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News :: Arts : Media : UCIMC |
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WRFU -- It's U: Thanks, Reception Reports, and What's Next |
Current rating: 0 |
by ML
(No verified email address) |
13 Nov 2005
Modified: 14 Nov 2005 |
Thanks to everyone who contributed time, money, effort, blood, sweat, and tears to the incredible 9th Prometheus Radio Project Barnraising, constructing WRFU, Radio Free Urbana, 104.5 FM, Urbana, Illinois.
Call for reception reports and where do we go from here...? |
Thanks to everyone who contributed time, money, effort, blood, sweat, and tears to the incredible 9th Prometheus Radio Project Barnraising, November 11-13, 2005, constructing WRFU-LP, Radio Free Urbana, 104.5 FM, in Urbana, Illinois.
The list of contributors to putting WRFU on the air runs more than three pages, single-spaced. I think Lynsee, RFU's ace fundraiser and marketer, can arrange posting a copy of it as a comment here when she catches her breath. This has been an exceptionally exciting and rewarding weekend for anyone who cares about the confluence of media, politics, democracy, and autonomy in our community.
The signal from WRFU's first tower and antenna combination on the roof of the IMC, which puts the dual-bay antenna array at approximately 60 feet (18m) above the ground, is loud and clear throughout most of Urbana and Champaign.
Kevin, in far southwest Champaign (past Mattis Ave.), indicates that WRFU seems to have only a weak signal in places, but other local reception reports indicate that RFU's signal is getting out quite well.
Charles, another WRFUista from Savoy, reports that Radio Free Urbana is "clear as a a bell" there. A quick drive to the east in early evening revealed that WRFU's signal reaches 10 miles out, to the far east edge of St. Joseph, and a weak signal is present all the way to Ogden., about 13 miles from the WRFU transmitter. Not bad for a station broadcasting with the power of a light bulb!
The current record for distance in reception of WRFU goes to Gary, currently visiting in Taipei, Taiwan, who listened in on the internet feed of our first broadcast event. Gary and his crew of hams helped with a contribution from Cunningham Children's Home of an old tower on its property by disassembling it last weekend to recycle it into WRFU's tower.
You're invited to post you own reception report of WRFU as a comment to this article. We'd love to hear more about where people are or aren't hearing WRFU in Champaign County. It is still possible to raise the antenna by constructing a higher tower, up to a maximum of 100 feet, but this will require community support to accomplish.
On Sunday evening, listeners to RFU's first broadcast heard an eclectic mix of the diverse and fascinating range of programming that will air on Radio Free Urbana.
You will still hear dead air at times on 104.5 as WRFU gets up to speed. But it is possible to help reduce dead air by proposing your own show. The current and somewhat flexible schedule for WRFU is available at:
http://www.wrfu.net/shows/
Training is provided for all airshifters.
Any slot that is not currently scheduled is available for your proposal. Some slots currently listed as covered may turn out to be open. Get involved by joing the WRFU email list to find out current info on what's happening at the station:
http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/rfu
RFU's schedule still has plenty of room for much more community input. What does this really mean? We mean YOUR show. To make a program proposal for a scheduled air time slot, see:
http://www.wrfu.net/proposal-form/
WRFU’s Mission Statement
WRFU is a progressive radio station collective committed to social justice,focusing on public affairs issues and the arts. WRFU airs opinions and debates in an open and diverse forum that focuses on educating and empowering the public. WRFU provides an accessible venue for an eclectic mixture of arts programming.
Who we are, what we do
WRFU is an Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (IMC)-affiliated and fiscally sponsored working group that is building a low-powercommunity radio station. It meets at the UC IMC, 202 South Broadway, Urbana, IL on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 8 pm. Our meetings are open to the public and we welcome your participation. We have 168 hours a week to fill with programming that is chosen by our members.
Based in the Urbana-Champaign community, the IMC is a federal tax-exempt 501c3 that has been empowering the people to “Become the Media” for more than five years by providing public, democratic access to information, making available technologiesand equipment, training, production services, and media distribution. Leveraging its present resources by increasing public access to them, the IMC’s most recent project, WRFU, has just gone on the air. We welcome your participation!
