For the benefit of others following the RDP portion of this, here is some of my take on things and advice I have offered over a period of time. There are so many threads on this I'm losing track of all of them.
First, you have to have a non-profit in place before you can file for an LPFM. The FCC does not require it to be a 501(c)3. Which may be a good thing because that step requires additional paperwork and possibly several months wait for the IRS to grant it.
Delta Star Radio of Florida was created in April of 2001. I did it myself for under $100 and had the charter in just under three weeks. There are four of us on tne board and we all live on the property of the proposed studio/transmitter site. It costs $61.25 to renew the corporation each year.
I did recommend Nexus as one of three possible consulting engineering firms that I know. One of those still has openings. The third had a cut-off date of July 1 for accepting new clients. I do see the closer it gets to the window the higher the rates have gotten. Procrastination is expensive. All three
had rates that varied from around $1400 to $2500.
Scott gave good advice. If you do not have someone working with you that knows the FCC regulations, this is a minefield. Heck, I missed one thing on an application back in 1988. It caused it to be dismissed, and I was one of the final 3 out of 13 applicants. I took a financial hit and no class A FM
for me. I am not qualified to do a waiver and tat's why I am using Nexus for that part. The rest of the FCC application I have completed myself.
I know who WRPO is as well. He has owned and operated an LPFM for a number of years.
Most folks reading this know a little about my background. I have jocked, done sales, run promotions, and worked as a local station manager for an absentee owner. I have been the only one in the building when the FCC inspectors showed up. I have worked sign-on to sign-off gazillions of times. So seldom does anything about radio panic me.
Including my own quest for an LPFM. As badly as I want that to happen, there IS a plan B, that relegates radio to a hobby and something else as a primary purpose. That said, I am going through similar emotions. One day it looks like a sure thing. Another day it seems overwhelming and you just want to quit.
For a Christian station, it has be be led by God. Telling the difference between what God wants and what I want can be a hard thing. I sense that going on in the RDP case.
Being a DJ is one thing. Owning and operating a station is another. Were this something that had a long time before the window I would advise working as a manager - even a volunteer or whatever - to see what it takes to manage and operate a station. DJs seldom see that. I started as a DJ and knew nothing about the rest of running a station.
Best wishes fellow radio'ers.
First, you have to have a non-profit in place before you can file for an LPFM. The FCC does not require it to be a 501(c)3. Which may be a good thing because that step requires additional paperwork and possibly several months wait for the IRS to grant it.
Delta Star Radio of Florida was created in April of 2001. I did it myself for under $100 and had the charter in just under three weeks. There are four of us on tne board and we all live on the property of the proposed studio/transmitter site. It costs $61.25 to renew the corporation each year.
I did recommend Nexus as one of three possible consulting engineering firms that I know. One of those still has openings. The third had a cut-off date of July 1 for accepting new clients. I do see the closer it gets to the window the higher the rates have gotten. Procrastination is expensive. All three
had rates that varied from around $1400 to $2500.
Scott gave good advice. If you do not have someone working with you that knows the FCC regulations, this is a minefield. Heck, I missed one thing on an application back in 1988. It caused it to be dismissed, and I was one of the final 3 out of 13 applicants. I took a financial hit and no class A FM
for me. I am not qualified to do a waiver and tat's why I am using Nexus for that part. The rest of the FCC application I have completed myself.
I know who WRPO is as well. He has owned and operated an LPFM for a number of years.
Most folks reading this know a little about my background. I have jocked, done sales, run promotions, and worked as a local station manager for an absentee owner. I have been the only one in the building when the FCC inspectors showed up. I have worked sign-on to sign-off gazillions of times. So seldom does anything about radio panic me.
Including my own quest for an LPFM. As badly as I want that to happen, there IS a plan B, that relegates radio to a hobby and something else as a primary purpose. That said, I am going through similar emotions. One day it looks like a sure thing. Another day it seems overwhelming and you just want to quit.
For a Christian station, it has be be led by God. Telling the difference between what God wants and what I want can be a hard thing. I sense that going on in the RDP case.
Being a DJ is one thing. Owning and operating a station is another. Were this something that had a long time before the window I would advise working as a manager - even a volunteer or whatever - to see what it takes to manage and operate a station. DJs seldom see that. I started as a DJ and knew nothing about the rest of running a station.
Best wishes fellow radio'ers.