Radio Licensing and Infrastructure 8. Radio Licensing Source: pemra.gov.pk PEMRA has issued 40 non commercial & 158 commercial licenses Maximum Allowable Coverage 50 Km Frequency 88-108 DURATION OF LICENSE: 10 YEARS APPLICATION PROCESSING FEE: (NON-REFUNDABLE) Rs.10, 000/- [For Small Cities] Rs.25, 000/- [For Big Cities] Procedure for obtaining License PEMRA communicates Expression of interest (EOI) for awarding licenses in Newspapers Applications are filed by interested companies Once applications and submitted, interested companies enter into Open bidding process General Terms and Conditions (1) A licensee shall not commit an act or omission that is likely to harm the legitimate interests of other licensees. (2) The licensee shall ensure that the Radio broadcasts provided by him are not interrupted suddenly except due to the failure of the equipment or circumstances beyond his control; (3) The licensee shall abide by the quality standards in transmission level, noise modulation, frequency drift and voltage levels as set by the Authority or approved subsequently, from time to time. (4) The licensee shall ensure that the broadcast installations or the cable lines do not become a security or traffic hazard, a nuisance for the life and property of the public or opposed to the environmental standards. (5) The licensee shall be responsible to obtain necessary permission from the municipal authorities or utility companies and abide by their terms and conditions and other relevant regulations while installing the broadcasting equipment. (6) The licensee shall not stop, cease or suspend the broadcasts except on account of causes or circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the licensee, without the prior approval of the Authority and without a clear notice of at least thirty days to the target viewers, listeners or subscribers. (7) The licensee shall make and maintain standby power supply arrangements to minimize power interruptions or breakdowns. (8) The licensee shall broadcast public service programmes, which may be provided by the Authority or by the Government; (9) The licensee shall be responsible for ensuring that the copyright obligations with respect to the programmes being aired are fulfilled.
9. Radio Infrastructure Source: http://prometheusradio.org/sites/default/files/automation_handbook_color.pdf. A- Studio Equipment I)-Source equipment: The source equipment in a studio may include CD players, turntables, cassette players, or even reel-to-reel tape players. II)-Microphones A studio should have one microphone for each DJ or host and a few for the guests. Try not to have more than 4 microphones total in the any studio, having lots of microphones active at once leads to a lot of background noise. Microphones can be either directional or Omni-directional. Directional microphones only pick up sound waves from one direction, and as a result pick up less ambient noise Omni-directional microphones pick up sound from all directions III)- Mixer or Audio Console: An audio mixer takes input from multiple audio sources and lets the user determine which channels to use in the output, and at what levels. A console is generally the same thing as a mixer, but sometimes has some additional fancy features used just for radio. A mixer or console is essential for any station that will broadcast using multiple audio sources. A mixer should have ample channels to accommodate all audio sources and easily visible level meters with sliding controls. Another useful feature is monitor muting, which automatically mutes the studio monitor speakers whenever a microphone channel is on. Without this, the sound from the speakers goes back into the microphone and creates feedback. If the mixer does not include automatic monitor muting, you can make or buy a speaker muting device that does this automatically, or the DJ can mute the speakers manually to avoid feedback.
IV)- EAS decoder The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a nationwide system through which emergency warnings are relayed. The EAS decoder is the piece of equipment at a radio station that listens for emergency alerts on other stations and sends them out over the airwaves. V)- FM tuner It is important to have an FM tuner so the radio presenter can listen to the signal that is being sent over the airwaves. The receiver should be tuned to the frequency at which the station is broadcasting. The radio presenter can switch between the on-air signal and the console signal to make sure the station is broadcasting loud and clear. VI) - Monitor speakers Monitor speakers let the DJ listen to what they are playing. VII) - Headphones There should be enough headphones for the Radio Presenter or Hosts. VIII) - Telephone system Most studios will have at least one telephone. If you plan to put callers on the air, you will need a Telephone Hybrid. The hybrid feeds the signal from the phone line into the console, and feeds another signal back to the caller. IX) - On-air light and relay circuitry An on-air light notifies others outside of the studio when the Radio presenter has microphones on in the studio. X) - Distribution amplifier A distribution amplifier splits the signal from the audio console and sends it in multiple directions without overloading the console output. If you have many destinations for your signal for instance, a CD recorder, streaming computer, production studio and transmitter.
XI) - Audio cables and connectors Audio cables transmit audio signals from one place to another, such as from an audio source to the console. A- Transmission Equipment I)- Audio processor: The audio processor ensures that the amplitude of the audio signal does not exceed limit. Without a processor the signal can become over modulated, which decreases the quality of the resulting radio signal and can cause splatter on other frequencies. II)- Transmitter The transmitter modulates the audio signal, turning it from a sound wave our ears can hear into a radio wave FM receivers can detect. An important transmitter characteristic is output power, which determines how strong the signal is and therefore how far it reaches. You will likely need something in the100 watt to 200 watt range. III) - Antenna The antenna sends the signal from the transmitter out over the airwaves. VI) - Cables and connectors Coaxial cable These are used to carry radio frequency signals. V) - Studio-to-transmitter link The studio-to-transmitter link (STL) carries the audio signal from the studio site to the transmitter (and antenna) site.
10) Internet Radio Source: James Mulvany Igniso Limited, The Media Centre, 07 Northumberland Street, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1 1RL, United Kingdom Internet v/s Broadcast Radio Advantages of Internet Radio Internet Radio has less restriction No License Required It can reach multiple region audience Cost Effective Internet Radio can be couple with different Newspapers and Channel Links Working of Internet Radio Requirements o Computer System with working Internet Connection o Desktop Media Player preferable Winamp (Freeware) o Shoutcast.com (Broadcasting Server Provider) Procedure Step 1: Download Winamp Media Player Step 2: Create your playlist in Winamp Album, drag the selected song/audio items to album Step 3: Download shout cast plug-in setup Step 4: Configure shout cast with Winamp Step 5: Buy shoutcast server Step 6: Once you sign up and paid for server you will get a welcome email from shoutcast that will provide you following keys and codes o Host Name o Port Number o Password o Set Encoder Type o Encoder Setting Step 7: Add given details to shoutcast on your desktop Click Connect Step 8: Go to your shout cast server page you are NOW ON-AIR ### Broadcast Source Mp3 Player Microphones CD players Server Broadcast Transmission Listeners Desktop Media Players Window Media Player