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Motorists may hear the voice of Ybor City calling
Richard Danielson
St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Oct 25, 1993.

Abstract (Document Summary)
Angelo J. Anello thought he had a simple idea this month when he set up a low-powered AM radio transmitter broadcasting information for tourists headed toward Ybor City.

Motorists may hear the voice of Ybor City calling
Richard Danielson
St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Oct 25, 1993.

Abstract (Document Summary)
Angelo J. Anello thought he had a simple idea this month when he set up a low-powered AM radio transmitter broadcasting information for tourists headed toward Ybor City.

“I’m trying to make it just a neighborhood voice,” Anello said. “It’s not polished and slick. It’s just people in Ybor City speaking to visitors about what there is to do.”

Anello, 45, a former broadcast engineer for several local radio and television stations, said he got the idea from airports around the country that use low-power radio to give motorists directions.

Full Text (691 words)
Copyright Times Publishing Co. Oct 25, 1993
Angelo J. Anello thought he had a simple idea this month when he set up a low-powered AM radio transmitter broadcasting information for tourists headed toward Ybor City.

“I’m trying to make it just a neighborhood voice,” Anello said. “It’s not polished and slick. It’s just people in Ybor City speaking to visitors about what there is to do.”

So far, though, Anello’s idea has encountered a little static from local officials.

Anello, 45, a former broadcast engineer for several local radio and television stations, said he got the idea from airports around the country that use low-power radio to give motorists directions.

“Driving into a strange area, you’re hungry for information,” said Anello, who owns his own electronic service business.

Operating costs, he said, would be minimal – probably less than the cost of lighting a billboard on the interstate – and he hoped local officials would help make the project more than a little-known and short-lived experiment.

But Tampa officials wouldn’t allow signs telling passers-by about the station on city rights of way, so Anello has begun to get permission to post the signs on private property. The first one went up at a coffee company on 22nd Street on Friday.

“Radio Free Ybor,” as Anello calls it, went on the air at 1620 on the AM dial on Oct. 1. The signal, broadcast from a small homemade transmitter set up at a cement plant just south of Ybor, covers less than a mile.

The format consists of a one-hour, commercial-free tape of recorded messages about the historic district.

Even calling the operation a radio station is a little misleading, Anello said.

“Everybody envisions a big building with a lot of people,” he said. “This is an unattended transmitter.”

Eventually, Anello also hopes to persuade a local government to hold a Federal Communications Commission license for the operation. Under FCC rules, he said, governments are the only qualified applicants for licenses authorizing low-power “travelers’ information stations.”

Without a license, Anello said the broadcasts are legal, but he said they could be knocked off the air if someone else applies to broadcast on the same frequency.

“In 25 years, I’ve never had any problem with the FCC, and I intend to keep it that way,” Anello said. “But I don’t have dibs on that dial position.”

When Anello approached the City Council on Oct. 14 about applying for a license and putting up signs on city rights of way, council members were intrigued.

At a follow-up meeting last week, however, local officials steered him toward the Tampa Port Authority, which has said it would consider a formal proposal but has made no promises.

“The concept is excellent,” said Bill Stover, the port authority’s public relations director. “Disney does a great service by offering those stations when you . . . go into the Orlando area.”

But, Stover added, the port authority is not in the business of running radio stations and would want to be sure that “a lot” of other organizations would be involved with the radio station before it considered holding a license.

“It was left in A. J.’s hands to come back with a proposal a couple of weeks ago,” Stover said. “I’ve got to have some assurances that we’re not going to have any liability, and then our attorneys would have to look at it before we would even consider it.”

Jim Clark, executive director of the Tampa/Hillsborough Convention and Visitors Association, also said he thought Anello had a good concept, but he added, “I think we need some more information.”

Anello, who built the transmitter with his own money, said the operation would require little in the way of maintenance or electricity.

“It’s like a 100-watt light bulb,” he said.

Anello estimated that the cost of the equipment is probably less than $10,000. While he once had hoped to recover some of his investment through a grant of some sort, he has put that idea aside for now.

“At this point, I am not asking anyone for any money,” he said. “I am only asking for cooperation.”

Posted as Good Faith Fair Use: Transformative, educational, nonprofit use of articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words, factual in nature, not for use as entertainment or reward, the use is instructional, the place is non-profit multimedia and the use will not negatively affect the value of the copyrighted material.

