Read the full story on page 10

October 2012
Edition 1
Volume 7, Issue 19
“On the Mike”
The Official Newsletter of “SCMA”
Representing this Great Southern Land
A National Representative Body for Regional, Rural and Sub Metro Community Broadcasters
Conference, Information and stuff
membership renewals are due as
of the first of January 2013.
Conference
Information
Yes…. The 2013 National
Regional Rural and Sub Metro
Broadcasters Conference is still a
while away and the exact dates
and location will be announce very
soon.
This article is also about reminding
stations to start planning ahead
there are member stations out
there that attend the conference
every year and have a very
effective fundraising system going
that provides them with
registration, travel and
accommodation for their
delegates. There was an article in
the last newsletter on this topic
and it is a timely reminder that now
is the moment to start the process
of fund raising for the conference.
One station uses the fundraising
section as a selection process as
to who attends the conference.
The people that are prepared to
put in the time to assist with
fundraising are the ones who get
first opportunity to attend the
conference.
Membership renewal invoices will
be sent out early next month all
things going to plan. We say this
every year …these invoices are
not a demand for your station to
join or renew your membership to
the SCMA they are a reminder
that membership is due and
payable.
Think about it…it is a great way to
fund attendance to the 2013
National Regional Rural and Sub
Metro Broadcasters Conference.
If you have the time and interest
in being a part of the knowledge
base of the SCMA or perhaps are
able to provide technical support
to member stations or would like
to get involved in the conference
or the management of the
Association please by all means
get in touch with us so we can
get you involved in the "Can Do
Association"
This article is to get you thinking
about the topics that are important
to your station, to your presenters,
to your Board of Management and
of course to you.
The SCMA has always been
committed to its members and
meeting the needs of the
membership of the association so
as always we want to hear from
you about what you want to see at
the conference.
Are you happy with the format of
the event would you like to see a
change in the schedule? Do you
want more spare time to network
or more time to learn? Do you
want the conference extended or
shortened? It is all about meeting
the needs of the members of the
association and making sure that
you are getting the best possible
Value for money by attending the
conference.
Stuff
I know it is early days but a
reminder to all financial member
stations of the SCMA that
More Stuff
The SCMA is keen to increase its
membership services and we are
always interested to speak with
anyone who has something to
offer the association by way of
knowledge, expertise or wants to
become involved in the
association on the management
side.
MJM Workshop
After some great feed back from
Member stations and a real desire
for people to get involved we have
decided to sneak a one day MJM
workshop in before the silly
season sets in.
The workshop will be located in
Wagga Wagga on Saturday
November 17th. The location is
yet to be confirmed.
The training session will
commence at 10 am and will
have a one hour break for lunch
at 1pm. All trainees will need to
be back by 2 pm sharp. The
afternoon session will wind up
around 4-30pm.
At this point there is no set list of
people who will be attending the
training session but as of this
article we are looking for two
things from anyone interested in
attending the MJM training.
1st - We need definite numbers
and the names of the people from
your station that will be attending
the training sessions.
2nd - We want to hear from those
attending what they are most
interested learning. What topics
they specifically are interested in
learning more about and what
parts of the MJM player you are
interested in learning more about.
At this stage this will be the only
MJM training session for a while
as Michael is pretty busy with
family and work commitments.
What you will need….
It would be great if every person
attending the training session had
a lap top but we know that is
unrealistic so we will get you to
work in groups so you all can
easily see what is happening and
have a hands on approach to the
training.
Those registered for the MJM
workshop will be able to
download a training version of the
MJM player that will be fully
functional and will give you
access to the player for a
restricted time for the purpose of
training. Once numbers are
finalised you will be emailed with
information about how and where
to download the MJM player trail
version in preparation for the
training sessions.
We strongly recommend that you
bring a laptop with you if at all
possible.
The more people that bring
laptops the easier it will be for all
concerned. The session will also
be carried out via data projector
so you will be able to see what is
happening if you do not have
access to a computer on the day.
So what do you need to do to
register to attend this
workshop?
You will need to contact the CEO
of the SCMA via
ceo@scma.org.au let him know
your name, your station name and
the names of others attending
from your station. We will need a
contact Email address to pass on
information in regard to the
training session and how to get
your trial copy of MJM to set up on
your laptop prior to attending the
session.
It would also be an advantage to
you to have some music and
station ID's and sponsorships on
your laptop to assist with the
training on the player.
