Hey Barre', how's it going! I need to come visit some day.
I put together a very low tech system 3 years ago and it's worked pretty well for us. It's basically a car radio in a box. We used to have a MobileBlackBox transmitter, with I had attenuated to keep the power down. It burned out, and we replaced it with a lower power MobileBlackBox, which isn't very good. It works, but I may have to replace it per Kurt. If I had a bit more range, I'd build a couple more satellites.
Jim
Yeah, If local coverage is an issue as far as wireless is concerned, I'd be careful with the ebay transmitters on the FM broadcast band. PO a local for messing with their farm reports (heck they ought to be listening on AM anyways!) and like I said, could
end up with a $10k fine.
If one treats it like we did with "Easy Access" motors before the lawsuit was settled, can likely fly under the radar with precautions. I'd suggest turning the power down to 1 watt or less. Use a vertical dipole low to the ground or place it horizontally to change it to horizontal polarity. Up close, receivers/intended audience might be able to hear the signal. Test it out.
Have someone drive around one's intended launch site and see if the signal is too strong on the fringes of the launchsite.
I do find it nice to be able to monitor launch control while out in the field doing a recovery with a transistor radio. Can tip me when to look back if there is a cool rocket that's going to be launched.
Above all, steer clear of an actively broadcasting licensed station. With the PLL crystal controlled transmitters out there, it's easy to lock the frequency in avoiding bleeding over or into a duly licensed broadcast station. Remember, out in farmland some
of the occupants of the land might have their FM antennas up on old defunct windmill towers and their ability to pickup your signal is greatly enhanced even if you are using low power. If you aren't interfering with a station they are interested in listening to, they'll more likely keep tuning on to something else. Lord knows it would be very easy to identify who is the source of launch banter so be careful.
The farther out in the boondocks one is with no people living nearby, the more one could get away with without bothering anyone. As mentioned out in the playa with the Rf attenuation salts in the ground and the isolation
from civilization, can likely have more leeway and remain unmolested. Again, YMMV. Kurt