College takes resorts’ cue in pitch
Press. Herald. Rock Hill, S.C.: Aug 5, 1991. pg. 7.B

Abstract (Document Summary)
Last month the college installed a low-power AM radio transmitter to let the hundreds of thousands of travelers who use U.S. 301 out of Florence know about the college along the busy highway.

College takes resorts’ cue in pitch
Press. Herald. Rock Hill, S.C.: Aug 5, 1991. pg. 7.B

Abstract (Document Summary)
Last month the college installed a low-power AM radio transmitter to let the hundreds of thousands of travelers who use U.S. 301 out of Florence know about the college along the busy highway.

Dan Myers is an engineer with Information Station Specialists of Zeeland, Mich., which installed the transmitter.

He said the firm has installed many of the approximately 500 such stations in operation nationwide. He said the Francis Marion transmitter is the first the company has installed on a campus.

Full Text (290 words)
Copyright The Herald Aug 5, 1991
Francis Marion College has borrowed a trick from the resort industry in an attempt to lure students to the school.

Last month the college installed a low-power AM radio transmitter to let the hundreds of thousands of travelers who use U.S. 301 out of Florence know about the college along the busy highway.

College officials figure there probably are a lot of potential college freshmen in those cars.

The transmitter is similar to those used in the parking areas of theme parks, national parks or to provide road conditions in urban areas. But it’s one of the first times a college has put one to use.

“We have so much traffic going to the beaches. We’re trying to let people know they can stop by the campus and take a tour and get a brochure,” said Jerry Smith, the college’s director of public relations.

“We’re not a tourist attraction per se,” he said. “But we’re named after an historical figure. It’s a state school and the facilities are open to the public. We do want to let people know we are here.”

Smith said a lot of folks didn’t know they could stop by campus for a tour. But those who do, generally leave with an admissions application, he said.

The station plays no music or advertisements. It does provide continuous information about the college in general and sporting and cultural events in particular. There are about 4,000 students at the college.

Dan Myers is an engineer with Information Station Specialists of Zeeland, Mich., which installed the transmitter.

He said the firm has installed many of the approximately 500 such stations in operation nationwide. He said the Francis Marion transmitter is the first the company has installed on a campus.

Posted as Good Faith Fair Use: Transformative, educational, nonprofit use of articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words, factual in nature, not for use as entertainment or reward, the use is instructional, the place is non-profit multimedia and the use will not negatively affect the value of the copyrighted material.

Buyers Can Get The Latest Word On Listing From `Talking House’ — Transmitters In The Home Let Listeners Tune In For Details;
Suzanne Monson
Seattle Times. Seattle, Wash.: Mar 10, 1991. pg. G.1

Buyers Can Get The Latest Word On Listing From `Talking House’ — Transmitters In The Home Let Listeners Tune In For Details;
Suzanne Monson
Seattle Times. Seattle, Wash.: Mar 10, 1991. pg. G.1

Abstract (Document Summary)
When a nearby Ballard house started talking to Bob Evans, he didn’t call Ghost Busters. He called a real-estate agent to find out how to buy it.

Far from haunted, the house was equipped with a low-power radio transmitter – one of the real-estate industry’s newest marketing techniques.

With a “talking house” system, a prospective buyer can drive up, tune the car radio to the AM or FM spot indicated on the sign and listen to a 90-second message describing the property.

Full Text (529 words)
Copyright Seattle Times Mar 10, 1991
When a nearby Ballard house started talking to Bob Evans, he didn’t call Ghost Busters. He called a real-estate agent to find out how to buy it.

Far from haunted, the house was equipped with a low-power radio transmitter – one of the real-estate industry’s newest marketing techniques.

With a “talking house” system, a prospective buyer can drive up, tune the car radio to the AM or FM spot indicated on the sign and listen to a 90-second message describing the property.

“It’s great just to get the basic elements,” Evans said. “After that, if you like it, you can pursue it with more calls.”

Windermere Real Estate agent Dorothy Ellis agrees.

“I would say only serious buyers call me and that’s a better use of my time,” said Ellis, who has two transmitters.

Nearly 43 percent of home buyers cruise around their preferred neighborhoods to spot “for sale” signs, says the National Association of Home Builders.

With that in mind, agents use the systems on homes that have features that set them apart from other houses on the market in the neighborhood, such as remodeled rooms or spacious yards.

“I highly recommend the system,” said Valerie Schwarzwalder, a home seller in Richmond Beach. “We constantly had people pulling up to the side of our road and into our driveway to listen.

“We think there was so much more possibility of people looking at the house . . . they heard that we sat on a third of an acre and had a lot more rooms in our house than it appears from the street.”

