What is the Structure of a Radio Station

The physical structure of a radio station consists of radio studio, control room, administration department and the transmitter.

• Radio Studio

A radio studio is different from a video production studio. The entire studio is strictly dedicated to audio. Radio studio is a closed sound proof room where voice can be recorded without any interference. A studio has a single sound proof door and no windows. There is a small enclosed place before the studio hall. This empty space is called a sound lock, which prevents unnecessary outside sounds from entering the studio. A studio is so designed without any interference to ensure that outside noises are not recorded and the speaker’s voice is heard clearly. The ceiling and walls of the studio hall will be perforated with woollen panels. These are also called acoustic panels. A studio floor consists of at least three microphones. There will at least be two studios in a station. The second studio may be smaller in size with the same type of doors, walls and ceilings. This is where the announcer does the announcements. This may be called an announcer’s booth or a transmission studio.

• Control Room

Control room is the most important technical area of a radio station. It is situated next to a recording studio hall. The control room operators can see and give signals to the announcer in the studio through a glass window that is attached to the wall. Whatever is spoken in the studio or played from a CD player or computer is sent to this control room. All the programmes are sent from here to the transmitter. A control room is connected with all the other segments of broadcast.

The microphones in the studio hall are connected to the devices in control room. So whatever that is captured by the microphones will be directly sent to control room. From here they are sent to the transmitter for its onward transmission to the listeners. A lot of changes take place when one speaks through a microphone. In the control room, technical people control the whole process and immediately send these waves to the transmitter. The transmitter sends these sound waves to the listeners’ radio sets which convert them into sounds.

• Transmitter

A transmitter is the equipment through which we receive the radio broadcast on our sets. This is big equipment in comparison to other equipment installed in the studio or control room. The strength and type of the transmitter determines the coverage area of the broadcast. There are two types of transmitters; namely Low Power Transmitter (LPT) and High Power Transmitter (HPT). There is also another classification as short wave and medium wave radio broadcast transmitters. Transmitters are generally located outside the city boundaries. The transmitters are of different capacities such as 1 KW to 100 KW, 200KW or 250 KW or above. Their locations are decided according to their capacity. A 1 KW transmitter is normally installed in the vicinity of the studio/control room whereas the high power transmitters are installed outside the city.