Talk:Pocket FM

A fact from Pocket FM appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 15 February 2016 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that a portable radio transmitter called Pocket FM (pictured) enables people to create pirate radio networks in areas where authoritative governments tightly control communications?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2016/February. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Pocket FM.

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Needs to identify the power level[edit]

The Syrnet article says six kilometers - the original site says it will be upgraded to cover 10 km - but I didn't see watts anywhere. Can we get a watt value for comparison? Wnt (talk) 13:12, 15 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Good question. There are some competing specs regarding range. I ultimately went with 6km because it was the most common (including this document). I'm sure that's due in no small part to the publication dates' relationship to the release of the three different versions of the device. I didn't see a wattage figure either. I don't know that there's an easy way to convert without having the specs because effective broadcast radius also depends on where your transmitter is (i.e. how high). Just based on anecdote, my sense is that the 6km figure is pretty close to the expected range of an LPFM station (10-100 watts). — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 16:28, 15 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

FWIW I've exchanged a few emails with folks at MiCT. They've been happy to talk about it, so if we get some questions here that would benefit from a primary source I'll point them here. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 16:31, 15 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

"Abuse"[edit]

What does this mean? "In addition to connecting it to the internet, GSM or 3G offers the possibility of accessing programs via a cloud system and remotely controlling the entire system. Connecting many Pocket FMs helps identify if one of them is broken and this can be remedied within the grid. To avoid any abuse, the sessions can include a signal identified by the Pocket FM software."

Can it be "pirate radio" if it has a mechanism to avoid abuse? Or is it just a radio network funded/run by the German Federal Foreign Office? Wnt (talk) 13:12, 15 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

My understanding is that each unit is capable of broadcasting on its own as a stand-alone station, but it can also broadcast programs produced by others and/or become part of a network that can be centrally controlled. I'm not positive what sorts of abuse they're talking about in that sentence, but I do know that newer versions have mechanisms to prevent unauthorized use and broadcast through the unit (not unauthorized in the legal sense but in the sense of using someone's device to broadcast other material on the same network or to use it to broadcast other sorts of things altogether.

Pirate radio is unlicensed or otherwise unauthorized transmission (in the legal sense). The content itself isn't necessarily illegal/illicit, but when you fire up a little transmitter and broadcast on an unoccupied FM frequency without the government's permission, it's pirate radio. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 15:52, 15 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

We probably should have a section or article about where it is and is not illegal. I doubt that this would be an issue if someone were to broadcast on an unoccupied FM frequency without any government's permission in Somalia, Antarctica, or the middle of the ocean targeting a major shipping lane. --Guy Macon (talk) 14:58, 26 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

And, more generally, do we know about the availability for crises, emergencies and disasters in other areas? Is the company planning to go into production itself or to licence / contract out production? Regards, Esowteric+Talk 10:54, 1 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

As far as I can tell, the answer is no. They've only produced a couple dozen of these devices, used only for their own projects, as far as I know. I've read a couple places things like "we are not an electronics company" which may be an indication, but might also just mean "this is an unusual thing for us to be doing"... — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 03:57, 18 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Coverage on BBC[edit]

The BBC have just covered Pocket FM: Raspberry Pi-powered transmitters broadcast Syrian radio Regards, Esowteric+Talk 10:22, 1 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I've added it. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 03:57, 18 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Source availability?[edit]

Anyone have access to this full article? (not sure how much it will add, if anything -- just saw it linked as something about Pocket FM) — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 03:58, 18 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]