John C.W. Shoop of Everett began marketing the “Talking House Concept” machines last fall between Olympia and Blaine. He said they were first used on the East Coast and in California.

He’s sold nearly 200 AM transmitters, which retail for $225 to $800. Shoop’s equipment uses audiotape, and the units are about the size of a telephone answering machine.

Other systems, like “Digi-Talkers” by Audio-One in Seattle, are about the same size, but use the FM radio band and record messages on computer chips.

Maurice Brooks, an agent with Green Stone Properties Inc. in Seattle, distributes the Digi-Talker.

He said it is being used by realtors in Seattle and Bellevue. And while he couldn’t cite a house sale directly tied to the use of a recording, he said, “We’ve had substantially more calls.”

Properly operated, the transmitters aren’t strong enough to interfere with commercial radio stations or the neighbors’ TV reception.

No license is needed to operate a talking-house system.

As for the amount of information on the tape, that’s up to the real estate agent. Some tell all; others hold back details like price to encourage follow-up phone calls.

“It used to be the most an agent could do for a seller was put a house in the multiple listings, list it in the newspaper, put up a yard sign and hold an open house,” Shoop said. “This adds a whole new dimension.”

Posted as Good Faith Fair Use: Transformative, educational, nonprofit use of articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words, factual in nature, not for use as entertainment or reward, the use is instructional, the place is non-profit multimedia and the use will not negatively affect the value of the copyrighted material.

Town Seeks Radio License;
Christine Dempsey
Courant Staff Writer. Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn.: Sep 13, 2004. pg. B.3

Abstract (Document Summary)
The low-power radio station would provide routine and emergency information to listeners within a 3- to 5-mile radius, which would reach everyone in town, said Paul Benyeda, the town’s emergency management coordinator. It is modeled after one in West Hartford.

Town Seeks Radio License;
Christine Dempsey
Courant Staff Writer. Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn.: Sep 13, 2004. pg. B.3

Abstract (Document Summary)
The low-power radio station would provide routine and emergency information to listeners within a 3- to 5-mile radius, which would reach everyone in town, said Paul Benyeda, the town’s emergency management coordinator. It is modeled after one in West Hartford.

If the Federal Communications Commission approves a license, which could take months, the station would be 1630 AM. The town applied for FCC approval about six weeks ago, Benyeda said.

The equipment needed for the station includes a small transmitter and an antenna that, under FCC regulations, can be no higher than 50 feet, Benyeda said.

Full Text (327 words)
(Copyright The Hartford Courant 2004)
The town is planning to start its own radio station.

But don’t expect to hear a disc jockey spinning tunes.

The low-power radio station would provide routine and emergency information to listeners within a 3- to 5-mile radius, which would reach everyone in town, said Paul Benyeda, the town’s emergency management coordinator. It is modeled after one in West Hartford.

If the Federal Communications Commission approves a license, which could take months, the station would be 1630 AM. The town applied for FCC approval about six weeks ago, Benyeda said.

The cost of the station, which would be set up at the fire station at 75 Center St., would be covered by a $25,800 health department grant, Benyeda said.

The station is eligible for the grant in part because it would give information about mass vaccinations in the event of bioterrorism, said Steven Caron, emergency response coordinator for the health department.

“There is a multitier of public health issues that we are addressing through this,” Caron said.

The station also would broadcast evacuation information if ever needed, such as for severe weather or a serious accident, Benyeda said.

For example, the station might have been useful three years ago, when swimming pool chemicals exploded at a business in town and some neighborhoods had to be evacuated, he said.

And, the station would be used to give residents and motorists detour information if there were a major highway crash, Caron said.

Luckily, such dire scenarios are unusual. Most of the time, the radio station would be used to announce town events, such as meetings, school cancellations and pool openings.

The equipment needed for the station includes a small transmitter and an antenna that, under FCC regulations, can be no higher than 50 feet, Benyeda said.

The town plans to put the antenna on a lamppost behind the fire station, he said.

The FCC also prohibits the town from broadcasting anything that could be construed as commercial, he said.

Ouster From FM Band Rocks Station; [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]
Paul Marinaccio. Newsday. (Combined editions). Long Island, N.Y.: May 2, 1986.

Abstract (Document Summary)
The dream began twon years ago when the non-profit station started operating legally at 640 on the AM dial through system alled carrier current. The signal radiates from power lines, enabling most radio-listeners in the 12-square-mile area surrounding Roslyn Road to pick up WQNR. Last September, using a transmitter built by station owner Kristian-Victor Holtegaard, who owns the house. WQNR with a slot at 97.9 on your FM dial.

