This is Part III in a series of posts that I will document my church’s journey in starting a LPFM radio station. Read Part I here. Read Part II here. Part III here. Read Part IV here.
WE ARE ON THE AIR!
It’s been over two years since my last radio update. The main reason for that is because we were simply waiting. The folks handling the technical aspects of the setup have a lot a of these stations they are working on. As of August 19, 2026, we have been broadcasting locally on 93.1 FM.
Preparation
We starting an online station on Live365 in April, 2025. The main reason we choose this service is because they handle the licensing fees as part of the service. Using their basic automation system, we starting playing music and sermons. It was too simple to do much else, but it allowed us to build our music library and work on the sound of our station.
For a few months, we ran a more robust system on a hosted virtual server using NextKast On Air. This allowed us to implement a few programs and learn the ropes of using actual radio automation software.
Installation
The first step toward the station become real was the pouring of the foundation for our broadcast tower. That was allowed a few weeks to set up before the real work began.
A team of people came to install the tower and get us up and running. The tower was put up using a crane and the antenna placed on top of it.
Currently we are using the pastor’s office in our church to be the makeshift studio for the station. The transmitter and a few other pieces of equipment are located nearby in a utility room. Honestly, the biggest issue we had with equipment was finding a 5G router. Our location does not have very good internet options, so we wanted to get a dedicated cellular connection. Long story, but most carriers would not work with us. Finally was able to work with T-Mobile business to get service that would work.
We had planned to use an automation system that our technical partners were making available that they could help manage. Unfortunately, it was evident very quickly that it just was not right for us. We ended up running to Walmart and buying a desktop PC and getting NextKast On Air set up. It was very much a rush to get it going. I mean, we had everything ready but just needed our material playing!
So for now, our station runs from equipment in a small rack in the pastor’s office. A small folding table has the mixer and monitor for the automation software. We have added music, set up rotations, and automated playing some syndicated programming.
So far feedback has been positive. We did a little advertising in the local paper to help get the word out. We are hearing from people in the community that are listening and most of our church members are tuning in.
We still have a lot to do and a lot to learn. I’ll come back (hopefully) soon with more on the LPFM journey. I want to share some of the experiences we’ve had working with syndicated programs and learning radio automation.