TC Talks wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 5:44 pm
Holy Cow I just remembered that Radio used to be fun...
Yeah, I miss that part.
Oh, wait, I still have a little fun and make chump change doing radio with low power.
My twin 250 Watt flamethrowers are fill in translators for a Shelton/Olympia, WA Class A FM. I supply the translators and the engineering/equipment and they supply the full power station and sales/billing.
Height really makes a difference. We're at 360 meters, about 1400 feet above sea level. Much of the listening area is at sea level, so we have a decent reach with just pea shooter transmitters. Our signals are limited by intervening mountains and annoying co-channel LPFMs more than distance. We're strong in Olympia, covered up by LPFM in Tacoma and obliterated by a Canadian full power FM around Seattle. Maybe a quarter million population in our coverage area. The FM band sure isn't what it used to be with 50 pounds of new stations crammed into that 20 pound bag.
But a hybrid FM HD/Translator arrangement makes it financially possible to own a kiddie FM inside the edge of a major market, in this case Seattle/Tacoma. There's about $20,000 of my own money and a matching amount from the full power station invested in hybrid equpment. This got us on the air with two additional signals FM from the Seattle market's only commercial Class A station. We're not getting rich, but it has improved everybody's cash flow. And it's a little bit of fun to be free to do whatever we want to do with both signals.
My full power partners are doing well financially with Classic Rock on one translator. They almost flipped the main station to Classic Rock when they bought it a few years ago, but stuck with their unique Hot AC blend to keep the sales smooth. But now, they're playing the Classic tunes they all prefer to hear on their radio on their second 'station' and making sales.
And I'm having a little fun doing Boomer Rock & Roll on the other translator. Nobody gets paid, but it pays the bills and has repaid my original equipment bill, so life is good.
So put me down as a H*** fan of low power broadcasting. Yes, we have totally wrecked FM DXing, but it keeps a bunch of senile delinquents off the streets and in their home studios, so what's not to love?
My guys have been with me doing radio by remote control for nearly 20 years now around Western Washington on LPFMs. We've always done it with automation and voice tracking via Internet. We were WAAAAAYYY ahead of the curve on the Covid social distancing rush.
OK, maybe I'm having a LITTLE fun in spite of myself. Radio is a chronic disease that will eventually take my life, I'm sure.