Low-power FM Transmitters Banned in UK

Acey writes "The BBC News is reporting that the Griffin iTrip falls foul of the UK Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 (PDF). In short, the iTrip is an unlicensed FM transmitter and that's not allowed. The UK distributor, A M Micro, have pulled the iTrip. More ominously they warn that "Use of the iTrip in the UK therefore constitutes an offence and can lead to prosecution of the User". Guess that makes me an outlaw, because you'll have to pry my iTrip from my cold, dead hands."

What is it?

[muffen]

For all you people (like myself) who had no idea what iTrip is/was, here's the link from googles cache [216.239.37.104].

From the page: You are looking at the coolest iPod accessory in the world. The iTrip FM transmitter for the iPod can play your music through any FM radio in your car, at a party, wherever the mood strikes you - and you have a radio.

Re:Interface options

[Anonymous Coward]

Simple.. wire in an in-line (through the antenna) FM transmitter.. Since you are only transmitting on a private wire, vs public airwaves you are fine.

Re:How will they enforce?

[ebcdic]

No-one's ever going to be prosecuted for using one, any more than if you use wi-fi channel 12 in the USA. They just won't be for sale here.

Re:regulation of the airwaves

[Liquorman]

Pirate radio stations broadcast towards England from ships off shore, outside of English legal jurisdiction. Here is some historic info: http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/spotday.htm

Re:Well if that is the case

[Doctor7]

They are, if they use that part of the spectrum and are over a certain signal strength. I remember as a child that mail-ordering what were basically grey imports was the only way to get a set that would work more than a few metres apart.

UK is the only coutry limits use of the FM band.

[nexusone]

According to reports, two other countries - Austria and Iceland - have also stopped sales of the iTrip because of problems with radio frequencies.

I remember building FM/AM transmitters as teen, cool to be my own DJ...America still home of the free!!!

Re:How will they enforce?

[dontod]

I'm in the UK and recently bought on of these. [merconnet.com] It's an almost identical product called an FM 'Linker' but basically you plug it into any headphone socket et voila you're a radio station.

They say the range is about 5M (therefore just for personal use) but it is well over 100 metres. So I'm waiting to get busted when I broadcast web radio stations around my house (and over a small portion of town).

Don

------
There's a 4:30 in the morning now?

Re:Interface options

[Raffaello]

Buy a cassette adapter. Here's one for example:

XtremeMac's iPod Cassette Adapter [xtrememac.com]

Though any cassette adapter will work (there are many manufacturers).

Re:How will they enforce?

[Doctor7]

Sort of. What would actually happen is that if your device happened to be in range of someone's receiver and interfered with the channel they were trying to listen to, they could make a complaint and the equipment would be confiscated.

Re:It's better when government controls the media.

[blane.bramble]

You would be correct if the BBC was the only game in town, but then we have a number of independant broadcasters as well. If you watch any of the BBC's output you will find the government has little to do with what the broadcast. In fact, if you are following the news at the moment over here, there is a major row going on between the government and the BBC over who said what over Weapons of Mass Destruction and the suicide of Dr. Kelly.

Re:Interface options

[rekoil]

Few, if any, in-dash CD players also have cassette decks. Car stereos with cassette decks instead of CD players are a dying breed.

Re:How will they enforce?

[JulianOolian]

Basically it's illegal to sell infringing equipment to people who don't have the proper licences, and they would go after defiant suppliers.

The authorities could go after an end user, but enforcement of that kind of thing tends to be complaint-led over here; trouble would only ensue if someone managed to cause enough interference in their locality to piss off enough of their neighbours into making proper complaints. Realistically it's not going to happen.

Re:not that useful

[BobTheJanitor]

Actually, the iTrip broadcasts on any standard frequency from 87.7 to 107.9. Check the iTrip Features [griffintechnology.com] page:

The iTrip allows you to select from over 100 stations on which to broadcast. That means that you can find an open band, no matter how many radio stations are in your area. Now you can choose to use ANY station - not just the typical '4 stations' you might find on other transmitters.

Re:Government-controlled media

[turgid]

In the UK if you operate a TV set or other device capable of recieving and decoding TV signals you have to have a TV licence [tv-l.co.uk] to pay for the running of the BBC, including radio [bbc.co.uk]. Note, you don't need a TV license if you only have a radio, even though the BBC has several radio stations, one of which is excellent [bbc.co.uk] and far better than any TV station I've ever seen.

