Walk into the Computer Deconstruction Laboratory and make a right turn. Keep walking…
Opening the door, your first thought is why is there a radio station hiding in building 9059 at Camp Evans ?
- big studio room, check
- boom microphones with the CDL logo, check
- broadcast audio mixer, check
- large format monitors everywhere, check
- clocks with “on air signs” check
- CD library filling shelves, check
Must be a radio station, right? Nope, CDL is not a radio station….
Simply put, there is only so much space on the radio dial!
However to improve access to “local” radio, the FCC approved a new concept called Low Power FM (LPFM) in January of 2000. The filing window to apply for a license in New Jersey opened 10/15/2013, and was extended to 11/14/2013.
The concept of an actual radio station (LPFM) at Camp Evans was initially broached in 2013. There was minimal buy-in and general negativity toward the concept, so the project was abandoned.
End result: Most of the available channels with more coverage was applied for and granted to religious broadcasters, with the remainder of the channels later used by translators (booster stations)
Fast forward to June of 2023: The FCC announced another license application “window” for 2023, with a change in the technical parameters that would allow one additional space on the FM dial in the Wall / Belmar area.
When this window openend on December 6, 2023 CDL funded the engineering and consulting costs to apply on behalf of InfoAge. Turns out we were the only applicant in Monmouth County for 103.9 FM!
Here’s the legal notice! https://compdecon.org/lpfm/