Michael Prager, Globe Staff. Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: Jun 15, 2003. pg. J.4
Abstract (Article Summary)
That’s why it’s a perfect spot for a talking house. Realtors Ted Duncan and Sylvia Contin of Re/Max Select in Allston have installed a low-power radio transmitter there at 41 Carlton, hoping to entice radio-equipped passersby with the virtues of Bud Thornton’s condo.
The box is about the size of a VCR and uses the same technology that puts Boston’s big stations on the air, although it is more similar to the extremely local signals used to give highway traffic alerts or parking information at airports. Even then, the signal is much weaker, casting only about 300 feet. It can be set to any AM frequency; Duncan said he chose 1010 because he figured it was an easy number for people to dial into.
Michael Prager, Globe Staff. Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: Jun 15, 2003. pg. J.4
Abstract (Article Summary)
That’s why it’s a perfect spot for a talking house. Realtors Ted Duncan and Sylvia Contin of Re/Max Select in Allston have installed a low-power radio transmitter there at 41 Carlton, hoping to entice radio-equipped passersby with the virtues of Bud Thornton’s condo.
The box is about the size of a VCR and uses the same technology that puts Boston’s big stations on the air, although it is more similar to the extremely local signals used to give highway traffic alerts or parking information at airports. Even then, the signal is much weaker, casting only about 300 feet. It can be set to any AM frequency; Duncan said he chose 1010 because he figured it was an easy number for people to dial into.
Tune your car radio to 1010 AM, and you can hear details about the house for sale at 41 Carlton St. in Brookline.
Full Text (482 words)
Copyright New York Times Company Jun 15, 2003
To millions of New York City commuters, 1010 AM means WINS radio, where they say, “You give us 22 minutes, we’ll give you the world.”
But the slogan for 1010 AM on a tree-lined block in Brookline, if they had one, would be more like, “You give us until the traffic signal at Beacon Street changes, we’ll tell you about this condominium for sale.”
The block is on Carlton Street, a popular cut-through used weekday mornings by Cambridge-bound commuters from the Riverway and points south. Traffic often backs up through the intersection with Monmouth Street, and the wait can be a couple of light-cycles long.
That’s why it’s a perfect spot for a talking house. Realtors Ted Duncan and Sylvia Contin of Re/Max Select in Allston have installed a low-power radio transmitter there at 41 Carlton, hoping to entice radio-equipped passersby with the virtues of Bud Thornton’s condo.
“It’s really simple,” said Duncan. “Plug the box into the house and run the antenna out the window. Sometimes [when you install it], you can hear the ad running on the car radios before you can close the window.”
The box is about the size of a VCR and uses the same technology that puts Boston’s big stations on the air, although it is more similar to the extremely local signals used to give highway traffic alerts or parking information at airports. Even then, the signal is much weaker, casting only about 300 feet. It can be set to any AM frequency; Duncan said he chose 1010 because he figured it was an easy number for people to dial into.
The only frequencies not available to him were those already in use. “If I were to put it on, say, 680, it would get drowned out by WRKO,” he said.
Duncan expresses great enthusiasm for the product, sold by a Wisconsin company, saying it generally increases calls on a listing by 30 percent. The property – 1,725 square feet on two levels, with two bedrooms, three fireplaces, and deeded parking – has been on the market about five weeks. It is offered at $659,000.
Owner Bud Thornton, a proprietor of Thorton’s Fenway Grill nearby, said that even though no one he knows has picked up on his status as Boston’s newest broadcaster, he thinks the device is a good tool that he’s glad to have working for him.
“A lot of times you might see an ad, or a place in the area you want to be in, but not know much about it. This way, you can find out a lot about a property already, on the radio, and decide one way or the other.”
Michael Prager can be reached at [email protected].
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