Re:How will they enforce?

[SiO2]

Someone whose radio suffered interference from an iTrip could make a complaint. However, the UK equivalent of the FCC would have to find you. Futhermore, they would have to try finding you at the same time you are using your iTrip. The odds of them seeking you out while you are using your iTrip seem fairly long to me.

There are legal frequencies...

[altman]

There are plenty of licensed frequencies for things like that - 458MHz for starters (if my memory serves) - just they're not in the FM band. UK X10 RF controllers (eg, from www.letsautomate.co.uk) use 458MHz.

Come to think of it, I don't think garage door openers in the states are in the FM band either.

The US is more the exception than the rule; many countries ban transmission in the FM band - it's just the US has a get-out for very low power transmitters.

Re:Government-controlled media

[isorox]

Common mistake. In the UK if you operate a TV set or other device which recieves and decodes TV signals Orignating from the UK you have to have a TV licence.

The money raised from the TV License goes to several areas, including the running of BBC TV and Radio, subsidising public service broadcasts on other channels (Channel 4), and running TVL.

Re:Er - ah - hm

[gowen]

issue of someone in beurocracy[SIC]

For the record, [SIC] does not mean "I can't be bothered to look up the correct spelling of this word."

You mean

"issue of someone in beurocracy(sp?)

(And it's "bureaucracy", meaning "government by a cabal of expensive office furniture" [reference.com]). HTH.

Re:How will they enforce?

[Alan Partridge]

It's thanks to thoughtless twats like you that FM radio reception is getting progressively more fucked up for everyone else in the UK. I used to live in London W1 and at the weekend it was almost impossible to listen to the radio because of all the sub-human pirate arseholes.

Cheers numb nuts.

Re:How will they enforce?

[SaturnTim]

They actually enforce this kind stuff. My company brought a bunch of 802.11b stuff over there for an event, and the day we set it up someone from their department of silly walks and radios showed up to talk to us about it.

In the end we had everything in order, and a large 802.11b installation will probably draw more attention than a fm transmitter speeding down the road, but they do watch.

--T

Re:Low powered FM

[LostCluster]

Because microphones in the UK never could use those frequencies. Flea-power FM transmitters are legal in the USA for whatever use you want, but not in the UK. Different place, different rules.

Legal info from the website

[hoofie]

Extracts from the Website [radio.gov.uk]

Section 1 of the WT Act 1949 forbids the installation or use of wireless telegraphy equipment (radio) in the UK mainland including Northern Ireland and territorial waters, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, unless:

• an appropriate licence has been obtained from the Secretary of State,
• there are in force Regulations exempting it from licensing.

Short range radio devices

More and more convenience devices now utilise radio in their operation. Car alarms, wireless door chimes and garage door openers are common examples. Unfortunately not all of these are manufactured in accordance with the relevant technical requirements. The use of non-compliant equipment, is an offence and can lead to interference to authorised users of radio.

It is an offence contrary to the RTTE Regulations to place on the market non-compliant apparatus.

The whole point is spectrum is regulated in the UK and unless the equipment is licensed, then its illegal to use it.

If this thing worked at an exempt frequency, it would be ok, but because it uses the FM Broadcast bands, its not approved for use.

I would also presume the importer wont sell them simply because they could be prosecuted and would have zero defence.

Re:Government does not collect money, the IRS does

[perly-king-69]

You yanks just don't get it

The BBC is separate from government by issue of it's Royal Charter.

If you think they're government lapdogs, speak to Alistair Campbell.

Re:not that useful

[gowen]

The iTrip can broadcast on one of four FM frequencies: 89.1, 89.3, 89.5, or 89.7. This is because frequencies that low are usually only taken by local college/community stations,

Not in the UK they're not. 88-91 FM is assigned to BBC Radio 2, a nationwide pop/rock/adult contemporary station, which is Britain's most widely listened to station (a 16.3% share in the latest figures from RAJAR [rajar.co.uk])

Re:Would it effect emergency services?

[shippo]

The UK emergency services used to use the FM band at one time, at around 98-100 MHz, but they moved elsewhere sometime in the mid 1980s when the FM band was opened up to more radio stations.

Re:Government-controlled media

[misterpies]

In Briatin you have to pay for a license for anything which lets you watch a TV signal.

