New Video about the history of Free Radio Berkeley!
here!Free Radio: How to do it!
We will be adding further instructional videos and slide shows on both Free Radio and TV. Currently available documents:
Micropower Broadcasting Primer - a technical introduction
Micropower Primer En Espanol
Typical Broadcast Range Chart
Summer Radio Camps - 2009
A four day workshop session sponsored by Free Radio Berkeley to teach you how to build a 40 watt FM broadcast transmitter (and other related items such as antennas) and set up a low power community radio station capable of covering a broadcast radius up to 10 miles depending on terrain and antenna height. See events page for full details.
2009 Summer Radio Camp Dates:
May 22-25, 2009
July 3-July 6, 2009
August 7-9, 2009
September 4-7, 2009
Free Radio: Liberating the Commons
Liberating the broadcast spectrum through electronic civil disobedience and being a voice for the voiceless defines the essential nature of Free Radio. Click here for the essay by Stephen Dunifer
Project TUPA
Transmitters Uniting the Peoples of the AmericasFree Radio Berkeley's International Project
check it out!
Complete Plug and Play FM Broadcast Transmitter Packages Now Available!
10 Watt - Coverage radius up to 4-5 miles
40 Watt - Coverage radius up to 8-10 miles
150 Watt - Coverage radius up to 15 miles
All packages include transmitter, power supply, Comet 5/8 ground plane antenna and 50 feet of low loss coaxial cable. The Comet antenna has a power gain of 2, 10 watts in yields an effective radiated power of 20 watts for example. This means that the 10 watt transmitter has an ERP of 20 watts, the 40 watt transmitter has an ERP of 80 watts and the 150 watt transmitter has an ERP of 300 watts. To double the distance of coverage the power has to be increased by a factor of 4. Radius of coverage assumes average flat terrain with an antenna height of at least 40 to 50 feet. These are plug and play packages. Add an audio mixer, compressor limiter, microphones, etc. for a complete radio station. In many cases, with the proper hardware and software a computer system can provide most of these functions. Cue up a mix of mp3/podcast content, live streams, etc., feed the audio output from the computer to the transmitter and bring fresh voices, news/information and music to your neighborhood and community. Visit our store to order today!.
New Book Published by Free Radio Berkeley!
A Popular Guide to Building A Community FM Broadcast Station
A graphic guide written and illustrated by T.J. Enrile
Visit our store to order in English or En espanol
Moving Onto the Airwaves - A Free Illustrated Radio Manifesto
The Revolution Will Be Televised - From Free Radio to Free TV Broadcasting
With the transition from analog to digital TV broadcasting underway, it is now time to “Turn on, tune in and take over” the soon to be vacant analog TV spectrum. Finally, guerilla media activists will be able to say: “There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure.” (Outer Limits intro circa 1963)
Free Radio Berkeley’s engineering staff have designed and developed low power VHF and UHF transmitters by the creative use of off-the-shelf technology. So far, design engineering efforts have yielded TV transmitters capable of reaching a distance of 4-5 miles. Amplifers capable of covering an even greater distance will be available in the first quarter of 2006. The cost for an assembled VHF or UHF transmitter and antenna system with an effective radiated power of 75 watts is $750, ($550) as a kit (cost of kits & modulator) and $850(kit) / ($1250 (assembled) for a system with an effective radiated power of 400 watts. Coverage pattern is 120 degrees, not fully omni-directional. Higher power versions are available, please inquire. Further work is continuing on the development of antenna systems.
Check the store catalog for kits. Any composite video source with an audio out signal can be used by the TV transmitters. Click here for a typical TV broadcast configuration diagam. Typically, most folks will most likely use a multiple disk DVD player or a computer with video files on a large capacity hard drive. Live broadcasts are certainly a possibility. This would require several video cameras and a video switcher/mixer.
A 200-disk DVD juke box style player would be able contain almost two weeks worth of material, assuming two hours per DVD. Considering the quantity of video material available, most of which will never be seen on either broadcast TV or cable/satellite feeds, there should not be any problem providing audiences with an exciting and compelling selection of material.
No doubt, the FCC, the National Association of Broadcasters and other entrenched interests will most strenuously object to Micropower or Free TV Broadcasting. What better way to respond to the total propaganda environment that has been created with television media.
Free TV Broadcasting Workshops
Modelled after the Summer Radio Camps, these two day workshops will teach you how to build and set up a low power analog TV broadcast station. Hands-on instruction on the building of both amplifiers and antennas. Course fee is $150. Workshops are held on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Advance registration is requested. Send an email with your name and contact information to register, please specify which session.
2009 TV Workshop schedule:
March 14-15
May 15-16
July 17-18
September 18-19
Where it all began: FRB Founder Stephen Dunifer Broadcasting From The Berkeley Hills - Summer1993