FCC Warns Portland Church to Shut Down Pirate FM Operating Under Its Steeple

Re:FCC Warns Portland Church to Shut Down Pirate FM Operatin... by jker on Saturday April 08, 2023 @05:55PM (#35498044)

During pandemic I set up a little automated FM radio station for my block and the surrounding ones. It had a voice-synthesized DJ and a big randomized playlist of great music. The whole thing ran on an RPi with a little USB FM transmitter. My neighbors - the ones who still owned radios - loved it.

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Re:FCC Warns Portland Church to Shut Down Pirate FM Operatin... by nonethewiser on Saturday April 08, 2023 @06:43PM (#35498378)

Just to clarify, was this illegal?

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Re:FCC Warns Portland Church to Shut Down Pirate FM Operatin... by jker on Saturday April 08, 2023 @06:52PM (#35498440)

I don’t think so, the transmitter was under the power limit for amateur FM, and it didn’t overlap any local stations. That was my interpretation of the law as I read it before I built the station, doesn’t make it accurate or authoritative though.

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Re:FCC Warns Portland Church to Shut Down Pirate FM Operatin... by lelanthran on Sunday April 09, 2023 @02:56AM (#35500571)

> I don’t think so, the transmitter was under the power limit for amateur FM, and it didn’t overlap any local stations.

I think the broadcasting of the music without a license[1] might have broken some laws.

[1] Unless you only broadcast music/content that was in the public domain, or free for broadcast, or similar license.

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Re:FCC Warns Portland Church to Shut Down Pirate FM Operatin... by RF_Enthusiast on Saturday April 08, 2023 @06:58PM (#35498473)

A legal unlicensed FM transmitter could possibly cover a small area as described.

If it's line-of-sight on a frequency with no interference and stays at the legal limit of 250 microvolts per meter measured at 3 meters, and there's a good receiver with a good antenna, it's possible.

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