Hello Paul & John! Long time since we last spoke! Here are some notes!
KIXP is located on Orcas Island
Orcas Island
My house, will be KIXP's backup transmitter site.
Mt Constitution - apprx 2400' above sea level.
KIXP-LP
KIXP is licensed to Eastsound, Wa. We also have a robust gigabit fiber optic internet service throughout the Island connected to many Cellular sites. So our kixp.org stream is a vital part of our station reach.
Orcas Island is a tourist destination, vacation homes, celebrity hideouts like Oprah, Microsoft founders, the founder of Sub Pop records, Macklemore to name a few. It's also a beautiful rural community of farmers, devout tree huggers and nature lovers along with people simply wanting to escape the city. The winters are long, but Spring/Summer make it worth the wait.
KIXP came about as an offshoot of my project here called StayAlert. Which is inspired the FEMA/NPR Labs project my company Jump2Go participated in 2013.
This national project demonstrated an emergency alerting system for the deaf and hard-of-hearing population in the U.S. using broadcast radio as the transmission medium.
This affordable radio receiver interfaces RDS radio data to real world functions such as bright beacon flashing, and bed shakers.
An optional screen can be attached for visual information.
Back on Orcas Island
Most of these islands are interconnected with underwater cables for Power/Telephone/Internet. What do you suppose will happen if that cable were to be damaged? It has happened in the past, possibility it will happen in the future.
It was obvious to me that our island community could benefit from a similar RDS fed Alerting system that would still function even if an inter-island cable were severed.
I was lucky enough to partner with a class C station that broadcast from Mt Constitution. Suddenly the StayAlert system was powerful enough to serve our entire region.
Progress was fine until the summer of 2023
63,000 watt StayAlert partner broadcasting our Alerts via a custom
RDS ODA (data) reaching Bellingham, Vancouver B.C. & the Lummi Nation
102.3 KIXP Alerts via Car Radios
Much to my surprise, the FCC Media Bureau announced on June 22, 2023, that a filing window for new LPFM station construction permits would be open from November 1 to November 8, 2023. This was the first such window since 2013.
My wife (Liberte Pedicini) and I swiftly formed a
non-profit: StayAlert and then two extraordinary people: engineering consultant Bert Goldman, and attorney Ernest Sanchez assisted me in preparing the application! Almost a year later, and we received our construction permit.
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I might add, near the end of the process, the FCC reached out a helping hand to us assist us in receiving the construction permit. Unbelievable!
Our project was a little tricky, as Bert Goldman had to specify a directional antenna in order to protect a canadian station. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Propagation Systems Inc, Andrew and Trisha Ross were incredible patient, helpful and of course create a wonderful directional antenna.
Our directional antenna coverage
​​Call letters: Its slim pickings these days looking at the FCC call letter inventory. But in the pile I see "KIXP", though it is registered to a marine vessel. Our attorney Ernie Sanchez writes the U.S. Coast Guard, who immediately researches and quickly responds that the ship is inactive and surrenders them to us!
So... KIXP "The Island Experience" is born. I should also mention that my very favorite radio station will always be KEXP in Seattle. Their dedication to their "Music" mission is so inspiring.
With this project nearly magical things happenned
Time to build studios? A retired Seattle personality "Bruce Murdock" donates and delivers this beautiful PRE AMX console to our downtown studio location.
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Then a local musician/producer legend (Bruce Harvie) donates his archive of nearly 7000 songs (MP3) & all of them are from local artists spanning 30 years. Suddenly we're a local music museum and a treasure to the community.
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Call letters: Its slim pickings these days looking at the FCC call letter inventory. But in the pile I see "KIXP", though it is registered to a marine vessel. Ernie Sanchez writes the U.S. Coast Guard, who immediately researches and quickly responds that the ship is inactive and surrenders them to us!
So... KIXP "The Island Experience" is born. I should also mention that my very favorite radio station will always be KEXP in Seattle. Their dedication to their "Music" mission is so inspiring.
The KIXP control room & home of the StayAlert operation center.
Allen at the farmers Market, showing off an antenna bay just before installation day!
So now we're on the air, and the real job of operating a radio station begins.
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Volunteers are stepping up and there are a million details to start planning for. Forming a community organization to staff the station etc...
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Back to the StayAlert technical stuff...
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My dear friend & collaborator was Joop Beunders. He was one of the "Creators" of the original RDS standard. He passed away, but not before asking me to carry on his legacy of work regarding RDS, RDS2 and Alerting.
A utility to transport text messaging using an RDS Open data application.
This application extracts and decodes the text messaging at the public location.
Joop's hardware I am integrating into the StayAlert project
This small USB device we will build into Kiosks we install around the islands, or for use in personal computers to view StayAlert data.
An eight tuner assembly we will build into an application needing to monitor multiple stations.
And that is the underpinning of StayAlert data services for Orcas & all of the San Juan Islands using KIXP and KWPZ for RDS Alert data distribution
Using the power of FM radio to deliver text Alerts to public
places, homes, phones and car radios.
Video Displays Computers Mobile Car Radio
Audio & Text
Phones
Installed in Public Places
Utility LED signs
Please see kixp.org, stayalert.org & metadatalab.org