We need Control Frequency of the Week Threads

[MarioMania]

Cyberdad locks threads when it goes to 3 weeks to prevent clutter on here, But he's not here, So we need someone on here

I can't find Cyberdad's Post about it, Guessing he deleted it

 

[Miss Tuned]

Perhaps it's time to bring them to a close? They've gone round and round several times now, and especially for the AM ones all we see in terms of development on the band are sign-offs. The "your latest DX" thread is ample for people to post things they've received (perhaps DX stations received after a local AM signs off).

There's also the capacity to make new threads for discussion points and DX topics. Let's have a bit more discussion and a bit less of the listings of stations.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Perhaps it's time to bring them to a close? They've gone round and round several times now, and especially for the AM ones all we see in terms of development on the band are sign-offs. The "your latest DX" thread is ample for people to post things they've received (perhaps DX stations received after a local AM signs off).

There's also the capacity to make new threads for discussion points and DX topics. Let's have a bit more discussion and a bit less of the listings of stations.

i vote for this. theyve kinda run their course and when someone replied to to 12 at a time it clogs things up

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

My own chief AM grumble is purely personal and shouldn't count. But anyway, the FOTW has been a a Sunday morning treat, a faithful weekly benchmark, something to lighten the mood amid all the sports, headlines and headaches.

With that sheer, disassociated self-indulgence admitted I'll try another non sequitur. For many DXers who got into the hobby (and later into broadcasting) the AM radio dial has fallen on its modulated amp in doing the one thing it did best: being as both a background and foreground leisure enjoyment (much like the balance between the rainbow beauty of stamps / their value .... or the music of collected 45 vinyl vis a vis the worth of the investment).

Radio no longer affords either parity. Taint that with a noise floor from which is heard only discouraging words .....

Fwiw, I vote to keep the AM FOTW. If only as a doorstop for when enough stations go defunct and the dial ever opens up again for actual DX. Some music may even work again. Some KMOX or WHAS or KDKA overnight. I'd even go for the half-Nat King Cole library of Dolly Holiday's Inn while waiting for some DX Test to sneak through.

 

[jim-satx]

I’m all for keeping the Frequency of the Week as well. It’s interesting to learn what people are hearing from different areas of the country - and to find out how different reception can be for fellow DXers who are in other parts of my own state.

By the time we get around to a revisiting a frequency, things always change on the dial. Stations adopt new formats, go silent, have transmitter changes, etc.

With that said, I agree with Mario that the FOTW threads should be locked after three weeks. Plus, it would make things easier if the current FOTW thread was pinned for that week.

 

[wildthangjim]

I agree w/ @jim-satx that FOTW should keep going and that threads should be locked after 3 weeks.

Speaking primarily of the AM side, I find it interesting to read what others are hearing, both in my area and elsewhere. Having FOTW motivates me to check frequencies that I haven't checked recently, gives me information on changes since I last tuned there, and provides me with new DX targets.

One way I use this board is as a resource for trying to resolve unID's that I hear. When I hear something unusual, I will look at the latest FOTW as part of my search for identifying what I've heard. If we're just using "Post your latest DX", most of us won't bother reporting changes to their regular receptions and changes in the dial will be harder to locate on here if they aren't sorted by frequency. I realize there are other places to find radio information, but it's nice to have this.

 

[tvnut]

i vote for this. theyve kinda run their course and when someone replied to to 12 at a time it clogs things up

I’m that someone. I did so for a couple of reasons. First, I’d not done so for a while, having been busy finishing a book, and I like to contribute to the group.
Second, as I noted on the first thread I responded to, there’s no reason for multiple threads on the same frequency. Say, 600. We have two or three on 600 and every other one on AM. (Not sure if there’s similar duplication for FM.)
The smart way to go about it is for someone to merge those like-frequency threads into one each, presuming it’s possible with the underlying technology.
With one to a frequency, they’ll not run their course, but stay current via members updating what’s going on on each of them.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I’m all for keeping the Frequency of the Week as well. It’s interesting to learn what people are hearing from different areas of the country - and to find out how different reception can be for fellow DXers who are in other parts of my own state.

By the time we get around to a revisiting a frequency, things always change on the dial. Stations adopt new formats, go silent, have transmitter changes, etc.

With that said, I agree with Mario that the FOTW threads should be locked after three weeks. Plus, it would make things easier if the current FOTW thread was pinned for that week.

locked and unpinned, IF FOTW is kept.. but im for getting rid of it

 

[tvnut]

locked and unpinned, IF FOTW is kept.. but im for getting rid of it

You can always just scroll past it. Or ask the owners (Happy New Year, David!) to separate it into a different department.

 

[anotherguyTN]

I've had this thought before, but what about a separate Frequency of the Week forum?

