during the first 8 months of ABFR starting March 11, 2000 when we went on the air, we had the right
idea - broadcast the Portuguese programming and other shows on public access; we did a trimulcast on
the internet along with TV 3 Medford (radio, TV, the web), and were planning on setting up a "syndicate" of these low power Part 15 AM stations from city to city. There was serious interest from access stations to have their own Part 15 - Medford and Wakefield would've been the first logical two.
The workload was crushing and it fell to the half a dozen or dozen people to do everything - organize the meetings, the P.R. outreach. Then you'd get two girls still on college fighting over the "Music Director" position when they didn't have a clue what it meant. Then two of the key guys, one of the founders and one of the transmitter dudes, had a bitter falling out. It was too much for no money and the investment of time, travel during rush hour, mileage, and emotional energy. It was fun but with more writing gigs on my desk that put food on the table it was adios.
I have great respect, Al, that you people kept it going - but glad I wasn't there when the power kept mysteriously going up.
Provizer wanted to put the antenna on a church steeple on a hill. Had he achieved that it would have had good coverage of Allston, Brighton and some of Brookline. Don't think that ever happened - thus - the unauthorized power increase.
It was great of Bob Bittner to allow a "best of" every Saturday night - I did some of them when Steve Provizer was unavailable. But it did kind of defeat the purpose of being off the mainstream. The original idea of 30 of these LPAM or LPFMs all broadcasting simultaneously was very cool, very underground, but not cost effective and discussions to have 'em lined up in a row just fizzled. The city of Woburn was NOT interested at all,
but Wakefield Cable thought it was very intriguing.
idea - broadcast the Portuguese programming and other shows on public access; we did a trimulcast on
the internet along with TV 3 Medford (radio, TV, the web), and were planning on setting up a "syndicate" of these low power Part 15 AM stations from city to city. There was serious interest from access stations to have their own Part 15 - Medford and Wakefield would've been the first logical two.
The workload was crushing and it fell to the half a dozen or dozen people to do everything - organize the meetings, the P.R. outreach. Then you'd get two girls still on college fighting over the "Music Director" position when they didn't have a clue what it meant. Then two of the key guys, one of the founders and one of the transmitter dudes, had a bitter falling out. It was too much for no money and the investment of time, travel during rush hour, mileage, and emotional energy. It was fun but with more writing gigs on my desk that put food on the table it was adios.
I have great respect, Al, that you people kept it going - but glad I wasn't there when the power kept mysteriously going up.
Provizer wanted to put the antenna on a church steeple on a hill. Had he achieved that it would have had good coverage of Allston, Brighton and some of Brookline. Don't think that ever happened - thus - the unauthorized power increase.
It was great of Bob Bittner to allow a "best of" every Saturday night - I did some of them when Steve Provizer was unavailable. But it did kind of defeat the purpose of being off the mainstream. The original idea of 30 of these LPAM or LPFMs all broadcasting simultaneously was very cool, very underground, but not cost effective and discussions to have 'em lined up in a row just fizzled. The city of Woburn was NOT interested at all,
but Wakefield Cable thought it was very intriguing.
