46

Post by solomonb »

dredmorbius wrote: post #45
solomonb wrote: post #36

You could take it to the next level and build a part 15 compliant FM transmitter kit.

For those curious, the relevant FCC regs. Generally: Unlicensed operation on the AM and FM radio broadcast bands is permitted for some extremely low powered devices covered under Part 15 of the FCC's rules. On FM frequencies, these devices are limited to an effective service range of approximately 200 feet (61 meters). See 47 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Section 15.239, and the July 24, 1991 Public Notice (still…

To my knowledge there is no legal way to do unlicensed carrier current transmission. Do you have information otherwise? I've always wanted to try it..

The Part15 regulations for AM and FM are more subtle then what you present here. On FM it is based on field strength readings, the exact values of which escape me, but yielding roughly the range you describe.

For AM the rules are more interesting. You can have up to a 3m antenna length and 100mW of DC power input to the final stage of amplification. The optimal setup is a class E amplifier with ~95-99% efficiency into a properly grounded 3m base loaded vertical antenna. The antenna will be grossly undersized but you try to compensate with a huge loading coil. In ideal conditions this setup can get you about 0.5km range.

LPFM is a much more significant undertaking and it is not trivial to get an LPFM license. I know because I have one :)

Re: I replaced Spotify with a homemade FM radio station

#47

Post by Projectiboga »

dewey wrote: post #15
elzbardico wrote: post #10

I miss the experience of having career professionals 100% dedicated to the music world curating a list of what I would hear. Of course, it was not perfect, there were ads, most stations played pop slop, but most of the time there was a few stations for your taste, your knew your preferred DJs times and there was a certain sense of community in being a regular fan of a show.

How much of that do you think is rose tinted glasses and nostalgia? On paper that doesn't sound too different than Apple Music Radio for example where there's radio shows with local DJs or hosts that talk, play music and have curated play lists by a human editor. I'm sure other streaming services have the same and curators can pick from a much larger set of music, from any part of the world. More than they ever could…

It was different as we might listen together to the same station across town. There were TV shows too. Many stations had sort of countdowns of the week's top songs. It was just a different vibe.

The Ed Sullivan Show American Bandstand Soul Train

Top of the Pops BBC

One of the guys from Nirvana wrote a good essay on how Billboard destroyed music in the 1980s by consolidating the number of radio markets feeding the chart and allowing ways to trick the top seller lists. Before the MTV modern billboard era there used to be local artists on local radio and eventually one might break out onto other markets and eventually break nationally. Then artists became famous simply due to being good looking, having a catchy producer driven sound and a corporate machine getting them into everyone's ears. Things were a little different from the late 60s to the early 90 and some artists broke out organically.

Here is an example of a station that was independent an influenced early MTV programming during their first couple of years. WLIR documentary, 'New Wave: Dare to Be Different,' chronicles the rise and fall of one of the coolest '80s radio stations.

A funny example of a non-corporate act was the group KLF who hacked the Top of The Pops formula and got onto TV with absurdity. A documentary about them is called "Who Killed the KLF".

Re: I replaced Spotify with a homemade FM radio station

#48

Post by dredmorbius »

solomonb wrote: post #46
dredmorbius wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For those curious, the relevant FCC regs. Generally: Unlicensed operation on the AM and FM radio broadcast bands is permitted for some extremely low powered devices covered under Part 15 of the FCC's rules. On FM frequencies, these devices are limited to an effective service range of approximately 200 feet (61 meters). See 47 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Section 15.239, and the July 24, 1991 Public Notice (still…

To my knowledge there is no legal way to do unlicensed carrier current transmission. Do you have information otherwise? I've always wanted to try it.. The Part15 regulations for AM and FM are more subtle then what you present here. On FM it is based on field strength readings, the exact values of which escape me, but yielding roughly the range you describe. For AM the rules are more interesting. You can have up to a…

Quoting the FCC link above:

"Carrier Current stations and Campus Radio stations do not require a license to set up and operate."

(Emphasis added.)

https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/low-power-radio-general-info...>

Re: I replaced Spotify with a homemade FM radio station

#49

Post by solomonb »

dredmorbius wrote: post #48
solomonb wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To my knowledge there is no legal way to do unlicensed carrier current transmission. Do you have information otherwise? I've always wanted to try it.. The Part15 regulations for AM and FM are more subtle then what you present here. On FM it is based on field strength readings, the exact values of which escape me, but yielding roughly the range you describe. For AM the rules are more interesting. You can have up to a…

Quoting the FCC link above: "Carrier Current stations and Campus Radio stations do not require a license to set up and operate." (Emphasis added.) https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/low-power-radio-general-info... >

Interesting! The rules for AM carrier current appear to be more similar to the FM rules, that is they are based on field strength readings that result in a roughly 200ft range.

There is probably a bunch of subtlety about where you measure from as your antenna could be quite large.

Re: I replaced Spotify with a homemade FM radio station

#50

Post by Projectiboga »

doublepg23 wrote: post #21
sockaddr wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I miss that as well but more than likely (at least in the US) that "curated" channel you use to listen to was probably owned by Clear Channel and probably the same exact content played in every other city where everyone else felt like it was for them as well.

I never experienced but I've heard universities used to have the best curated radio stations.

Around NJ and the adjoining cities we have many College stations.

A curious one is truly independent as it's parent University closed WFMU https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WFMU

WSOU Pirate Radio a heavy metal and hair metal focused station at Seton Hall U.

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