Institutional Radio Broadcasting

Tomson Devis, Ajai V Babu, Ajin Abraham, Dennies Kurian, Jithin Antony
St.Josephs College of Engineering and Technology, Palai M.G University Kottayam
tomsondevis@yahoo.com,ajaivbabu@gmail.com,ajinaca.ece@gmail.com denniesekurian@gmail.com,jithinack@gmail.com Abstract Community radio (CR) is a participatory medium and a subset of Radio broadcasting. It is an inexpensive and popular way for disseminating content such as information, news, entertainment, etc. Community Radio is designed to increase availability of localized information, media access and empowerment, societal resource distribution for the community, and even for the educational purpose. Frequency modulation has several advantages over the system of amplitude modulation used in the alternate form of radio broadcasting. The most important of these advantages is that an FM system has greater freedom from interference, various electrical disturbances, such as those caused by thunderstorms and car ignition systems create amplitude modulated radio signals that are received as noise by AM receivers. A well-designed FM receiver is not sensitive to such disturbances when it is tuned to an FM signal of sufficient strength. The signal-to-noise ratio in an FM system is much higher than that of an AM system. FM broadcasting stations can be operated in the very-high-frequency bands at which AM interference is frequently severe; commercial FM radio stations are assigned frequencies between 88 and 108 MHz with wavelengths between 3.4 and 2.77 meters respectively and will be the intended frequency range of transmission The aim of the work is to develop a Miniaturized low power FM Transmitter to be used as a community radio.

depends on the electromagnetic wave propagation and the specification of the communication system. Therefore the technical properties of the receiving system (antenna directivity, noise figure, selectivity etc.) and the acceptable distortion of the information caused by interference are parameters which affect the communication system performance and, thus, are required for frequency planning purposes. The information to be transmitted is assumed to be represented originally by an analog electrical signal which is a continuous function of time, has a finite amplitude range, and possesses a maximum frequency compound. In the analog system, the information-signal frequency modulates a radiofrequency (RF) carrier. Frequency modulation rather than amplitude modulation is generally used for analog transmission, since FM provides S/N (Signal to Noise ratio) improvement. AM is also susceptible to fading encountered in space. Thus we are developing low power Community Radio using FM modulation technique. II. CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY RADIO Community Radio is a non-profit service that is owned and managed by a particular community usually through a trust, foundation, or association. Its aim is to serve and benefit that community. A. Aim and Concept Community Radio (CR) aims at providing service to a particular community, institution or for a group of people. CRs small scale and local broadcast allows content to be more localized than from commercial or national radio stations. Our aim is to set up an Institutional Radio which can cover a region of less than one km. This is to cover the entire region of our institution, which can be used exclusively for educational as well as for other special purpose. Output radiated power of about 1 watt can be used to transmit the signal over the specified region. Omni directional antennas are to be used to establish transmission of signals over the entire region.

I. INTRODUCTION The constant technological developments in radio since the discovery of the first experiments by Guglielmo Marconi, plus the contributions of the inventions of James Maxwell and Heinrich Hertz, made the radio became a vehicle of mass communication. Comparatively low cost of equipment for an FM broadcasting station resulted in rapid growth in the years following World War II. Because of crowding in the AM broadcast band and the inability of standard AM receivers to eliminate noise the tonal fidelity of standard stations is purposely limited. FM does not have these drawbacks and can be used to transmit information content, reproducing the original performance with a degree of fidelity that cannot be reached on AM bands. The integrated chip has also played its part in the wide proliferation of FM receivers, as circuits got smaller it became easier to make a modular electronic device which enables the portability of a tape player and an AM/FM radio receiver. This has resulted in the portability of a miniature FM receiver. Commercial FM radio stations are assigned frequencies between 88 and 108 MHz It is possible to reuse the same frequencies at different locations however, the co-channel

The Institutional Broadcasting radio thus can be used to transmit educational programmes over the entire region or can be used to transmit any announcements or can be used for entertainment purpose. The only requirement is to have receiver at various departments in the institution, tuned to the transmitting frequency, which is economical as well as easily available in the market. B. Government Regulations The different countries have adopted different rules and regulations for usage of available frequency. Generally ISM band of frequency is allocated for educational purpose, experiments etc. Usage of other frequency is strictly prohibited by law. In India, Community Radio can only be established after the approval of Information and Broadcasting Department. Any legal entity should be eligible for having a Community Radio license. Religious bodies, publicly funded bodies and banned Organizations are not given the permission to establish a Community Radio in India. Acceptable Transmission Power Level in India is given by Effective Radiated Power (ERP). ERP of 100 Watts is allowed (with the provision of increasing it up to 250 Watts) in India. According to UNESCO a 300 Watts transmitter can transmit data more than 40 km with the required efficiency. For educational purpose FM can be used, but the continuous transmission of data though its for educational purpose is strictly prohibited by rules.
III. ADVANTAGE OF USING FM Frequency Modulation has been widely used in radio broadcasting due to its unique features.The growth of FM broadcasting in recent years has been more solidly based upon a desire to provide high fidelity transmission of good music, cultural and educational programs, or other forms of service which could not be provided in the almost saturated AM band. The principal advantages of FM to the public were the availability of a system in which there were no inherent limitations on the fidelity of transmission and reception which could be achieved, the inherent capacity to reduce noise and interference, the availability of new channels on which more Stations could operate to provide new or greater service.

