7 ms·

Show HN: Search for the radio stations broadcasting at your mail address

28 points by ccarpenterg 15y ago

duck 15y ago
Can you add AM?
- ccarpenterg 15y ago
  I think so. I have to look into the data to be sure.
  - camiller 15y ago
    I came here to ask for that as well. Also, I like that you only have to enter a zip code, otherwise I might have thought it was a great way to harvest mailing addresses ;)
    - ccarpenterg 15y ago
      The geocoding service is provided by the Google Maps API so you can search all the available levels on that API.
brianbreslin 15y ago
Can you add links to their sites? I know it would be a pain, but would be useful.
- pavel_lishin 15y ago
  It would also be nice to get a hint about the type of programming they offer - but I don't know if that data is available.
- aklemm 15y ago
  This. The concept of telling me what stations is awesome, and it seems to follow that making as much like a TV guide as possible is the killer feature (because I don't know a thing about most of the stations that are returned).
repiret 15y ago
Nifty. What is "FX"? I've not heard of that, and google wasn't much help.
- iamdave 15y ago
  Think of it like a repeater (if you know about networking) for broadcast signals.
pavel_lishin 15y ago
This is pretty handy if you want to try your hand at running a pirate radio station.
- dmitrig01 15y ago
  Actually this app could be useful this -- input an address and a radius, and it could tell you what stations are available.
lanstein 15y ago
For my address (94107), it shows a band called FX, I did a search for 'FX radio band' and didn't immediately find anything on it - what is that? Also, in Chrome, hitting enter in the text box doesn't submit the form, which would be a nice touch.
- ccarpenterg 15y ago
  FX is a FM booster or translator (rebroadcasting). I'll show the FM callsign in the next version.
ccarpenterg 15y ago
I posted an article about the project a few days ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2674266 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2674266
J3L2404 15y ago
For a more complete list including AM and college stations try: http://www.radio-locator.com/ http://www.radio-locator.com/
irickt 15y ago
What is FX? From http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/help?topic=fx http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/help?topic=fx Translators are auxiliary transmitters for FM stations that help carry the radio signal to a location that cannot be reached by the primary transmitter. Translators carry the exact same audio signal as their parent station. The call sign for a translator starts with the same letter as the call sign of the primary station. This letter is followed by a three-digit number indicating the FM channel of the station. This number is followed by two letters which indicate the order in which the translators are licensed. For example, the first translator on the east coast that operates at 88.1 MHz is given the call, "W201AA", the second is given the call, "W201AB", the third is "W201AC", and so on.
tedjdziuba 15y ago
What problem does this solve? As far as radio stations I can receive at my home, I consider my physical radio to be the single point of truth, not a database.
drivebyacct2 15y ago
Radio?
pbhjpbhj 15y ago
Why can't people be open about geographical limitations and just keep the "in the US" part (it's in the site title). It's pretty key to the relevance of the story to many users here.
watmough 15y ago
Any reason why this, very clean-looking site, won't run without javascript enabled? A form with a button really should fallback to simple HTML if javascript is not available, though obviously this doesn't preclude you from tweaking the site if javascript is available. Disclaimer: It's hot in Texas and running with javascript off keeps my laptop cooler. And to pg, the same applies to HN.
- ccarpenterg 15y ago
  I'm not sure of whether it's my english or I just don't get your question. A clean-looking site has nothing to do with the fact that any site could run with or without Javascript enabled.
ignifero 15y ago
Am I the only one who doesn't have a radio in the house?
parfe 15y ago
Are the stations supposed to appear on the map? All I see is my location which I just entered. I know where I live and work. If the station locations don't show up on the map then the map widget is fairly useless.
- rachelbythebay 15y ago
  Try scrolling down. It got me for a few minutes, too. I don't understand why the map is so huge if all it's doing is showing me what I already know: where I am. There's nothing of use on the map itself.
  - parfe 15y ago
    I saw the list of stations, but that isn't new information. For instance http://www.npr.org/stations/ http://www.npr.org/stations/ which maps the locations or http://www.radio-locator.com/ http://www.radio-locator.com/ which presents a better list than the linked site here. Don't get me wrong, I think personal projects are great and a great way to learn, but this ShowHN isn't useful or interesting.

