Admin/Mod, please forgive me if this is in the wrong place, and move as appropriate if needed.
For years, myself and others have been kicking around the idea of starting our own radio station in rural southeast Alaska, living in an island community of sub-100 people, which although sparsely populated is a high transit area/major shipping lanes nearby.
As it is now, there are two FM signals audible in the area, both NPR relays. One local, one distant/fringe. The latter is a mere 140 watts but gets out quite well, it's over 50 miles away but has a good line of sight view from a high-elevation transmitter site. With a very quiet FM dial there and a good line of sight above the (mountainous) average terrain a decently powered signal would get out quite well I believe.
Here's my first question: At a few hundred feet elevation, possibly about 1000' depending on a few possible transmitter site locations, what would the FCC allow power wise? Provided a power source (would have to be a diesel generator in this area) and tower height weren't limiting factors, ideally even a 100KW ERP would be wonderful, would fill a massive dead zone with at least one strong signal. Would the FCC permit such a thing, even on the basis of EAS availability and the like? Like I said I'd like to reach areas nearby that are literal FM no-zones, literally no signal on the FM dial at all. Would the upper or lower end of the FM band do any better in terms of signal reach, paticularly if I was stuck with a limited signal?
Furthermore, what sort of equipment would be ideal? Of course a decent transmitter of any size and its tower and antenna are going to be costly, plus permitting, etc. (Tower would almost have to go on Forest Service land).
Additionally, would a stronger ERP help eliminate multipath problems? Some of the intended coverage area would be open water, much of it is mountainous and hilly terrain where even though line of sight reception might be limited a strong ERP might still get through? Its intended programming would ideally be largely music-oriented so broadcasting stereo and possibly even RDS would be wonderful.
Ideally, much of the programming would be local, but at night, etc. some well-picked syndicated programming might be nice, i.e "Hard Drive" and the like. (I picture a local public radio/adult hits/active rock format; oddly enough such a format would be a real hit in this area I believe). What sort of engineering would that require? For good quality audio of course forget a phone line, and also we're not on fiber-optic out there, ideas/suggestions?
For years, myself and others have been kicking around the idea of starting our own radio station in rural southeast Alaska, living in an island community of sub-100 people, which although sparsely populated is a high transit area/major shipping lanes nearby.
As it is now, there are two FM signals audible in the area, both NPR relays. One local, one distant/fringe. The latter is a mere 140 watts but gets out quite well, it's over 50 miles away but has a good line of sight view from a high-elevation transmitter site. With a very quiet FM dial there and a good line of sight above the (mountainous) average terrain a decently powered signal would get out quite well I believe.
Here's my first question: At a few hundred feet elevation, possibly about 1000' depending on a few possible transmitter site locations, what would the FCC allow power wise? Provided a power source (would have to be a diesel generator in this area) and tower height weren't limiting factors, ideally even a 100KW ERP would be wonderful, would fill a massive dead zone with at least one strong signal. Would the FCC permit such a thing, even on the basis of EAS availability and the like? Like I said I'd like to reach areas nearby that are literal FM no-zones, literally no signal on the FM dial at all. Would the upper or lower end of the FM band do any better in terms of signal reach, paticularly if I was stuck with a limited signal?
Furthermore, what sort of equipment would be ideal? Of course a decent transmitter of any size and its tower and antenna are going to be costly, plus permitting, etc. (Tower would almost have to go on Forest Service land).
Additionally, would a stronger ERP help eliminate multipath problems? Some of the intended coverage area would be open water, much of it is mountainous and hilly terrain where even though line of sight reception might be limited a strong ERP might still get through? Its intended programming would ideally be largely music-oriented so broadcasting stereo and possibly even RDS would be wonderful.
Ideally, much of the programming would be local, but at night, etc. some well-picked syndicated programming might be nice, i.e "Hard Drive" and the like. (I picture a local public radio/adult hits/active rock format; oddly enough such a format would be a real hit in this area I believe). What sort of engineering would that require? For good quality audio of course forget a phone line, and also we're not on fiber-optic out there, ideas/suggestions?