Radio Chat

Tech Dress rehearsal MAY 12th at Jim's house!

Bamboo Radio Tower, baby~!!

Here is an article on the ARRL web page about a ham in the Phillipines

who had a medium size tower built out of bamboo for $35!

http://www2.arrl.org/news/features/2002/08/05/1/?nc=1

Spider House Tech Meeting

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A temporary, low power, non-commercial FM community radio station, solar powered with zero permanent impact, broadcasting at 40 watts from a 40 foot bamboo radio tower. Designed, built, operated, programmed and dismantled by volunteers, during the course of the 2007 Flipside.

Solar/Power: (Micheal K) entire facility to be operated on solar/battery power, Michael will provide turnkey, ready to plug-in power. “Sunny, safe and secure”

Broadcast chain: (Jim E) Jim will provide basic broadcast chain, including 40 watt transmitter, tuned antenna, coax, SWR meter, small audio mixer. Frequency: TBD

Tower of Power: built entirely of giant Moso bamboo, a 40 foot free-standing tower will be pre-fabricated, and re-assembled on site. Broadcast coax cable is 100’ long, therefore “studio” will have to be within approximately 50-60’ of tower.

Signage/Decorations/Lighting/Logo Design/T-shirts/Flyers:

“Doesn’t matter how well it runs, if it doesn’t look cool!”

Equipment still needed: pretty much everything needed for a broadcast studio and performance space, including: mikes, stands and cables; mixers & amps; headphones, playback and recording units; MP3s, CDs, laptops, videocameras, etc.;

large/tall tents, tables, tarps, carpets, chairs, lighting, coffee maker.

Back up units, everything should have owner’s name largely marked, weather-resistant, user-friendly, backup generator? AC/DC?

Lotsa’ free/cheap FM radios to hand out! WiFi? Cellular?

Entire operation to be audio and/or video recorded.

 

Practice Run/Rehearsal: At least one complete technical rehearsal should be held in the weeks prior to Flipside. Crew assignments. Jim offers his Hyde Park house for tech rehearsal.  ** update ** Tall Matt, Edwin, Michelle, and some guys whose names escape me had a very successful rehearsal last Sunday.  It's an easy setup, so tech babysitting will be no problem.

 

Programming Philosophy: “The VoiceS of Flipside.”

A “loose grip” on programming, allowing virtually anyone who wants airtime to get on at least once. Specific times scheduled for announcements, urgent news, live music, interviews, kids, women, and others. Station will serve as a Flipside focal point for audio and physical activity, and will be a tool for everyone to use as a communications device. An engineer and/or programming coordinator would need to be active pretty much the entire broadcast period. Two would be better.

Sign up sheets, general broadcast schedule in advance of event. Be flexible enough to respond to changing needs of Flipside organizers and community as a whole. Make radio, make friends.