Moss
Media - The RSL and Community radio pages.
We
realise that operating an RSL or becoming involved with community
radio can be daunting - especially if you know what you want, but
you've never done anything like it before. Whether you're taking
the plunge for the first time or you've done it several times before,
you're always welcome to call us for advice, and we don't mind a
bit if the questions seem pretty basic. We can help wherever you
get stuck: in filling out your licence application form, pointing
you in the right direction for equipment rental, deciding on the
best location for studios and aerials, or offering a few tips on
choosing programming elements, music and structures to suit what
you have in mind. And, since there are people here who've done this
before - help on presenting programmes that wont sound quite as
nervous as you feel whilst doing them!
What we can't
do is put all that information on this website. Instead, here are
just some of the more important things you need to know to get started...
AM considerations
In most circumstances during daylight, AM goes further than FM.
However, the quality's nothing like as good. AM's fine for mainly
speech RSLs, sporting events, the transmission of lots of information,
programming that doesn't rely heavily on modern music... Think about
who will be listening, for how long, and on what sort of radio.
If you're planning to broadcast well into the night, be warned,
incoming interference on AM channels can very severely restrict
an RSL area measured in miles in the daylight. In general, on AM,
licence costs will be lower, transmitter rental higher than for
FM.
FM considerations
FM often doesn't go as far as AM, but the audible quality's much
better. Night-time won't affect it much. Use FM if you plan lots
of music based programmes, trial broadcasts for a 'real' licence,
festival type broadcasts and so on. Again think about who's likely
to be listening, on what sort of receiver, at what time of day and
for how long. For FM, ask yourself realistically what sort of an
area you really want or need to cover. Never expect miracles in
terms of range, FM is funny stuff. If in doubt, always choose FM
unless there are really convincing reasons (nearly all speech, specialist
event, specialist audience, short duration listening, predominantly
information led, little night-time coverage needed) why AM can be
trusted...
How much
Power?
Simply, as much as you can afford. On FM, remember that one watt
is not a lot. If all you want is to broadcast in the immediate vicinity
of a county show or a music festival covering a few fields, one
FM watt could be enough. If your ambitions are much higher, theres
no real alternative but to find the money and go for the maximum
power you're allowed. Though its certainly not a lot in absolute
terms a 25 watt RSL with a professional signal processor driving
it and the right aerial location can usually more or less cover
a medium sized town - so long as you select the transmission site
with care. A lot of people don't! On AM even low power signals seem
to go for miles in daytime - select the power level you can afford
and anticipate rather better range than expected.
Where should
the transmitter/studio be located?
FM: On the highest point for miles around is the short
answer - but unfortunately many hilltops don't have an
electricity supply or any sort of building into which
you can fit your temporary studio. If you want to keep
costs down and things as simple as possible (the two golden
rules for RSL's), your transmitter and studio should be
co-located, and as close together as possible, ideally
in the same building. You need a tallish but secure building
with a flat roof as near to 20 metres above ground level
as possible, with somewhere to securely attach an aerial
(looking similar to a typical FM receiving aerial) built
on top of the highest point you can find in the area you
wish to cover, with a room for the studio thats not in
an international airport flight path or near a high speed
railway line, motorway or main road, including a reliable
mains power supply - and all on the floor immediately
below the roof. Also, ensure theres easy (preferably free)
parking. Not a lot to ask is it?
AM: For
the average AM RSL operation aerial location is not so tricky. It
needs to be away from possible public contact, and though it'll
help, it doesn't have to follow the criteria shown above for FM
quite so closely. In favourable conditions you might get several
miles daytime range with typical AM RSL power levels - simply by
siting the aerial wherever theres room to put it adjacent to your
studio. No need to be on top of a hill, but it will help. A good
earth connection to the transmitter/aerial equipment will also help
enormously. Studio location as above, and still, very preferably,
on the same site, co-located. Take advice from the equipment supplier.
AM or FM:
Make absolutely sure that the studio, aerial and transmitter
are as vandal and theft proof as humanly possible, particularly
if you're not proposing a 24 hour service staffed around the clock.
Don't hesitate to take advice on security - it really is a big issue.
Take every precaution possible to secure access to your studio and
transmission equipment whenever no-one's around. Remember that if
equipment is hired, its entirely your responsibility whilst its
on rental, so arrange full-value replacement insurance. You will
be liable for the full cost of anything that goes missing, and some
of this equipment costs thousands. Many equipment rental suppliers
nowadays insist on insurance, but even if your supplier doesn't,
arrange insurance anyway. Even full time stations have been known
to have transmitting equipment stolen. Remember the motto: if its
not securely nailed down, it could walk!