As to whether that sucks...IMO what really sucks is having TV shows, movies, even sports games interrupted every 10 minutes for a 5 minutes commercial break. In return for a 190 annual fee, Brits get 2 free-to-air TV stations and 5 national radio stations with NO COMMERCIAL BREAKS. And we're not talking marginalised, underfunded US style public broadcasting - they're the most popular stations in the UK, with rights to most major sporting events, movies, music etc. So you can sit down and watch a 3 hour movie (with stereo sound) right the way through, just like in the cinema. Or a 5 set Wimbledon final, without missing any shots. Not to mention all those original BBC geek classics like Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Red Dwarf, Hitchikers Guide (originally a BBC radio show), Dr Who...Oh, and the BBC also has several (free) digital radio and TV channels as well.

Another bonus is that because of the competition with the ad-free BBC, commercial broadcasters in Britain restrict themselves to one commercial break every 15 minutes, so even on the 3 free-to-air commercial stations you can follow the plot of most shows without being constantly interrupted by life insurance salesman. Plus they have to compete with the BBC on breadth and quality, meaning that they can't get away with the endless repeats of Frasier and Seinfeld that seem to define primetime on most major US networks.

Now what I don't understand is this: the BBC can put out about 6 TV channels (including the digital ones) and dozens of radio stations (including local radio) for a charge of only 190 per year per household -- without needing any advertising income. This is far less than the cost of most cable or satellite TV subscriptions - and yet cable stations usually have as many commercials as free-to-air stations, and the programs rarely better BBC quality. What do they do with their money?

I guess it just goes to prove that with the right management and funding, publically owned services can outperform the private sector. Although actually I don't have a TV anymore...a DVD player hooked up to a computer monitor supplies the movies without me needing a TV license, radio and the net gives me the rest.

Re:Over cautious distributor?

[dmp123]

Don't go OT here - Radio scanners are again not illegal to use provided you don't use them to listen to things you aren't licenced to use them for!

For example, with a radio scanner, I can:

Listen to CB/Ham radio
Listen to commercial broadcast stations
Listen to TV audio channels

See - there are non-infringing uses for RECEIVERS, which both radio scanners and traffic speed detectors are, not TRANSMITTERS.

As a radio amateur, I can own transmitters for the ham bands - but if you don't hold a licence for them, these are illegal to own.

David

Re:Government-controlled media

[g_attrill]

Common mistake. In the UK if you operate a TV set or other device which recieves and decodes TV signals Orignating from the UK you have to have a TV licence.

Common mistake. You need a TV licence if you have equipment capable of receiving television signals and it is used for that purpose, eg. a detuned TV used for watching pre-recorded video cassetes or closed circuit televison would not require one. A televison monitor (not necessarily with a UHF tuner) connected to a satellite receiver pointing at a satellite which is not uplinked to from the UK and used for watching, say, high quality Swedish erotica would still require one.

Gareth

Re:Interface options

[Van Halen]

Like some people already said, you have a couple of options. In the vast majority of cases, the quality will be far better than using something like the iTrip. On Apple's discussion board [apple.com] many people have reported major problems just finding an open frequency in populated areas. Anyway, your alternatives are:

• Use a cassette adapter, which you can get pretty cheap at any place like Best Buy, etc. The quality is pretty good, but you definitely get some tape hiss type of noise. I use this daily in my truck and am quite happy with it.

• Hook it up directly to the antenna input using an FM modulator [logjamelectronics.com]. Unlike the iTrip, this is a direct-wired connection that goes in between the radio's head unit and your car's antenna. The quality is pretty much the best that FM can be, as if you were parked right outside a radio station with a powerful transmitter. And with this, you don't have to worry about interference from existing stations because the iPod's signal overrides the antenna when it is in use.

• Hook it up directly to the head unit's auxiliary input, if one exists. This will give you the best quality if you can do it. Many stereo head units have a CD changer input in the back, even if the car didn't come with a changer. You would need some sort of converter [logjamelectronics.com] for this type of input. Some stereos actually have RCA inputs in the back (or front) and some even have a 3.5mm stereo jack in the front, in which case all you need is a simple cable.

