Ever listen to a radio station and think, "That would be cool to have my own show..."? Well, In this file Ill tell you how to setup your own low-power radio station. It will let you play ANYTHING you want, and DO anything you want on the air. Dependingon how powerful it is, it can transmit anywhere from 1 mile, to 20+ miles.

• 1. The first thing to do is to get a group (no more than 5-6) of people together that want to do this. Make sure they all know that operating this radio station IS against the current law, and can bring legal actions against you. Start coming up with show ideas, and other neat stuff you'll do on it. This will get the ideas and eagerness going.
  
  
• 2. Find somewhere safe that you can broadcast from. If its at a home, which is not advisable, make sure the owner knows what's going on, or make sure your really goodat sneaking around and not getting caught.
  
  
• 3. Now, you must get the transmitter. There are numerous places to buy these things, like Free Radio Berkeley, Panix, and a lot more I cant think of right now. A lot of them have pages on the net, so look around. They all range in price, power, and reliability. I'd go for a really good one, because its the base for your entire station, and because cheap ones dont sound all that good. Most of them you have to put together yourself, but some of them come pre-assembled. Make sure if you attempt to put these things together youknow a thing or two about electronics, because transmitters are very complicated to put together. Next thing you'll need is a antenna to transmit the signal. With antenna's, the HIGHER the BETTER. It will make the signal stronger, and more clear. I suggest gettinga "dipole" antenna. They seem to be reliable. I think they can be purchased at Radio Shack.
  
  
• 4. So get it together and test it out with the instructions that came with it. You might want to test the signal and settings with a "dummy load" which takes the place of the antenna, and does'nt transmit while you are testing it. Now, you need to find an empty station on the radio. Find one that has an empty station above, and below it. Now you'll tune your transmitter till it is broadcasting on that station. Tuning it it probably the tuffest thing about the whole set up process. Once everything is working fine, Set it up at the desired location. I HIGHLY suggest putting it in a van or car. That way, Its mobile, and you can drive around in the car/van while transmitting, thus making it harder for the FCC (more about these guys below) to pinpoint the origin of the signal, and bust you. The transmitter can be hooked up to the car battery. But, if your doing it at a house or apartment, get it all set up and grounded. Then you'll have to hook up your stereo, a mic, and anything else you want in it like record player, tape, etc. Info on tuning, and setting it up should all come with the transmitter. Make sure you get it.
  
  
• 5. Now, your all set. Your sending out music, conversations, interviews, etc. Anything you want! Try broadcasting pre made shows. It will cut down on "silence" and cueing tapes and records. Make the shows with your friends on a tape, then once its done, just pop it in the tape player and transmit it. Go out and get some food, and turn on the radio and you'll hear your station. You'll think "DAMN, this is a good station!" then you'll remember that its yours and you'll feel even more cooler.
  
  
• 6. You get busted, and sent to jail. (HAH, just jokin!)

Well, that's it. You just set up your very own radio station. Oh yeah, about the FCC. They stand for the Federal Communications Commission. They regulate all transmissions form all forms of transmitters. CB's, Ham radio, all of them. When you start up your station, they'll know about it real soon. They will then scan the area its coming from and get about a 4 mile radius on your location. Then they'll send out a "Bronco" that has all sorts of directional antennas hidden in it that will drive around until they get to your front steps. That's why its good to drive around, they can't pinpoint you too easy, because your signal is on the move. You also need to decide if your gonna be really secretive, and just transmit whenever, or if your gonna advertise with flyers and have a set schedule. The FCC will find you sooner if you advertise, because the extent of their investigation is picking up one of your flyers and driving to the address, or turning on their directionals when you start broadcasting.

So anyway, this is a very vague "how to" on this. There are much better FAQ's and how to's out there. Check out this Links: