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Old 10th Sep 2021, 4:07 pm   #5
paulsherwin
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Location: Oxford, UK
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Default Re: UHF transmitter

Quote:
Originally Posted by kipperdog View Post
I have heard of the terms legal and illegal but not very illegal.
Aren't UHF modulators (which are transmitters lacking a radiator) used in vintage video recorders and computers?
FM and AM transmitters are also illegal but used carefully and range limited to the locality of the receiver, do no harm to the radio environment
There is a difference between a modulator (which does not transmit) and a transmitter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bobhowe View Post
Here in the UK years ago you could buy a video sender it had 2 phono connectors 1 for video and 1 for audio the audio was pretty poor and it was not very stable it would drift off tune kind regards Bob
The reason there are such strict rules about this is there was a political panic over UHF video senders in the early 80s. These weren't a bridge using non broadcast frequencies like modern examples, but simple UHF transmitters that you hooked up to your VCR or satellite box. Both VHS and Sky were just taking off at the time, and imported video senders were selling in large quantities from unregulated outlets such as market stalls. A full blown regulatory panic ensued, with emergency legislation passed in Parliament making it illegal to possess, never mind use, a UHF broadcast transmitter of any power. A vast range of dubious equipment can be owned in the UK - you can own a 500kW SW transmitter if you want to - but you only commit an offence if you use it without a suitable licence.
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