Re: [ARSCLIST] Community Radio

[steven c <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> I wonder how hard it would be to get together some like-minded people and
start one of these up? In
> my neck of the woods, it's very much a fringe area with large swaths of
the FM dial just static even
> with a good radio and antenna. I wonder if this is a prime place to test
the waters for one of those
> low-power community stations??? What I think would be an interesting
concept is broadcasting various
> podcasts. Not really interested in the typical amateur hour in Siberia
podcasts that are all over,
> but what about if some people on this list had an easy way to play
selections from and talk about
> their personal collections? Heck, most of us can put together a
decent-sounding WAV file. Have a
> website where "DJ's" upload their WAV files and sequence/play everything
right out of a decent DAW
> computer. Thus, not need for a large amount of equipment to keep track of,
no need for a real
> studio, indeed no need for a real "home base" -- it could just be one
computer in someone's house
> with a network link to a playback system right at the transmitter.
>
> Maybe this is all pie in the sky?
>
Yes...and no!

It isn't that complicated to "broadcast" on the Internet...although I'm
not sure EXACTLY how it is done. All you need is a full-time web
connection or the use of one...something that can stream audio to the
net (I'm not quite sure how that is done)...and something that can
connect your mike and your recording player to your computer as
well as amalgamate your digital sound into either one large sound
file or streamed audio (again, not quite sure...). If you want to do
this totally legally, you have to pay royalties to RIAA/CRIA/whomever...
and their rates are based on the assumption your material can be
digitally copied and used for burning pirate CD's.

If you want to do it via the ether, you have to apply to the FCC
(CRTC up here) for a license, and they will allot you a frequency,
call letters and such. IIRC, you need someone on your staff with
a 1st Class Radiotelephone Engineer's license (which I used to
have, but never renewed because I moved to Canada) and you have
to follow a LARGE book of regulations...you also can only get a
station license if there is no possibility your transmissions
will interfere with any other licensed operation. And if you
get a ham or CB license, you are specifically barred from
broadcasting music.

So, your main need is a large bag of money...which is why the
station I currently do a blues program over, run by Durham
College/UOIT, is Internet-only. Even though the administration
of educational FM stations is somewhat more lax than commercial
radio, the technical side of things has to meet exactly the
same rules and regulations as their for-profit kin!

Steven C. Barr