Top 10 Things You No Longer Hear at Radio Stations

[Tom Wells]

I still have an old Aiwa portable with 3 3/4 inch reels. Glad I do, so I could retrieve airchecks that went onto it.
A Wollensak, to me, refers to a regular 8mm film movie camera. They made fine cameras, so i suppose the recorders were also first-class.

I don't think I've ever seen a Wollensak tape recorder. ???

If the Aiwa were dropped it would go the way of all high-impact plastics.

 

[chas108]

A Wollensak, to me, refers to a regular 8mm film movie camera. They made fine cameras, so i suppose the recorders were also first-class.

I don't think I've ever seen a Wollensak tape recorder. ???

I think my high school had a few of them...it's admittedly been a loooong time but I place the Wollensak name (made by 3M?) more with high school A/V applications than with radio.

My first radio station had Magnecord reel decks and Tapecaster cart decks...the kind that were so heavy that if you dropped one it would damage the floor. The station cross town had Spotmasters with the lever on top to bring up the pinch roller. And if you just slammed that cart in the Spotmaster and hit "play" before the pinch roller came up to speed...everyone listening knew it!

 

[Mike Sheridan]

A Wollensak, to me, refers to a regular 8mm film movie camera. They made fine cameras, so i suppose the recorders were also first-class.

I don't think I've ever seen a Wollensak tape recorder. ???

I think my high school had a few of them...it's admittedly been a loooong time but I place the Wollensak name (made by 3M?) more with high school A/V applications than with radio.

My first radio station had Magnecord reel decks and Tapecaster cart decks...the kind that were so heavy that if you dropped one it would damage the floor. The station cross town had Spotmasters with the lever on top to bring up the pinch roller. And if you just slammed that cart in the Spotmaster and hit "play" before the pinch roller came up to speed...everyone listening knew it!

This is O.T. but I didn't realize Wollensak was a Rochester company and offshoot of Bausch & Lomb. Yes most of tape recorders were built by 3M. http://www.nwmangum.com/Kodak/Rochester.html#Wollensak

 

[SirRoxalot]

"We're promoting you to Assistant Promotions Director."

 

[Penrod Rightout]

The last time I came across Wollensak portable tape recorders was back when I was in Audio-Visual in Junior High ca. 1965-67... we had one of them, and our other portable reel-to-reel was a BSR.

"Anytime you want to go out to eat, we've got trade"

 

[Radknowski]

How about "Equal time?"

I learned to blade edit on a beat up Wollensak at 3.75 ips with a headnest that made it almost impossible to mark the tape and only with a very thin Papermate felt tip pen. If you could do a decent edit at 3.75 ips, it was cake at 7.5 and you were Superman at 15 ips. When I first saw an open headnest Ampex 602 that allowed the tape to be marked with a Berol China Marker or Sharpie, it was like Christmas. The Wollensak had a .25 inch female output that was really a headphone jack. It could be lined into a board if the output volume pot was barely cracked open.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Speaking of cutting tape how about editing bad scratches out of records? Yes it can me done!

 

[umtrr-author]

Not actually having been in the business, it took until now to think of something:

Remote broadcasts at a sponsor with a full setup of microphones, turntables and 45s plus an engineer; the show actually being done from the remote location.

I've mentioned before that my "radio debut" was at one of these remotes. It was most definitely in the previous century.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

First radio set up I ever saw Tom Shannon at the WGR booth Erie County Fair.

 

[heydaybegone]

Remote broadcasts at a sponsor with a full setup of microphones, turntables and 45s plus an engineer; the show actually being done from the remote location.

Having done a couple of these:

"Live" radio - who would have EVER thought of that? (hit me with a brick, back in the day..we did ;D). Anyway...you DON'T hear the P1 remote attendee (AKA Groupie) "accidentally" knock the tone arm while reaching for a kiss.......

 

[Debaser]

Your salary won't be great, but you'll get all the record hops you can handle.

 

[yugoidar]

Good one, DB. Funny how management back in the old days expected talent to make up for their salary shortcomings at the station by doing record hops.

I think talent, on the other hand, thought they should make a decent living from their full-time job and anything made on the outside was just extra "gravy" money.

 

[SirRoxalot]

And, of course, everyone declared all that outside income on their taxes...

 

[audioconnell Voice Talent]

"We have a trade with Dominos so you can order one pizza per shift and that includes pop. They'll deliver to the back door. Don't abuse it."

 

[Debaser]

I think talent, on the other hand, thought they should make a decent living from their full-time job and anything made on the outside was just extra "gravy" money.

And rightfully so, IMO.
Interesting that the first job offer I had from another city while I was working for KB was from a PD who used that record hop enticement. I turned him down.

 

[heydaybegone]

"We have a trade with Dominos so you can order one pizza per shift and that includes pop. They'll deliver to the back door. Don't abuse it."

I could swear that's what's been heard within the last year or so... (not in your check, but we feed you?)
And to further that...the trade was probably a reverse trade!! LOL
Dang, I miss those "free" pizza days.... Sherlock?

HDBG

 

[qman]

I miss that about legends. Every now & again when I came to work there would be pizza or chicken wings or Mozz sticks!

 

[chas108]

"We have a trade with Dominos so you can order one pizza per shift and that includes pop. They'll deliver to the back door. Don't abuse it."

I could swear that's what's been heard within the last year or so... (not in your check, but we feed you?)
And to further that...the trade was probably a reverse trade!! LOL
Dang, I miss those "free" pizza days.... Sherlock?

HDBG

One small town I worked in would send up pizza that was overcooked and couldn't be sold...it was like "what are we, your garbage disposal"? No I never actually said that to them...as we all know there are two types of businesses - especially in a small market - Clients. And potential Clients.

Today it's people coming thru the door wanting us to talk up their food...we still get a good amount of that. Of course unless there's an email saying the PD's signed off on you talking about said food item you just keep your mouth shut and munch away.

McDonalds was rolling out their McCafe Smoothies a few months back and sent a gaggle of attractive young ladies around to pass out Smoothies to airstaff and try to titillate us into talking about them. Great Smoothies - complete with a fanny pack my wife really loves - but alas, no ok from Programming. But hey, they have a huge buy on my station so it's getting promoted that way.