What if I
have to put the transmitter somewhere separate from the studio?
Try very hard not to. Once you get outside the same building (or
site) you're into a world of either leased lines (expensive, with
long contractual periods) or radio links (also expensive, prone
to problems, and, more often than not, a pain that RSLs can do without)
Most RSL's that can't operate studio and transmitter on the same
site tend to rent a radio link transmitter and receiver - which
involves an additional licence, for which you will have to pay -
together with its appropriate aerials and feeder cables. The signal
from the studio is then sent to the link transmitter, and broadcast
on a locally unique frequency to the link receiver, which in turn
is fed into the FM or AM RSL transmitter. Don't be over-ambitious:
such links can be fraught with problems if there is no direct 'line
of sight' between transmitter and receiver. They involve additional,
often fiddly installation time, and have limited range, often being
subject to a plethora of hisses, pops and crackles (and sometimes
interference) which are added to your intended signal before the
result is then broadcast. Explore all possible alternatives and
think very hard before going down this route. Don't hesitate to
take (and act on) specialist advice from suppliers of the equipment.
Why do I
need processing? its very expensive...
It is, but the station will sound a whole lot better if its there
- always assuming its properly set up. Ask the supplier to set it
up for you. It's an insurance policy against the waywardness of
people who've not worked in broadcasting before and don't yet understand
the finer points of things like level control, meters, faders, distortion
and overmodulation. A good processor, properly set up, can make
your station sound just as good as those permanent stations along
the dial, despite having the oddest selection of people feeding
it the most bizarre collection of signals. If you want to sound
professional, get a transmitter processor... The next best thing
is a "compressor limiter," which is a lot cheaper and
certainly can help - again if its properly set up. If you're using
a separate link between studio and transmitter, to avoid distortion
or other problems on the link, you might want to include a limiter/compressor
in circuit before the link transmitter. AM or FM we wouldn't recommend
running your RSL without either a processor or at least a compressor
limiter in circuit before your studio output reaches the transmitter....
Studio equipment
Everything you need can be rented - at a price. A lot of domestic
equipment will do RSL jobs as long as you're not expecting a £79.99
CD player to provide faultless 24 hour service for an entire month
when it is subject to over-enthusiastic would-be disc jokeys hitting
its buttons and disc tray repeatedly with great force. And they
will... We suggest renting or buying a professional standard mixing
desk, a good microphone, a computer playback system and two professional
CD players at the very least - together with some studio output
logging equipment - which is very important, even if many operators
don't seem to regard it as such.
Logging your
station's output - a vital but necessary evil.
Though there are now hard disk recorders around which will do this
job, a low speed video recorder is probably still the cheapest solution
for the short-term RSL task - as long as you remember to source
enough tapes, and change them at the requisite intervals. Remember
you are required to record all your live output, and retain tapes
for a minimum of 6 weeks after transmissions cease. If you are "live"
24 hours a day, this means you will need to record a maximum of
672 hours of material. Theoretically this needs 2, maybe 3, video
recorders to avoid breaks. At low speed each can record an average
maximum of 8 hours material on an E240 tape, requiring a minimum
supply of 84 such tapes for the purpose. We would recommend you
obtain rather more than this, since tapes and video recorders do
fail from time to time, and you are after all placing quite a demand
on a domestic video recorder by asking it to record 8 hours one
day and 16 hours the next, non-stop for 28 days. Not even the most
ardent couch potato is that keen! .
Copyright...
You'll have to pay fees for the use of and broadcasting of copyright
music, which means most, but not quite all, of the music on sale
on the shops or appearing in the charts in the last 50 years and
found on CD or vinyl (or as an MP3 file if you must!) There are
licensing requirements involved in storing all your music on a playout
computer. Make enquiries with the copyright authorities if you're
in doubt.
Some speech
material may also be under copyright - check before its broadcast
if you're thinking of broadcasting book readings, plays or anything
similar ... There are also various (not well known) copyright issues
associated with material found on advertisements which already exist,
and have been played on other stations. Don't assume because a client
has already got an ad which has been used before that you can simply
play it as often as you like. Check the status of its copyright
before you play it... Don't try and avoid copyright issues, you
could get found out... make sure your budget will run to paying
the appropriate copyright fees, and make sure also you fill out
the forms correctly. If in doubt - ask!