personal radio station?

[imma honky]

Ok, first off, i dont know if its legal or not (if its not, im sure i could make it by paying some fees to FCC or something)....anyways
there are devices you can buy to hook to your computer which broadcasts your music over FM radio to any staion you want (ie XXX.XX). This is nice, BUT you can only listen to your broadcasts within like 100 ft radius or something. What I want to know is how hard would it be to rig up a transmitter like a ham radio or something to boost the signal to broadcast maybe 20-50 miles or something (something just around town). Im sick of commercials/selection on regular radio. I get tired of switching cd's while driving. This would make unlimited GOOD music possible.....
Any thought/ ideas welcome.

 

[Glenn B]

Ok, first off, i dont know if its legal or not (if its not, im sure i could make it by paying some fees to FCC or something)....anyways
there are devices you can buy to hook to your computer which broadcasts your music over FM radio to any staion you want (ie XXX.XX). This is nice, BUT you can only listen to your broadcasts within like 100 ft radius or something. What I want to know is how hard would it be to rig up a transmitter like a ham radio or something to boost the signal to broadcast maybe 20-50 miles or something (something just around town). Im sick of commercials/selection on regular radio. I get tired of switching cd's while driving. This would make unlimited GOOD music possible.....
Any thought/ ideas welcome.

heh, I think the FCC (and others) would take issue with that idea.
Get that Satellite radio set up gizmo if the commercials really bug you too much. I rarely ever listen to the radio any more, as all we really get is crap from BC Canada eh!

However... if you say Damn the Torpedos........ constant brodcasting is tough on equipment that is not designed to do so. And "the Man" will find you. The Hammy types get funny about how other people use the airwaves. Plan to be reported, would be my guess.
Glenn

 

[imma honky]

thats not the answer i wanted, but was definitely expecting. The satelite stuff (sirus/XM) first off costs like 250$ just for equip, then its like 10$ a month for XM and like 20$ a month for sirus. Plus,, fomr what ive heard , is that there are still some commercials, just no commentary crap from dj's and stuff. No one even likes the FCC, so why are they still around?

 

[Glenn B]

thats not the answer i wanted, but was definitely expecting. The satelite stuff (sirus/XM) first off costs like 250$ just for equip, then its like 10$ a month for XM and like 20$ a month for sirus. Plus,, fomr what ive heard , is that there are still some commercials, just no commentary crap from dj's and stuff. No one even likes the FCC, so why are they still around?

I seem to recall seeing special deals on the equip., but yeah, you do have tp pay......... either by listening to commercials, or paying the monthly service charges.

Actually, the FCC can seem to be a PIA, but with all of the Freq. spectrums, and all of the people wanting to broadcast, somebody has to manage it. Otherwise amatures would be everywhere..... and those with money would dominate most frequencies.

An example of the FCC loosening up on regs is Marine radio. Previously, you had to be licensed to use it... and that sucked. It was a PIA and expensive. Now, if you follow protocol, you can operate it without a license. However, now EVERYBODy is using it, and many are missusing it. Makes it a pain in the butt to use anymore. Much like the CB has become in some areas. Some people think everybody wants to hear them yap.

sorry...I am rambling.
Glenn

 

[imma honky]

Much like the CB has become in some areas. Some people think everybody wants to hear them yap.

Thats the truth. Ok i can understand the FCC ot limiting who can broadcast and such, but still. Im not one for having any agency limit what I can and cannot do (within reason). How would I go about finding out how much it would cost (if at all possible) to broadcast short radio (like i said, something just around town. Most of my driving is to/from school/work/a few stores/ friends (all within 15 minutes of home).
ALTHOUGH, my other option is to lookat a way to somehow get broadband speeds through a phone. I heard you will be able to do that soon (but how much is it going to cost me). Cause if I can get mobile broadband, you can set up an online radio station and use a laptop hooked to your stereo.

 

[Lou]

Running a pirate station with enough power(on the FM band) will get you noticed at some point. You will have to buy equipment to do this--probably not cheap. When you get caught you wont be able to use it (again). You'll then need to sell it. It's not worth it. Doing it legitimately is going to cost even more.

I hear ya though.....I'm fed up with broadcast radio. Also, I have a 12-CD changer, but that too is a pain to manage.

Right now I'm considering either XM or MP3 capable heads and changers.


BTW ... CircuitCity has XM receivers for just over $100.

 

[imma honky]

well, I guess the FM station idea is out the window.....
BUT, I am going to wait and see whats up with this broadband over cellphones. If its moderately priced, I may go that route with a laptop. Otherwise I guess I will be forced to go for XM/Sirus.....
Even my MP3 player doesnt cut it anymore. one cd will hold me over for a week, but thats about it.
Thanks for the input/ reality check!

 

[Kejtar]

well, I guess the FM station idea is out the window.....
BUT, I am going to wait and see whats up with this broadband over cellphones. If its moderately priced, I may go that route with a laptop. Otherwise I guess I will be forced to go for XM/Sirus.....
Even my MP3 player doesnt cut it anymore. one cd will hold me over for a week, but thats about it.
Thanks for the input/ reality check!

Broadband over cell... well... I don't really thing that it'd stand up to decent quality audio streaming.... I think your best bet as others have mentioned is either sirius or xm......

