Broadcasting FM radio from your computer can be cheap or expensive. In this guide you will find the cheap option to start broadcasting songs via FM radio.
Steps
Step 1. Determine your target audience
If you are in the US, the FCC has issued a specific regulation on permitted transmit power.
Step 2. If you are broadcasting from your home stereo or portable stereo, purchase an MP3 FM radio transmitter
Step 3. Connect the MP3 FM radio transmitter to the computer's audio input
Step 4. Upload a playlist to Windows Media Player or another media player and click “play”
Step 5. Enjoy your songs
Method 1 of 1: Use a PCI card
Step 1. Purchase an FM transmitter to plug into your computer's PCI slot
Step 2. Connect the jumper cable from the audio output of your PC's sound card to the audio input of the transmitter
Step 3. Load the software that came with the transmitter
Step 4. Find an empty frequency to transmit on
Step 5. Upload your favorite playlist to media player and click Play
Step 6. Enjoy your songs
Advice
- Enable microphone playback by unchecking the “Mute” box of the sound card mixer to announce songs.
- Use Skype to receive broadcast calls.
- Accept musical requests from friends and neighbors.
Warnings
- In the US, you must have a license to legally operate an FM transmitter that does not comply with part 15 regulation. The two methods above are legal, but there are illegal transmitters on the market that can be operated without a license. If you don't follow the rules you will get into big trouble, as well as causing damage and disturbance to the neighborhood.
- See https://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/lpfm/index.html for details regarding obtaining a Low Power FM license
- This article is aimed only at those who want to create an FM radio station in the USA and therefore does not encourage the reader to adapt this guide for use in Italy.