RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

station with sufficient range (10-40 Km) to cover the average rural community can be purchaseđ for $l-2000.

Sl. 1

The village station may be totally independent of commercial power , operating on the епегду supplieđ by a single automotive battery which is Kept charged by a photovolaic (PV) solar panel. The battery supplies 12-volt electrical епегду to a small D.C. studio (see photo), consisting of a five-channel mixer , two turntables , two microphones , two cassette players , headphones , and a 3-watt transmitter package complete with tuning unit and long wire antenna . Optional accessories include D.C. lights , fans and communication eguipment . Dependmg on local sunlight , options desired, and time on the air, PV capacity needed may vary between 30 and 80 ог more peaK watts The $2OOO. fi’gure incluđes studio and transmission eguipment, cables , antenna , 40-watt PV , 2 field cassette recorders and a reserve for local battery purchase . "Community media are adaptations of media for use by the commurity , for whatever purpose the community decides . ТПеу are međia to which members of the community l{ave access for information , education and entertainment. They are međia in which the community participates as planners , producers and performers . They аге the means of expression of the community .

236