28 points by ccarpenterg 15y ago

duck 15y ago

Can you add AM?

ccarpenterg 15y ago
I think so. I have to look into the data to be sure.
- camiller 15y ago
  I came here to ask for that as well. Also, I like that you only have to enter a zip code, otherwise I might have thought it was a great way to harvest mailing addresses ;)
  - ccarpenterg 15y ago
    The geocoding service is provided by the Google Maps API so you can search all the available levels on that API.

brianbreslin 15y ago

Can you add links to their sites? I know it would be a pain, but would be useful.

pavel_lishin 15y ago
It would also be nice to get a hint about the type of programming they offer - but I don't know if that data is available.
aklemm 15y ago
This. The concept of telling me what stations is awesome, and it seems to follow that making as much like a TV guide as possible is the killer feature (because I don't know a thing about most of the stations that are returned).

repiret 15y ago

Nifty. What is "FX"? I've not heard of that, and google wasn't much help.

iamdave 15y ago
Think of it like a repeater (if you know about networking) for broadcast signals.

pavel_lishin 15y ago

This is pretty handy if you want to try your hand at running a pirate radio station.

dmitrig01 15y ago
Actually this app could be useful this -- input an address and a radius, and it could tell you what stations are available.

lanstein 15y ago

For my address (94107), it shows a band called FX, I did a search for 'FX radio band' and didn't immediately find anything on it - what is that? Also, in Chrome, hitting enter in the text box doesn't submit the form, which would be a nice touch.

ccarpenterg 15y ago
FX is a FM booster or translator (rebroadcasting). I'll show the FM callsign in the next version.

ccarpenterg 15y ago

I posted an article about the project a few days ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2674266 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2674266

J3L2404 15y ago

For a more complete list including AM and college stations try: http://www.radio-locator.com/ http://www.radio-locator.com/

irickt 15y ago

What is FX? From http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/help?topic=fx http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/help?topic=fx Translators are auxiliary transmitters for FM stations that help carry the radio signal to a location that cannot be reached by the primary transmitter. Translators carry the exact same audio signal as their parent station. The call sign for a translator starts with the same letter as the call sign of the primary station. This letter is followed by a three-digit number indicating the FM channel of the station. This number is followed by two letters which indicate the order in which the translators are licensed. For example, the first translator on the east coast that operates at 88.1 MHz is given the call, "W201AA", the second is given the call, "W201AB", the third is "W201AC", and so on.

tedjdziuba 15y ago

What problem does this solve? As far as radio stations I can receive at my home, I consider my physical radio to be the single point of truth, not a database.

drivebyacct2 15y ago

Radio?

pbhjpbhj 15y ago

Why can't people be open about geographical limitations and just keep the "in the US" part (it's in the site title). It's pretty key to the relevance of the story to many users here.

watmough 15y ago

Any reason why this, very clean-looking site, won't run without javascript enabled? A form with a button really should fallback to simple HTML if javascript is not available, though obviously this doesn't preclude you from tweaking the site if javascript is available. Disclaimer: It's hot in Texas and running with javascript off keeps my laptop cooler. And to pg, the same applies to HN.

ccarpenterg 15y ago
I'm not sure of whether it's my english or I just don't get your question. A clean-looking site has nothing to do with the fact that any site could run with or without Javascript enabled.

ignifero 15y ago

Am I the only one who doesn't have a radio in the house?

parfe 15y ago

Are the stations supposed to appear on the map? All I see is my location which I just entered. I know where I live and work. If the station locations don't show up on the map then the map widget is fairly useless.

rachelbythebay 15y ago
Try scrolling down. It got me for a few minutes, too. I don't understand why the map is so huge if all it's doing is showing me what I already know: where I am. There's nothing of use on the map itself.
- parfe 15y ago
  I saw the list of stations, but that isn't new information. For instance http://www.npr.org/stations/ http://www.npr.org/stations/ which maps the locations or http://www.radio-locator.com/ http://www.radio-locator.com/ which presents a better list than the linked site here. Don't get me wrong, I think personal projects are great and a great way to learn, but this ShowHN isn't useful or interesting.