The ALL NEW "I hate WDRC-FM" thread

[DToTheJ]

Speaking of 10 years ago, I think it was the late '90s when the NBA's Washington Bullets became the Wizards. Jerry read the sports report twice an hour today and called them the Bullets every time. Some things DO change!

Reminds me of a joke I think I heard on Leno: "The Washington Bullets are changing their name to move it further away from association with crime... so they're going to be known as The Bullets!"

 

[meatslab]

ya know...no one has brought up the idea that the source material at wdrc might be bad. maybe they're compressing the music to a low bit rate. maybe there is a problem with the d/a converters. maybe they're running their digital audio change to hot. the analog sounds fine because it masks a lot of crap. on hd2 the signal in theory is pure digital...so any flaws in the audio path will be heard

 

[Turntable]

Ya know, I've brought up the possibility several times that their encoding may be f@#$%*d up.

I don't know exactly what is going on over there as I am not an insider. Certain tracks sound OK, in fact I've been fooled a couple of times. But the fact remains that properly set up audio processing will mask these inconsistencies and that's a large part of the purpose of audio processing in general.

Putting the potential encoding issues aside, how do you explain the crappy annc mic audio? Seriously, anyone with an RE-20 and a 528 can make even the worst voice sound human. There are issues that need to be corrected and although any encoding into the database may be substandard, there are other issues at hand here. Take it to the bank.

BTW, the analog audio does NOT sound fine. Its flat and lifeless, and unacceptably inconsistent. This is not the mark of a major market heritage radio station. The HD is even worse.


-A

 

[rickkelly]

I'm with you on the sound of the mike. I'm not sure what the problem is... it might be that there is wrong processing or no processing. The audio on 'DRC-FM needs work!

-Rick Kelly

 

[ScottLedger]

That station ended the day they killed "Big d 103" for the 2nd time

I used to live in Conn. Growing up in the 60's I listened to Dick McDonna and Thee ... Dick Robinson. The originator of the original Connecticut School of Broadcasting, which I attended in 79. It was in the same building as DRC in downtown Hartford. I'll never forget when I went to CSB. I used to look through the glass at those jocks and just drool. I was 17

A different world in what seems like a different life :/

 

[Oldbones]

I used to live in Conn. Growing up in the 60's I listened to Dick McDonna

Dick McDonough. There's a name I haven't heard in a while. What ever happened to him? Wasn't he in Providence a few years ago?

 

[rickkelly]

McDonough is on WMAS-FM Springfield, MA now doing mid-days.

-Rick Kelly

 

[bub]

McDonough is on WMAS-FM Springfield, MA now doing mid-days.
-Rick Kelly

Dick McDonough's been doing middays on 94-7 'MAS for close to 18-19 years...and is probably still pulling 30-shares in Springfield. Great guy! Great talent!

 

[Whale]

That station ended the day they killed "Big d 103" for the 2nd time

I used to live in Conn. Growing up in the 60's I listened to Dick McDonna and Thee ... Dick Robinson. The originator of the original Connecticut School of Broadcasting, which I attended in 79. It was in the same building as DRC in downtown Hartford. I'll never forget when I went to CSB. I used to look through the glass at those jocks and just drool. I was 17

A different world in what seems like a different life :/

What building was WDRC in Hartford? I know WTIC was in the Gold Building and Broadcast House. Probably all those stations were in downtown Hartford at one point right?

 

[MarcB]

DRC was at 760 Main Street, I think.

 

[DJ Jim Wayne]

It was 750 Main Street. I know because I would go to Big D on the 15th floor and get the key from Barry Grant or Ted Dalaku and open up the Connecticut School of Broadcasting (for studio practice) which was on the 6th floor of the building at that time.

By the way, we all know that there's a new GM at DRC; a fairly youthful guy as I understand. Something about the younger ones is that it seems easier for them to open the company wallet. How 'bout we suspend this DRC bashing for awhile and give him a chance to make something happen. I'm quite certain the station is well aware of this string as well as similar strings on other boards. I think they have tuning knobs on their radios, too.

Respectfully,

Jim

 

[Duggan]

well just in case the new GM is paying attention, I would like to commend him on the new morning show. I like Jerry. Despite the previous Criticisms on this board regarding DRC taking a step backwards with his return, So far I think he's done a nice job. Now as far as Marianne...why oh why is she still there? With Gina Mitchell leaving and Caddy getting the boot, this would have been a great time for a complete morning overhaul. She continues to step all over Jerry, cuts off listeners mid sentence to interject her thoughts, all of which are self serving and just seems clueless as to how to work as a team. She just continues to be awful. At least with Seville they were both bad so the horror was evenly balanced. Ok, thats it. Mr. GM do your job.

 

[ScottLedger]

It was 750 Main Street. I know because I would go to Big D on the 15th floor and get the key from Barry Grant or Ted Dalaku and open up the Connecticut School of Broadcasting (for studio practice) which was on the 6th floor of the building at that time.



Gates Boards, Ampex RR decks , ...what were the standard turn tables called I forget? Half way through my symester we moved to WRCH's Farmington building.

I used to listen to "Grants Tomb" late night,

 

[CTListener]

well just in case the new GM is paying attention, I would like to commend him on the new morning show. I like Jerry. Despite the previous Criticisms on this board regarding DRC taking a step backwards with his return, So far I think he's done a nice job. Now as far as Marianne...why oh why is she still there? With Gina Mitchell leaving and Caddy getting the boot, this would have been a great time for a complete morning overhaul. She continues to step all over Jerry, cuts off listeners mid sentence to interject her thoughts, all of which are self serving and just seems clueless as to how to work as a team. She just continues to be awful. At least with Seville they were both bad so the horror was evenly balanced. Ok, thats it. Mr. GM do your job.

Jerry seems to be getting better every day as he settles in at DRC again, although he still seems to slip in mid-1990s references as though his last gig at DRC was last month instead of last decade. Clinton humor is OK again, because Hillary's running, but any references to cigars and blue dresses are "so" 1996. He also came out of "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" Monday morning with something like "Supremes and Temptations on a Motown Monday at DRC-FM." DRC-FM hasn't had Motown Mondays for at least six years, if not longer.

By the way, a friend and I have been conducting an informal DRC-FM playlist count, based on actual airplay heard and data recorded at yes.com. As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, DRC-FM had blown through a staggering 1,202 titles in the past three weeks (which jumped to 1,203 when Johnny Rivers' "Midnight Special" was played an hour or so ago)! Quite a few of those have been heard only once in those three weeks -- on a weekend, during a request show, or on Mike Stevens' shift -- but still, that's as bulky a playlist as I've ever seen on an oldies/classic hits station. I guess the "Nobody plays more music" sweepers aren't just hype.

I do sometimes wonder why "Quicksand" is getting played more often than "Dancing in the Street" (which apparently hasn't been played at all this month), and "Lodi" gets more spins than "Bad Moon Rising," or why I seem to hear Neon Philarmonic's "Morning Girl" and the Winstons' "Color Him Father" way more frequently than their chart success or musical impact would seem to call for. But hey, didn't somebody on this board once write that the music at 102.9 was being programmed by people who hadn't been out of the building in 25 years?