FAQs
What are the station’s call letters and frequency?
1
That’s not quite settled yet, which is why we’re the “Redwood Radio Project.”
Selecting a frequency requires balancing multiple technical considerations, some of which are complicated by our topography, our forests, and our location on the edge of Santa Rosa and San Francisco stations’ range. Our engineering consultant is helping make those determinations.
What’s this Feb. 6, 2027, deadline about?
2
Starting a radio station is a multi-step process that begins with an application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
More than two years ago, a group of local residents recognized that the opportunity to obtain an FCC license might never come again, so they organized to apply for a Low Power FM (LPFM) license. The FCC approved the application and issued a Construction Permit on Feb. 6, 2024.
An FCC Construction Permit gives the applicant 36 months to broadcast. That means we have until Feb. 6, 2027, to show the FCC we can successfully send a signal within its parameters.
If we can’t, we lose the permit and, likely, the opportunity to apply in the future. FCC filing windows for LPFM are rare, and the FCC is not currently accepting applications for new LPFM broadcast stations.
How does Low Power FM differ from regular FM?
3
Aside from being much weaker, LPFM is licensed only to educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and public safety entities, not businesses or individuals. And we can’t sell advertising.
The FCC also caps LPFM at 100 watts, giving us a roughly 3.5 mile radius from our antenna, enough to cover our initial audience area but not much more.
Redwood Radio Project is currently operating under local non-profit River Arts and Media based in Guerneville.
What will this radio installation look like and where will it be?
4
It’ll be similar to River Theater Radio in Guerneville in that we won’t be constructing a massive tower like the AM towers you might see in your mind’s eye. River Theater Radio (KGGV-LP) is another Low Power FM station.
We don’t have a dedicated location for our antenna yet, but we’re hard at work evaluating possible sites.
But What happens to the signal when the power’s out?
5
The Redwood Radio Project will have emergency power via backup generator, which means you can rely on us during a disaster-driven outage, a wind event that’s knocked down limbs, or a planned outage.
Remember this: Power’s out. Turn on. Tune in.
Radio’s old technology. Why bother?
6
Radio is absolutely an old technology, and it remains the gold standard for public safety communications.
You can receive a radio signal to a battery-powered transistor radio without electricity, without a cell signal, and without shelling out for another subscription.
Radio remains the most reliable, most local, and most egalitarian communication method out there. Radio is available to everyone.
I have a NOAA weather radio. Why do I need another radio station?
7
Just because you have a NOAA weather radio doesn’t mean it’ll provide you the information you need when you need it.
NOAA weather radios need to be programmed to your county using Specific Alert Message Encoding (SAME) In order to receive necessary alerts. A transistor radio with a digital tuner just needs to be flipped to our frequency. No programming necessary.
Plus, NOAA information is applicable to a whole county or region. We’ll provide an additional layer of information that’s specific to our area, and we’ll also be tuned into NOAA to re-broadcast why they share.
What’s the programming line up?
8
We don’t have one yet. Our main focus between now and February is building-out the tech so we can prove to the FCC that we can broadcast per LPFM guidelines.
As we approach completion of the tech build-out, we’ll develop disaster-related communications protocols. We’ll collect best practices from government agencies and disaster-related NGOs, but we’ll also want to hear from our audience about what listeners need and want to know when an atmospheric river is on its way or a wildfire is in our midst.
What about other neighborhoods in the lower river valley?
9
Serving an expanded audience would require additional hardware and additional permitting. We’re open to evaluating the idea.
If you leave nearby — say, in Northwood, Duncan’s Mills, or Caz — and would want to pick up our signal one day, email us at info@redwoodradio.org.