 

[MarioMania]

There was only 3 threads was Pinned

AM/FM FOTW
Post your Lastest DX

It was fine,

Pin the Lastest FOTW Thread, Then when it ran its course, unpin it or just lock it so no one can add to it to also not clutter up the 1st page

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

The various theme threads here remind me of those priority entanglements of the old NRC-IRCA days. The actual rudiments, albeit mild yet annoying, often overrode the actual PURPOSE of the hobby's existence and -- if you will -- its 'produce'.
Moreover, the clubs had only one dial to monitor.

R-D's DX pavillion has AM, FM, SW and some TV. But even at that; like with a Sunday NY Times, only minimal effort is really needed to navigate and find the column, or byline, puzzle or section you want.

TVNut's suggestion to incorporate the similar AM (110 frequencies) and FM (101 spots) FOTW's into individually active, advancing and topical swerves sounds terrific. The hint of history and nostalgia suggested by its backlog also could act as an all-in-one condensed form of casual or even crucial reference as well for many. Such would be a swell undertaking should it be deemed more worthwhile than the current zeitgeist.
In the meantime, though, why tamper with or go through any bother? Isn't it easy enough as it is (like using the tuning knob. volume control and on-off switch on a radio) to surf and find a topic that interests a hobbyist? You know ... 'We'll build a sweet little nest ..... somewhere in the West ...... and let the REST of the world go by....'

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I’m that someone. I did so for a couple of reasons. First, I’d not done so for a while, having been busy finishing a book, and I like to contribute to the group.
Second, as I noted on the first thread I responded to, there’s no reason for multiple threads on the same frequency. Say, 600. We have two or three on 600 and every other one on AM. (Not sure if there’s similar duplication for FM.)
The smart way to go about it is for someone to merge those like-frequency threads into one each, presuming it’s possible with the underlying technology.
With one to a frequency, they’ll not run their course, but stay current via members updating what’s going on on each of them.

There is zero reason to comment on half a dozen or more at the time... it clocks up the feed and then the board and we have to scroll to get past it. i find it annoying. participate more often rathern then bombing a dozen threads at once

not too much is changing that we need to wax ad naseum about the same frequency all the time/

and if you seperate it into another forum, that just further splinters this group and will drop participation

We need someone who can regularly unpin threads after a few weeks.. and i say.. after 6 months, lock them

 

[Dondd]

I like the separate FOTW of the week threads, because they focus on specific frequencies.

I don't like the idea of them being locked.

This is the internet, time doesn't matter, especially if someone new to (or a return visitor) to the forum sees a certain frequency and wants to comment on that specific frequency vs. the overall DX thread, which is also good.

Perhaps other threads can be started. Instead of FOTW, maybe just "680 AM."

This would keep discussion and DX finds going.

 

[tvnut]

There is zero reason to comment on half a dozen or more at the time... it clocks up the feed and then the board and we have to scroll to get past it. i find it annoying. participate more often rathern then bombing a dozen threads at once

not too much is changing that we need to wax ad naseum about the same frequency all the time/

and if you seperate it into another forum, that just further splinters this group and will drop participation

We need someone who can regularly unpin threads after a few weeks.. and i say.. after 6 months, lock them

See Mr. Green’s notion above yours; I agree with him in toto.

And my participation is dictated by the time I have available to do so, as I’m sure yours is as well.

 

[Mark Roberts]

I think Mario's irritation is coming about because a couple of folks have recently picked up on this thread and are systemically going back through the frequencies, obscuring which frequency is the current week's topic of discussion. Cyberdad would lock each thread after a few weeks to keep that from happening. Mario isn't a moderator; something's happened to Cyberdad, we don't know what; and it doesn't appear as though any other moderator is watching what's going on or is able to take actions only moderators have the rights to take. I know this isn't Usenet, but a guiding principle of Usenet, at least 30 years ago, would be helpful here as well. That principle was to take some time to observe how people interact in a forum, to see what the unspoken conventions are, before posting. You could also consider that to be a form of basic etiquette. This has been one of the quieter corners of Radio Discussions, and people are usually quite polite to each other, so this the etiquette of this forum has held up pretty well absent active moderation.

Yes, it can get repetitive, more on that in a moment, but it also provides a nice structure that encourages people to participate. You don't have to go wading through 100 different threads to figure out what people are responding to in a particular week. It's less forbidding and easier to understand.

The "post your latest DX" thread is just a disorganized mess; I personally hate it but it's been established and my response to it these days is basically to ignore it.

As for repetition, the FM threads will be on a two-year cycle by definition. Unless you move to a new location during that period, you really won't have much new to say two years later except for format changes, call letter changes, or new stations. That can happen, but seems less common. For AM, it seems as though the focus has been on what traditionally were the clear channels, so it takes around a year to get through those. We recently had 680 as the FOTW; I remember being in Santa Fe in May/June of last year picking up KNBR on 680 at night and incorporating that into my FOTW post. So are these posts any more repetitive than other chestnuts on RD? You know, "saving AM radio" and so on.