 

[imma honky]

Broadband over cell... well... I don't really thing that it'd stand up to decent quality audio streaming.... I think your best bet as others have mentioned is either sirius or xm......

I was thinking using the cell to hook up to a laptop, then the latp top to the car stereo.The phone is just for the mobile broadband..... but only if the price is decent (which i doubt it will be). There are only 2 decent radio stations here (rest are country or rap). One is new this year and has minimal talking but they replay todays "hits" over and over. The other station has a little more variety, but more talking. I really dont want to have to pay for radio which still has commercials (im pretty sure XM does, but I heard sirus has it on select stations or something).

 

[Kejtar]

I understand... but you still would be limted to the speed of broadband over cell and you'd either use a low bit rate and have it sound bad... or deal with constant rebuffering...

BTW... from what I hear about sat radio it seems like it's commercial free...

 

[Phil]

Dude, if you would be using a laptop anyway, why screw around with transmitting it over the phone or something? Why not carry the laptop in the Jeep, and just run a wire so you can plug the laptop into the stereo? I've got a wire with a plug like for headphones on one end, and RCA plugs on the other, and I use it to connect my computer to my stereo at home. There must be a way to do that for an auto stereo also. And you could probably use some secure locking storage in your Jeep, anyway.

 

[5-90]

There are a few head units available with front-panel input jacks (accepting 1/8" stereo headphone-style plug) that have good prices. I have them in both of my DD XJ's, so they can be used iwth laptops or MP3 players - and sometimes my radio scanner!

Crutchfield carries several, and Sears has a couple that can be found on sale fairly often. You will use a 1/8" stereo - 1/8" stereo patch cord to plug in devices, and you don't need much cable, but you will want to make sure it is shielded (the "zip line" cable isn't as good as the round cable - the rounded cables are usually lined with a common "drain" braid for signal protection...)

5-90

 

[imma honky]

Dude, if you would be using a laptop anyway, why screw around with transmitting it over the phone or something? Why not carry the laptop in the Jeep, and just run a wire so you can plug the laptop into the stereo? I've got a wire with a plug like for headphones on one end, and RCA plugs on the other, and I use it to connect my computer to my stereo at home. There must be a way to do that for an auto stereo also. And you could probably use some secure locking storage in your Jeep, anyway.

B/c how many laptops do you know that can hold over 400 gigs?(not that I have that much music.....yet) But, you idea has not been thrown out the window.

I understand... but you still would be limted to the speed of broadband over cell and you'd either use a low bit rate and have it sound bad... or deal with constant rebuffering...

Doh, you got me there. Forgot about the low bit rate and rebuffering issue! Once you again you have ruined my plot for world domination!......err I mean unlimited radio.
Well, I guess I will just have to wait a few more years for the internet radio thing to what good ole technology will be like.
NOW.....I guess......XM, Sirius, or buy a 6 disc MP3 changer (bit pricey, but onetime fee) (that would make 7 total cd's at an average of lets say 200 songs per cd = 1400 songs)

 

[5-90]

You know, I once saw a writeup someone did where they built what was essentially a single-board computer, running a short Linux install, and was dedicated as an MP3 player. It was built into a 2U (I think...) rackmount case, and installed under the driver's seat. You could stuff the thing with disk (a terabyte MP3 player, perhaps?) and it had a 10/100 LAN card in to facilitate transfer.

Shouldn't be too difficult to duplicate with a little effort - I'm sure the writeup is around somewhere (I think I saw it originally in MaximumPC...)

5-90

 

[imma honky]

OMG 5-90, that would rock! I know they make those crappy 5 gig hard drives for cars......but im not goona pay that kinda money for suck little space. If you could find that write-up, that would be great! How would connect a cat5 cable to a player though...... :wierd:

 

[OT]

This reminds me of the movie Pump Up The Volume. IIRC it didn't end well for him. But he sure had fun while he was at it. And the audience loved it.

 

[imma honky]

This reminds me of the movie Pump Up The Volume. IIRC it didn't end well for him. But he sure had fun while he was at it. And the audience loved it.

hahaha. I like that.....even though its not very supportive....its daum funny!
I had an idea though. Ive been doing a little research on a few other peoples hookups for aux inputs and gotten a few good ideas. One thing I found is that since im running an Alpine head unit, with an AI-Net unit, I can install lots of extras (it would also make hooking this "onbaord computer" very easy)

 

[Kejtar]

You know, I once saw a writeup someone did where they built what was essentially a single-board computer, running a short Linux install, and was dedicated as an MP3 player. It was built into a 2U (I think...) rackmount case, and installed under the driver's seat. You could stuff the thing with disk (a terabyte MP3 player, perhaps?) and it had a 10/100 LAN card in to facilitate transfer.

Shouldn't be too difficult to duplicate with a little effort - I'm sure the writeup is around somewhere (I think I saw it originally in MaximumPC...)

5-90

5-90.... actually it's not that simple..... The rackmounts are not really meant to be installed in a movable environments... you'd have to really do some creative fabbing and do some shock proof mountint in order for this to work. I know... cause my company is at a process of developing a special machine for a mobile command post (one of those emergency coordination vehicles) and we're still battling vibrations and shock.... So in principle the idea is not bad, but your suspension be better soft and you better mount it in a trunk in a shock resistant rack