It Takes a Village: Our Time Has Come! KONA 100.5 LPFM v2.0

As of Wednesday May 30th, our transmitters are back up and running once again. The Emergency Alert System has been tested twice… once for the normal first of the month testing on June 1st, then again on June 3rd after an earthquake alert was sounded. Fortunately, no tsunami was generated.

During these critical times of change taking place on the Big Island, it is becoming more apparent of the need for FM communications that are free from the confines of the electrical grid and even from Internet Service which we rely on heavily. About 2 weeks ago, our very large #1600 battery was put in place from which we intend to power our KONA radio station. In the upcoming weeks, necessary connections and preparations are being made to bring this project to completion.

It took the combined efforts of both Waikoloa Woodworks and Big Island Electric to secure this battery plus the detailed work of Andrew Pope and “Hot Stuff Engineering” to create the framework for this large battery to assist with its placement and charging. This is a major project and one that has been the focus of our efforts for sometime. Thank you once more to all those who are participating in these efforts to make our community radio station self sustaining.

Also thank you to Michael Burnham of Ka Lae Garden Thai Restaurant down in Ocean View for the donation towards the cost of repair for our equipment. Also to Joe Limbus from Liber Limbia whose show is heard every Saturday only on RadioAlchemyKONA.com from 2 til 6 PM (Hawaii Standard Time).

We are very much needing to cover the remaining costs for the repairs and shipping of the transmitter as outlined in last months newsletter. Checks are gratefully accepted at KONA – 100.5 LPFM and we will be setting up a gofundme page shortly here as well.

Plans are now in place to really take this station to the next level. Of course, in order to do this… it will take the participation from within our community. We extend this invitation to all who can assist in the following areas:

  • Website Design & Integration
  • Audio Production
  • File Maintenance & Archiving
  • Fundraising & Promotion
  • Radio DJ Participation & Broadcasting
  • With special emphasis on the final item above, we are now happy to invite those wishing to come on board to get set up for doing weekly or even monthly shows from all over the Big Island (not exclusive to only Kona). All the tools are now in place to get you started including several training videos set up on the DJ page of this website.

    We also wish to Live Broadcast from events on the Hilo side of the island similar to what we will be doing this Friday, June 8th from MyBar in Kona: “Who’s Funk’n In Da House?”

    An application form is available at this link so we can introduce you to this wonderful opportunity. Aloha!