When you donate to Radio Boise’s Radio Repair Fund, you support us at every stage of the transmission process. 

A radio signal chain is not very complicated, but there are many phases to it. Within each phase is an array of moving parts that require either maintenance or worse–replacement. 

With your donation we hope to not only give you a little more detail on what your donation to the repair fund will go to, but also to help you understand a little bit better how radio works. After all, radio is magic. 

This fund will be consistently updated with the equipment we require and the repairs we are currently making, so you can see where our greatest needs are. 

Here are the current items that your donation will directly support:

Touch Screen Repair Parts to monitor transmission function and manage power at the Transmitter – Cost: $1,310 

Replacement Battery Packs for the Downtown Boise Translator –
Cost: $1,184

Replacement parts and new Feedline Connector to connect the main power source to the antenna – Cost: $1,036

Backup Battery Packs for the Owyhee Transmitter and Rooftop STL – Cost: $500

FCC License Renewal for use of STL – Cost: $890

To help us continue to sustain our signal and be prepared for planned maintenance and unpredictable problems, please donate to the Radio Boise Repair Fund. Your support will go directly to the needed repairs for the station, and will be critical in guaranteeing KRBX remains on the air.

Now and always, thanks to you for your unwavering support, and viva the resilience of community-powered radio!

Our Signal Path: 

The broadcast at Radio Boise starts in the basement of the Alaska Building at 1020 W. Main Street in downtown Boise, Idaho. Our volunteer programmers share their favorite tunes, spin their favorite vinyl, and discuss local and regional topics in The Booth.

This information goes into the microphone and through cords and wires into our Rack Room: a stack of supercomputers that process all of the incoming signals. The signal is then modulated, giving it enough power to continue its journey. 

Next, the signal in its modulated form, gets shot up to the radio dish and STL on the rooftop of the Alaska Building. STL is an acronym for Studio Transmitter Link. This device receives the audio waveform from the Rack and sends the broadcast to our radio transmitter out on the Owyhee Ridge.

Once the Transmitter in the Owyhees receives this transmission, it processes the audio waves. A “carrier wave” gets added to the signal, which allows the voice and music to travel over a greater distance and at a higher frequency than the original signal from The Booth. The Transmitter then disseminates the signal across the Treasure Valley. The signal can be heard from Baker City in the West, halfway to Mountain home in the East. Going north it reaches all the way up to Garden Valley, and heading south you can catch Radio Boise on the dial almost to Jordan Valley. This is 89.9FM.

Since Boise is in a geographical depression and any structure can impede a radio signal, we need an additional translator, located on top of the US Bank Building in downtown Boise, to “fill in” our coverage downtown and in southeast Boise. This translator captures the 89.9FM signal and gives it a good boost to reach the ears of our listeners in the heart of Boise. This is 93.5 FM.

Want to learn more about how Radio Boise works? Scroll through this PowerPoint, created by our Operations Manager. Learn something new, and enjoy some nostalgic Radio Boise photos in the process!