Capital Times: New radio station is low power to the people

[bigtalkradiofan]

Capital Times: New radio station is low power to the people

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=198417

New radio station is low power to the people

Katjusa Cisar — 6/22/2007 10:11 am
The Capital Times

They admit they're a motley bunch, but the people organizing Madison's first low-power FM community radio station say they all have a common goal: getting new voices on the airwaves.

Those in central Madison be able to tune in 99.1 WIDE starting in September, a moment that the organizers -- area non-profit groups, volunteer journalists, music aficionados, church groups and community activists -- have been awaiting for six years.

Due to hotly contested restrictions on how many low power stations can exist in any given listening area, the seven original Madison permit applicants to the Federal Communications Commission were forced to come to a compromise and share one frequency (what one organizers calls "playing in the sandbox together").

This means that groups as seemingly divergent as Christian evangelicals, humanists, Tibetan rights activists and teen hip hop artists will be sharing airtime on the 100 watt station (most radio stations operate at 10,000 watts or more), which will have a listening radius of at most three miles from its near west side transmitter.

By night -- from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. -- content will be directed by "SoulWIDE," a diverse group of people interested in deejaying music with a Christian influence. By day -- 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. -- "CityWIDE" will focus on talk shows, news, features, music and whatever else grows from community and individual interests. ...

[Click link above for the complete newspaper article.]

 

[Grrrradio]

Great to hear that the station is on! I have only one minor issue with the article -- namely, the assertion that the station's range will be "at most" three miles from its transmitter. This is a common problem in mass media articles about LPFM stations, and has the unfortunate, even though unintentional, effect of making LPFM seem less significant to the listening public.

Given that the station's power is 100 watts, I'm guessing that the reporter is simply giving us the FCC's number for the distance to the predicted 60 dBu contour... in which case it's hardly accurate to say that coverage would be at MOST three miles. In fact, it would probably be closer to the truth to say at LEAST three, since a 60 dBu signal can be received in even some fairly poor circumstances (e.g. the listener is using a cheap clock radio, there's bad tropo going on, etc.) The most accurate approach of all, without having to go into technical jargon that would bore most readers, is to say something to the effect that the station will have a dependable signal for only three miles, but may quite possibly be received further by listeners with sensitive radios (such as those found in cars).

In any event, though... glad to see another LPFM getting on the air!

 

[Chuck]

Depending on co-channel interference, most LPFM statons are good for 7-10 miles. Some in rural areas can be received on car radios for 15-20 miles, and even more in a few isolated cases. I doubt that Radio Goldfield has much problem with co-channel interference.

 

[XRQKFM]

Here in the High Desert the R.F. rules don’t apply, our local LPFM station operates on 96.7Mhz. With an E.R.P. of 100 watts: that’s 100 watts horizontal & 100 watts vertical into a single bay antenna that’s mounted about 100 feet above ground on a large face tower and fed by a 250 watt transmitter. (The stations tower is located at AVE A and HWY 14 right on the LA - Kern County line).
KFXM-LP can be herd 35 miles to the west (near Gorman on I-5) 15 miles to the
North (Mojave) in the null created by the large faced tower. KFXM-LP covers Lancaster, Palmdale & Rosamond with ease, with a population of well over 300,000 in the coverage area. The oldies format the station carries has been so well received by the community that it’s carried in all the city & county office buildings, the station has also caused one station to drop their oldies format and KRTH Los Angeles to take a dent in the ratings.
Another so called full power station on 96.7Mhz. in near by Ventura County while running 87 watts covered most of Ventura County as well parts of the San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita. The Ventura County station did have the benefit of being on top of a well-placed 2100ft H.A.A.T. mountaintop.

STEVE
www.xrqkfm.com

 

[Chuck]

Here in the High Desert the R.F. rules don’t apply, our local LPFM station operates on 96.7Mhz. With an E.R.P. of 100 watts: that’s 100 watts horizontal & 100 watts vertical into a single bay antenna that’s mounted about 100 feet above ground on a large face tower and fed by a 250 watt transmitter.

That sounds within the rules to me. You are allowed 100 watts circularly polarized. That's 100 watts ERP Vertical and 100 watts Horizontal. Most single bay FM antennas run from 0.40 to 0.60 efficiency. Add the loss of about 125-150 feet of feed line, and it can very easily take between 225-250 watts transmitter output power to yield 100 watts ERP, circular polarized. If you have no co-channel neighbors, and the terrain is relatively flat, then 35 miles on a car radio is quite possible.

My 7-10 mile example was in reference to the usual crummy radio that most people have in their home or office. Car radios are usually the best radio that most people own.