We look forward to seeing you in
Wagga Wagga for the MJM
Workshop
PDS Show "On Air Guitar" – a Year’s Doings
By Sam Richards
As a green presenter, this past year's
learning from producing On Air Guitar
must be described as a major ramp-up.
The original concept had been brewing
for several years and it took the
encouragement (poking with sticks?)
from Ray and Di Richmond to
overcome the inertia of doing nothing.
It was a brain-storm with Di that
produced the name – come to think of
it, it was her idea!
The means of production were made
possible with the help of
TEM-FM’s chief technician, Norm
Bailey. Norm is a golden legend
in the studio. It became obvious that
On Air Guitar would take over the
production studio at the station, so we
set up a ‘studio’ in my shed. My
thought at the time was, ‘….a studio at
home, that will make the production of
a two-hour show an afternoon’s
effort’.
After a year’s experience, I have
production time down to about three
days. It seems incredible, but I am a
slow worker and not a natural on the
mike. So multiple takes are pretty
common.
On Air Guitar is devoted to guitar and
acoustic music – with occasional
forays into the ‘unusual’. This format
comfortably covers a huge spectrum of
music, so I have never felt limited by
the title. My main aim has been to
present interesting tracks and features
in a varied format. I spend a lot of
production time listening to selections
in relation to the tracks that air before
and after. I also listen to my own
presentation and try to maintain a
critical, ear. My additional quality
control has been Norm’s
experienced ear. Before the six
segments of a weekly programme
are exported from wave to mp3
files, Norm surveys levels,
transitions and errors made obvious
by the waveform graphic.
I record and edit with Samplitude
Pro X. As Norm has used various
versions of this program over the
years, it seemed best suited to our
production/learning needs. I use a
pair of Rode NTS-1a condenser
mikes into a small Behringer mixer
with an outboard digital converter.
Our biggest recording hurtle has
been room acoustics. With the
recent addition of a large rug, the
‘feel’ of the room is now about right
for vocals and acoustic instruments.
On Air Guitar has hosted a number
of live performers, including
Michael Fix, Rick Ruskin and Larry
Pattis as well as a number of wellknown guitar makers. Interviews
and performance recordings have
been made in the field at guitar
camps and festivals as well as in the
studio.
Our programme is currently
downloaded via PDS by TEM-FM,
Temora, NSW; EMFM, Echuca;
Voice FM, Ballarat; 2GHR,
Holbrook, NSW and 3VKV, Mount
Beauty.
Some production time is taken up
by correspondence with performers,
record companies and promoters.
The programme has been selffunded, so acquiring music
economically has been a major
(time consuming) objective. I am
extremely grateful for the support
offered and interest shown by the
artists who have been featured on
‘OAG’.
My aim for the future is to:
-
-
-
expand our recording and
airing of music by unknown or
littleknown Australian performers
to continue broadcasting the
music of quality acoustic
artists from
around the world.
Expand the listenership of On
Air Guitar
I thank my producer, Norm Bailey
and my wife, Carol, for her
patience each week as OAG nears
completion and chaos takes over
the household. One day I
mentioned to her that my
listenership was soaring into double
digits. And she replied, ‘Yes, you
are practically famous’.
On Air Guitar is available to
member stations of SCMA via
PDS for your station to use on air
at no charge to your station
OKR's own take on Reading on Radio
With some inspiration from Voice
FM, OKR recently set out to try
and establish some Radio
Reading [RPH] sessions.
We submitted a small article to the
local paper and there was an
almost instant response. There
are now four reading sessions, 3
are half hour segments within the
morning shows and the other one
is a stand alone news session.
The reading volunteers started off
a bit stiff and nervous but the
sessions are now really relaxed
and very easy to listen to. In
addition to the local papers
session, readers are suggesting
different material and the content
have become quite varied.
Below ……
Radio reading session presenters
Rachel and Gabrielle at OKR FM
One of the Readers who was
going to be away for the school
holidays recorded some sessions
on the History of Gold Mining in
the Kilmore area and we're using
these as a sample for a ten part
series we hope to produce on the
history of the Kilmore Show which
is being held for the 150th time on
December 1st this year.
Kasey
It is not normally our families
speed to go public with the issues
we face but the simple fact of the
matter is so many people have
contacted us for updates that we
thought we would use this little
piece of space to let everyone
know what is happening.
