The Artisan Radio Blog

The opinions of a grizzled computer professional who has been running a legal, unlicensed FM broadcast station in Canada for 17+ years.

February 14, 2024 12:03 Pacific - According to a Former Republican Strategist ...

Why the Republicans keep losing elections.

February 13, 2024 15:52 Pacific - The Geriatric Presidential Race

It now looks like it will be Biden vs Trump Part 2 in the next U.S. presidential election.

Much is being made about Biden's age, although Trump has nearly the same number of years behind him.

The latest political hit job against Biden came with the report on the finding of classified documents in his garage.  It stated, amongst other things, that the reason prosecutors didn't lay charges was because Biden would be portrayed to the jury as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory".

As opposed to Trump who is a non-sympathetic, elderly man with a poor memory who is definitely not well-meaning.

If you ignore their politics and morals/ethics (clearly in favor of Biden), the reality is that both men are long past their best before date, and the U.S. would be better served if their next President were significantly younger.  And in full control of their mental faculties.

January 23, 2024 21:01 Pacific - Ann Coulter

I now have much more respect for Ann Coulter (although I do think she's wrong in her election prediction).  Coulter on Trump.

January 15, 2024 10:49 Pacific - Part15.org Back

It's been up over a day, so I think we can safely say that these particular issues have been resolved, and that we're back!

January 13, 2024 21:55 Pacific - Part15.org Still Having Problems

As of this moment, there are still issues with the Forum.  Jon Paul Janze, the site owner, is on it, but it's unknown when the site will be back up.

Stay tuned.

January 12, 2024 23:08 Pacific - Upcoming on Artisan Radio

A change is coming to our Thursday, 5PM (and Saturdays & Sundays 3PM) Pacific times.  The show 101 Below has come to the end of its run (after 20 weeks), and will be replaced by Wired For Sound, a show dedicated to the sounds of Sir Cliff Richard and friends. Originally produced in 2011 and 2012, and hosted by Jeff Bleiel, all 34 of the shows will be remixed and re-aired.

And while I'm talking shows, Teenage Dreams (Tuesdays at 5PM, Saturdays & Sundays at 11AM, all times Pacific) will have 'Wishing' as its theme next week, and 'Dreams' the following week.  Both shows have been laid out and just require recording.   Past this, upcoming topics will include 'Money', 'Food', 'Holding Hands' and more.  As usual, a lot of the artists and most of the songs are pretty obscure, tying into our objective of The Best Programming You've Probably Never Heard.

January 12, 2024 14:49 Pacific - Weather & Low Power Broadcasting

A cold wave has hit the Wet Coast in Canada.  Last night it dipped down to -14C, and highs today were only -10C.  Add another -10C for wind chill, and you have a not so nice day to trundle around outside.

Radio waves appear to be affected as well, but in a good way.  While driving around, I noted that the station's listenable range had increased substantially, on the order of 50% or more.  It was all fringe range, of course, but then, nearly everything is fringe when you're dealing with the micro power we're allowed to use legally for unlicensed operation here in Canada (and even less in the U.S.).

While some in the legal, low power unlicensed broadcasting world would have you believe otherwise, FM range is not as simple as throwing out a maximum number (in the U.S., I've seen anywhere from 3 feet, 100 feet, up to 200 feet).  But all these numbers can be wrong (and sometimes even right).  There are so many factors that affect FM range, including, but certainly not limited to, the sensitivity of the listening receiver, height of the transmitter/antenna, obstructions and yes, even weather.

Saying that if you can hear an FM transmission more than 100 feet you're illegal is like saying that if you drive at 70 km/hour you're driving illegally.  Range (or driving speed) doesn't mean anything without a whole lot more information.

Under ideal conditions, in the right location, with the right receiver and antenna, you can receive an FM signal many, many hundreds of feet from the transmitter.  Certainly a lot more than 100 or 200 feet.

Don't let anyone bamboozle you with BS.

January 12, 2024 07:20 Pacific - Part 15.org Back Up

The site was apparently back up late last night.  Good news.

Edit: 09:15 Pacific: The site is down once again, similar to the last outage where it went up and down for a while until it stabilized.  Again, I will continue to report on the status as I get the information from the site owner.

January 11, 2024 18:24 Pacific - Welcome Back to the Blog!

Well, here we are again.  I've decided to bring the blog back, due to demand by its owner, i.e., me!

Unfortunately, this first post signals a problem with Part15.org.  It's down once again.  The previous time, a week or so ago, it was because of hackers attacking the hosting computer.  This time the cause is unknown, but I will keep readers up to date as to the status.