Show HN: I'm launching a LPFM radio station (kpbj.fm)
30 points by solomonb 2 hours ago
I've been working on creating a Low Power FM radio station for the east San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. We are not yet on the broadcast band but our channel will be 95.9FM and our range can been seen on the homepage of our site.
KPBJ is a freeform community radio station. Anyone in the area is encouraged to get a timeslot and become a host. We make no curatorial decisions. Its sort of like public access or a college station in that way.
This month we launched our internet stream and on-boarded about 60 shows. They are mostly music but there are a few talk shows. We are restricting all shows to monthly time slots for now but this will change in the near future as everyone gets more familiar with the systems involved.
All shows are pre-recorded until we can raise the money to get a studio.
We have a site secured for our transmitter but we need to fundraise to cover the equipment and build out costs. We will be broadcasting with 100W ERP from a ridgeline in the Verdugos at about 1500ft elevation. The site will need to be off grid so we will need to install a solar system with battery backup. We are planning to sync the station to the transmit site with 802.11ah.
I've built all of our web infrastructure using Haskell, NixOS, Terraform, and HTMX: https://github.com/solomon-b/kpbj.fm
This is a pretty substantial project involving a bunch of social and technical challenges and a shoe string budget. I'm feel pretty confident we will pull it off and make it a high impact local radio station.
The station is managed by a 501c3 non-profit we created. We are actively seeking fundraising, especially to get our transmit site up and running. If you live in the area or want to contribute in any way then please reach out!
alrs 23 minutes ago
Why do you need a studio?
If this is completely non-commercial and you have an amateur license you could probably use AREDN as a backhaul instead of HaLow. We've gotten wifi going from a panel in Elysian up to Wilson on AREDN.
100w from the Verdugos should be pretty substantial. I regularly make 70cm FM contacts on 446.500 from Elysian Park down to San Diego at 5w.
solomonb 5 minutes ago
I would be really surprised if we are allowed to use AREDN.
We need a studio to be able to do live radio shows. Currently our hosts have to pre-record and submit through an online dashboard. The goal is to have a live studio in Shadow Hills where hosts can do their shows, bring on guests, take calls, etc.
fortran77 3 minutes ago
You're not allowed to "broadcast" (with a few exceptions) or play music with an Amateur licence.
solomonb a minute ago
I think the suggestion is to use AREDN for our backhaul from the station to the transmit site instead of 802.11ah. So it wouldn't be for broadcast per se, but I am still skeptical that is an allowed use for AREDN.
mothballed 13 minutes ago
Broadcast radio is, with caveats, prohibited on amateur radio.
bloudermilk 16 minutes ago
Congrats on this! As a born and raised valley kid, I wish this was around when I was living there as a teen.
raffael_de an hour ago
Clandestine radio stations would make for a nice counter culture. Judging by the website style I think I receive an appreciation for keeping it simple. In that spirit I'd say ditch the internet stream. Stick to FM.
solomonb an hour ago
To be clear this is an FCC licensed LPFM station.
Also I am /much/ more interested in terrestrial radio but the reality is that the vast majority of listeners are online and not using a radio. : (
raffael_de 23 minutes ago
I'm probably looking at this a little naive, no doubt. It's just that (in my fantasy) a pure good ole radio could be a great medium for enthusiasts and odd balls (#cyberpunk). But as soon as there is an internet stream then the actual radio is going to be a gimmick. The whole experience changes if you actually _have_ to use a radio to listen. Of course, your audience is limited by design ... so, realistically there just might not be a sustainable audience in your FM radius. Anyway, cool project!
solomonb 13 minutes ago
abetusk 39 minutes ago
Can you talk about the process of getting an FCC license and other legal logistics to broadcast?
The technical side, while interesting, is relatively clear to me. The legal side, including cost, is something I have no idea about.
solomonb 35 minutes ago
You essentially have to be in the right place at the right time. The FCC releases LPFM channels every year all over over the country. If you have a 501c3 non-profit within the designated broadcast area you can apply for the channel. They tend to award the channels to more established non-profits. There are no filing fees.
In our case we created the non-profit in anticipation of applying for this license. We got really lucky and no one else applied for the license and it was awarded to us.
abetusk 11 minutes ago
Do you have links to resources for people wanting to go through this process?
solomonb 10 minutes ago
polarbearballs an hour ago
Thats awesome. I'm a huge fan of KEXP and WFMU. I love radio stations like this. I just signed up for your newsletter. I have it on my listen list and will stay tuned here on the East Coast.
solomonb an hour ago
Thanks! We haven't been using the mailing list much, I'm afraid of coming off spammy, but I appreciate the support and hope you enjoy the station!
mkprc 36 minutes ago
Do you have a direct link to the audio stream? I'd probably add it to my go-to list of stations.
solomonb 32 minutes ago
At the moment we are only airing a few new shows per day and filling the rest of our airtime with content from archive.org and other free sources (chosen by all our hosts), but over time more of the schedule will fill with original content.
edoceo 42 minutes ago
How does licensing work for the music you play?
solomonb 30 minutes ago
For terrestrial broadcast or online? You go through a handful of music industry organizations such as ASCAP and BMI. For terrestrial broadcast the costs are scaled to approximate listenership.
josefritzishere 30 minutes ago
They just pay into ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. The royalty groups disburse on estimated airplay. Non-coms pay a reduced rate. I can go mch deeper if you want. I used to work in that field.