im lookin to set up a radio station with my cuz, can anyone help me out as to what i will need to get started....... and iv read i can buy da stuff through u, wot contact details if any do i need to purchase the equipment.

Internet Radio or conventional FM / AM Broadcast Radio?

conventional FM radio

Okay, to do it legally, first of all you need a licence from whatever passes for the Radio Authority in your location. In the UK it's the Radio Broadcasting Authority and in the U.S it's the F.C.C - run a search on Google for information local to you.

Once you get a licence, or if you are intent on running it as a pirate station (I don't want to know the answer!) then you will need an FM Transmitter. A good company for these is Veronica FM and they export all over the world. They will also be able to advise you on a suitable antenna, cabling and setting up procedure, so drop them an email, since this area is outside the scope of this forum!.

Next you will need a suitable mixer & CD Players - the quality of these depends on your budget. Most Pro Stations used to use Denon equipment but now often prefer a PC Based Music System - OTSDJ may be more than adequate for a small home based station . Although it is perfectly possible to transmit using a very basic set of DJ Equipment!.

If you intend to set up a professional station then do a search on Google for "Alice Soundtech" or "Canford Audio" they manufacture / distribute a wide range of Broadcast equipment - but be warned they are NOT cheap

Good luck with it.... there are a few great faces for radio on the forum!

well cheers for da help, dem transmiters r well expesnsive but ill see wot i can manage

28 day Fm Licences in the UK used to be about £2800, then you have prs, ppl and mcps which all cost about £30 a day each...... these cost are before you get any equipment together.......

access to the uk airwaves is very restricted, unfortuantly its seems to be big business only...

i been lookin thru equipment and i know more or less wot i need and want, is it all right if u could give me brand and model and prices on da following things,

an amp and speakers, ( wont need loud ones, just somthin to play music out of)

Dual CD Player

4-Channel mixer

turntables (decent but not to expensive)

Mic

Headphones

and den cables???

also where can i actually buy dese things from???

is it possible to get dis equipment equal to or under 800 pounds???

and to tony james, is dat ALL is cost, i know it actually expesnsive still but i heard it woz alot more den dat and fortunately where i am dere aint much competition to hip hop and NONE to Garage , meaning ill completely dominate da airwaves(hopefully).
cheers for ure help

i've been involved in a couple of restricted service broadcasts and the stations concerned have spent anywhere between £8000 and £15000 and remember this is just for 28 a days, which you can only do twice a year... its a lot cheaper to go Am but the quality is not there....

other equipment need includes your ariel and sound compresser./limiter...

word of warning if your thinking of going on the air as a pirate, you are looking at a fine of up to £5000 and imprisonment......

Not only that, but its more profitable on a personal level to go mobile, at least you are making money not pouring it into a radio transmitter with all the associated risks that such an illegal activity could bring.

Spin

Jaz,

Tony has given you a lot of very good advice. Looking at your details, I see that you are not in the UK, so licences and broadcasting Laws may be different to that stated here, in other words you may find it easier or harder to start up a legitmate station correctly - depending on your local laws.

One thing that is certain, almost all over the world, and that is fact is that pirate radio is illegal and likely to bring you a hefty fine / imprisonment if you get caught. With technology it is very straight forward to track pirates down and gain a warrant for confiscation of equipment - often within hours of starting up. In other words if Pirate Radio is what you are considering then DON'T. Other more serious penalties could also apply if your RF signal happened to interfere with Emergency / Aircraft / Government Radio Frequencies - you could find yourself in very serious trouble if your TX and Aerial were not correct configured

Whilst it is perfectly possible to start up broadcasting from any mixer that gives a line output signal to the Transmitter, there would be serious drawbacks of doing so. To start up correctly would require you to spend in the region of what Tony J advised - give or take a few £ depending on where you bought it .

For £800 - you would possibly just scrape by setting you up as a Mobile D.J - but it wouldn't set you up anything like a professional broadcasting Studio!.

it is alrite i am lookin at goin legal but obviously with rather anus equipment, i have a target budget of about 1600 pounds, i figure 800 for da transmitter and 800 for all da other mixer bla bla, i aint got a clue wot i am doin but i am look at gettin a lisence, tho it is gonna be hard, and yer im in australia i know, but i am comin bak to England a few more times, any way all dat aside, da transmitter will cost me 800 pounds, any advise on equipment under 800 pounds would be greatly appreciated, ( i aint talkin proffesional, just cheap but will do da job), i do thank u for all ure help

But... What about royalties? I'm surprised at how expensive licenses are, but I thought the real cut to the budget was in regards to royalty payments?

Or are we going to ignore those?