Post by dbsteff on Aug 22, 2008 20:17:05 GMT -5
Don Fugate and I both performed at both WLRS and WXVW. We had been having trouble with the Collins AM transmitter at WXVW, so I was "babysitting" during the graveyard shift while Don was on the air. WXVW, at that time (1968) was using an antiquated, even for the time, Western Electric console. It was a 30's vintage console, but still worked great.
Collins Transmitters are known for their reliability, In fact, it was The Collins Radio Company that I went to work for when I left WLRS/WXVW and moved to Dallas Tx...anyway it was unusual to have a recurring problem with one. We did, however.
There was a 6L6 vacuum tube in the low voltage power supply, and for some strange reason it would die frequently, producing a sort of cascade effect, such that it would take down the entire transmitter. Since the DJ on the air took his headset feed from the on-air monitor, he would know this had happened when his headphones would fill with static....thus a clear indication that the Transmitter was off the air.
This particular night, and, by the way, I have a picture from that night.....anyway, Don had the mic open and was reading the weather forecast. I was watching from behind him at the VU meter on the modulation monitor.
Suddenly, Don stopped, mid-sentence, and turned to me saying:
"Well, this Son of a B--tch is off the air again!."
As soon as he began to say that, I began waving my arms frantically for him to shut up. It was to no avail. Don had not closed the mic before making this declaration, and I, watching the VU meter jump with Don's voice knew he had just blurted this comment out over the air.
As Murphy's law would have it, another tube, a 12AX7 had died in the air monitor, producing the same earful of static. Don was deceived, therefore into believeing he had just been knocked off the air again.
Since the mic was open, the studio speakers were muted, so I couldn't hear what had happened. As soon as Don realized what he had done, he punched up the cart machine for a commercial and closed the mic.
It was too late. The 5-line phone lit up sequentially, from left to right. The first caller was a fireman, up late at the firehouse. His comment when Don answered the phone was simply:
"OH NO IT'S NOT!!!"
If anyone is interested, I have many more stories about both WLRS and WXVW and my times there.
Regards
Dan Steffen
Collins Transmitters are known for their reliability, In fact, it was The Collins Radio Company that I went to work for when I left WLRS/WXVW and moved to Dallas Tx...anyway it was unusual to have a recurring problem with one. We did, however.
There was a 6L6 vacuum tube in the low voltage power supply, and for some strange reason it would die frequently, producing a sort of cascade effect, such that it would take down the entire transmitter. Since the DJ on the air took his headset feed from the on-air monitor, he would know this had happened when his headphones would fill with static....thus a clear indication that the Transmitter was off the air.
This particular night, and, by the way, I have a picture from that night.....anyway, Don had the mic open and was reading the weather forecast. I was watching from behind him at the VU meter on the modulation monitor.
Suddenly, Don stopped, mid-sentence, and turned to me saying:
"Well, this Son of a B--tch is off the air again!."
As soon as he began to say that, I began waving my arms frantically for him to shut up. It was to no avail. Don had not closed the mic before making this declaration, and I, watching the VU meter jump with Don's voice knew he had just blurted this comment out over the air.
As Murphy's law would have it, another tube, a 12AX7 had died in the air monitor, producing the same earful of static. Don was deceived, therefore into believeing he had just been knocked off the air again.
Since the mic was open, the studio speakers were muted, so I couldn't hear what had happened. As soon as Don realized what he had done, he punched up the cart machine for a commercial and closed the mic.
It was too late. The 5-line phone lit up sequentially, from left to right. The first caller was a fireman, up late at the firehouse. His comment when Don answered the phone was simply:
"OH NO IT'S NOT!!!"
If anyone is interested, I have many more stories about both WLRS and WXVW and my times there.
Regards
Dan Steffen