I'm...looking for a way to listen to radio stations -- local stations -- based in towns and cities other from my own. For example, although I reside in Los Angeles, I'd love to be able to listen to -- and record -- FM and/or AM broadcasts being heard by people who drive to and from work each day in, say, Cheyenne, Wyoming or Sevastopol, California (to name two completely random locales). I have combed the internet for clues on how to do this but have come up empty-handed.
- Michael
Answer:
The Hodgepodge that is AM and FM
All individual AM and FM radio stations in the United States are limited by law to power constraints that are granted and overseen by the Federal Communications Commission. Generally, radio stations are licensed to serve specific cities and surrounding areas.
Some stations are granted full-time broadcasting with high wattage. Others are granted full-time broadcasting and lower wattage. Still others are granted daytime broadcasting (sunrise to sunset) with limited wattage. Plus, there are variations even after that.
AM and FM broadcasting, which provides local radio for hundreds of cities, towns, and regions across the United States, really consists of a patchwork of power and limitations which evolved as Radio grew from it's early roots until today.
Up until the advent of webcasting, if you wanted to hear a station from a distant market, you were limited to trying to tune in "clear channel" 50,000 Watt AM stations whose transmissions were protected by laws which forced other local stations using the same frequency on lower power to either sign off at sunset or reduce power to allow the clear channel stations to be heard in all their glory.
Many hobbyists called this DXing and invested in high-priced receivers and better antennas for stronger reception. But, even this had physical limitations and only allowed for a small universe of stations to be heard outside the markets they were licensed to serve.
Internet Streaming Has Changed the Listening Paradigm
Now, it is possible to receive many hundreds if not thousands of formerly local radio stations from across the country by listening in to their webcasts and audio streams via the Internet.
You won't be able to hear every single station because some choose not to webcast for various reasons. But, the Internet has reinvented local radio stations and provided them with a national and international stage.
For a good listing of online stations, see the Popular Webcasting Radio Sources area of radio.about.com.
To record webcasts and Internet streams, have a look at the many software applications available for very little money and sometimes even free by visiting the Audio Recording Software at radio.about.com.
