Re: [IRCA] Policing the AM BCB

["Paul B. Walker, Jr." <walkerbroadcasting@xxxxxxxxx>]

Speaking as a DX'er and a broadcaster of 14 years...

I've had listeners call me and tell me one of my stations had a problem.
For instance, I answered the phone at WKBI/WDDH once and had a listener
tell me "The music on classy 1400 is playing under the news" I said
"thanks, let me run and look what happened" hung up and fixed it.

If I know a station is automated/unattended, I would check on it several
times a day while in the building, and at least once or twice at home,
usually right before bed. I also check over the weekend when not in the
office.

BUT, and this is a BIG BUTT.. that is just what *I* do. It is not meant to
be a reflection on other broadcasters, my OCD doesn't allow me not to deal
with things like this. I've NEVER EVER knowingly had a problem occur with a
station I was in charge of for more then 6 hours. In most cases, it was
fixed in an hour or less.. if not mere minutes.

As a DX'er, I have regularly called up or emailed stations when something
has gone wonky.   When living in Connecticut,  the local AM was dead air
when it should've had talk programming going. I called up the sister
country station down the hall and said "Uhh, your AM across the hall is
dead air"  Jock: "Thanks, i'll go check" click    That was said in the
hurried, let me go fix it fashion, not rudeness

I emailed a station just this week after noticing them on well past sunset
3 days in the last week. Owner replied and thanked me for alerting him to
the problem.

When a chief engineer friend of mine had his 10KW Day/3 tower, 1kw night/6
tower station get stuck on day power and pattern well after dark I called
him up right away to let him know, so he could log in from home and fix it.

What I do find ironic, or rather interesting.. is if a station is cheating
wether on purpose or on accident for a few days, many DX'ers are known to
look the other day if it's a much needed item in the log books. However,
once it becomes a pest, they want to burn that station at the stake

You can't have it both ways.

I am a broadcaster first and foremost, it pays my bills. My responsibility
is to protect the license and reputation of the stations I work for, and to
a much smaller extent, the licenses of the stations that some of my best
friends work for. You won't be able to convince me otherwise, rea;lly

Paul


On Thu, Aug 10, 2017 at 6:13 PM, <amdxer@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

> About a week ago I noticed that WCPT 820 had a horrible
> echo effect in their audio.  I don't know when it started
> as I don't check this frequency that often.  This echo
> went on for a few more days until I finally notified the
> station by e-mail.
>
> And, a day and a half later their audio problem is corrected.
>
> The question I have is;  Don't station owners, and staff,
> check their night signal every day?  All it would take is
> a few minutes to tune in and if everything is fine tune
> out.
>
> Why do they wait for some listener to complain before
> checking their own signal?
>
> Over the past 25 years, at least once a year, I have
> contacted a station somewhere in the mid-west about a
> problem with their signal.
>
> And I have gotten mixed feedback.  One local station,
> after a phone call (before e-mail existed), actually
> thanked me for calling.  Another station when called
> actually told me in so many words to mind my own business.
>  The guy said "Who the hell are you to tell me that WE
> have a problem!"
>
> Tom Jasinski
> Joliet, IL
>
>
>
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