transmitter, and it is not necessary to use a linear form of amplification to increase the power level of the signal to its final value. 4) For FM transmission, it is possible to use non-linear RF amplifiers to amplify FM signals in a transmitter. This is more efficient than the linear RF amplifier. 5) Well defined service areas for given transmitter power. 6) Less radiated power. 7) Smaller geographical interference between neighboring stations. 8) Waves at higher frequencies can carry more data than the waves at low frequency. B. Advantage of FM Over AM Frequency modulation has several advantages over the system of amplitude modulation (AM) used in the alternate form of radio broadcasting. The most important of these advantages is that an FM system has greater freedom from interference, various electrical disturbances, such as those caused by thunderstorms and car ignition systems create amplitude modulated radio signals that are received as noise by AM receivers. A well-designed FM receiver is not sensitive to such disturbances when it is tuned to an FM signal of sufficient strength. The signal-to-noise ratio in an FM system is much higher than that of an AM system. FM broadcasting stations can be operated in the very-high-frequency bands at which AM interference is frequently severe. Frequency modulated wave is less susceptible to interferences from buildings, traffic etc which provides improved signal to noise ratio. Thus for setting up of Institutional Radio, Frequency Modulation is to be used which is more efficient than the Amplitude Modulation. IV. LOW POWER FM TRANSMITTER The Institutional Radio which uses FM modulation consists of different stages like Oscillator, Pre-Amplifier, Driver and the Power Amplifier. It can transmit signal in the frequency range of 88-108 MHz, which depends on the frequency generated by the oscillator stage. Output Power of about 1 watt is required to obtain a range of about 750 meter, which is enough to cover the entire Institution. Omni directional antenna is to be used so that the signal can be transmitted over the entire 360, so that by placing transmitter at the centre, the entire region can be covered. A. Oscillator Stage Oscillator is a circuit which makes a continuous varying voltage level with respect to time. The same varying pattern of voltage level repeats continuously. Here the function of oscillator is to produce the required frequency carrier wave for modulating the sound signal. There are several type of oscillators, some of them are LC oscillator, Crystal Oscillator,

A. Features of FM signals

1) The most important feature of frequency modulation is its

Resilience to signal level variations. The modulation is carried only as variations in frequency. That is, any signal level variations will not affect the audio output, provided that the signal does not fall to a level where the receiver cannot cope. 2) FM wave has property of resilience to noise and interference. It is for this reason that FM is used for high quality broadcast transmissions. 3) Another important feature is related to FM transmission. It is possible to apply the modulation to a low power stage of the

Hartley oscillator, colpitts oscillator, phase shift oscillators , Tuned collector oscillators. Every transmitter needs an oscillator to generate the RF carrier waves. The tank circuit, the transistor and the feedback capacitor are the oscillator circuit here. An input signal is not needed to sustain the oscillation. The feedback signal makes the base-emitter current of the transistor vary at the resonant frequency. This causes the emitter-collector current to vary at the same frequency. The name 'tank' circuit comes from the ability of the LC circuit to store energy for oscillations. In a pure LC circuit (one with no resistance) energy cannot be lost. Note that the tank circuit does not oscillate just by having a DC potential put across it. Positive feedback must be provided. B. Pre-Amplifier Preamplifier is built around high frequency transistor BF200. Frequency modulated signals are obtained at the collector of oscillator transistor BF494. The FM signals are amplified by the tuned VHF preamplifier. This amplified FM signal is given to a driver stages which matches it with the Power Amplifier. 12V dc power supply is needed by this stage and has high input impedance. It also helps frequency stabilization of oscillator stage. Pre-Amplifier stage is a tuned Class A amplifier.Driver Stage act as a buffer amplifier and has high input impedance, and low output impedance. The gain of this stage is very low and is very close to unity. The main aim of this stage is for the impedance matching between Pre & Power amplifier stages. C. Power Amplifier Converts energy drawn from dc supply to ac output signal power. Choice of the transistor is based on intended output power and range. Here a 2N3866 transistor is used to deliver RF power to Antenna stage. This stage is a tuned Class C Amplifier which delivers RF power to a 50-ohm antenna. Heat-sink is used with transistor 2N3866 for heat dissipation. Carefully adjust trimmer VC1 connected across L1 to generate frequency within 88- 108 MHz Also adjust trimmers VC2 through VC7 to get maximum output at maximum range. Regulator IC 78C09 provides stable 9V supply to the oscillator, so variation in the supply voltage will not affect the output. The antenna needs to be omnidirectionalfor uniform transmition of the signal. D. Antenna The height, position and adjustment of the antenna play a crucial role in achieving high quality and the farthest possible reach of the FM broadcast signal. FM signals travel more or less in a straight line and follow the line of sight. The antenna that propagates the signal must therefore be as high as possible, and there should be no or few obstructions that can block the signal. Higher the Antenna farther will be the signal reach. FM faces limitations in hilly areas because even if the antenna is placed on the top of a peak, there may be areas of signal shadow in the valleys. For using FM in hilly areas one or more relay transmitters need to be installed to cover the areas in

