Setting Up a Radio Station - Buying Transmission Equipment

Setting Up a Radio Station - Buying Transmission Equipment

A transmitter is the most vital and one of the most costly pieces of equipment that is required to set up a radio station. Thus a knowledge of the features of a transmitter is a must for any one planning to set up a radio station. The power of a transmitter is measured in watts and it is the most important feature to be looked into when buying a transmitter.

The first thing that you will need to decide is the distance over which you want to be broadcasting. Higher the distance over which you intend to broadcast, more powerful would be the required transmitter.

To give you an indication, a 1 Watt transmitter can broadcast in an approximate radius of 1 to 3 miles coverage. A 5 watt transmitter can broadcast from 4 to 5 miles radius. A 15 watt transmitter can approximately transmit up to 7 miles, A 30 Watt transmitter upto 9 miles radius and a 100 Watt transmitter up to 16 miles radius.

Broadcasting beyond 16 to 17 miles in FM mode is generally not feasible. With this data in hand, you can now easily estimate which transmitter would best suit your plans.

The second question involves deciding whether you should buy it from the local market or export it. My advice here is that if your country has some established transmitter manufacturer, it is mostly practical to be buying it indigenously. This saves considerable expenses in setting up the radio station and it also translates into a better after sales service ion most of the cases.

Besides, you must also try to buy the entire solutions from one vendor rather than buying individual equipments. This way you protect yourself from the burden of handling mutually incompatible equipments of different manufacturers.