[cr-india] a radio station for Rs.50,000

[N.Ramakrishnan]

Dear all:
Just to respond to the Andhra Cafe article forwarded by Sajan (headline 
quoted in the subjectline of this mail):
The headline is misleading, as the bodytext will show: The Rs.50000 cost 
refers to the basic studio setup that the Hevalvaani and Mandakini 
groups in Uttarakhand are using in their production centers, and is 
inclusive of basic studio mic, edit system, carpentry and simple 
soundprooofing. It does NOT include the cost of the transmitter and 
related items; and therefore cannot be read as the cost of a radio 
station, even a simple one.
Just a heads up for everyone :-)
Warmest,
Ramakrishnan
Ideosync Media Combine

N.Ramakrishnan

Director of Projects
Ideosync Media Combine
177, Ashoka Enclave III
Sector 35, Faridabad - 121003
Haryana - India
Tel: +91-0129-4131883/6510156/2254395/2254396 (Prefix 95129- from Delhi)
Telfax: +91-0129-2254395 (Prefix 95129- from Delhi)
Mobile: +91-9810273883
Email: nram at ideosyncmedia.org



sajan venniyoor wrote:
> Set up a Radio Station for just Rs.50,000!
> AndhraCafe.com - http://www.andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=18696 
> <http://www.andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=18696>
>
> New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) As India opens up a new sector that has long 
> been the monopoly of the government, a hundred and one questions hang 
> over the heads of those wanting to launch community radio stations.
>
> But the biggest of these simply is: what does it cost to set up a 
> small, low-powered radio station?
>
> Says Venu Arora, director of projects of the Faridabad-based Ideosync 
> Media Combine: 'The community production set-ups - studio with basic 
> sound proofing using egg-trays and foam - that we've worked with at 
> two projects in Uttaranchal (Havel and Mandakini) cost less than 
> Rs.50,000, including using local carpenters for the basic structure.'
>
> Arora explained that the production studios are 'very basic but very 
> functional' and include just one computer and one studio microphone. 
> Yet the community teams have been producing content with excellent 
> production value.
>
> Sajan Venniyoor, an official with public broadcaster Prasar Bharati, 
> now on secondment with Unesco, points to options created by the 
> Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and the UN-linked body.
>
> He says: 'The ABU-Unesco 'radio-in-a-box' is not just a transmitter - 
> it is a complete 'radio station'. All you need is a room to put it in 
> and a decent antenna would probably help. It would be nice if the 
> laptop was included in the $5,000-6,000 (plus freight) package.' 
> (Note: The laptop is included in the package).
>
> The ABU-Unesco radio station of 30-watt output was demonstrated by 
> ABU's Kuala Lumpur-based head of studio technology and training, 
> Rukmin Wijemanne, at the Broadcast Engineering Society Expo in Delhi 
> in the first week of February.
>
> One issue that has come up is whether transmitters can be carried 
> across various destinations to offer training.
>
> Max Graef, director of the Britain-based RadioActive 
> radioactive.org.uk <http://radioactive.org.uk>, points to the options 
> available. RadioActive specialises in providing equipment, training 
> and technical assistance to set up community radio stations.
>
> 'It is true that there are ways to cut corners on the cost of setting 
> up a community radio station. It depends on how reliable you want the 
> equipment to be, how large an area you would like to cover, the local 
> terrain, whether you have access to power, and what kind of capacity 
> you would like to have in your radio studios,' Graef says.
>
> RadioActive has itself set up stations for communities with very low 
> budgets, for example, in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, where a 
> 30watt FM transmitter was set up atop a 15-metre pole at a cost of 
> under 1,000 pounds sterling.
>
> 'To get a community on the air, with the ability to make radio 
> programmes with a mix of interviews recorded in the field, live 
> interviews, music, spots, jingles and other pre-recorded programming, 
> the equipment listed above is more than adequate,' says Graef.
>
> This station broadcasts to over 10,000 people in communities up to 25 
> km away.
>
> Another campaigner interested in the field, Aaditeshwar Seth, 
> questioned earlier Unesco estimates of Rs.1-2 million for setting up 
> one community radio station.
>
> Seth wrote: 'I know that FM PCI cards that plug into a regular desktop 
> computer come for around Rs.7,500. They have an output of only 20W, 
> but I believe that amplifier circuits can be built easily.'
>
> Computer costs and the growing role of digital technologies in 
> broadcasting have also lowered costs. Sturdy broadcast towers of 20 
> metres can be built for under Rs.15,000 too. Minor peripherals like 
> speakers and microphones are locally available and costly 
> sound-proofing might not be essential.
>
> So will the realistic costs and India's already available skills in 
> this field make things happen?
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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