Finally Home!

Prometheus has just completed two and a half months of touring, and are we ever tired! We are all really relieved to be sleeping in our own beds, as nice as all of your splendid couches were. We want to thank all of our hosts for putting us up and arranging venues for us to meet with folks who are preparing to start local stations. We are not exactly sure when the next tour will be, but we look forward to seeing y’all again soon.

May Filing Window

It seems like it can't be true, but it has really happened- the first filing window for LPFM opens from May 30 through June 5, 2000 for Alaska, California, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Mariana Islands, Maryland, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Utah. You can not send in your application before or after these dates- it will be ignored. We are all back from our months of touring and we are sitting by the phone and the computer fielding calls and email until all the applications are in- so let us know what we can do to help!

This is your biggest chance in 20 years to apply for a license for a radio station. Though we will fight like a cornered, rabid sewer-rats to create more opportunities in the future, you should pretty much act as if that if you don't get an FM station now, you won't ever again. This window is just for LP100 stations, but probably most of the decent spaces that exist in your area will be taken by the LP100s. There will probably actually be less LP10s allocated, just in the smallest of available coverage holes. The difference in cost between setting up an LP100 and an LP 10 is pretty small: maybe $2000. It is well worth the extra construction cost to apply now. The application form is available from the FCC website at www.fcc.gov/lpfm It is called form 318. If you have any questions while filling it out, we’ll be happy to hold your hands and walk you through things. We’ll also be happy to look your forms over and see if we see any glaring errors. You can find engineering and legal resources on our links page and also, check out our revised low-power radio primer in the Background and Resources section.

Everyone's Writing Handbooks!

You can also refer to the recently updated (mid april) "So You Want To Apply For A LPFM Station" on our website. Other good resources for applicants are Nan Rubin's piece on engineering for an LPFM, and Cheryl Leanza's sample application, both should be available at www.microradio.org One other good place to go for advice is www.nlgcdc.org, where they have yet another guide for applicants. All these handbooks are similar, but each one has its own idiosyncrasies, so we encourage you to read everything you can get your hands on and evaluate for yourselves your best course of action. An example of a difference is that most of the other handbooks advise you to retain an engineer and a lawyer. We suggest that you do so if you can afford it, but if you don't have a lot of cash we think that you should not be intimidated to try to do it yourself. We'll do anything we can to help out, though of course our advice is generally common sense, not "engineering or legal advice" And definitely beware of sharks- if you are not in a complicated, competetive licensing situation, you should not be paying many thousands of dollars for professional advice.

Broadcasting Petrification Act Moves to the Senate!

A "Dear Colleague" letter is being circulated in the Senate, sponsored by four Senators at this time. The first Senator to step forward to support LPFM was Bob Kerrey of Nebraska- write him and thank him. Also taking the lead on our side are Senators Wellstone, Schumer, and Durbin. Contact them with some kind words! Encourage your Senator to back them up! If your Senator has signed on to the "Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000" Senate Bill 2068- tell them to wise up and get their name off of it. Some Senators have already deserted this stupid thing under pressure from their constituents. Most are just supporting it because they think that no one is watching. The full time broadcast lobbyists are making the rounds to every single Senator, five days a week, eight hours a day. Most of these Senators expect a regular yearly check from the NABPAC. Senators that do not hear from constituents will definitely listen to these sleazebag lobbyists. For more info on the Senate campaign, you can contact Mike Bracy at the Low Power Radio Coalition: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 202-783-5588. Don't forget to check out our Senate action alert before you leave!

A wildcard in the battle in the Senate is the new bill proposed by Senator John McCain. This bill would allow for LPFM to rollout as planned by the FCC, but would give incumbent broadcasters an unprecedented opportunity to wage lawsuits against LPFM operators. Regulatory authority over interference would be removed from its traditional home at the FCC and handed over to the court system, advised by the National Academy of Sciences. It would in effect create two independent systems for regulating interference. If it were ever to pass, it would be a nightmare- rich broadcasters could hire $300/hr lawyers to slap frivolous lawsuits against the LPFMs, and would probably win because we would not have the resources to defend ourselves. Most observers consider the lawsuit element of the McCain plan to be unworkable, but the introduction of McCains bill will almost certainly take some of the steam out of the push to pass Senator Greggs’ truly evil proposed legislation. Microradio advocates are divided about how to handle McCains’ bill. Clearly no LPFM advocates endorse it, and no one wants to see the legislation pass in its current form- in fact all microradio supporters believe that the best option to pursue is that no bill pass. But in our opinion, Senator McCain should be congratulated for his support for immediate implementation of LPFM, and politely informed of the mess that would be created if the lawsuits are allowed.

Rally for Low Power Radio On June 8th

Buddy, Can You Spare A Frequency?

Have you tried everything and you still can’t find a frequency in your town? We’re sorry, if not surprised. These rules are really so ridiculously restrictive that sometimes we wonder why we are fighting so hard for them (we are fighting for them because a lot of medium size towns will do very well with LPFM). Even if you, or even your engineer can’t find anything, we do believe that there may be some more options for you. There are several potential ways that we plan to ask the FCC to waive some of the overly restrictive elements of the rules. The possible exemptions are too byzantine and convoluted to explain here, but we can examine your case and suggest a few remedies. If you are stuck, and are interested in being a test case- get in touch with us. It could be a little more expensive, but if it works it will be well worth your extra outlay of cash. Write directly to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Low Power Signals/Special Interest Noise:
Geeky Article Hits the Newsstands!

Pete Tridish has just finished a detailed article that lays out the history of the interference debate. To be honest, it is a trifle long even for your average nerd, but you will find nearly anything you need to know about this issue here. Pete worked really hard to make sure that anyone (who is foolish enough to want to) can understand interference by reading this article. If you want to know more about the "interference with digital radio" issue, you can look at the prometheus digital comments or you can see Chris Maxwell's informative and voluminous work on the subject at: http://wrfr.pibc.com/dab/

Barn-Raiser and Hootenany