[dropcap]O[/dropcap]nce upon a time, manning a radio station meant dealing with a large soundboard, microphones and maybe even a record or cassette player.
With the help of a desktop computer and some sound equipment, Dripping Springs High students manage a student-run radio station housed right on campus.
KROAR AM 1690, which hit the airwaves this week, is a student radio station that transmits both a live Internet stream and a frequency on the AM band.
Jessica Stamp, Dripping Springs High journalism teacher, said fellow teacher B.J. Mercer helped students create the station in his audio-visual technology class last year.
“They put it all together and got it up and running ... They constructed the hardware and they obtained licensing for the AM (band).”
Jessica Stamp, Dripping Springs High journalism teacher
Dripping Springs High junior Cameron Casey, who has his own radio show and helps with the technical aspects of the station, said the students in Mercer’s class “got it off the ground.”
After the semester ended last year, Casey realized many of the students who worked on the station were graduating.
He then sought the chance to be a part of the radio station this year.
“I signed up for it on my own volition,” Casey said. “Others saw that it was cool, so they stayed.”
The station transmits 24-hours per day and features music purchased through the Radio DJ software program.
Stamp said the station also transmits on the AM Band, but on a limited format. She said the team is moving into the live-streaming format.
“We did some market research and the kids don’t listen to radio,” Stamp said. She added the AM signal is “weak” and has a lot of noise as well.
“We moved some of the focus on streaming in school. We can stream it over the PA system, in the courtyard or cafeteria and teachers can stream it in the room,” she said.
Casey, who had no previous experience operating radio equipment, said operating the station is not complicated, but does take some time to learn.
It includes working with Open Broadcaster Software, which is a free program that allows for streaming live to YouTube to Twitch. Casey said the radio group will sometimes conduct a live broadcast, which is complied and played as a clip on Radio DJ throughout the day.
If there is no broadcast, the program will pick music to play from the songs that were purchased.
“There’s not that much real complexity to it. It’s learning and going along with that,” Casey said.
With the station up and running, Stamp eyes adding content to it. That could include morning announcement podcasts that are produced by students.
She said students can also come up with ideas for shows that focus on topics they want to talk about.
“The idea is to try and do those live and record content that is played through the day,” Stamp said.
