[grc] LPFM Powers Up With the Arkansas Sun

[Tom Voorhees]

These folks hosted the GRC a few years ago. 

https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/tech-tips/lpfm-powers-up-with-the-arkansas-sun?


LPFM POWERS UP WITH THE ARKANSAS SUN

KUHS, helped by solar power, bring an eclectic mix to Hot Springs 

BY TOM VERNON [1]
PUBLISHED: MARCH 1, 2021 
  _Volunteers prepare to install solar panels on the roof of the KUHS
studio building._ 

It's not easy running a low-power FM operation. Raising funds to build
the station, construction of studio and transmitter facilities, growing
and training a volunteer staff, creating a format that serves your niche
and of course, the endless need for fundraising all have to be mastered.


One misstep in any of these areas can cause the organization to
flounder. In spite of all these challenges, KUHS(LP) in Hot Springs,
Ark., appears to have hit one out of the park. 

Its combination of out-of-the-box engineering solutions, enlightened
management and innovative fundraising has created a cultural resource
for central Arkansas that has been operating successfully since 2015. 

KUHS also holds the distinction of being the only solar-powered station
in the state. 

POWERED BY THE SUN …

The station story began when Zac Smith, a tuba player and amateur radio
operator then living in Winston-Salem, N.C., read about the FCC's plans
to allocate part of the spectrum to LPFM.

"I thought, 'How cool would it be if there were a deejay booth in a
coffee shop and you could drop a tune, or talk about your latest
philosophical revelations?'" 

That thought led to Smith partnering with broadcast engineer Bob Nagy
and Bill Solleder, founder of Hot Springs non-profit Low Key Arts. Their
2013 application was approved by the commission, and they spent the next
18 months raising $35,000 and preparing for sign-on. 

The first step was finding a transmitter site. Smith and Nagy scouted
the peak of nearby West Mountain, which was covered with cellular, radio
and emergency service towers. They found a long-vacant AT&T microwave
relay building that was available. _The KUHS transmitter is located in
this former AT&T microwave relay building on top of West Mountain._ 

The power had been disconnected, and the two quickly did the math to
calculate their LPFM's power needs. They determined that a solar
installation would be more cost-effective than restoring commercial
power, and estimated a two-year payback period. The system cost
$2.75/watt including batteries. Since the installation work was all
volunteer, there were no labor costs. 

Nagy designed a 2.4 kW solar system for the site, and took steps to keep
as much of the equipment running directly off DC as possible, avoiding
power-hungry DC-to-AC inverters. 

The station purchased a Bext exciter that ran on 24 VDC. Nagy designed a
system to convert the solar system's native 12.8 VDC to +5VDC and other
voltages for ancillary equipment.

Initially, the KUHS solar system used lead-acid batteries for power
storage, which Smith admits was probably not the best choice. 

"They were the least expensive option, but they turned out to be very
high maintenance. Corrosion of the battery terminals was an ongoing
issue, and the cells had to be kept topped off with deionized water. 
Even worse was the damage to our other equipment from the corrosive
gasses they released." 

When it came time to replace these, the station used 200 Ah sealed lead
acid batteries -- more expensive but virtually maintenance-free. The
battery system has enough juice to power the transmitter site through a
cloudy winter week. 

In 2016, KUHS also installed a 6 kW solar array on the roof of the Hot
Springs studio. It powers the lights, studio equipment and a portion of
the HVAC. The system has a grid tie, so excess power is sold back to the
power company. For that installation, they paid $2.15/watt. There was a
lot of volunteer labor in the project, but the switchgear was installed
by a licensed electrician. 

To get programming from the downtown Hot Springs studios to West
Mountain a mile and a half away, they selected a Cambium Networks 5 GHz
WiFi system with PoE (Power over Ethernet). A pair of Barix boxes
provided the A-D and D-A conversions. 

… AND BY VOLUNTEERS

KUHS took steps to upgrade in 2018. The frequency was changed from 97.9
to 102.5 MHz to reduce interference from other stations. A Pira P132 RDS
encoder was purchased to add text to the signal, and a BW V2 30W TX
exciter was purchased for better sound and remote management. The
frequency swap was celebrated with a gala event at the local theatre.

  _Station DJs do a dry run with remote gear prior to a live broadcast._


The station runs with a staff of 60 to 65 DJs. One of the key factors
for its success is that everyone at the station, including Smith and
Nagy, is a volunteer. Smith said the idea came from Nagy. 

"He was really adamant about that. He said that at every volunteer
station he had been at, the moment you raise enough money to get one
person on part time, everybody quits putting in the effort. They're
like, 'Well, let the paid person do it.''' He adds that part of the KUHS
culture involves urging volunteers to ask for help when they need it,
but also emphasizing that no one is going to do your work for you. 

Smith's real job is brewmaster for the SQZBX Brewery and Pizza Joint,
which is in the same building as KUHS. The two businesses sometimes
fertilize each other, with visitors to the station patronizing the
brewery, and brewery customers discovering KUHS. _A KUHS promotion asked
listeners to post pictures of their pets on Instagram. Favorites were
posted by the station, and the first-prize winner was awarded a radio._ 

The programming philosophy for KUHS is providing community access and
airing eclectic genres of music that are neglected by mainstream media.
Smith uses a community garden analogy to describe the programming. 

"We're not maximizing our slice of the radio spectrum for money, rather
we're maximizing it for access." Volunteer DJs have a love for a
particular type of music that they think is underrepresented on the
airwaves of Hot Springs. Each one stakes out a 1-2-hour shift to bring
their musical passion to the community.

Planet Sounds, hosted by DJ Modest, features all genres of world music.
Sonny Kay, Danny P and Operator OT host "Finally Friday," where they
play "motivational, agitational and otherwise propellent punk and pop"
guaranteed to get a Friday night moving. And "Half Machine Lip Moves" is
where you'll hear "alien soundtracks from the industrial underground,"
bringing you EBM, industrial, power electronics and noise, dark ambient,
no wave, synthpunk, cold wave/minimal wave, noise rock, the experimental
sounds of inner and outer space, and more. 

Unusual for 21st century century radio, the KUHS studios have
turntables, and several of the volunteers build their shows around
various genres of esoteric vinyl. 

Most vinyl DJs bring their own material. The station has a small library
of around 200 LPs, 50 singles and approximately 200 CDs. Most were
donated when the station started. 

"With the internet what it is in terms of a musical resource," Smith
said, "I decided early on that being an archivist was not going to be
our strong point. With 60 or 70 DJs, what would you collect with limited
space?" 

Holding down a full-time job while managing KUHS requires some
thoughtful time management. One trick Smith utilizes is automation. 

"One of our board members is a programmer, and he has been able to
automate a lot of small tasks I need to do and glue them together with
Python." 

KUHS is a member of the Grassroots Radio Coalition, an offshoot of
public radio that focuses on community access and volunteer involvement
in station operations. In 2016, the station hosted the annual Grassroots
Radio Conference.

The annual budget for KUHS is about $12,000. That relatively small
number is possible due to the combination of an all-volunteer staff and
regular contributions from a stable financial base that includes several
large benefactors, major contributors and numerous Hot Springs
merchants. Additional revenue comes from music festivals. All of this
makes Smith very grateful, "No one really wants the job of going door to
door asking for money. 

Links:
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[1] https://www.radioworld.com/author/tomvernon