Having not commented for a while and seeing as there's been some slight changes in activity lately, I guess I should mention some of what I'm seeing these days.
99.5 W#FR - I noticed it mentioned, but I haven't caught them yet, just a timing thing I'm guessing (and again, _I'M NOT_ involved with those guys, they are from Bristol, I was with Jammin' 99.5 in Middletown).
101.5 Energy Radio has moved to 87.7. I caught them Friday as I was heading from Middletown to New Britain, they were fading in and out, but had a decent signal if they are in the same location as they were at 101.5, the coverage area has vastly increased.
1620 AM New Britain. No change here, still spanish religion, as far as it's sister station, I haven't gotten 1640 in a while, and maybe it's because it's now at 1710 and just outside the range of my car's radio! I have a fancy chinese radio that has AM, SW & FM Coverage that can be used in the US, Japan and Russia!, but it turns out the AM only goes up to 1670? and SW only down to 1800, so until I find what I did with my DX 440, I'm not likely to get more than adjacent channel noise from them.
1710 Middletown, after finding out that I can get enough adjacent channel noise from a station running out of band, I figured I'd try out "CNX Radio" and sure enough, they were there but with a bit less noise level then the one in New Britain.
and this time I have to mention out of the sheer enjoyment of the tourture my mother experienced while listening to the second ever pirate station she's ever heard. I was bringing her home last Sunday and she was scanning the dial and heard an oldie (late 50's/early 60's deep R&B type track that you just don't hear anywhere) and it was on 103.3, with a signal fading in and out. I figured WODS Boston, but nope! Busy FM. Now comes the tourture, the DJ cut the song off about 5 seconds into her tuning in, and started something else, then it happened again, and yet a 4th time but going back to the first song. Then about 10 seconds into that song the DJ came in and started announcing over the track dropping the track a few times to restart it as she announced the usual 200 times an hour spots for the West Indian Social Club. After about 10 minutes, Mom was livid, way to drum up an audience Busy FM! I know this is a typical style on carribean stations and many of the pirates I've heard in the UK, but it's not really good radio even though it forces the listener to hear the ads because turning them off till they are over is ineffective as they really never end and are imbedded into the music the listeners are there for in the first place (Uh-Oh! Commerical radio better not get any hints from this, because it only works where you play music the people want to hear and since you don't do enough of that, it'll mean instant ratings death!)
BTW: Last year I had some predictions that from certain sources that I thought were reliable, but this being radio, they all failed. It was the first time I used this source and even though I felt they were very plausable, they weren't and I apologise for that.
They were:
1. An FM College station was going to go HD this past year, they didn't but I do know they were looking into it and if the oppertunity presents itsself, they might still take it up.
2. A Pirate station was going to "break the codec" for HD Radio and sign on an HD transmitter of it's own design. Didn't happen and as busy as the guy is, I doubt he'll ever get around to it.
3. A CT AM/FM Combo that has been running the same format for many years (decades even) would either be bought and switch formats, or just flip formats even if not sold. They are still the same.
I think that's how they went, but they each flopped, there is still a chance that all but #2 could happen, just the time frame was wrong.
99.5 W#FR - I noticed it mentioned, but I haven't caught them yet, just a timing thing I'm guessing (and again, _I'M NOT_ involved with those guys, they are from Bristol, I was with Jammin' 99.5 in Middletown).
101.5 Energy Radio has moved to 87.7. I caught them Friday as I was heading from Middletown to New Britain, they were fading in and out, but had a decent signal if they are in the same location as they were at 101.5, the coverage area has vastly increased.
1620 AM New Britain. No change here, still spanish religion, as far as it's sister station, I haven't gotten 1640 in a while, and maybe it's because it's now at 1710 and just outside the range of my car's radio! I have a fancy chinese radio that has AM, SW & FM Coverage that can be used in the US, Japan and Russia!, but it turns out the AM only goes up to 1670? and SW only down to 1800, so until I find what I did with my DX 440, I'm not likely to get more than adjacent channel noise from them.
1710 Middletown, after finding out that I can get enough adjacent channel noise from a station running out of band, I figured I'd try out "CNX Radio" and sure enough, they were there but with a bit less noise level then the one in New Britain.
and this time I have to mention out of the sheer enjoyment of the tourture my mother experienced while listening to the second ever pirate station she's ever heard. I was bringing her home last Sunday and she was scanning the dial and heard an oldie (late 50's/early 60's deep R&B type track that you just don't hear anywhere) and it was on 103.3, with a signal fading in and out. I figured WODS Boston, but nope! Busy FM. Now comes the tourture, the DJ cut the song off about 5 seconds into her tuning in, and started something else, then it happened again, and yet a 4th time but going back to the first song. Then about 10 seconds into that song the DJ came in and started announcing over the track dropping the track a few times to restart it as she announced the usual 200 times an hour spots for the West Indian Social Club. After about 10 minutes, Mom was livid, way to drum up an audience Busy FM! I know this is a typical style on carribean stations and many of the pirates I've heard in the UK, but it's not really good radio even though it forces the listener to hear the ads because turning them off till they are over is ineffective as they really never end and are imbedded into the music the listeners are there for in the first place (Uh-Oh! Commerical radio better not get any hints from this, because it only works where you play music the people want to hear and since you don't do enough of that, it'll mean instant ratings death!)
BTW: Last year I had some predictions that from certain sources that I thought were reliable, but this being radio, they all failed. It was the first time I used this source and even though I felt they were very plausable, they weren't and I apologise for that.
They were:
1. An FM College station was going to go HD this past year, they didn't but I do know they were looking into it and if the oppertunity presents itsself, they might still take it up.
2. A Pirate station was going to "break the codec" for HD Radio and sign on an HD transmitter of it's own design. Didn't happen and as busy as the guy is, I doubt he'll ever get around to it.
3. A CT AM/FM Combo that has been running the same format for many years (decades even) would either be bought and switch formats, or just flip formats even if not sold. They are still the same.
I think that's how they went, but they each flopped, there is still a chance that all but #2 could happen, just the time frame was wrong.
