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The Information Station |
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Planning Steps |
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Step 1: Order a frequency search.
ISS will develop a list of AM frequencies that are open in your area and send them to you with our suggestions and instructions on how to monitor them.
Contact ISS to order a frequency search.
Provide the general area where the radio station might be located. This
service includes the license application work (Step 6, below), as well, once you decide to move forward. |
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Step 2: Survey listening areas.
Survey the streets and roadways where listening is required with an automobile digital AM radio tuned to your candidate frequencies. Monitor all of the candidate frequencies throughout the listening area at least once during daylight hours and at least once after dark (see
why nighttime monitoring is
important). Select the frequency that is best for your needs. |
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Step 3: Choose a general location for optimum coverage.
Use a map to select a general antenna location such that a
3-mile-radius circle fully encompasses the
roadway(s) and streets that require coverage. The signal will usually carry
3 to 5 miles and be heard much farther away on some radios; but the strongest part of the signal will always be in this area. If a certain street, highway or intersection is critically important to cover, consider locations within a half-mile. Mark the map to show the area within which the antenna should be located to meet your coverage goals. (See also
the Signal Penetration page, regarding in-home/in-vehicle listening.) Consider where signs will be placed to
alert motorists entering the area that the signal is available.
(See "Useful tips for placing road
signs." See also ISS
Flashing
ALERT Sign Systems.) |
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Step 4: Determine the site for antenna
installation.
For best coverage, the immediate area near the antenna should be free of objects that exceed 25 feet (about
2 stories.) This includes tall buildings, trees, terrain features, power and communication poles and towers.
ISS does not
recommend installing antennas on rooftops or within 50 feet of
buildings that contain electronics because of the potential for
interference and equipment damage. This does not apply to
non-building oriented situations such as isolated-style
installations in which a cabinet with the electronic equipment is
attached to the antenna support pole. |
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Step 5: Choose an installation style.
If your site has a building that would host the radio station,
choose yard style. If there is no host building at the site, choose
isolated style.
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Yard
Style |
Isolated Style |
Description
Equipment in building with antenna system in adjacent yard. (See
illustration right.) |
Description
Equipment and antenna are installed on a pole. (See
illustration right.) |
Advantages
Low cost, high security. |
Advantages
High flexibility of location. |
Requirements
An area within
50 feet of the building; no underground obstacles or structures
taller than 25 feet in the immediate vicinity. |
Requirements
No building required.
Make certain 120 volts of AC power and telephone service are
available at the site and that there is a 40x40-foot
area of open ground for pole and groundplane installation. |
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Isolated Style Installation -
drawing.
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Vertical Profile Antenna -
webpage.
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Yard Style Installation -
drawing.
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Yard Style with Vertical Profile Installation -
drawing.
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Step 6:
Complete a FCC license application questionnaire.
Complete and return to ISS
this simple
License Application Questionnaire, so we may secure your
operating license from the FCC in a timely manner. The questionnaire
requests basic contact information and details about the proposed
antenna location and frequency chosen for broadcast, with which ISS
can also assist you. When we receive your completed questionnaire,
we will prepare the necessary engineering work and submit your
application to the FCC for approval, which often takes a few months.
As part of
an overall license package, ISS will handle any additional
filings you may require to get up and running, such as temporary
licenses, minor adjustments and the required FCC notification that
your station has been built.
NOTE 1: Because FCC processing time is unpredictable,
we recommend you request licensing and other FCC documentation
services as soon as you know for sure you will have a station --
definitely no later than when you place your radio equipment order.
NOTE 2: The FCC considers 10-year, renewable licenses for specific-area radio stations secondary to full-power broadcast stations.
This means, that in a rare situation in which a full-power station
might move into a given area, an advisory radio station already in
that vicinity might need to change frequency. ISS can assist. |
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Step 7: Consider equipment, options and services.
Contact Bill Baker to obtain price sheets, which list product options and services, or to submit the following information to obtain a quotation.
Checklist for Receiving a Quotation
Provide to ISS the following details, so a precise quotation can be supplied:
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Your name, agency, phone and fax numbers; email address, if desired.
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Product name
(the Information
Station).
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Installation style: yard or
isolated with or without
VP9000 option.
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Review options on the price sheets and include them, as desired.
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Step 8: Prepare your transmitter site.
You can get ready for installation by preparing your transmitter location. This preparation is detailed in the Installation Instruction Manual and includes
3 steps:
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Preparation of the Antenna Support System: For Yard and isolated-style stations, this includes setting the antenna support pole, burying the coaxial cable and groundplane in the earth beneath.
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Installation of the Equipment Cabinet:
For building-oriented stations, this means locating the
equipment cabinet on the antenna support pole at the
equipment-operating location in the building. For isolated style
stations: installing the equipment cabinet at the transmitter
site
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Installation of Power and Telephone Services: For building-oriented stations, this means making sure the 120VAC power and a shielded-line telephone service are present/installed at the equipment operating location in the building. For isolated-style stations: installing power and shielded telephone line
into the equipment cabinet. NOTE: Telephone lines are required only for Classic Edition
stations.
Contact
Bill Baker if you would like an advance copy of your station's Instruction Manual, which details the exact site preparation procedures. Just tell Bill whether you are purchasing the
Classic Edition or MP3 Edition Information Station and which installation style, frequency and options you have selected.
ISS offers installation services and can provide a quote for your
project. |
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Isolated Style Installation -
drawing.
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Vertical Profile Antenna -
webpage.
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Yard Style Installation -
drawing.
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Yard Style with Vertical Profile Installation -
drawing.
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Step 9: Plan for the broadcast.
The Information Station package can, if you choose, include
a professional recording of your
messages, ready to broadcast. (Provide message in advance of shipment to take advantage of this
free service.
After 30 days,
message recording services are available on a fee basis.) |
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What May Be Broadcast per the FCC -
webpage.
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Links |
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This page was last updated:
June 09, 2008. |
