Upgrades to Improve Your Broadcast Radio Signal

As any broadcast engineer or station owner knows, creating, managing, and maintaining a radio broadcast is always a challenge, but it's flat out impossible if you don't have the proper equipment. Upgrading to high-quality equipment give you the tools you need to make a polished, clear professional on-air broadcast and hone the skills required for a lengthy career in radio broadcasting. Whether you want to establish a modest broadcast or an FM radio station, here's a look at high-quality radio station equipment to get your station operating at peak performance.

Studio Equipment 
The production center of a radio station is its studio. There you will find most of a radio station's broadcast production equipment, including microphones, audio consoles and audio processors. 

Microphones
Most radio stations prefer high-quality dynamic microphones (as opposed to condenser microphones, which, because of their greater sensitivity, are more likely to pick up unwanted ambient room and handling noises). Dynamic microphones are generally more rugged and durable than condenser microphones as well. A high-quality dynamic microphone will add a pleasing condenser-like brightness to both male and female voices while requiring much less maintenance than a condenser microphone. 

Audio Consoles
A radio broadcast console is essentially a sophisticated (yet easy for the talent to use) audio interface, with multiple channels for inputting and mixing audio signals from microphones, CD players, computers, telephones and more, and then usually outputting them to an audio processor for further sonic tweaking. 

On-Air Audio Processing
An audio processor will offer equalization (EQ) to balance high, low and midrange frequencies, compression to make the overall volume of the signal louder, limiting to keep volume spikes and distortion at bay, as well as other effects to optimize the original audio signal. Think of it as the “tone” of your station. 

RF Transmission Gear
To get your radio broadcast to the outside world, you'll need transmission equipment. 

Transmitters
A transmitter sends the broadcast's processed audio signal via carrier wave to the station's antenna, which sends it over the air as radio waves in a specific frequency band to listeners' radios within the transmitters geographical range. 


Antenna Array
Although it is possible to transmit FM transmissions with a single antenna, it's preferable to employ an array of multiple antennas to increase power without requiring a larger transmitter. 

Broadcast Gear You Can Trust
For smooth radio broadcast transmission, the above equipment is necessary (other essential equipment not covered in this post include headphones, headsets, microphone stands/arms, studio furniture, equipment racks, codecs, modulation monitors and more). Do you need radio broadcasting equipment? Give us a call today to purchase high-quality radio broadcast gear you can trust.