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(Mar 13, 2019, 00:21 am)Moe Wrote: A great idea, but you can't afford the equipment, or the fines for operating an unlicensed transmitter.
(Mar 16, 2019, 04:07 am)RobertX Wrote: That's the idea of a "pirate" radio; it's not legal.
Oh yeah, but it adds the logistical problem and both illegal import and operation, plus fraud, tax evasion, electrical risk, who knows what.
And the broadcasting association and the TV workers union on your back. Lawyers territory...
Sure it's super-cool! But one will be tempted to put news, comments, tutorials, interviews, and maybe even adverts on air - That will make it easier to identify or at least locate the source, and sure will make the prosecution much worse. It's feeding the people with information and the enemy with ammo.
Be careful, man.
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(Mar 15, 2019, 23:41 pm)dueda Wrote: I wouldn't know, but looks like it. Is it legal to import that kind of stuff without a FCC license?
The legal stuff is easy to figure out compared to understanding the technology.
There's no law prohibiting broadcast any kind of signal if used for
A. Personal use
B. To a certain range.
Basically if I'm broadcasting from my barn to my house then there's no problems. But if I broadcast from my barn to my neighbor's house I'm breaking the law.
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So one can't transmit out his own property; communication freedom goes thru the window.
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(Mar 16, 2019, 09:50 am)soulcity Wrote: The legal stuff is easy to figure out compared to understanding the technology.
There's no law prohibiting broadcast any kind of signal if used for
A. Personal use
B. To a certain range.
Basically if I'm broadcasting from my barn to my house then there's no problems. But if I broadcast from my barn to my neighbor's house I'm breaking the law.
I find that to be highly unlikely. Even if you are outside the US, there are going to be certain frequency bands you cannot legally broadcast in without proper licensing. And there is no world where you can keep an RF emission confined to your own property unless you are planning to live in a Faraday cage.
Granted, legalities aren't particularly relevant to this forum, but for the sake of understanding what you are up against, licensees are very protective about their RF spectrum, and anyone who steps on their space generally gets fined pretty hard. I'm not saying don't do it. But if you do, the technical challenges are the least of your worries.
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(Mar 16, 2019, 13:23 pm)dueda Wrote: So one can't transmit out his own property; communication freedom goes thru the window.
Actually it's you're not allowed to having anything powerful enough to go past 150 - 200 feet. (give or take depending on state rules)
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Maybe you should start hanging out with the free band band: http://www.bellscb.com/cb_radio_hobby/fr...ations.htm
The radio guys I've met in my time were all formal zealots (radio bands are like forums) but helpful. Just don't rush into legal matters right away.
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What Moe said.
Plus...
Stay the hell away from RF transmissions.
That 500W MMDS Xnitter will *kill* you if you were even able to find an antenna for it, and tried firing it up without at least a 100 ft tower. A microwave transmitter is pure line of sight, and reflections cause horrid shadows on video. Besides it is useless without an IF input 'driver' .
The only real non-net option is amateur radio - Hams. You will need a license as hams are a tight knit group and will hunt down 'pir8s' and hand them over to feds. They are not likely to care about content though, so you can probably stream anything you want, and nobody will care as since the hams are international. there are not many of them.
Personally I hate streaming video. I prefer to view stuff on my own time and terms,
A proper pir8 video would be from a streaming server, probably a VPS in a backwater country. And you would have to have some damned compelling video to distract people from the similar services on larger sites.
Better yet, just turn them into AVI, MP4 and upload them to torrents.
A 50,000 Watt VHF TV transmitter has about a 60 mile range. A torrent has worldwide reach.
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It's looking like this is going to be seriously expensive unless I can figure out some sort of hacks.
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It's a crazy idea, but you may hack into security / babysitting camera systems. Those home systems are near everywhere now, even cars. There're the direct RF devices and the networked (both WiFi and wired) ones. Your audience would be limited and the impact of invading people's monitors, denying them the purpose of their systems, will be a sure ticket for a police raid and prosecution. And your neighbors will HATE you. Must be prepared if you follow that path.
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Radio transmission is an entirely different ball of wax than cable transmission, as there great complexities involved in simply getting a RF signal out, much less a fully video modulated transmission.
Plus, there is *no way* to hide the point of origin of an RF signal. There is no such thing as a VPN for radio, although yo can try to bounce off the moon!
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