shadow. The height of the antenna will depend on the terrain and on any obstacle that the signal may encounter. It is usually at least 20-30 metres above the ground. The Antenna may be placed on a building or hilltop to gain necessary height, or a mast must be constructed for it. Antenna masts can be built locally using steel uprights and lathes to create a lattice construction. However, a simpler and cheaper version can be made by using galvanized steel water pipes. Stairs are welded on to them so that the broadcasting antenna itself, fitted high on the mast, can be reached for adjustments and repairs. The masts must be firmly anchored in a concrete block in the ground and they must be held vertical by guy writ s. also anchored in concrete. There are two broad categories of antenna: Omnidirectional and Directional. As its name implies, Omnidirectional radiates the signal in all directions, through 360 degrees around itself. Directional antenna radiates the signal towards one segment of the circle around it. In certain situations, directional antenna has been found better. One example is where an antenna is placed on the side of mountain overlooking the community to be reached. A directional antenna beaming the signal towards a particular area would be able to give additional power to that area. If the signal is beamed through Omni-directional antenna, a part of the power would get dissipated or wasted resulting in weak signal reaching the listener.

v. CONTENT STRATEGY FOR COMMUNITY RADIO

For the success of any medium, content holds the key. In the case of Community Radio, it is all the more important in view of its specific nature, scope and objectives. As we are aware, a community radio is people's radio which reflects the hopes, concerns and aspirations of a community. To develop a sustainable content strategy for a community radio station, some factors need to be considered. A. Audience Profile Like any other form of media, content planning for community radio cannot be made in isolation as it has to cater to the needs of the community it aims to serve. Thus, the first question a community radio broadcaster has to answer is Content for whom? Who the community members are? What is their demographic profile (in terms of distribution of age, gender, income levels, occupation, education etc). B. Development Status Apart from the audience pro- file, a good understanding of the development indices in a community such as health, education, economic status, agriculture, rural development etc. will be required. The community may also be confronting some day-to-day civic problems or those relate with law and order, irrigation, sanitation, water distribution among others.

Some of these issues can be taken up in the programming with an aim to address them. In case the programmers are from the community itself, they will have some understanding about the local issues and problems. However, if they are from outside and represent any agency/organization etc., then it would be desirable for them to interact with the local community members, field functionaries and senior officials to thoroughly under- stand and identify the concerns of the community. In any case, regular interactions with the community members will always be required to develop a sustainable strategy for content generation.

make the community aware of the national issues and broaden their horizons to help them bring into the mainstream of life. F. Positive in Nature The content of a community radio can contribute in making people aware about their rights and responsibilities and can serve as an effective tool to foster communal harmony and national integration. The content planner needs to be careful about hidden propaganda, controversial and contentious subjects that may conflagrate conflict and tensions among people. This, however, does not imply that a community radio station shuns real issues - far from it, it is rooted in reality and to meet the objectives of social responsibility, its primary aim is resolution of a problem rather than its aggravation. G. Entertainment Yet another crucial area for content planning is that of entertainment. It is often argued that since the objectives of community radio are information and education, there is hardly any scope for entertainment in it. Even if there is, it is limited to folk songs and folk music. However, community radio programming need not be dull and boring; otherwise it will lose its inherent strength to draw people to its fold. Fun and games are part and parcel of our lives and there is no need to ignore or shy away from them. Even broad- cast of film music may also be considered in this regard. What is important is to maintain a judicious balance between information, education and entertainment in the content planning. H. Formats Apart from the basic formats like talks, discussions and interviews, a community radio station can also make use of drama, quiz and phone-ins (the latter in case telephone facility is easily available). In different areas, local festivals, meals and exhibitions are organized from time to time which witness active participation from artists of different art forms or genres. Their interviews can serve as a rich source of content. Since community radio operates on low budgets, it would be useful to broadcast more live programmers to minimize the need for recording and editing. I. Local Talent To emerge as a true representative of a community, a community radio station has to give ample scope for local talent in its content planning. Local people may share their ideas for developing a sustainable content strategy for a community radio station; some of the issues discussed above may be kept in view. If a radio station is able to voice the needs and hopes of the community and address their concerns by actively involving the people themselves then it leads to a marked improvement in their quality of lives. Thus the goal of community radio is achieved. VI.RELIABILITY AND MAINTENANCE

