I was in New Zealand over the recent holidays, and while waiting in line at a beachside food stand near Christchurch I noticed a t-shirt the teenager behind the counter was wearing, advertising “Rotten Radio 107.7 fm, Lyttelton.” I asked him about the station, and he only said that it’s “cool” and I should listen […]
Archive | Radio Bands
Ireland’s Longwave Station RTÉ 252 Spared from Imminent Closure
Listeners located in the U.K. who enjoy Ireland’s RTÉ 252 radio service are breathing a sign of relief. The planned 2017 closure of this longwave station has now been put on indefinite hold, according to Independent.ie. I first reported on RTÉ 252 two years ago, when news of its shutdown–originally set for January 2015–put longwave […]
Radio Station Visit #110 – Radio 1190 at University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Colorado, Boulder’s college radio station KVCU Radio 1190 was the next stop on my tour of Colorado radio stations a few weeks ago. On July 12, after my trip to KCSU in Fort Collins, I headed south to meet up with Radio 1190’s General Manager Mikey Goldenberg. The station’s only professional staff member, […]
Podcast #55 – Not All Radio Amateurs + Podcasting is Still Small
Not all amateur radio enthusiasts are old guys. This is obviously a statement of fact, but it took a listener to the podcast to write in and remind us. Co-host, Eric Klein apologizes for error. Paul Riismandel attended a local marketing conference as part of his day job and was reminded just how small the […]
A Brief History of Backdoor ‘FrankenFM’ Radio Stations
Long-time Radio Survivor readers know that I’ve been tracking one of the stranger vestiges of analog television in the US: channel 6 low-power TV stations that can be heard at the far left end of the FM dial. I’ve called them “back door” stations, while others in the radio industry call them “FrankenFMs.” Since low-power […]
Saving RTÉ 252 Long Wave, Ireland’s Long Distance Broadcast Service
Listeners are campaigning to save a long wave radio station from closure, but the management are adamant it will close. RTÉ Radio 1 is the general information and entertainment service of the Irish Republic’s public service broadcaster. UK listeners can currently hear the station on internet, Freesat (satellite radio) and 252 kHz long wave. The […]
Radio Recollections: the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s
Editor’s Note: Fred Krock is a retired broadcaster who worked in commercial broadcasting in San Francisco and New York City. An electrical engineer, he got his start in radio at KZSU at Stanford University in 1950. Fred offered to share his memories of KZSU and radio in the Bay Area from that time, and we […]
The Radio Curtain Descends on Europe – the State of AM on the Continent
Editors note: Paul Bailey writes the Goodbye AM blog, covering the decline of broadcasting on that band, particularly in Europe. We asked him to share his perspective with Radio Survivor readers, and we look forward to his future contributions. -Paul In Europe we call the AM band the “medium wave” band (there is also a […]
FCC Weighing the End of Clear Channel AM Stations
As the first round of AM stations get a shot at having translator repeaters on the FM dial, the FCC’s AM revitalization proceeding is still not completely resolved. There are still several questions that the Commission is accepting comments on, until March 21. Broadcast attorney David Oxenford presents a very thorough rundown of these issues […]
My Visit to the Oldest High School Radio Station in the U.S.: Portland’s KBPS
Radio Survivor readers are well aware of my passion for radio history and my appreciation for high school radio. For those reasons, it was a thrill to finally visit KBPS 1450 AM in Portland, Oregon a couple of months ago. Licensed to Portland Public Schools, the station is housed at Benson Polytechnic High School (thus […]