We're starting a radio station! Help!

Headphones (Audio-Technica ATH-M30) (3 sets)$70.00 each
Microphone Shure SM86 (3) $230.00
Turntables (2) brand?
Mic stands
Mixing board
Crossfader
Phone patch
Telephone
CD Player (2)
Computer (2)
Cassette player (2)
Minidisc recorder/player
Chairs
Emergency Broadcasting System receiver

http://www.is.lt/mamvc/doilie4.JPG

*technical terminology obv.

You need TBU (Telephone Balance Units) is you want to put callers on Air.

You may want some Cart/Jingle playback software for one of the PCs

Get technics SL-1200s for the Decks, they are solid no one will complain. Get CD players with autostart and make sure your desk supports it. For the DJ mixer, do yourself a favour and get a an Allen and Heath, they are bomb proof.

We will be volunteer run. The grant also asks for a 3-year equipment plan. What other equipment have you found needs frequent replacing?

now, is this grant meant to cover just the cost of studio equipment, or stuff outside the studio as well (tower or tower space, microwave, coax to connect everything, all the gadgets on the transmitter site, etc)? How much power are you authorized to operate at? is it AM or FM, and if it's AM, what frequency did you get? Are you and Scott the actual licence-holders?

I know Barbara D4cey from WM\/Y from my days in radio--not well, mind, but enough to say she's a nice person if there's someone local in radio you'd want to approach for advice. I also know some folks here in missouri who have put together radio stations large and small. And by 'put together' I mean do all the engineering, the really technical stuff; I'd be happy to put you in touch with one of them if you liked. This email address is good if you want to communicate further via email.

The permit holder is The Drum Workshop. The FCC made the rules tough and we had to apply using a pre-existing, established non-profit organisation. That organisation will have limited control over the operation of the station. WVVY will be a project of the Drum Workshop, as it were. It's FM, at 93.7 on the dial. We'll reach the down-island towns but not Chilmark and Aquinnah.

I have had good experience with Wheatstone boards. Definitely look into getting the new digital boards--they're very compact (maybe 6-8 pots) but have a nearly infinite number of ins. You just dial up what source you want going through each pot and presto.

Don't bother with CART machines, the technology's too old. Like others say, software is the way to go. Likewise you could probably get away with not having a DAT player, most studios have moved on to minidiscs for digital archival purposes.

"Equipment for outside broadcasts" = MARTI system, which also means securing a frequency for your MARTI to operate on.

Get three or four CD players so you have spares, and yes make sure they are able to be autostarted.

Are you going to have a production room? Possibly you could get away with not having one, but it's going to be hard, cutting all the promos for other shows and such on the audition channel in between songs.

Will you be broadcasting any non-locally produced programming? Do you then need to have a satellite receiver and possibly a way to archive the show for later playback.

Oh, and it's called the EAS now--Emergency Alert System.

xp yeah Barbara may well not be too pleased about it, I ran a similar station but we shared our engineering staff with the community station and helped them out with stuff.

You could think about pre-recording an hour's worth of stuff to stick on in the unlikely event that you have some kind of emergency and you all have to leave the building (I have only known of one place that did this but you might want to consider it).

Unbeknownst to many, the same or similar stuff is rather cheaper when sold as a camping mattress:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/content/Item/51/01/40/i510140sm02.jpg

Headphones
Microphone
Turntables
Mic stands
Mixing board
Crossfader
Phone patch
Telephone
Answering machine
CD Player
Computer
Double cassette player
Minidisc recorder/player
Chairs
EAS decoder
Transmitter
Several sets of extra turntable needles
Various cables
Phone company fees for laying T1 cable 3 miles from studio to transmitter (STL)
Installation fees for installing transmitter on top of water tower
Insulation foam
Desk
Shelving
MARTI system
Broadcast Standard Compressor/Limiter
Telephone Balance Unit
Cart/Jingle playback software
CODEC boxes for the T1 line?
Emergency generator
Uninterrupted power supply
Speakers (2 sets)

There's got to be a LPFM support group out there somewhere to help you with this. I mean, I worked in radio for 10 years and I fucking forgot about the BURK!!!

I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Why not podcast / stream shows that don't play any RIAA label shit?

The guy who was heading up this project dropped out of sight (nasty divorce that blindsided him) and the future of the station seemed uncertain. He came to me today and said that he's leaving to teach in Thailand and would we be willing to take the ball and run. We have until June 2006 to use the FCC construction permit. He had planned to use his personal savings to start it, but now he (and thus our project) is penniless.

