Tips For Receiving FRO's Signal
Free Radio Olympia broadcasts on 98.5 FM in mono, not stereo. If you are tuning in on a digital receiver, make sure stereo (MPX) muting is turned off. If not, your radio will not receive our signal. If you have a SCAN or SEEK function on your radio, it may not stop on our signal. Try tuning in manually.
Listening at home: antenna makes a big difference. Any old piece of wire will usually help, the longer the better. Make sure the end is stripped of any plastic coating, then attach it to the antenna pin or screw on your radio labeled "antenna" or "ANT", or if you are using a radio with an attached telescoping antenna, wrap the stripped section of wire firmly around the antenna and tape it down. Tack the wire up high on your wall near a window facing roughly toward central Olympia and away from large metal objects and other electronic devices (like a computer). If the signal doesn't come in clear, try the other walls. Usually if you move the wire and perhaps the radio around enough, you can usually find a spot where it will come in pretty clear.
If live in Olympia, Lacey, or Tumwater and you are unable to receive FRO on 98.5 FM, please email us at fro@riseup.net and let us know your location so we can include your neighborhood in future planning. If you live outside of town in a marginal reception area, and you have been successful at receiving our signal, we would like to hear about that as well!
Why we use MONO instead of STEREO
To broadcast in stereo, you need an expensive device called a stereo encoder. The main reason why we don't use stereo is that a mono signal is easier to tune in even if its not coming in totally clear. In stereo, you have to use more power to put out a listenable signal. A person listening from five miles away would need a stronger stereo signal at their antenna to receive the same quality of signal they will get from us in mono. So mono gets out further and clearer than stereo would with same amount of power. Our mono signal is more accessible and has that great D.I.Y. aesthetic too!
Created on 2004-12-01 15:07:42 by fro
Updated on 2005-10-05 14:41:20 by fro
please comment below if you have questions or concerns about receiving FRO
fucking shit up since 2001!
frolympia.org 2.0 built by t.l.a., Summer 2008
Comments
great info
I think it's great that you posted this.
Great way to keep communicated with listeners!
Possibly a QSL
I have a really sensitive radio, and i pick up far away radio stations on FM, AM, & SW... but i think i can receive your signal from Centralia, and if it isn't you, then i am curious.... i hear a station on 98.5 MHz, and it comes in pretty clear on some days, but there is a station called KGHO-FM in Hoquiam - also broadcasting at 100 W and it's licensed... but it seems like i could pick up your station easier than the one in Hoquiam... but i am really not sure, because i doubt that you play 80's music whenever i switch the radio on at this time. lol but idk what the radio station is, because it will not identify itself... so it may be another pirate radio station =D oh yea i tried to listen to your live stream... all three of them with vlc media player and WMP, and none of em worked =/ just thought i would give you a heads up =)