Innovator: Many rely on my radio for information

 

Setting up a radio station is a costly affair but Caroly Korir from Chemosot in Bureti constituency has managed to do just that, even though his is a makeshift affair.

And all the father of seven, who has no formal education in electronics or physics, did to set up Yaat FM, which broadcasts on channel 104.8, was read a 2,000-page book on electronics.

“I hate spending money on things I can make,” says Mr Korir. “Whenever I see an electronic item I may need, I try to learn how it was made it. Then I embark on the process of making it, through trial and error. That is how I came up with this radio station.”

Korir says it took him two years to set up his station, which broadcasts religious content and is a source of information and entertainment for many villagers.

The station is housed in an old iron sheet structure that was initially meant to be a kiosk. A single tiny wooden stool is the only furniture in the ‘broadcasting house’.

The equipment comprises an old microphone as well as a Motorola and an android phone. The latter contains 300 gospel songs. The studio also has an amplifier, which Korir says he made from an old radio.

The transmitter is made from a transformer Korir says he plucked from an old television. He connected it to capacitors, coils, eight transistors and resistors among other items through a circuit board.

The aerial, which beams the signal, is made from a wire mounted on a 15-foot pole.

“I use the old Motorola to receive calls from listeners and the android phone to broadcast music,” says Korir.

“Sound from the microphone or the phone travels through wires to the first transmitter where it’s amplified, then transported by other wires to the central amplifier where it is filtered and forwarded to the transmitter, ready for broadcast.”

Korir uses an old radio he modified to monitor sound quality. Instead of using regular dry batteries to power the radio, he has fixed an old cell-phone battery to the radio, which keeps it powered for three to four days before it needs re-charging.

“This helps to monitor the station round the clock. I do not use electricity due to frequent outages. It also interferes with the sound.”

Korir says he registered his innovation as a self-help project in 2010.

“The Communication Authority was unable to categorise my project as a radio station since they require a transmitter serial number, which I do not have. I was advised to upgrade my transmission equipment after which a serial number can be obtained.”

Korir has always been in love with radio. His journey to owning a radio station began in 2008, when he opened a shop where he repaired electronics.

“For the station, I started by assembling the equipment I needed such as transistors and capacitors, and by 2010, my makeshift station went on air. I acquired a frequency that was in the hands of Nomadic Voice radio then based in Pokot,” he says.

Although the station is yet to start generating an income for him, Korir says he is not motivated by money.

“I will persevere until things fall into place according to God’s will,” he says. “Many people have told me to close it down because it is not making money. But I will not because this is God’s work. I have faith it will grow because I know God gave me the idea so I can use it to spread the gospel.”

His schedule includes call-in programmes, gospel music shows, preaching and interviews with locals. Korir says he learnt to be innovative from growing up in poverty.

“I dropped out of school in Form Three in 1998 due to lack of school fees.”

Korir, who attended Kabartegan Secondary School, says he was forced to study from home before sitting his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams as a private candidate at Kericho Day Secondary in 2003. He scored a C.

“I plan to upgrade my equipment and I believe a time is coming when I will be listed among media owners in this country. All the major outlets you see today started small, just like mine,” says Korir.