🌐 From Phasors to HomeKit: Reinventing Radio with the Follow-the-Sun Method

For 50 years, my AM transmitter used a metal box called a phasor to manage directional patterns. It hummed. It got hot. It required lockout tags and prayers.

Now?

A $30 switchbot hub, synced to sunrise and sunset via Apple HomeKit, handles it.

I don't need to guess when to power up. I don’t need to flip relays or call the site. I just follow the sun — literally.

And this is only one layer of the new broadcast stack.

☀️ The "Follow-the-Sun" Method

This is more than automation. It's telemetry-based broadcasting.

At KAZM, we’ve built a system where:

• AM power level changes trigger via solar data
• Transmitter control is routed through HomeKit and SwitchBot
• Backup relays still exist — but rarely get touched
• Signal propagation now aligns with the actual environment, not just the FCC clock

This isn’t hypothetical. It’s running live, right now, on 780 AM in Arizona.

⚙️ What Powers the Stack

We don’t just guess when the sun rises — we know it. And we log it.

Here’s how it works:

• 🔆 Solar telemetry from iOS Shortcuts + WeatherKit Pulls exact sunrise/sunset times based on GPS coordinates. Automatically adjusts for seasons, leap years, and DST zones. No more hand-tuned guesswork.
• 🏠 HomeKit automation to SwitchBot relays Controls AM transmitter power shifts via secure, real-time triggers. Entire system is mobile accessible. Fully redundant with manual failover.
• 🕒 Timestamped Logging (Built-in) Every event is recorded. Every shift is verifiable. Every cycle is court-, FCC-, and engineering-proofed. No taped-up sunrise charts. No operator error. Just clean, compliant signal timing.

📡 This Is Just One Layer

The “Follow the Sun” method is just the surface.

We’ve entered an era of layered, real-time telemetry in broadcasting — and AM is the perfect test bed.

At KAZM, our live telemetry stack now includes:

• 📶 SDR-based propagation maps Actual reach, not theoretical contour maps
• 📢 EAS firing + downstream validation Proof that alerts were triggered, received, and logged across all platforms
• 🧠 AI-voiced newscasts Summarized and broadcast within 90 seconds of real-time RSS updates
• 📊 n8n orchestration logs Showing every system decision and trigger — from stream injects to metadata dispatches

This isn’t broadcast automation. This is intelligent broadcast infrastructure.

🎙️ From Legacy to Lifeline

We didn’t get a FEMA grant. We didn’t wait for permission.

We used:

• macOS + Loopback + FFmpeg + AudioHijack
• SDR monitors
• AI commentary agents
• n8n automation flows
• and a $30 relay synced to the sky

And we proved: You don’t need a vendor suite or six-figure stack to modernize a station.

You need:

• Purpose
• Telemetry
• And the guts to rebuild

💡 Final Thought: Follow the Sun. Then Follow the Data.

We’re not in the playlist business anymore. We’re in the proof business.

If you run a signal — AM, FM, LPFM, translator, or stream — you’re already part of the emergency stack. You just haven’t been acting like it.

This system is live. This stack is real. And this is your invitation.

Join us.

🔗 Want the system diagram or Zero Trust Radio brief? Message me directly.

📡 #FollowTheSun 📊 #ZeroTrustRadio 🛰️ #BroadcastTelemetry ⚡ #SignalCore 🧠 #OpenSourceBroadcasting 🏜️ #AMRadioRebirth 📶 #EAS #n8n #FMTranslator #EmergencyComms #macOSStack