Blog Post 1 - History of LPFM

(Image from www.vermontguardian.com)

So, what is LPFM?
Today, Low Power FM (LPFM) refers to a new FM radio service (authorized by the Federal Communications Commission/ FCC) that consists of:
-100-watt stations, which will serve areas with a radius of approximately 3.5 miles and
-10-watt stations, which would serve areas with a radius of approximately 1-2 miles.


( FCC Webpage - http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/lpfm/)

Features of a LPFM:

• For noncommercial educational broadcasting only
• Operates with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100 watts (0.1 kilowatts) or less, with maximum facilities of 100 watts ERP at 30 meters (100 feet) antenna height above average terrain (HAAT)
• Has an approximate service range of a 100 watt LPFM station is 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles radius)
• Not protected from interference that may be received from other classes of FM stations
• A construction permit is required before a LPFM station can be constructed or operated
• Unavailable to individuals or for commercial operations
• Current broadcast licensees with interests in other media (broadcast or newspapers) are not eligible to obtain LPFM stations
  
  
  ( FCC Webpage - http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/lpfm/)
  

SOME PERSPECTIVE INTO LPFM
Low Power FM radios were made legal by the FCC in 1948. They were considered Class-D stations which were originally licensed at 10 watts on the FM band, within the region of 88 to 92 MHz (known as the "educational band" of FM radio). The Class-D stations were intended for educational and community-oriented purposes (licensed only to schools and institutions) until 1970 when the Federal Communications Commision (FCC) noted that these stations were not employing efficient use of the spectrum.

There have been many controversies regarding the existence of LPFM because LPFM only caters to the local population due to the low wattage and because it interferes with larger broadcasting/full-power stations, limiting the scope of broadcasting as well as preventing larger companies to transmit their seemingly more important messages to the rest of the world.

According to Current.org in an article written in 2001,
"the Congress effectively cut the number of possible LPFM stations by an estimated 80 percent."

Below is a snippet from the same article expressing how pro-LPFM people felt about this cut:
"We are disappointed that Congress chose to ignore the will of the people," said Cheryl Leanza, deputy director of the pro-LPFM Media Access Project. "This was an unjustified power grab by all broadcasters for what was essentially a moderate request--to give a small piece of the airwaves back to the public."

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
Guglielmo Marconi was the man who pioneered the transmission of information using electronic magnetic wave radiation across the Atlantic Ocean (instead of electric current over conducting wires). He was essentially the first to produce a wireless electronic communication using Morse Code. But it was in 1919 when a man named Frank Conrad started a broadcasting venture through which the term "radio" was created and in which electronic magnetic wave radiation was employed. The public broadcast of radio was officially made known in 1922.


QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Why is the low power FM movement a reaction against commercial network control of radio?

According to an article on LPFM in PBS, the deregulation of radio stations wiped local broadcasting out of the picture. This means that people have less of a local experience with what they listen to on the radio.

"The radio dial turned into the aural equivalent of McDonalds: You'd find the same choices everywhere, but none of it had local flavor. Stations stopped serving their communities’ needs."

LPFM provides that local touch that people in communities seek for. Brice Phillips started the WQRZ-LP, a community low power FM radio station on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

"His station was the only one in the region that stayed on the air throughout both Katrina and Rita."

By creating this LPFM, people were able to stay updated with real time local news, which effectively helped the population during times of crises.

What are a few of the crucial technical advances involved in the creation of radio broadcasting?
Software-Defined Radio (SDR) originated from the military and is key to the coding and transmission techniques involved in radio broadcasting. It is a technique that enables fast and flexible switching between different frequency bands. Multiple radio protocols are possible through wide bandwidth analog decoding electronics that are combined with other sophisticated electronics. This enables listening to multiple frequencies. (www1.cse.wustl.edu/~jain/cse574-06/ftp/phy_trends.pdf)

Satellite radios that offer more than 100 channels of digital sound operate on a subscription basis just like pay television services. To gain competitive advantage, some radio stations are embedding a digital signal into their analog signals to offer better sound quality and display text such as the title and artist of the song.
(http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs017.htm)




EVALUATION

• The search tool you used and why
  I used Ask.com because I wanted to explore how differently it offers information compared to Google based on my typed searches. I really appreciate how it offers a side bar of related searches and a history of what I have already searched to keep myself updated of my progress. I also like how anything you click pops up in a new window.
  
• The exact search terms you used
  
  "LPFM history"
  "Class-D stations"
  " What is LPFM"
  "Advances in encoding radio signals"
  "Controversy LPFM"
  
• The two best sites you found: give the full URLs and URLs to any specific pages that are especially helpful
  
  
  • DIYMedia
  • Federal Communications Commission Website
    
    
• Your evaluation of the credibility and reliability of these sites:
• What individual or organization is responsible for the site and what is their purpose or mission?
  
  DIYMedia
  This website is handled by someone named John who only provided an email as the only source of identity: john@diymedia.net
  Although there is no copyright for the website or any "professional"-looking aspect to it, it provides thorough, informative and dense information on LPFM. However, from the name of the website, it seems that it is really a self-created amalgamation of resources related to LPFM. It may not be the most reliable source as the purpose seems to be "Thinking Out Loud (Since 1997)," implying that it is a website merely of one's personal thoughts.
  
  
  FCC
  The FCC Website was evidently created by the Commission, an inevitably reliable source as they are the ones proposing guidelines for the use of LPFM today. The specific web page I obtained information from was created by the Commission in January 2000. The purpose is to keep the public up to date with changes of guidelines and other news relating to LPFM.
  
• How is the site funded?
  For both sites, there is no mention of how they are funded.
  
  
• How current is the information?
  
  DIYMedia
  The site contains a lot of recent news, the latest of which is on April 6, 2011.
  It is clear that the website manager/creator stays up to date with news related to LPFM, however it seems that it is more of a blog than a highly certified website. Nevertheless, it provides extensive background on LPFM and this person's perspective on it. He seems to be very knowledgeable and interested in the topic.
  
  
  FCC
  They have documents up until 2005 and headlines until 2007.
  
• What useful information about how your technology works is there on the site? Be sure to note any useful images and diagrams that would help explain and translate technical information for an audience of your peers.
  
  DIYMedia
  John does a good job in delineating the history behind LPFM. There are numerous news articles that he posts on his main page relating to LPFM.
  
  
  FCC
  The website includes many PDF files which you can access by clicking. The PDF files elaborate more on certain guidelines or news topics which help clarify the ideas being talked about on the main page. Some topics that were elaborated on include the use of minimum distance separation requirements or the Report to Congress on the Low Power FM Interference Testing Program.
  
  
  
• Given your answers to the questions above, what kind of information might be missing or unreliable on the site? What other kinds of sites should you search for that might provide the missing information?
  
  DIYMedia
  The "credible" factor is missing in this page. The author John does not describe at all why he has this page. However, he does a good job linking to different and recent news.
  
  
  FCC
  This website does not include any perspectives from other people on the use of LPFM. This site only provides facts, updates, and news based on the FCC scope of information.
  
  
  

OTHER SOURCES

Current.org - http://www.current.org/tech/tech0101lpfm.html

Radio Free Oklahoma Blog - http://radiofreeoklahoma.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/brief-history-and-introduction-to-low-power-fm/

PBS - http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2007/08/_lowpower_fm_radio_share_it_wi.html

http://www1.cse.wustl.edu/~jain/cse574-06/ftp/phy_trends.pdf

http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs017.htm