We're starting completely from scratch, but at least we're finally starting!

Now I need to raise lots of money, start an organization, and find tech heads who know all about transmitters and STLs.

I'm excited!!

Good to know that some things in campus radio land never change.

What are these bumpers of which you speak? Is that radio lingo? Cuz I'm going to have to learn radio lingo so I can bandy it about and pretend like I have some idea of what I'm doing.

"W V V Y, home of the hits!"

instant replay machine - for PSA's, commericials, station ids [so that you dont have to go on the mic every hour to do it] and other fun stuff. if you have ever listened to my radio show, the background music is an 8 second sample thats looped and its on this machine. however, this could be replaced by some sort of itunes/sound app on a computer.

cartidges - buy nice ones by shure or ortofons, with plenty of needle replacements.

soldering / engraving kit - for board repairs / to engrave the station name into every piece of equipment you purchase to prevent theft.

binders - at the very least one for the station operating manual, with each page in those plastic pages, so that instructions dont get ruined.

clipboard - for your transmitter logs.

filing cabinet - to store your public information, in case anyone asks to see it.

shelves, pencil bins, etc - storage for the little things that find their away into the control room.

good overhead lighting - especially by turntables so that you can see the grooves in the LPs when cueing up.

coathooks by the board - to hang up your headphones when not in use. we dont have these at the station and it kind of drives me crazy when they're just lying around mid-show.

trashcan - even though food & drink should NOT be allowed by the board, for some reason no one ever thinks of having one of these in the control room anyway.

also, i dont know if you're on the cassettemythos mailing list [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cassettemythos] but its made up of a ton of current and former radio folks. you might be able to find some more suggestions and assistance there.

Headphones
Microphone
Turntables
Mic stands
Mixing board
Crossfader
Phone patch
Telephone
Answering machine
CD Player
Computer
Double cassette player
Portable Minidisc recorder/player
Minidisk microphone
Chairs
EAS decoder

Transmitter

Several sets of extra turntable needles
Various cables
STL (microwave?)
Installation fees for installing transmitter on top of water tower
Insulation foam (fire-rated)
Desk
Shelving
MARTI system
Broadcast Standard Compressor/Limiter
Telephone Balance Unit
Cart/Jingle playback software
CODEC boxes for the T1 line?
Emergency generator
Uninterrupted power supply
Speakers
Remote control for transmitter? (Does FCC require?)
Antenna
Harmonics filter
Cooling fan
Amplifier
clipboard for transmitter logs
filing cabinet
SWR power meter
FM exciter
stereo encoder
equalizer
Software (programming automation, audio editing, word processing, etc.)
insurance policy
studio rent?
salary for station manager?
FM receiver
instant replay machine
binders for instructions
lighting

We aren't sure how we're going to do the Studio-transmitter link. Probably microwave, but I think that means we have to have line of sight from our transmitter.

The good folks at the Prometheus Project (I used to work with them in Philly) have said they'll come help us get set up

We're ON THE AIR!!!

Any chance of getting this in Boston? I'd check but I don't have a radio at home. This would be killer for work.

Congrats dude!

That's sort of the opposite of what I expect this revive to be about! I thought, that was so long ago, maybe it didn't work out and they're pulling the plug.

Anyway that's great! Mazel tov!

Mazel Tov! Now you need live streaming on the web.

Happy birthday Maria :D's radio station, on its magical birthing day!

Tuned in over WWW now.

wvvy.org you can listen to the webstream there

Yay! Congratulations!

The people from Prometheus Radio Project came and set us up.

Do you have a smooth a capella WVVY jingle? That is what I want to hear.

This is the thread where you sign up for your Official ILX Jingle.

Hey maybe some of you could record wvvy jingles for us.

FM 93.7 broadcasting at 93 watts in Tisbury on the island of Martha's Vineyard
WVVY - the Voice of the Vineyard

"Taking tourists for money like beekeepers take honey, you're listening to the Voice of the Vineyard!"

"Gas may be five bucks a gallon, but the airwaves are free, mother(BLEEP)er! Keep it tuned to WVVY!"

"Gettin' sand in your listening hole 24/7, it's the Voice of the Vineyard, WVVY."

"You wouldn't BELIEVE the crap they listen to on the mainland! Stay tuned to 93.7!"

congratulations maria!! this is awesomes :D