WRFU's first meeting since going on the air will be Tuesday, November 15, at 8 pm in the new IMC space on the main floor of the old downtown Urbana post office building. You can now use the main, westside entrance up the steps through the dramatic and historic columns on Broadway. You pass the new WRFU studio as you enter the IMC itself. See you there! |
Related stories on this site:
WRFU signing on
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This work is in the public domain |
Comments
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Re: WRFU -- It's U: Thanks, Reception Reports, and What's Next |
by Phil
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
14 Nov 2005
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Hi Mike,
I picked up WRFU really well in my neighborhood in northeast Urbana, the Richardson Estates subdivision, about 2.5 to 3 miles northeast of the Post Office. That means it's not being blocked by the county courthouse in that direction. |
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The Raising of the Antenna on the Roof |
by Jacques-Jean M. Tiziou (photographer) via Danielle
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
14 Nov 2005
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 |
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20 pairs of hands held the antenna, and dozens guided the antenna with guy-wires on all three sides. Slowly, carefully, the thing was raised and WRFU broadcast it's first show Sunday at 5 PM. This is the result of six years of work. Hurray! |
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Re: WRFU -- It's U: Thanks, Reception Reports, and What's Next |
by Paul Mueth
paulmueth (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
14 Nov 2005
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I had no success in getting a reliable signal to broadcast, to twin the signal as it traditionally called. I intended to broadcast the full first hour but really got a few lines from Mike Lehman. A better radio would have worked as my VW car radio sorted out interfering noise and signals. . . I should have borrowed a laptop
I'm thinking that one or two commercial stations may be radiating a fair amount of way out of band noise,
Stations are given leeway inside a saturation zone, close to the antenna, but I suspect WHMS, which is rather far south on Neil St.
If people can figure out what stations they think might be interacting with WRFU, this would be an important detail.
I have heard one report of WHMS coming in on a computer in NW Champaign |
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Re: WRFU -- It's U: Thanks, Reception Reports, and What's Next |
by uh-nawn
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
14 Nov 2005
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Congratulations!
I'm so happy for you, and listening to the station via the prometheus shoutcast feed right now.
I attended one of the first meetings in ML's living room, about six years ago. He believed it could become a reality, and now in addition to the new IMC office space in the old P.O., you're on the air!
I'm now hearing the fruition of your dreams and hope and unwavering perseverance as I type this.
You Go, ML and everyone else who made this a reality! I'm sitting here beaming with pride and joy for you!
Be The Media! |
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Re: WRFU -- It's U: Thanks, Reception Reports, and What's Next |
by John Hilty
jhilty (nospam) shout.net (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
14 Nov 2005
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I live on the far corner of NE Urbana (the other side of the street is outside the city limits) and the signal of 104.5 FM sounded just fine as of 8:40 p.m. (Mon.)
And the AM-tuner of my Stereo system doesn't have very good signal sensitivity! |
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Re: WRFU -- It's U: Thanks, Reception Reports, and What's Next |
by Ricky Baldwin
baldwinricky (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
15 Nov 2005
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Actually yesterday afternoon I couldn't get an intelligible signal inside my house at all. Lots of interference from other stations. And I only live about 8 blocks from the IMC on E. California! Today it seems clean and clear, though. Hopefully that makes sense to you guys.
Congrats, by the way! |
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Maybe We Weren't On the Air? |
by ML
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
15 Nov 2005
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Hi Ricky,
My guess is that you tuned RFU in when we weren't on the air. I don't believe we started broadcasting until 3pm Monday. When we aren't on the air, it will sound like several stations fighting to come in at the same time, as 104.5 is slotted in between more distant stations on this frequency, which are just powerful enough to give a weak signal into RFU's coverage area. |
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Re: WRFU -- It's U: Thanks, Reception Reports, and What's Next |
by Brandon
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
15 Nov 2005
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I tuned in today when I was near Mahomet and picked up a country station from Springfield. The closer I got to CU on 74, the clearer your reception got. Indeed, not bad at all for 100 watts!! Gotta keep in mind that on days like today, and yesterday too, ingress and bleed can come from stations a lot farther away than across town.
As a side note, WHMS is the least likely source to be the cause of interferance...Other than being in the FM band, the two freq's have nothing in common really, not even the sidebands. Although I did have one guitar amp that loved WHMS, but most TV's, phones, and other devices prefer WLRW.... |
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Re: WRFU -- It's U: Thanks, Reception Reports, and What's Next |
by Ed
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
16 Nov 2005
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I think you did an excellent job of designing & soundproofing the studio. I have 2 questions. Can WRFU's wattage be increased sometime in the future? Where will the music library (CD's & records) be located? The library should be separated from the performance area to prevent theft while ideally it should be near the studio to be accessible to the on-air airshifter. Obviously, the shelving currently inside the studio would only maintain the newer CD's. |
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Re: WRFU -- It's U: Thanks, Reception Reports, and What's Next |
by stuart
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
17 Nov 2005
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clear as a bell along Curtis from Philo rd. to IC, er CN, tracks, then spotty -- by Mattis signal overwhelmed by WFMB in Springfield.
going east on Windsor, picked it up clear at Prospect, but then spotty with WFMB until IC/CN tracks, depending on terrain, then clear all the way back to Philo. |
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Re: WRFU -- It's U: Thanks, Reception Reports, and What's Next |
by Lynsee
lemelchi (nospam) uiuc.edu (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
24 Nov 2005
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This is so sweet! Thanks for tuning in!! |
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