Brazil is embarking on a grand experiment with the radio dial. AM stations have the opportunity to relocate to FM, and plans are afoot to expand the size of the FM dial. However, don’t be surprised that you haven’t heard about it. We hadn’t either until listener Álvaro Burns brought it to our attention. Álvaro […]
One of our Patreon supporters dropped us a line to ask if we’d take up the question of how to improve reception of low-powered stations. It’s a challenge most radio lovers have faced, not quite being able to tune in your favorite college or community station, especially inside a house or office, even when that […]
LPFM, college and community stations are great, but because of low power many of them are also hard to hear, especially inside your house or office. Based on an inquiry from one of our Patreon supporters, we dedicate this episode to helping you improve your reception. Broadcaster and radio reviewer extraordinaire Jay Allen, the man […]
Norway will turn off national FM broadcasts on January 11. However, about 200 local FM stations will continue to broadcast for at least another five years, as we reported last year when the story first hit the international press. That crucial detail was missing from international coverage then, and it continues to be overlooked now. […]
I was in New Zealand over the recent holidays, and while waiting in line at a beachside food stand near Christchurch I noticed a t-shirt the teenager behind the counter was wearing, advertising “Rotten Radio 107.7 fm, Lyttelton.” I asked him about the station, and he only said that it’s “cool” and I should listen […]
Long-time Radio Survivor readers know that I’ve been tracking one of the stranger vestiges of analog television in the US: channel 6 low-power TV stations that can be heard at the far left end of the FM dial. I’ve called them “back door” stations, while others in the radio industry call them “FrankenFMs.” Since low-power […]
Editor’s Note: Fred Krock is a retired broadcaster who worked in commercial broadcasting in San Francisco and New York City. An electrical engineer, he got his start in radio at KZSU at Stanford University in 1950. Fred offered to share his memories of KZSU and radio in the Bay Area from that time, and we […]
I’m a sucker for stories from FM radio’s freeform heyday, a time perhaps a little more hazy in memory because of its coincidence with 70s drug culture. Which goes to say that I enjoyed the Thanksgiving episode of WTF with Marc Maron featuring a breezy live interview with Los Angeles FM radio veterans Jim Ladd […]
As an experiment of sorts, I decided to shoot my first video blog (or “vlog”) for Radio Survivor. I’ve been wanting to share a bandscan of all the HD Radio stations in Portland, OR, where I live, and I finally got down to it. Although I’m a critic of HD Radio, I do think it’s […]
On Tuesday AT&T, the nation’s second largest wireless carrier, announced that it is activating the FM radio chips on Android smartphones subscribed to its service. Beginning in 2016, subscribers buying new compatible phones will be able to use the free NextRadio app to listen to both terrestrial broadcasts and those stations’ internet streams. Sprint, the […]
