Re: NOW: LPFM, WAS: Re: FCC gives ultimatum to Radio Free Brattleboro

[Aaron Read <aread@speakeasy.net>]

At 01:20 AM 9/9/2003, A. Joseph Ross wrote:
>On 8 Sep 2003 at 13:10, Aaron Read wrote:
>
> > In my youthful days (all of five years ago) I was a strong proponent of
> > LPFM.  I still have a soft spot in my heart for the overall concept, but
> > after three years at ABfreeRadio I've learned that you can crank up the
> > wattage but you can't make people listen.
>
>You certainly can't get people to listen if the signal only reaches one 
>city block.

Trust me Councilor...you can't get people to listen even when the signal 
covers several hundred blocks...look at the trouble WMFO has getting people 
to listen.  Their 60dBu (50,50) contour cover 80 sq.km and almost 375,000 
people....and yet their listenership is tiny.

It's only when you get to the level of a WZBC, WMBR or WJUL that you can 
have listeners in spite of yourself.  Not that any of those stations are 
like that...just that they're all at the approx. 1000 watt range.

Great example: at WTBU (Part 15) we griped that if only we had the reach of 
WRBB - we'd have so many listeners.
At WRBB, they gripe that if only they had the reach of WMFO - they'd have 
so many listeners.
At WMFO, they gripe that if only they had the reach of WZBC - they'd have 
so many listeners.
At WZBC, they gripe that if only they had the reach of WBUR - they'd have 
so many listeners.

See a pattern here?  It's not the power that matters with smaller stations, 
it's the lack of content listeners want to hear.


> > Every college and high school can HAVE their own radio station under Part
> > 15 rules,
>
> From what I can gather, a Part 15 station will not cover the entire 
> campus of many large
>universities, and as a high school station, it will not reach most of the 
>town in which the
>school is located.


Part 15 AM and FM is a building-by-building installation...it does not 
follow the traditional single-transmitter model, and doesn't really work 
outdoors.  There are Part 15 transmitters for AM that will reach about 
1/4mile to 1 mile outdoors, but they don't penetrate buildings.  To learn 
more about Part 15 - check out www.lpbinc.com

But, as I indicated above, unless they have about 1000 watts (or the 
equivalent) then the station is going to have to fight very hard for those 
listeners, far harder than most stations have the resources for.   So 
reaching listeners is a SECONDARY concern, and a hard pill for many 
students to swallow but a good one for them to learn early on.   A Part 15 
station isn't about reaching listeners, it's about training in the studio; 
Part 15 is ideal for that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aaron "Bishop" Read             aread@speakeasy.net
FriedBagels Consulting          AOL-IM: readaaron
http://www.friedbagels.com      Boston, MA