We are delighted to announce the realization of this first phase of many for Radio Alchemy: KONA 100.5. The FCC has accepted and granted our license for Low Power FM in Kona and we are now broadcasting on FM in Kona. Indeed, these are very exciting times for our Kona Community!
It was not an easy journey by any means and it involved a lot of faith and willingness to face the challenges head on in the process of getting the necessary equipment in place and connected to be in compliance with our LPFM License and Construction permit. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) was also just tested for the first time on Monday, April 3rd and was successful!
When all is said and done, we have met our March 11th deadline for covering our construction permit which was 3 years in the making. For this phase to complete its process, it could not have happened without generous contributions coming from Statements Furnishings and Accessories and Floor Sanding Services. Both of these business will forever be recognized as founding sponsors for their donations.Several other businesses have also added their support including Dragonfly Ranch Vacation Rentals,Patricia Sun, Hula Lamps of Hawaii and Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. Along with those who contributed to our fundraiser on March 4th, we are very grateful.
Now while we are planning for our next phase of activity, we are still needing to cover some of the residual expenses in getting the FM station up and running. But most importantly, our timeline for construction has been met. We are now FCC compliant as an LPFM radio station!
Once we have fully covered these initial expenses, the next phase of the project will begin. We still need to refine our sound further and need to create a space where production and broadcasting can be done. Many of the materials to do so are already in our possession and we will be seeking volunteers who can help us clear land and construct the studios.
We are also looking for broadcasters from around the island. That’s right, since we are capable of broadcasting live over the internet and relay it to our FM location, shows can be done from anywhere, limited only by having an internet upload to shoutcast from. We intend to set up multiple nodes from around the island including:
- North Kona
- South Kona
- Ka’u / Volcano
- Puna / Pahoa
- Hilo
- Hamakua
- Kohala
We are also seeking out a Solar Energy Provider which can create a system which will provide solar energy to our broadcast equipment to run it 24/7 from our central location in Kona Palisades. The exchange for this will come in the form of continuous underwriting acknowledgments for as long as the energy flows to support our system. If you know of a Solar Company who may be interested in this project, please have them contact us at RadioAlchemyKONA@gmail.com.
If you are reading this April newsletter, chances are very good that you have now been introduced to our newly designed website courtesy of Dirk Harriman. This provides us with the platform in which Event Calendars, Forums, Podcasting, Program schedules and this newsletter can be shared with our Community and World Wide. We also will use part of this website for DJ Training and videos which will assist our prospective DJ’s to download the programs and software necessary forgetting connected to our station. We are very thankful to have this wonderful website to help promote who we are and to connect us directly with 1005KONA.org which is the host site for our FM broadcasts.
Mahalo to all who wish to participate in this wonderful FM radio experience! It is intended to be here for a long time to come though it does need your support as well. It is up to us now to decide what timeline we wish to work with to become the best radio station that we can be for our Big Island and Kona community. Any DJ’s or programmers who wish to become part of our team should complete the DJApplication Form found within this website.
We very much look forward to working with our KONA community in the near future.
Michael Sofranko
Founder and Project Manager for KONA 100.5– Radio Alchemy