----- Original Message ----- > On more than one > occasion I was under that mixer board looking for a > source of an intermittant, or 60 hz hum source when > the disk jockey was saying things that I did not agree > with, or was playing music that made me want to vomit.
One thing that I could never understand about broadcast engineers is why on earth do so many of them insist on putting the audio wiring under the console or in other places where you have to be a contortionist if you have to troubleshoot something or if you want to change a source into the board? About 15 years ago, I was the assistant chief engineer at WJLK-AM/FM in Asbury Park, NJ. The AM program director wanted a new piece of equipment wired to the board in the air studio. I had to slither under the board to get at the punch blocks, keeping my head propped up with a phone book! When my current employer decided to replace the mixer boards in several studios, I was determined that no wiring was to be connected anywhere inside the studio furniture. In those studios, all of the punch blocks are located inside small metal cabinets that are mounted on the wall at eye level. The lines going into and out of the board are multipair cables that run directly to the punch blocks. Other multipair cables are terminated with audio connectors on one end and run to the punch blocks on the other end. If someone wants something changed in these studios, it only takes about ten minutes. The cabinets are made by Leviton and they are available at the major home improvement chains for about $50 each. The decline of many AM broadcast stations is part of a vicious cycle. When the FCC lifted ownership limits and allowed stations to run unattended, a feeding frenzy resulted in companies buying up numerous stations, with the prices of such stations going through the roof. As the prices went up, stations cut staff and went to automation and syndicated programming. This drove away listeners and smaller audiences meant smaller revenue. So the stations made even more cuts and the results can be seen in the station that you mentioned. The most successful AM broadcast stations are those that run locally oriented programming, including lots of local news. The format can be anything that people in that community like and that is not offered by numerous other stations. There is a small AM station in Wisconsin that broadcasts an all-polka format, with local news and local features. The people love it! Those stations that simply "pot up the bird" are not offering anything that people cannot hear on Sirius and XM...except, maybe, for commercials. This goes for FM radio as well. WKXW-FM in Trenton, NJ runs a talk format that is all over the road politically...but it is strictly oriented toward New Jersey, a state that is usually ignored by stations in New York City and Philadelphia. It is the most listened-to station in that state, beating WABC, WOR, and other talk stations that run a high percentage of syndicated programming. Air America? That syndicated service is headed for bankruptcy. Phil Galasso K2PG Broadcast Engineer for 34 years
