{"id":56542,"date":"2023-05-07T05:00:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-07T09:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=56542"},"modified":"2023-05-06T09:10:35","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T13:10:35","slug":"chasing-low-power-fm-stations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/05\/chasing-low-power-fm-stations\/","title":{"rendered":"Chasing Low-Power FM Stations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-56543\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-624x832.jpg 624w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Male voice, singing: You\u2019re the reason I have bald tires on my car . . .<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Female voice, singing: You\u2019re the reason I threw your clothes out in the yard . . .<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Male and female voices singing in harmony: You\u2019re the reason our kids are ugly . . .<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>. . . and <em>that<\/em> was my introduction to WOOG low-power community radio in Troy, NY.<\/p>\n<p>Holy smokes . . . that\u2019s outrageous . . . and funny, too!<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, in hindsight, it can be difficult for a writer to determine when and where\u00a0 story actually began.<\/p>\n<p>With this one, was it when the FCC began licensing low-power community radio stations in 2000? Or was it when I began hosting a Radio Monitoring Net on the local 146.94 repeater (Troy, NY) at 7 pm on Tuesday nights?<\/p>\n<p>For sure, a tipping point was when one of the net participants suggested check out a low-power FM community radio station on 92.7 FM. It\u2019s kind of like western swing, he said.<\/p>\n<p>I did check it out and found it to be a combo of traditional country and what I call \u201chillbilly jazz.\u201d No announcer between musical selections, and occasional station IDs. At 7 am, I heard the Ralph Nader radio hour. Allegedly it is licensed to the Oakwood Community Center in Troy, NY, but nothing on the air that I have heard suggests that connection. Very curious. Is a place-holder for something else?<\/p>\n<p>It turns out there are hundreds of low-power community radio stations across the United States. They are limited to 100 watts and an antenna height of 30 meters (100 feet). According to the FCC:<\/p>\n<p><em>To qualify for an LPFM license, you must be:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>A government or non-profit educational institution, like a public or private school or state or private university<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>A non-profit organization, association or entity with an educational purpose, like a community group, public service or public health organization, disability service provider or faith-based organization<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>A government or non-profit entity providing local public safety or transportation service, like a volunteer fire department, local government or state transportation authority<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>An Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village or community that will provide non-commercial radio services.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>In addition, applicants for LPFM licenses must be based in the community in which they intend to broadcast. An organization is considered community-based if:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>It is physically headquartered or has a campus within 10 miles of the proposed transmitting antenna<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Seventy-five percent of its governing board resides within 10 miles of the proposed transmitting antenna<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>It is a non-profit or governmental public safety organization that intends to broadcast within the area of its jurisdiction<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>In the case of a Tribal application, the applicant&#8217;s Tribal lands are within the service area of the proposed station.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There is an article about LPFM stations here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2016\/09\/19\/number-of-u-s-low-power-fm-radio-stations-has-nearly-doubled-since-2014\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2016\/09\/19\/number-of-u-s-low-power-fm-radio-stations-has-nearly-doubled-since-2014\/<\/a> and a listing of the stations here: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Category:Low-power_FM_radio_stations_in_the_United_States\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Category:Low-power_FM_radio_stations_in_the_United_States<\/a><\/p>\n<p>There are several LPFM stations in my area, and chasing them is fun. I found the best success with my Tecsun PL-880 and its long whip antenna. Sometimes the whip works best when held vertically; sometimes, horizontally; sometimes moving the whip horizontally as little as 45 degrees will blank one station and bring up another. The end effect is to look like a drunken sword master while getting into the Better Half\u2019s potted plants, knocking over scanners on the desk, and other encounters with the long whip.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, chasing low power community radio stations is fun, and I can predict, with some authority, that you may encounter programming that you won\u2019t find anywhere else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Male voice, singing: You\u2019re the reason I have bald tires on my car . . . Female voice, singing: You\u2019re the reason I threw your clothes out in the yard . . . Male and female voices singing in harmony: You\u2019re the reason our kids are ugly . . . . [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3781,3],"tags":[2919,1384,9323,6741],"class_list":["post-56542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fm","category-news","tag-fm-dxing","tag-fm-radio","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom","tag-lpfm"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-eHY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62590,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/04\/the-great-ats-radio-challenge\/","url_meta":{"origin":56542,"position":0},"title":"The Great ATS Radio Challenge","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"April 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Here is an idea thought up by a radio pal of mine, Andy, W2SRA. It\u2019s an exercise to get us operating our portable mutliband radios from manufacturers such as Grundig, Sony, XHDATA, Tecsun, Sangean, and so on. If you own a digital multiband radio that has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ATS-challenge-001-001-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ATS-challenge-001-001-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ATS-challenge-001-001-1024x768.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57826,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/introducing-the-i-listen-project\/","url_meta":{"origin":56542,"position":1},"title":"Please Share: Introducing the \u201cI listen\u201d project","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"September 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM To paraphrase a line from John Fitzgerald Kennedy: \u201cAsk not what your station can do for you, ask what you can do for your station.\u201d Think of this as a reverse QSL program . . . but I get ahead of myself. I was perusing the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/I-listen-001-001-1024x615.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/I-listen-001-001-1024x615.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/I-listen-001-001-1024x615.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64710,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/configuring-the-news-cruiser-for-your-emergency-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":56542,"position":2},"title":"Configuring the \u201cNews Cruiser\u201d for your emergency radio","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"November 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Rob, W4ZNG, endured three weeks without electricity on the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a result of Hurricane Katrina. When he and I spoke about his experience (and what any one of us might want in our \u201cfertilizer hits the fan\u201d radio kit), he mentioned that during\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/news-cruiser-frequencies-004-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/news-cruiser-frequencies-004-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/news-cruiser-frequencies-004-1024x768.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52415,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/04\/guest-post-everyone-should-have-a-crisis-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":56542,"position":3},"title":"Guest Post: Everyone should have a &#8220;Crisis Radio&#8221;","author":"Thomas","date":"April 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: The Crisis Radio By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Sooner or later, it will happen to you. What\u2019s \u2018it\u2019? Short answer: a crisis. It could be as simple as you wake in the morning to find the power is out;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49872,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/jock-discovers-the-joys-of-ats-tuning-with-the-c-crane-cc-skywave-ssb\/","url_meta":{"origin":56542,"position":4},"title":"Jock discovers the joys of ATS tuning with the C.Crane CC Skywave SSB","author":"Thomas","date":"August 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jock Elliott (KB2GOM), who shares the following guest post: Really cool trick the CCrane Skywave SSB will do -- the \"radio butler\"? To paraphrase Ratty from Wind in the Willows: \" \u201cBelieve me, my young friend, there is nothing\u2013absolutely nothing\u2013half so much worth doing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53576,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/a-most-unusual-qsl-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":56542,"position":5},"title":"A most unusual QSL . . . card?","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"August 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Okay, I realize this is ham related, but I thought it was fun, and I hope you do too. On a quiet Saturday morning in May, the \u201cBig Gun\u201d Motorola 1250 (which is used for running the Commuter Assistance Net) is quietly scanning through half a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Commuter-net-story-001-001-1024x716.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Commuter-net-story-001-001-1024x716.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Commuter-net-story-001-001-1024x716.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56542"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56564,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56542\/revisions\/56564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}