You're probably thinking that the equipment available to members must be outdated and old-fashioned. Probably just some old cameras and portable VHS decks--hand-me-downs from the local community college. Just enough stuff to make you feel like you're producing a real video, right?

Not true. Many access centers have a healthy inventory of prosumer equipment. It might not be Beta-SP, but it's probably not Beta I, either. In many centers, you will find S-VHS or Hi8 camcorders or docking recorders for field production. And there will be field monitors and lights and lavalier mikes, too.

In the studio (yes, some centers have one) you will look up and most likely see a lighting grid. And--and are those three studio cameras I see? Wow! They even have tally lights! And a teleprompter! Does my $25 a year include the teleprompter? You're kidding! Is that the control room in there? A phone patch, too? No way!

Participation in public access may be inexpensive, but it is no small potatoes. According to the Alliance, access centers churn out more than 20,000 hours of original programming each week. And they give members the tools to do it. Whether it is field production, studio work, or A/B-roll editing, your local access center will provide you with equipment that is more than adequate to produce a very attractive show.

In spite of the apparent abundance of access centers throughout the country, locating one near you is not always easy. Don't get too excited until you know for sure whether or not your community has an access center.

You might try contacting your local government first and asking for information regarding public access centers in your area. Your local cable operator would most likely have that sort of information as well.

If you have a little more money to kick around and are curious about the scope of public access nationwide, the Alliance publishes a directory of all the access centers they are aware of.

For those of you who have more than a passing acquaintance with cyberspace, many access centers have or are developing Internet addresses and websites on the World Wide Web. According to Kari Peterson, Executive Director of Davis Community Television in Davis, California, the Alliance is currently probing the powers of the information superhighway.

Peterson explained how visitors to the infobahn can find information about public access. "Use a search tool," she says. "For example, you might look for topics under 'access' and 'television.' The information you would get that way might lead you to more specialized information that, hopefully, will tell you how to get involved with an access center near you."

Peterson said that many websites are being developed with direct links to other sites. "You might, for example, find a website for the southeast region of the United States," she says. "That site could, in turn, take you to the Anytown Access Center website."

The Alliance currently has an e-mail address should you wish to contact them electronically. You can reach them at alliancecm@aol.com. The Alliance is developing a website that may be available by the time you read this. E-mail them for more information.

Many people confuse public access television with a host of other distribution options. One of these is public television. Public television, better known as PBS, is not the same thing as public access television. For one, they receive their funding from different sources. Many community access centers get funding primarily through franchise fees paid to the local government by the cable operator. Public television, on the contrary, receives funding largely through private fund-raising, state appropriation, corporate underwriting, and Federal grants.

More importantly, it is the program directors at public television stations who decide what goes on the air, and they draw from a large pool of shows produced by high-paid videomakers and filmmakers. In public access television, you decide what goes on the air.

Likewise, do not confuse public access television with leased access. Leased access requires that you purchase time from a cable operator in exchange for the opportunity to run your own commecial messages. Leased access is another way to get on the air. And though it may cost more than public access, it allows you to make money.