Introduction: Who is this manual for, and how should it be used?

From Community Radio - User Guide [http://web4all.in web4all]

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you have taken the first steps on a long and satisfying journey that should (we hope) culminate in the setting up and successful operation of a community radio station: A radio station by, for and from the people. With the Government. of India allowing community radio stations (CRS) in India in late 2006, a new chapter has begun for those who have been working towards creating media and technology access for communities – and to empower ourselves with an understanding of how to use these technologies to highlight our concerns, our ideas, and our cultural and traditional practices.

But in the excitement of gaining access to this truly participatory, inclusive and inexpensive mass medium, we often forget that radio is a technological medium – and that it calls for communities and civil society organizations working with radio to have an understanding of the technology, the equipment, and the processes and parameters that govern the setup, operation and successful running of a community radio station. It is all too easy to forget about the technology while we exult in the joy of hearing our own voices and our ideas over a speaker or radio set; but it is important to realize that the technology of radio is what allows us to preserve these thoughts and send them out to our listeners.

That could be your cue to say, Uh-oh, I’m not a technical person; this looks like it’s going to lead to a lot of tech stuff - I’m not going to get all of this! How do I begin to understand all the jargon and the science?

Relax. That would be true – if this was a manual that intended to explain the construction of electronic circuits or the repair of complex recording and transmission equipment. But it’s not that kind of manual: This is a manual for the everyman, the interested community member, the hobbyist, the NGO worker and all those of us who run or help when our TV remotes and cellular phones misbehave. In short, this is going to be an easy introduction to the technology of radio.

Reading this manual may not bring you to a level of understanding where you can take all the decisions and select all the equipment by yourself – especially since radio equipment changes and evolves all the time – but if you read this book cover to cover, it’s probably going to give you a feel of the wide variety of technology options, decisions and concepts that you’ll have to keep in mind while setting up a CRS. And it’s going to help you take informed decisions on all those things. (xii)

So, in a nutshell, what this manual hopes to present is

1. A user level understanding of how to set up and equip a CRS, and a taste of the kind of decisions you’ll have to take while planning your CR set up;
2. An understanding of the types of equipment that a CRS requires, their functions and the costs involved;
3. An understanding of how the various components of a radio production and the broadcast process work together;
4. An understanding of CR related regulations, technical parameters and the licensing procedures applicable in India;
5. Enough insight into all the ‘tech stuff’ to inspire you to learn more about the electronics and physics part!

What it’s not going to do is make you an expert on every aspect of radio and CRS setup – that’s beyond the scope of any single book or document, and requires years of practical experience and learning. It’s going to place some options in front of you and it’s going to give you further resources you can access to learn more: Web based and print material, as well as organizations and individuals who can advise and assist you while you learn and build your CR setup.

It is also important to stress that community radio stations work out of single rooms with basic equipment; as well as dedicated buildings housing multiple studios and packed with all kinds of high technology. Both can produce brilliant, locally relevant, interesting programmes. It’s up to you to decide what kind of a setup is most appropriate for your station, a decision you must base on five things:

1. The kind of programmes that you plan to broadcast;
2. The amount of money at your disposal;
3. The kind of spaces that are available for you to set up a CR station in the area you will be operating in (rented or self owned; constructed to your requirements or an existing space reconfigured);
4. Your ability to handle the costs and effort required to maintain your equipment, and support the costs involved in acquiring consumables and recurring costs like the spectrum fee; and finally
5. Your ability to access trained people to operate and maintain your equipment (and/or training resources to build a pool of trained manpower to fulfil these functions.)

Depending on a combination of these factors, you may mix and match and adapt the ideas that you will find in this manual to arrive at a unique solution which will meet your requirements.

In the same spirit of selection and adaptation, we have also tried to make this manual as adaptable to your needs as possible: To start with, we’ve included (xiii)

several notes pages at the end of this manual so that you can add your own notes and comments based on your own research and experimentation. We’ve also included a variety of diagrams and illustrations/photographs to give you an idea of the equipment, devices and setups referred to in the text. We’ve also tried to include helpful notes and comments where possible, identified by the following icons:

Warning! Things you must remember to avoid damage to equipment or injury

Remember! Things you should keep in mind from the information immediately preceding the icon.

Maintenance related information that you should remember to keep your equipment in good working order.

Cross references to other parts of the manual. This symbol may also refer you to the Detailed notes on equipment section (Section B) that follows the main manual. This includes detailed explanations of several concepts and types of equipment, to allow you to understand equipment specifications better.

The appendices at the end of this manual give you lists of equipment vendors, lists of advisers and organizations already working on CR and suggested equipment setups on which you can base your own assessment of the equipment combinations you require. All these lists will need revision as time goes by: New equipment and equipment suppliers turn up all the time, so it is probably a good idea to jot down information on any new vendor or piece of equipment that you come across. All the costs are in Indian Rupees, and have been converted from US Dollar rates at 1 USD = INR 40, the rate current at the time of publication of this manual. (But the exchange rates and prices change all the time too, so do check on this before you take any final decisions!)

Last, but not least, remember that this manual is not an encyclopaedia – and it’s not trying to be one. This is a ready resource for the interested user, which you can also use as training material. It is impossible to give a detailed understanding of everything that is included in this manual in a single volume. But if this manual leaves you feeling a little more confident about your understanding of the technology of community radio, we’ll consider its job done.

We welcome your comments on the manual, so that we can constantly update and revise this document. Please write in to the addresses given on the first flyleaf of the book.

Once again, welcome to the world of community radio! We hope this manual plays a part in improving your understanding of the medium and the technology involved in running a community radio station.