[cr-india] Lowering the cost of creating community radio

[Vickram Crishna]

Sajan

Let's not leave the job of getting the right technical
expertise solely to the United Nations. Their last
major international intervention was in Iraq, don't
forget. 


--- Stephen Dunifer <xmtrman at pacbell.net> wrote:

> Hey folks,
> 
> Lets get realistic here.  There is no compelling
> reason that broadcast 
> equipment and the costs of setting up a community
> station should be 
> priced so high.  Unfortunately, supposedly
> well-intentioned 
> organizations such as UNESCO and less well
> intentioned bodies such as 
> governmental regulatory bodies end up creating rules
> and regulations 
> whose main purpose, it seems, is to drive up the
> cost through compliance 
> and the hiring of experts/consultants to wade
> through the regulatory muddle.
> 
> Free speech is an inherent and inalienable right,
> not a right granted by 
> any agency.  Law and regulations affecting free
> speech should act as a 
> firewall between the government and the right of
> free expression.  These 
> strictures should say this is as far as the
> government goes when it 
> comes to matters of free speech.  Overly burdensome
> laws are an 
> infringement on free speech and should be rejected
> on their face.
> 
> For the last 15 years Free Radio Berkeley has been
> assisting communities 
> around the world establish community broadcast
> stations at a very low 
> cost.  I would like to offer that experience and
> knowledge to anyone in 
> India who wishes to create a community radio
> station.  For example, we 
> just conducted two 5-day workshops in Oaxaca,
> Mexico.  Twenty four 40 
> watt transmitters were built during those two
> workshops by 
> representatives from 24 mostly indigenous
> communities.  Overall, the 
> budget for the entire project, including food and
> lodging for the 
> participants, was somewhere in the range of $11,000
> to $12,000 (US).  
> These 24 communities will be establishing their
> radio stations over the 
> course of the next six months or so.  Of course,
> they will have some 
> additional costs for some basic audio gear such as
> mixers and 
> microphones but they were able to walk away from the
> workshop with an 
> assembled 40 watt transmitter, antenna, power supply
> and 15 meters of 
> coaxial cable at an average cost of $500 per
> community.  This was the 
> first phase, we are now setting up a center in
> Oaxaca for maintenance, 
> repair, support, teaching and assembly.
> 
> This process could be easily replicated in India. 
> There are certainly a 
> large number of bright folks there with technical
> and engineering 
> skills.  After all, Chandra Bose should have
> received the credit for the 
> first wireless transmission, not Marconi.  Our
> transmitter designs are 
> easy to reproduce and manufacture.  We would very
> happy to share all the 
> details and information to make this happen.  If the
> basic costs of 
> transportation, materials, etc. could be met, we
> would most willing to 
> conduct similar workshop programs in India.
> 
> In solidarity,
> 
> Stephen Dunifer
> Free Radio Berkeley
> www.freeradio.org
> skype: stephen_dunifer
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> cr-india mailing list
> cr-india at sarai.net
> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/cr-india
> 


Vickram


		
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