In any event, if there is to be a change, there needs to be a consensus for what that change will be, and I'm not seeing that. Until such a consensus forms, having folks crash through without learning the basic etiquette yet is going to cause a certain amount of conflict in a forum where there hasn't been much of it. I suggest learning how participants use the forum first before trying to change it.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Maybe a chuckle here by which to reposition or ease some impatience ....
A pal of ours on Long Island's south shore had a fixer-upper boat docked along one of the numerous canals, neighbouring another buddy's yard
The fixer-upper guy looked, sounded and acted like The Fonz. Some of us inside that next house were DXers who would gather for the dial's bounty, and for whatever other pursuits ... music, astronomy, lunch, cards, gardening, etc. Off-the-clock stuff. Pastimes.
On more than one occasion we'd hear a cacophony of irritating sounds coming from Lenny's boat. There would be clanking, bashing, a litany of profanity (some of it quite inspired; we learned a few new hyphenated ones) and other signs of displeasure.
Richie Cunningham here walked over to the carnage once, to ask The Fonz if he needed some help. Red-faced Lenny, two-foot wrench in his hand and with more grease on his clothes than in his hair, said no; he wanted to do this on his own. 'What else is a (hyphenated profanity) hobby good for except driving you (expletive) crazy?!?'
I shrugged and left. The thuds and clunks and vitriol soon resumed.
To each his own escape, eh?
Good DX in 2025 to all!
.

 

[MarioMania]

We haven't heard anything from David on it yet

 

[tvnut]

I think Mario's irritation is coming about because a couple of folks have recently picked up on this thread and are systemically going back through the frequencies, obscuring which frequency is the current week's topic of discussion. Cyberdad would lock each thread after a few weeks to keep that from happening. Mario isn't a moderator; something's happened to Cyberdad, we don't know what; and it doesn't appear as though any other moderator is watching what's going on or is able to take actions only moderators have the rights to take. I know this isn't Usenet, but a guiding principle of Usenet, at least 30 years ago, would be helpful here as well. That principle was to take some time to observe how people interact in a forum, to see what the unspoken conventions are, before posting. You could also consider that to be a form of basic etiquette. This has been one of the quieter corners of Radio Discussions, and people are usually quite polite to each other, so this the etiquette of this forum has held up pretty well absent active moderation.

Yes, it can get repetitive, more on that in a moment, but it also provides a nice structure that encourages people to participate. You don't have to go wading through 100 different threads to figure out what people are responding to in a particular week. It's less forbidding and easier to understand.

The "post your latest DX" thread is just a disorganized mess; I personally hate it but it's been established and my response to it these days is basically to ignore it.

As for repetition, the FM threads will be on a two-year cycle by definition. Unless you move to a new location during that period, you really won't have much new to say two years later except for format changes, call letter changes, or new stations. That can happen, but seems less common. For AM, it seems as though the focus has been on what traditionally were the clear channels, so it takes around a year to get through those. We recently had 680 as the FOTW; I remember being in Santa Fe in May/June of last year picking up KNBR on 680 at night and incorporating that into my FOTW post. So are these posts any more repetitive than other chestnuts on RD? You know, "saving AM radio" and so on.

In any event, if there is to be a change, there needs to be a consensus for what that change will be, and I'm not seeing that. Until such a consensus forms, having folks crash through without learning the basic etiquette yet is going to cause a certain amount of conflict in a forum where there hasn't been much of it. I suggest learning how participants use the forum first before trying to change it.

Cyberdad – and I do hope he's well – also established a pattern of clear/regional/local/X-band over the years. When Mario, whom is appreciated by all for his enthusiasm, stepped up to get the ferrite rod rolling again, the list went in numerical order. Either works for me, but maybe not others. I've only been aroud since before the platform was happily resurrected.

 

[tvnut]

Maybe a chuckle here by which to reposition or ease some impatience ....
A pal of ours on Long Island's south shore had a fixer-upper boat docked along one of the numerous canals, neighbouring another buddy's yard
The fixer-upper guy looked, sounded and acted like The Fonz. Some of us inside that next house were DXers who would gather for the dial's bounty, and for whatever other pursuits ... music, astronomy, lunch, cards, gardening, etc. Off-the-clock stuff. Pastimes.
On more than one occasion we'd hear a cacophony of irritating sounds coming from Lenny's boat. There would be clanking, bashing, a litany of profanity (some of it quite inspired; we learned a few new hyphenated ones) and other signs of displeasure.
Richie Cunningham here walked over to the carnage once, to ask The Fonz if he needed some help. Red-faced Lenny, two-foot wrench in his hand and with more grease on his clothes than in his hair, said no; he wanted to do this on his own. 'What else is a (hyphenated profanity) hobby good for except driving you (expletive) crazy?!?'
I shrugged and left. The thuds and clunks and vitriol soon resumed.
To each his own escape, eh?
Good DX in 2025 to all!
.

So true. Good DX to all!