I ended up going with the third option for my wife's 2002 Nissan Altima, since it has no tape deck and I didn't want to mess with an FM modulator. It has a CD changer input in the back, but the place linked above doesn't have anything for the Altima. I found a guy who makes custom cables [virtualoutlook.net] for it, so I ordered that along with a switch to put the radio in aux mode. Installation was pretty easy and actually kind of a fun project, especially drilling the hole in the dash to install the switch. ;-)

So as you can see, there are plenty of options. Of course what would be the best is a little dock that provides power, line out, and steering wheel remote controls. Just slide the iPod in and off you go!

Re:How will they enforce?

[LiquidCoooled]

They said the same about TV license evasion.

They drive around in little vans with detectors looking for stray signals.
During my days on CB radio, plenty of people were busted for illegal broadcasting.
If you are going to use this, it will run for at least a couple of hours, or maybe longer with a mains adaptor. It would be a simple matter of triangulation to locate you.

Re:Government-controlled media

[pobice]

Thats right, just the world service has some sort of government funding. The rest is via TV licence and BBC worldwine profit.

Re: 100 possible stations

[TwistedSpring]

Actually that's not true. There aren't 100 possible stations. The FM band is almost full as it is, since you have to put your station on a slightly different frequency in different parts of the country if your station is nationwide. This is to prevent cross-modulation or (interference as the carriers from two different transmission stations on the same frequency overlap when you're situated between them). This is why some stations say that they're on a frequency RANGE and not an absolute frequency (radio 4 is on 92-95MHz).

Also since the FM band is divided up into individual possible stations every 0.5MHz, there's actually only 41 possible stations (the band is 87.5 - 108 MHz).

Re:How will they enforce?

[lungofish]

I can picture the scene where I setup my iTrip at home, on a quiet spot on the dial, and then drive up the road and wipe out somebodies listening pleasure.

These transmitters are so tiny that they're not going to win out over any kind of reciveable commercial transmission. So if you tune it to a dead spot, and then drive somewhere where a commercial transmitter is broadcasting, these transmitters won't be able to overcome the commercial transmission. You will be out of luck, not anyone else.

I've been using something similar for years with a CD player and now with my iPod. For you to ruin someone else's radio pleasure, they'd have to be so close to your car that what they hear on the radio is the least of anyone's worries.

Re:I understand a little bit, but sheesh.

[aziraphale]

> I mean, can't they ratify laws to allow low power FM devices access?

Well, no. Not right now. The issue only really just arose because a distributor wanted to sell the iTrip in the UK, and has realised they can't (and posted a press release about it widely enough to hit the BBC, the Register and /.). If they want to lobby an MP, maybe they could get them to consider putting a private members bill to modify spectrum regulation of low power devices in the next parliamentary term - if they can find a sympathetic MP, and the MP wins a ballot giving them the right to propose legislation. Alternatively, they could go the more expensive route and lobby government directly, try to get spectrum reform into the legislative program.

Either way, with parliament just shut down for the summer, nothing's gonna happen until September.

Alternatively, the Radio Agency (the government body that regulates UK spectrum) could take matters into its own hands and modify the regulatory regime - but it'd need a pretty compelling argument to make it do so.

Re:This is good spectrum management

[JamesP]

Except that the whole idea is to use th FM range so that you can listen to it in your radio...You should have RTFA before...

Re:How will they enforce?

[palfreman]

Modern wideband / spread spectrum technology flat out contradicts what you've just said. See the artical [acmqueue.org] of a few weeks ago. Multiple overlapping transmission and reception with intelligent tunerless radio equipment. Just as one doesn't need ownership of the colour green in order to distinguish individual blades of green grass, you don't need ownership of a particular radio frequency to communicate effectivly. You might also like to check out the GNU Radio [gnu.org] project, where these technologies are already being implemented in an open source project.

I don't normally flame people on Slashdot, but IMO your knee-jerk pro-authority attitude is the root cause of all our problems in England. Having people with your sort of attitude around is a real drag. The kind of things you want don't make anyone safer, they make life harder and more dangerous for everyone.

legal in New Zealand

[brucehoult]

Here in NZ we seem to be somewhere between the UK and the US (as in many other things).

The top and bottom 1 MHz of the FM band is reserved for unlicensed transmission with an effective radiated power of less than 300 mW. So as long as you tune your iTrip to 88 - 89 MHz or 107 - 108 MHz you're fine.

I've been wondering about getting an iTrip once the version for the new model iPod is available (Apple changed the connectors on the top...), but my car's radio.casette has a line-in (marked "CD") on the front panel anyway, and that's better quality.