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listenership question

A

arnoldevns

Star Participant
Is anyone here aware of any part 15 station ever showing up in the ratings in any market? Obviously this would not be the widely published ratings...but some insider might have seen something. Just curious.
 
Allegedly there are a Part 15 AM station in Arizona with Fox Sports that some claimed to have hit actual ratings but no bonafide evidence to support the claim was ever produced.
 
From what I undestand, Arbitron produces listenership results only for stations that pay for their service.

Some years ago, I saw WLOY, a 5-transmitter phase-syncronized Rangemaster Part 15 station at Loyola College in Maryland, on a published list of broadcast stations in Baltimore, but with no ratings included. WLOY can be heard on the small Loyola campus between Charles Street and York Road, and some of the surrounding neighborhoods. They also do streaming.

Even with five syncronized transmitters, the range is so low that it would be difficult for a Part 15 station to be noticed by a ratings firm.
 
That Arizona station may have shown up before Arbitron limited the release of their 12+ ratings to subscribers-only, Ermi. What has it been -- a year or so now that the cutbacks began?

But yeah, I know what you mean. If I ran a Part 15 station here in Quakake PA I certainly would not pay Arbitron (or Nielson, whomever) $5000 not to show in the Wilkes-Barre book.

* * * * * * *

An inquiry I made (maybe ten years ago) about any X-Band stations to show in the ratings turned up two or three noticed by anyone, though.
 
Why expend a lot of time hobbying with a Part 15 station when real stations with real reach can now be had for a small investment.

The reality is a part 15 station travels about 300 to 500 feet. I guess if you're trying to do something for the guinness world records and get as many people as you can find that have people meters and put them in your 500 ft square Part 15 station reach and turn on their radios, something might happen.

This is the time to invest in radio. If you have passion for radio then my recommendation is stop sitting on the sidelines. When you wanted to drive you bought a car, not a toy model. The real stuff! :)
 
Why expend a lot of time hobbying with a Part 15 station when real stations with real reach can now be had for a small investment.

The reality is a part 15 station travels about 300 to 500 feet. I guess if you're trying to do something for the guinness world records and get as many people as you can find that have people meters and put them in your 500 ft square Part 15 station reach and then have them turn on their radios, tuned to your station within the square, something might happen.

This is the time to invest in radio. If you have passion for radio then my recommendation is stop sitting on the sidelines. When you wanted to drive you bought a car, not a toy model. Time to go for the real stuff! You can make your hobby your living! :)
 
josh said:
Why expend a lot of time hobbying with a Part 15 station when real stations with real reach can now be had for a small investment.
Click to expand...

I know from experience many K-12 schools as well as colleges and universities that are unable to construct either a full power or low power (LPFM) station due to how crowded the local spectrum is. Many schools successfully use Part 15 radio to allow their students to have a radio experience on a smaller scale.
 
The best place for a Part 15 station is an apartment building.
 
druidhillsradio said:
"You would pay to know what you really thinK."
J.R. BoB Dobbs
Click to expand...

Pull the wool over your own eyes.

The Subgenius must have Slack!
 
Ermi Roos said:
From what I undestand, Arbitron produces listenership results only for stations that pay for their service.

Some years ago, I saw WLOY, a 5-transmitter phase-syncronized Rangemaster Part 15 station at Loyola College in Maryland, on a published list of broadcast stations in Baltimore, but with no ratings included. WLOY can be heard on the small Loyola campus between Charles Street and York Road, and some of the surrounding neighborhoods. They also do streaming.

Even with five syncronized transmitters, the range is so low that it would be difficult for a Part 15 station to be noticed by a ratings firm.
Click to expand...

That is not true. If you buy the book and trends, you'll see the numbers of both subscribing and non-subscribing stations. But Arbitron does not publish for free public consumption, the numbers of non-subscribers, other than the 12 plus figure that comes out with a quarterly book.

For example, here in Dayton, Ohio, there's an LP-FM that periodically shows up in the book. It's usually around a 0.3 to 0.5 12 plus. That's with 100 watts in a suburb on FM. The even more limited range of a Part 15 station would most likely severely limit the possibility of one showing up in a survey...
 
joshzz said:
The reality is a part 15 station travels about 300 to 500 feet. I guess if you're trying to do something for the guinness world records and get as many people as you can find that have people meters and put them in your 500 ft square Part 15 station reach and then have them turn on their radios, tuned to your station within the square, something might happen.
Click to expand...

I would ask if you've ever had a Part 15, but your comment suggests that you haven't. You sound like what you know about Part 15s comes from what you've heard/read what others have said about either theirs or someone else's, and you're parroting what you've read. Well, having had two of my own for years, I can speak with real world experience. Not everybody is limited to "postage stamp" coverage, as you seem to think. There are a lot of factors to consider, such as the transmitter you're using, the location of your transmitter, soil conductivity, etc. With 100 mW, I'm able to cover my entire neighborhood and then some with my AM signal, and that's a LOT more than the "area rug" coverage you describe. Having said that, I realize that not everybody has as favorable of conditions as I do, but conversely, not everyone has the "shout farther than you can transmit" Part 15 environment, either.
 
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