And there are the folks who make a political argument for "non-corporate" broadcasting, as the last bastion of truly free speech. The broadcast spectrum is a finite, scarce resource that is managed on our behalf by the FCC for the collective good. These folks make the comparison to another finite, scarce resource, Yellowstone National Park. So, if it gets overcrowded, you only let folks in who can pony up a twenty-thousand dollar "user fee". This cuts down overcrowding so the crowds don't destroy it for everybody. They make the comparison to broadcast license priveleges. If you can't pony up the millions for a broadcast license, you don't get heard. They compare it to putting a newspaper press in your basement, so you can distribute your "underground" paper where you wish.
Yeah, yeah I can hear the skeptical noises already. But here's one golden example of the political troublemaker at work, God bless him.
Free Radio Berkeley
Stephen has pretty much quit selling the transmitter/antenna/filter kits and now concentrates on education, showing folks how to get on the air. How to build, maintain and operate the equipment. He invited me to help put on his seminars outside the USA, but I had to turn him down. Got a job, and it won't wait while I traipse off to Brazil or Mexico for a month.
The latest new development is his TV-transmitter designs. FREE TV! No joke. Stephen's a talented RF designer and his stuff works. But hey, he's a real, live free-radio evangelist. Check out his site and see if you don't agree.
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