K·F·O·K COMMUNITY RADIO 95.1 FM * (LOW POWER FM) .......BROADCAST STUDIO PHONE NUMBER - 530-333-4300 P.O. Box 4238, Georgetown, CA 95634.....VOICE MAIL AND COMMENT LINE - 530-333-4335

The Story of KFOK 95.1 FM - Community Radio
KFOK-LPFM (Low-Power FM) GEORGETOWN

Recognizing the need for our community to have a local radio station, The American River Folk Society (ARFS) applied for a construction permit to build and license a Community Broadcast station in the Georgetown area.  On Dec 4th, 2000 the Federal Communication Commission granted them a permit for a Low Power FM station to be built and operated at 95.1 FM.

The American River Folk Society's board of directors then voted to create the Georgetown Divide Community Broadcast Committee (GDCBC) to carry out the setup, policy definition and operation of the radio station.  This committee of local community members met on a regular basis for several months to formulate and execute a plan to get our community radio station on the air. In order for us to qualify for licensing"KFOK LPFM Georgetown" had to be broadcasting a minimum of of 36 hours a week with at least 5 hours of broadcasting 6 days a week by December 4, 2002. KFOK went on air on November 23, 2002 broadcasting 7 days a week with more than 40 hours of weekly programming.

We now broadcast over 85 hours a week of live programming with 63 broadcasters from our location at Studio C in the Main Street Plaza on Main Street in Georgetown, California. Our live programming runs from 7am - 12pm most days. Sometime around midnight we switch over to a computer system that plays music though the late night and early morning hours so that we run nearly 24 hours a day every day.  The majority of broadcast time is filled with music programming created by local community members which has a wide and diverse range. In addition to music programming, local broadcast time is filled with programs from individual community members covering such topics as gardening, horses, teen issues, parenting, storytelling, community events, science and environment, ageing and senior issues, fishing, finance, politics and other social issues. We also stream our broadcast onto the internet and you can listen to the station by visiting KFOK online at www.kfok.org .

All personnel at the station are volunteer and there are no paid positions at KFOK Community Radio. The yearly cost to run the station is estimated at $25,000 which includes rent, utilities, insurance, office supplies, music royalty BMI and ASCAP licenses and our internet broadcasting. There are also many needed equipment upgrades and our tower relocation to Hotchkiss Hill will likely cost us an additional $15,000. Because of these expenses, fundraising will continue to be a very important and ongoing activity of KFOK. The following links will download documents that show our organizational structure.

Why Can't I Hear KFOK? Quick Tip - Do you have a directional FM antenna pointed towards Georgetown? This will really help with low power FM reception. The higher the antenna the better chance you have of picking up KFOK! Many Divide community members make the comment..."I can't hear KFOK, when are you going to move the antenna to Hotchkiss Hill and when will you get more power?" While LPFMs can broadcast at power levels up to 100 watts, we currently broadcast at a whopping 2 watts because the FCC has determined that our high elevation, as compared to the surrounding canyons (HATT), rates us at the lowest possible power level. Because our mountainous terrain blocks reception of our signal to everyone except those close to town or on nearby hilltops, we do plan to request a waiver to be allowed more power. We have found that our current power output does not adequately cover our alloted broadcast area so we are hopeful that our request will be granted. We are advised that the FCC is very reluctant to grant such requests so everyone within a 4 mile radius of Georgetown is invited to write a letter of support to the FCC stating that you are anxious to be able to hear your local community broadcast by KFOK. Please send your letter to KFOK Community Radio, P.O. Box 4238, Georgetown CA 95634. We will submit all of your letters with our application for more power. The good news is that tower height is more important than power with Low Power FM stations and a line of site view of the broadcast antenna is critical for reaching listeners that are more than a mile or two from the antenna. For that reason our signal should improve dramatically when we move to Hotchkiss Hill. As soon as we get written confirmation from GDPUD that we have permission to move our antenna to the new Verison tower we will be able to apply for a permit from the FCC to move our antenna to the new location. The higher we get the more we can reach over the hilltops and into the ravines and canyons so our upcoming move will dramatically improve our broadcast coverage on the divide. THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE RECEPTION OF KFOK In the meantime, there are a couple of things that you can do to try and improve your chances of receiving our current broadcasts. If you can pick up the broadcast in your car anywhere on your property you may be able to pull the signal into your home by using an FM lead off of your current TV antenna. Low Power FM signals are highly directional so if you can purchase a separate FM antenna and point it towards Georgetown you can also increase your chances to pick up the station. The higher the better so if you can set up a FM antenna 50 to 100 ft up in a tree you will have a much better chance. TRY OUR INTERNET BROADCAST If you can not pick up the station over the airwaves give our internet broadcast a try. We stream our live broadcast onto the internet 24 hours a day. To listen online go to www.kfok.org and click on the green play button. Most listeners will need to go through a configuration process to get the station to play and most XP computers will give you instructions in pop-up windows on how to proceed with the installation of the Live365 internet radio player. If you have trouble go directly to www.live365.com for help in setting up your system to listen to our broadcast.

We are absolutely delighted with the community support we have seen and all of us involved offer you our thanks! This is your community station and we want everyone to realize that our direction and programming will be shaped by whoever gets involved.  Everyone is invited to participate and contribute in creating a radio station that serves the listeners of the entire Divide Community. With your continued support we hope to reach that goal. Please tell your friends about KFOK Community Radio, we need their support and involvement too.

REMEMBER... We now broadcast day and night, seven days a week. Live programming beginning at 7 AM most mornings. At midnight we switch over to a computer system that plays music through the night until we find broadcasters to fill the late night and early morning time slots. We currently shut down our FM broadcast at 3am to comply with FCC regulations regarding unattended operation. We now stream our live broadcast onto the internet which is now available at www.kfok.org through live365.com. Click on the Broadcast Calendar link below to check on our broadcast schedule.

MORE QUESTIONS? FOR INFORMATION ABOUT KFOK EMAIL : [4info@kfok.org]

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Last updated on 3/18/09