This is a philosophy ramble, searching for the reason that some of us “want to be heard on the radio”.
This is a philosophy ramble, searching for the reason that some of us “want to be heard on the radio”.
The human mammal is social, which quickly explains why we like to exchange contact within the herd. But the wish to be “listened to on radio” is something of a one-way exchange.
Sure, there are program types that allow “feedback”, including request shows and call-in shows, but on our small scale with part 15 such neighborly contact could be done without radio.
But the radio operator “controls” the signals he modulates, and stands at a distance from those contacted.
Narcissism might play a role, but with a bigger “mirror” in which to admire our own opinions and taste.
The residents living within the signal contour also have opinions and taste, which often explains why they may not listen. They’ve all made their musical selections and hold opinions that may not be open to question.
Why do you think we want to be heard?
I wanted to be closer to the neighborhood
Hi Carl!
There was a point where our
neighborhood was extremely tight
and connected. There were a lot
of kids growing up at the same time
around the same age, and we were
with other parents a great deal.
At that time, many people were interested
in hearing my station because we
were all friends. They just wanted to
support “the cause.” They may have only
listened a few times, or not very long,
but I think about 8 families wanted to
give it a try. This was about 10 years ago.
Unfortunately, I did not know how to generate
a good AM part 15 signal at that time. And
there was no Part 15.US to show me how. I
was legally operating under the FM regs,
and a family a few hundred feet away (with a
good FM tuner stereo system) listened a lot.
Especially when there were kids on the station.
ESPECIALLY when their kids were on the station.
Otherwise, I played jazz, which they liked, so
they listened to that.)The transmitter was
actually a Ramsey FM-10, which I had figured
out how to stabilize, and put in mono.)
But that nearby family had a good receiver. Other people
tried with no luck, and those families were no more than
500 to 1000 feet away.
One neighbor about 800 feet away kept saying,
“have you gotten your station working yet?”
And I kept on saying, “well it’s working, but
it’s too weak for you to hear.
There are still a few people who are interested.
However, this is a busy street )traffic wise), and many of
the families that were here have moved away to
streets with less traffic.
With my lack of resources, I think the only really
useful programing for me to transmit would be
a relay of NOAA weather radio. That would be on
90.9. I had actually tried that just before
we got really busy here, and I had to move a
bunch of stuff. 88.3 would be for the stuff I like
to hear. I was thinking of firing up the CC gear.
It’s not done, and I don’t have time to work on
it, but I would probably be in a better mood if
the old RC-6A was running. We’ll see.
That’s it from here,
Bruce, GNAT 90.9, SLUG 88.3
I started up the radio
I started up the radio station at first on Bowen Island as a community venture. I had a bookstore (located in Artisan Square, an artist’s work/live area on the side of a hill overlooking ‘downtown’ Bowen Island), which included the ferry lineup (the lifeblood of an island). There had been interest in an island station previously, but they could never get sufficient sustained interest and funds to obtain a license. I was in the bookstore anyway, and had a clear path to most of the people who lived there (via the ferry lineup). I figured (probably quite rightly) that it was unlikely that a licensed station would ever be established, and that an unlicensed radio station with limited range was better than no station at all. From a selfish point of view, I also felt that running a radio station might actually attract both visitors and locals to the Square and the bookstore.
There were no obstructions to most of the intended listening area, and using FM (with Canada’s somewhat relaxed unlicensed field strength rules), we were able to reach a distance of around 1km with a good car radio on the receiving end, and coincidentally, most of our target audience were in cars (waiting for the ferry)! We also had Internet streaming for those that could not listen on FM.
Until I had to shut the bookstore (and radio station) down due to some health issues, now resolved, we had a great deal of support from the community at large. Businesses gave us sponsorship money (and we acknowledged those businesses on the air). Even individuals helped out. People came into the store and told me that they would drive to Artisan Square and park, just to listen to the station.
In addition to various types of music, we had programs recorded in the store, everything from local musicians to school kids with class projects. We would broadcast live, and put anyone who wanted to be DJ for a little while on the air. All in all, a lot of fun.
And even though during the last year Artisan Radio had far more listeners (via the Internet) than it ever had during those first few years, those years gave me the most satisfaction. Community involvement and community feedback, you can’t beat it!