What is Q107?

Q107 is a part-15 FM radio station based in Peoria, Illinois USA broadcasting on 107.5 FM. Since you’re at this website, you probably also realize there is a webcast for those that can’t receive our broadcast signal.

What is a part-15 radio station?

FCC rules allow part-15 broadcasts to be unlicensed. These rules cover unintentional RF emission devices like DVD players, computers, etc. Bradley University used to operate a part-15 radio station in the area. The stipulation is that the operators of these unlicensed broadcasts must accept any and all interference generated by the big guys’ licensed broadcasts. Q107 gets interference on the left from a 100 kilowatt station in eastern Iowa during the morning and late evening hours. On the right, listeners get interference from a station about 45 miles away. There are only a few vacant spaces on the FM dial in Peoria.

Why do you use the call letters WKQA?

From 1980-1989 there was a station in Peoria-Pekin, IL broadcasting on 104.9 FM with the call letters of WKQA. This station’s format varied throughout the time it was on the air. It varied from being Top 40 to AC (adult contemporary), then to Hot AC (a mix of Top 40 and Adult Contemporary) with the moniker of Q105. Most of the time during the evening hours they played straight Top 40 music. I can remember them playing ‘Twisted Sister’ and ‘Ratt’ quite a few times during the evening. This was quite provocative for an ‘AC’ or ‘Hot AC’ formatted station. We consulted with a former WKQA air personality to see what it what it would take to emulate the station. We obviously couldn’t broadcast on that same frequency. However, we feel that we can come close to duplicating the format of this heritage station so we proudly adopted the call letters.

What equipment does Q107 use for broadcast?

This is a good question! Here’s a synopsis of it:

• Dell Pentium II 450 MHz with 80GB hard drive and 384MB of RAM running OTS DJ software automation that allows live DJ interaction when necessary. This also serves as the internet server. (Can you believe this old computer does all these things?)
• Motorola network router
• Comcast high-speed Internet connection
• Realistic 3-channel mixer
• Alesis 3630 compressor/limiter
• Ramsey Electronics STC-1 sound shaper/limiter
• Ramsey Electronics FM-25B transmitter

We’ll include pictures of the entire setup shortly.

I live close to the Q107 transmitter but still can’t receive it’s signal. Are there any plans to increase your power?

The Q107 signal can be received for a few blocks which is already on the edge of what’s acceptable from a part-15 broadcast. Therefore, we absolutely cannot increase our power.

If you find that the Q107 signal is interfering with your favorite licensed broadcast or offending your morals in any way, please let us know first. We can solve your problem and still keep listeners happy. The bottom line is that we want to entertain listeners with the best 80s music, and we don’t need a visit from the FCC. It’s not worth it!

Why on earth did you start Q107 if you’re not getting paid to do it?

First of all, this is a hobby. As the program director of Q107, I started to attain an Associates degree in Radio/TV Broadcasting but realized the radio industry wasn’t going to provide a good living for my family. Therefore, I pursued other ventures in life as a main source of income. I devote as much time as I can to running Q107 without neglecting my family and PAID job. This truly is a labor of love for me. However I also want to make the station sound as professional as possible. Also, I love 80s music and there is a “hole in the market” for stations playing this music. Commercial radio stations play a limited variety of the 80s, and only part-time. Top 40 stations throughout the 80s sounded GREAT and Q107 tries to duplicate that sound as well. Hopefully by playing what 80s fans like, others will like it and listen too.

But you can make some $$ by making commercials. Why won’t you do it?

Taking $$ away from the big guys is the quickest way to make them whine to the FCC. Remember, this is a hobby not a job. By becoming a salesman, I also take the FUN out of this. However, if a reputable business wants us to promote them we’ll certainly make mention of them for a VERY SMALL fee. Any money made by our broadcasts is put back into the station to get better equipment and other on-air enhancements. However, we’re not soliciting for airtime. We occasionally air PSAs though.

What are PSAs?

PSAs are ‘public service announcements’. PSAs are usually 30 or 60 second spots that makes the public aware of a certain non-profit organization or social issue. No money is made from airing these. Anyone can download and broadcast these PSAs from the Internet. Just do a Google search on them.