According to Operations Director John Scott the principals, who one ay hope convert WQNR into a commercial station, said they “went FM” on the advice of radio engineering experts they decline to identify. [Brett Jason] said the experts cited a section of FCC regulations permitting unlicencsed low-power operations in certain instances. Scott said the FM signal added another 20,000 listeners. But the FCC said it did so by operating illegally in portion of the FM band reserved for educational stations. Inspectors showed up recently and told the station to sign off, but the operators suspected a hoax, in part because the inspectors’ identification did not look official, Jason said. FCC inspectors returned to shut down the FM signal for good and notify the station of the $750 fine.

Full Text (749 words)
(Copyright Newsday Inc., 1986)
Attention, please. The staff and mangement of WQNR-AM, the homeof ROCK IT RADIO, would like the 5,000 people they believe are stillwithin the sound of their ovices to know that their short-lived FM simulcast should not be considered a pirate operation – even if the FCC did shut them down for rocking without a license.

The staff and management of WQNR-AM say they’re taking kids off the streets and giving them the chance to be the next Big Time, Big Deal deejays like Don K. Reid and Wolfman Jack.

“We’re being played up to be a pirate station, run by someone who sits in their bathtub with a microphone and plays music out thorugh he toaster,” says Program Director Brett Jason whose rock station operates out of studios built inot the side of a house on Roslyn Road. “In fact,” he continues, with the force and infleciton of a broadcaster who found his life’s calling 20 years ago after meeting Cousin Bruce Morrow, “We are an important part of he community.”

It’s not just that WQNR organized benefits, nd rock shows of Long Island artists with names like “RUFFFKUT,” and reads the schoolld closings and public service announcements on missing children and drunk driving. WQNR has taken its on-air talent from Brookhaven’s high schools and nightclubs – and, in one case, literally off Sunrise Highway.

That was Joe Randolph, 16, of Medford, Joe was hopping down Sunrise Highway when Jason stopped to give him a lift, and brought the Patchogue-Medford High Schoold student to the station. Joe once spent lot of time at video arcades. Now he’s the voice of WQNR Monday nights and Saturday afternoons. “It’s like a rock ‘n’ roll dream,” he says.

The dream began twon years ago when the non-profit station started operating legally at 640 on the AM dial through system alled carrier current. The signal radiates from power lines, enabling most radio-listeners in the 12-square-mile area surrounding Roslyn Road to pick up WQNR. Last September, using a transmitter built by station owner Kristian-Victor Holtegaard, who owns the house. WQNR with a slot at 97.9 on your FM dial.

According to Operations Director John Scott the principals, who one ay hope convert WQNR into a commercial station, said they “went FM” on the advice of radio engineering experts they decline to identify. Jason said the experts cited a section of FCC regulations permitting unlicencsed low-power operations in certain instances. Scott said the FM signal added another 20,000 listeners. But the FCC said it did so by operating illegally in portion of the FM band reserved for educational stations. Inspectors showed up recently and told the station to sign off, but the operators suspected a hoax, in part because the inspectors’ identification did not look official, Jason said. FCC inspectors returned to shut down the FM signal for good and notify the station of the $750 fine.

While WQNR pauses over what to do next – one possibility is to ffiliate with an existing educational FM station – the deejays are trying to et used to life on AM again. “The pones don’t ring as much,” explains Jerry Edwards, 19, as he mixed “Attack of the Mad Axeman” into “Blondes in Balck Cars” Wednesday night Edwards, a pressman by ay, met his girlfriend, Cassie Rein, “over the air” when the 17-year-old Port Jeffersona Station teenager called in a request.

Cassie is now WQNR’s morning drivetime disc jockey.

Chad Soler, 16 is another star. Chad has an air name – Chad Evans – and understands the rationale behind not playing a heavy metal group such as AC-DC in the morning. “You have to keep it kind of mellow,” the Newfield High School junior explains. The deejays covet their jobs for the attention as well as the experience – some say they have been mobbed in nearby stores when wearing their red WQNR jackets.

Back on he street, listeners are unhappy. Christine Monahan 18, can’t get the WQNR’s AM signal at her home in Port Jefferson Station and collected 560 protest signatures in three hours at the shopping center she works at in East Setauket. “Listen, it’s like losing a party, or someone missing in the family,” she said. “Like Cassie in the morning – when you wake up and don’t hear her voice.

Handy for reading old schematics

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