Should you get an engineer during the application phase?

Maybe. If you are fairly diligent and feel like you have a basic understanding of the way radio allocations are made, you may not need one. As one engineer described it, the service described in the rules seems to be "engineer-proof." You do not need any formal engineering document to apply for LPFM. There is a space on the application form where an engineer should sign if they have done the application for you -- however, if you fill it out yourself, you can leave that box blank- no one has to sign there.

Regardless of whether you hire an engineer, we recommend that you try doing the engineering work yourself as per our "do-it-yourself" instructions elsewhere on our website at http://www.prometheusradio.org/fcc.shtml. It is really easy and kind of fun! It will give you a sense of what the engineer is doing, even if you end up handing it over to them and their more powerful software tools to fill out the final form.

You may find a frequency right off the bat, in which case you probably don't really need the engineer's services.

However, there are some situations where an engineer might be very helpful.

For example, if your exact location does not have any frequencies available, the engineer may be able to work with you to figure out another nearby location that will work. An engineer could also help tell you whether a frequency is good or not.

If you have a choice between several frequencies, an engineer could tell you which one would be best -- while it is physically impossible under these rules for LPFMs to cause significant interference, some of the new channels allocated may receive quite a bit of interference.

The key reason that you may want an engineer, even if you find the frequency for yourself, is that the FCC engineering database is somewhat inaccurate- there are many stations listed there that are not operating, and some that have been approved which have not made it into the system. Prometheus has one friend in Washington whose whole job is pouring over the FCC spectrum allocations and finding where they make mistakes, or their publicly available literature is outdated- and selling that information to people who need it!

An engineer can check the FCC channel finder results against their (very expensive and very up-to-date) software. The engineer pays a lot of money to someone who keeps very accurate records of station allocations, and that is why the engineer in turn passes that cost on to you.

If you apply for a frequency based on the FCC database, and that frequency turns out to be occupied because the Channel Finder was not up-to date, it's tough luck for you. On the other hand, 90% of the time you may be paying several hundred dollars just to confirm what you already correctly knew from the FCC.

An engineer could probably also help to resolve conflicting applications by finding alternatives. There are a few strategies for shoehorning a station in that are not permitted under LPFM, but a consulting engineer could (for a fee, perhaps considerable) make a very strong argument for an exemption. This engineers report would need to be attached to your form when you turn it in.

Another thing an engineer can do is check on the status of stations that show up in the FCC database as blocking your application- then with a little investigation, he may be able to help you broker a deal with those blockers. For example, there may be an approved station that was never built, and is not going to be built. The engineer should be able to get it pulled out of the FCC database so that your application will be accepted.

Radio Engineers

These names do not constitute an endorsement, and we are not economically tied to any of these engineers: I briefly describe what I know about each engineer below: To my knowledge, all of them will do a frequency search for you , or fill out your form 318 (except the last three, of whom i am not sure). Send a note to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it about your experiences with engineers.

We want to know which ones do good work and which ones do mediocre work. We will take your opinions into account when we consider who to add to this list, and who to take off...

David Maxson - Broadcast Signal Labs LLP
dmaxson(at)broadcastsignallab.com
http://www.broadcastsignallab.com
617-864-4298, Boston

David Maxson was the engineer who conducted one of the key laboratory studies which was presented to the FCC about second and third adjacent channel interference. It was his work that helped them decide in favor of relaxing the third adjacent channel standard. He has also testified before Congress on his studies, and has presented to the board of directors of NPR on behalf of Low Power FM.

Michael Brown - Brown Broadcast Services
mike(at)brownbroadcast.com
503-245-6065 - Oregon

Works closely with the Microradio Implementation Project in Oregon. Very nice, and has always been very helpful on small questions, but we have never directly done business with him. He wrote the very helpful equipment budgets that are posted on the MIP website.

An engineer who has a long, well established reputation for working with community radio stations. He did an engineering study for a grandfathered class D station we know at a very reasonable price, with good payment terms. Very patient and honorable, in our experience.

We don't know if he files LPFM applications -- we bought a very classy ten watt transmitter from him. He is also a founder of PFLAG and a trade association of Gays and Lesbians in Radio. Very nice to do business with him, as opposed to the militia types that seem to dominate the Radio Engineering trade!

Brad Johnson
brad(at)salida.org
209-545-9116

Brad used to work for Clear Channel, was fired and now has several lawsuits pending against them. This is his site about Clear Channel -- http://www.partytown.com/cmp. He is also a low power applicant himself.

One of the masterminds behind the a-infos radio project, which allows small community and pirate radio station to share their best programming over the internet. He has been focusing on producing microphones and internet for the past few years, but is getting back into broadcast engineering to help with LPFMs.