C. Needs and Wants Among the various types of needs, a radio programmer has to keep in view the felt or expressed needs and thelatent needs of a community while planning the content. Felt needs are those which a person is able to identify and articulate oneself while latent needs are those which a per-son or community may not be aware of but requires for its growth, progress and development. An analysis of both types of needs will help to identify the 'real' need of the community for effective programming of a station. Focus group discussions (FGDs)which give an in-depth view of an issue have been found useful tools for assessing the needs and wants of a community as compared to the survey method which gives a big picture'. D. Specific Issues Yet another important area which merits consideration is a focus on specific issues being faced by a community. For example, we all are aware that health is an important development indicator which needs adequate reflection in radio programming. But health being a broad area; it will be useful for the programmer to narrow it down to the specific health needs of a community for optimal impact of the programming. It is possible that a village may be afflicted with any disease like gastroenteritis, chicken pox or dengue fever requiring immediate attention. In such a scenario, it makes little sense to discuss health problems of far off places such as encephalitis or swine flu. The local health functionaries, doctors, officials etc. may be involved in imparting relevant information to contain the spread of the disease. E. Linkages The above example brings us to a very relevant question should the programming of a community radio station be confined to the local issues only or offer some scope for projecting larger national issues as well? It would be useful for a community radio to pick up some important issues projected in the main- stream media having bearing on their lives and interpret them with the local perspective. In this way, it will

Most of the equipment outlined above is inherently robust and reliable and is generally quite simple to maintain by someone with appropriate knowledge and training. However, certain simple precautions need to be taken to prevent accidental damage. A. Precautions against Lighting Experience has shown lighting striking the antenna during thunderstorms is common cause of damage to transmitters. It is therefore vital to weld a lightning conductor to the top of the antenna mast. And if the antenna is fixed on a roof, an earthing wire of braided copper should be welded to it, run down the side of the building, and fixed to an iron bar driven deep enough into the ground to find moist soil. B. Handling Precautions Other precautions concern handling of the equipment. Any radio transmitter that is switched on without being connected to its antenna or to an equivalent load will be permanently damaged .Thus, when a transmitter has been disconnected from the antenna, say for testing or repair, a dummy load of the same resistance as the antenna must be attached to it. Load resistors, as they are called, can be purchased ready-made and come with a variety of resistances, or they can be rigged up by using a normal electric light bulb of the appropriate watts. Another handling issue of obvious importance is always to take particular care to respect the polarity; the positive and negative terminals, when connecting equipment. A mistake here can burn it out. VII. CONCLUSION Institutional Radio which can be used to broadcast signals, mainly for educational purpose can be accomplished by using this four stage FM transmitter. For continuous operation of the transmitter within the Institution proper sanction from the government is required. Frequency Modulation of the information signal is done because of its inherent advantages as mentioned above. The range of the transmitter can be increased by using high power transmitters or by using more number of amplifying stages. Proper matching between the load antenna and the output stage must be made for the improvement of output power transmitted. The success or failure of a community radio station depends more upon the involvement and on ownership Of the community. What is important is that every member of the community must feel that this radio is their own and they can participate in the programmes. Listeners should look up to the radio as a friend, philosopher and guide. They should be able to convey their queries on subjects of concern to them to the radio station which in turn can collect the information required and broadcast it. REFERENCES
[1] R. F. Guy, AM and FM Broadcasting, Organized with the assistance of the IRE Professional Group on Broadcasting ,1962. [2] G. R. Town, Frequency Allocations for Broadcasting.

[3] G. Pradeep, Four-Stage FM Transmitter. [4] J. W. Whelan, Analog-FM vs. Digital-PSK Transmission, June, 1966. [5] Community Radio for Development in South Asia, F. Hussain, R. Tongia, Member, IEEE. [6] C. Fraser and S. R. Estrada, Community Radio Handbook: UNESCO,2001 [7]Francis Mc Swiggan, Design and Build a Portable, Miniaturized, Multichannel FM Transmitter April 1998. [8]Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited, Setting up of Community Radio Station. [9] Government of India, Policy Guidelines for setting up Community Radio Stations in India, December 2002. [10]Wayne Tomasi, Electronic Communication Systems, 2003, ISBN 817808-612-3.