What is Rochester Free Radio?

Rochester Free Radio, Inc. is a non profit 501c3 organization that operates as an LPFM non-commercial community radio station at 106.3 FM in Rochester, Ny. Our legal call letters are WRFZ-LP.

What’s LPFM mean?

Low Power FM. This is a relatively new service in American radio. In a nutshell, in more recent years, the government granted LPFM licenses to many non profit community groups around the country. LPFM stations could then broadcast on unused FM frequencies in their particular community. In fairness to these existing adjacent stations, LPFMs operate at a lower power to avoid interference.

So you’re hard to pick up?

Actually, our antenna is pretty high up in the air and that gives us pretty good signal coverage in Rochester and most of the surrounding suburbs. And we’re working on technical improvements to squeeze out as much “juice” as we can. We also broadcast live on the Internet right here on our Website and on the TuneIn Radio app for Android and iOS.

Why the call letters WRFZ? Why not WRFR?

The WRFR call letters were already taken by Rockland (Maine) Free Radio several years ago.

What’s with the “LP” suffix at the end of the call letters?

LP stands for “Low Power.” All licensed LPFM stations(including Rochester Free Radio) use the hyphenated LP suffix as part of their call letters, per FCC regulations.

How do I make a tax deductible donation to Rochester Free Radio.

Thank you for your interest in supporting the mission of Rochester Free Radio, Inc. We welcome and appreciate your contributions. You can become a monthly donor through our Patreon page, or make a one-time donation via PayPal.

And if I do donate, how do I know my hard earned money won’t go towards executive salaries, corporate cars, expensive parties, out of town trips, etc.?

It won’t, we promise. We are an all volunteer group. All money we receive is used to pay rent, utilities and music licensing royalties. Anything left goes toward technical upgrades. We’re not about money, but need some to stay on the air.

“Some guy” told me you’re just a bunch of washed up former radio guys who hog up the whole thing for your own selfish needs. True?

Absolutely not. We do have some people with previous professional radio experience, but we also have many other people with no radio background to speak of who just want to be part of our thing.

I’d like to get involved. Do you still need people to do weekly shows and/or volunteer for behind the scenes work?

Yes. Please click here to learn how you can join Rochester Free Radio.