By Trish Moore, Star-Bulletin
Ann Tickle, one of the volunteer DJs at
KKCR radio, produces a show.

---

Kauai has new,
high-tech radio station

Community-sponsored KKCR
will be invaluable should
disaster strike

By Trish Moore
Star-Bulletin

HANALEI, Kauai -- North shore residents will finally be in the loop when the next natural disaster strikes.

In the meantime, residents from Kekaha to Hanalei enjoy crystal-clear radio reception of eclectic music and community programming without commercials.

For the first time, a radio signal reaches the entire island of Kauai -- and it's coming from the tiny 1,000-watt signal of Kauai Community Radio, Hawaii's first community radio station.

A fiber-optic cable carries a digital signal from the Hanalei station to Lihue, and from there it's transmitted to a small antenna piggybacked on a Kauai Electric utility pole on top of Kahili Mountain.

The station's equipment is some of the most advanced in the country, said KKCR president Roy Richardson.

That's because the federal start-up grant required the station buy the latest digital technology.

"We had to change our buying order several times in the planning and fund-raising process because stuff kept becoming obsolete," Richardson said.

"It's very high-tech, but it's simplified everything. It's low-maintenance, easy to edit and create programming."

A computer replaces the old analog sound board, and programmers record straight into the computer.

A few of the all-volunteer staff had previous deejay experience, but because the equipment is so new, they've all had a learning curve.

Manulele Clarke, a Hawaiian entertainer, has no radio experience and has never used a computer before. She hosts a morning Hawaiian music show, listening to her moods and "stringing everything together like a lei."

The station's format is whatever the community wants: Hawaiian, blues, jazz, new age, rap, with a sprinkling of public-service announcements.

"Less talk is one of our priorities," Richardson said. "People are kind of burned out on talk."

"The agenda of community radio is that everyone is represented -- everyone's viewpoints and musical tastes."

The station was a dream five years in the making, ever since Hurricane Iniki cut off the Hanalei community from the rest of the island and the world. Phone lines were down, roads impassable, and none of Kauai's commercial stations reach Hanalei.

It was that situation that put the project at the top of the federal government's priority list to provide the station's start-up money.

Founding organizers Richardson, Janet Planet and Sally O'Donnell secured a $157,000 grant through the Department of Commerce. The group had to match that amount. Former Hanalei resident Glen Frey of the Eagles came through with nearly $60,000.

Five years of planning and fund raising later, KKCR FM 90.9 and 91.9 went on the air Aug. 29.

The station is housed in the old Kauai Cable building behind Princeville Shopping Center. It's been remodeled and reinforced to withstand hurricane winds and has a backup generator.

Except for the original grant, the station is entirely funded through membership drives, community donations and corporate sponsors.

The station currently has 400-500 members and is hoping to attract members from Oahu, since the station can be heard on the Leeward coast.