WILD dead carrier: Satellite problems

[raccoonradio]

Around 1 pm today I heard a smooth jazz song on WILD 1090. Then a minute of silence followed by
an announcement saying that WILD was having technical difficulties with their satellite hookup. The
announcement insisted that WILD's programming had not changed. 2:15 pm, checked in again and
heard just the dead carrier (which had been the case yesterday), no music or announcements.

 

[MR. JAROME_CALVIN]

they had dead air Tuesday too

 

[Deleted User]

so the person that is supposed to be manning their "main studio" can't hook a laptop up and get the feed via streaming audio?

I kept a station on with an AOL dial up connection once.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

so the person that is supposed to be manning their "main studio" can't hook a laptop up and get the feed via streaming audio?

In some cases, the feeds of the same program may have different elements on the internet than on the satellite feed that affiliate stations are supposed to air, such as different commercials, different use of spot breaks, etc...

 

[raccoonradio]

by late afternoon they were running classic soul

 

[Deleted User]

so the person that is supposed to be manning their "main studio" can't hook a laptop up and get the feed via streaming audio?

In some cases, the feeds of the same program may have different elements on the internet than on the satellite feed that affiliate stations are supposed to air, such as different commercials, different use of spot breaks, etc...

There is NO excuse for a dead carrier unless the CE is at the transmitter site working on a proof or some other operation. IIRC throwing a dead carrier or more than a couple of minutes outside of a repair or proofing operation is a no no. Were they doing top of the hour legal ID's through all of this?

Shut the transmitter down if you can't get audio out.

 

[MarcB]

A friend of mine who isn't a licensed professional engineer, but has helped out with several stations says any one with any intelligence can figure out how to put an I-POD on the air. - To quote Geico So Simple a Caveman can do it. Also I find it hard to believe they couldn't put on a CD on a loop from their studios.

When I interned at a small AM station in suburban Hartford we had CDs to air in case the satellite took a dump. We had CDs of Infomercials, programming such as Music and The Spoken Word, Focus on the Family, etc. Plus we had a CD of Polka Music we'd play on the air if we couldn't establish a phone connection between the station and the Polish Club where our Polka Show originated from. Generally at this particular station the only time there was dead air is if the automation computer took a dump (i.e. switched to the wrong channel. Happened more than once during DR LAURA) and no one was in the building to notice.

 

[DToTheJ]

And what, pray tell, is the name of this particular suburban Hartford AM station you speak of? :

 

[starchild]

so the person that is supposed to be manning their "main studio" can't hook a laptop up and get the feed via streaming audio?

In some cases, the feeds of the same program may have different elements on the internet than on the satellite feed that affiliate stations are supposed to air, such as different commercials, different use of spot breaks, etc...

That's exactly right Eli!
As it's been a while since you & I spoke
and you know who I am
and I am responsible for those "main studio" people
I'll tell the story...
due to the severe rain fall over the weekend,
the flooding caused of a lot of damage in the area.
As a result the T1 line for Joyner (Dallas)
was able to be salvaged for the short term
while the others were down.
Due to testing work in the area
things got dropped.
They stayed down to rebuild an entire circuit
and paths to well of 100 or better other sites.
Worst I've seen, and I've been around WILD
for over 23 yrs.
A laptop would have put something on the air
(but w/that tones and closures,commercials etc-and it does come down to $$,
wouldn't be run properly ),
but now that we CAN get to the area
we're told things will be resolved shortly!

 

[Deleted User]

I am a board op for a company that brings in a lot of it's programming over Telco, internet streaming, Comrex Matrix boxes, and in studio.

I also hold a First ticket.

If I had let dead air go out for that long I'd be ashamed of myself.

WILD runs a shoddy operation. I have heard them drop off the air without legal ID's for example.

If you are the person in charge of the "main studio" here are my questions.

Do you have 2 full time people on staff?
Is there someone at the main studio location M-F 9 to 5?
Does WILD participate in the EAS program?

How do you justify tossing a dead carrier? The operation should have shut down before a dead carrier was put out there.

 

[Don Juan]

WILD runs a shoddy operation. I have heard them drop off the air without legal ID's for example.

How do you justify tossing a dead carrier? The operation should have shut down before a dead carrier was put out there.

You're assuming anyone at WILD actually cares anymore?

At WILD, "no one is home" anymore. It's like the abandoned house on the street where the owners doesn't want it anymore, and has an upside down mortgage and can't sell it.

Your complaining that someone left a light on in the upstairs hall closet.

 

[rapking]

[/quote]

You're assuming anyone at WILD actually cares anymore?

At WILD, "no one is home" anymore. It's like the abandoned house on the street where the owners doesn't want it anymore, and has an upside down mortgage and can't sell it.

Your complaining that someone left a light on in the upstairs hall closet.
[/quote] Radio One purchase a wonderful small home ( 1090 ) and then trash it. Urban specialist my @$$ !

 

[Don Juan]

You're assuming anyone at WILD actually cares anymore?

At WILD, "no one is home" anymore. It's like the abandoned house on the street where the owners doesn't want it anymore, and has an upside down mortgage and can't sell it.

Your complaining that someone left a light on in the upstairs hall closet.

Radio One purchase a wonderful small home ( 1090 ) and then trash it. Urban specialist my @$$ !

They were good while they lasted. But they are going through tough times as a company. You might want to keep in mind that most urban stations/companies are not in good shape these days...not just Radio One.