Kasey was supposed to have had
surgery on September 27th but
due to circumstances that surgery
was postponed and Kasey has
now been placed on a surgical
Radio Serials
waiting list and we are waiting to
be told when her surgery will be.
We do know that it will be in the
next month or so but at this point
there is no date.
For those who don't know what is
happening Kasey has a Cyst on
her brain that is putting pressure
on the nerves that control her eye
movement and focus. This cyst
has to be removed in the hope that
this will resolve the problems she
is experiencing.
WORK WONDERS
Talk it over with
Grace Gibson Productions
for audience loyalty
02 9906 2244
We are very grateful for the Emails
and calls from members of the
SCMA and the community
broadcasting family as a whole.
We will try and make sure that we
keep you informed on what is
happening and how Kasey's
recovery is going. It is very
heartening to know that you are
concerned about Kasey's health
and Lisa, Kasey and myself thank
you for your kind messages and
support.
and sponsors alike!
bruce@gracegibson.com.au
The Castlereagh Line,
I Christopher Macauley,
Dad & Dave, Yes What!,
Dossier on Dumetrius,
Violets Are Blue,
Without Shame,
and hundreds more
http://www.gracegibson.com.au
The return of the
Wonderful White Winged Warrior
Newly repackaged,
with over 25 tracks never before
aired on Australian radio.
Just one of many
Radio Interview Tips
with Di Richmond
Taken from what Makes A
Good Radio Host Beverly
Mahone Boomer Media on
10.4.2011
What skills does it take to be a
good interviewer? Can anyone
do it? Is there a certain formula to
doing it right? The people who
interview others well all have
similar characteristics. They may
not have the same style but they
know how to command an
audience with or without a guest.
2) Know Your Subject: The
problem with some hosts is they
rely heavily on their guests to
supply them with information on
the topic being discussed. That
can be dangerous because how
do you know for sure that what
they’re telling you is accurate?
Do your own homework and be
prepared to ask questions on top
of the ones that were probably
spoon-fed to you by the guest.
Here are some tips on how to
become a good radio host:
1) Have a Personality. In a
nutshell that means you should
have some flair about you. No
one wants to sit and listen to a
monotone host who sounds like
he or she would rather be
somewhere else other than
hosting their own show. Listen to
some of your favorite hosts. What
is it about them that you enjoy? I
guarantee you one of the things
you will say is they have
personality. You don’t have to
over the top like Howard Stern or
Rush Limbaugh but make what
you have to say enjoyable and
pleasing to the ear.
3) Don’t DOMINATE the
discussion: An interview is
supposed to be a two-way
conversation. You ask a
question. You get a response.
Some hosts get carried away
with talking and allow little time
for guests to say what they have
to say. Don’t talk just to hear
yourself talk.
4) Always have a back-up plan:
What would you do if a guest
cancelled the day of your show?
Would you cancel your show or
go on the air anyway? If you
choose the latter, always try to
have someone waiting in the
wings who can be your last
minute guest and who won’t
mind. There are plenty of people
looking for publicity so create a
list and let them know you may
have to call on them at a
moment’s notice.
5) Don’t Fly Solo: Even I, as a
veteran journalist, don’t like
hosting a one-hour show by
myself. You may think it’s a piece
of cake but as time goes on you
will either start repeating yourself
or you’ll wind up with a lot of
dead air. You should always be
trying to build your listener base
so that someone listening will call
in to help you out.
Being a good radio host takes
time and practice. Listen to the
hosts who do it well and then
develop your own style and, by
all means, enjoy what you do!
Hey do you want to turn the heads of your Sponsors and Listeners
Does Your Stations Need Something that Stands Out
Contact Andy at Fatman Productions
Sponsorships, Station Imaging even Message on Hold
Get quality voicing at affordable prices
Phone 0415 425 945 or Email voiceoverandy@gmail.com
Fatman Productions for Prompt Fast turn around of your Production Needs
Best-practice reporting and portrayal of eating
disorders in the media By Kim McNaughton (Mindframe)
Eating disorders are serious and
complex mental illnesses with
significant physical effects and
higher mortality rates for people
experiencing this disorder.
Approximately nine per cent of
Australians will experience an
eating disorder at some point in
their lifetime.
Through accurate and sensitive
communication and portrayal,
community broadcasters can play
an important role in minimising
harm to persons living with, or who
are at risk of developing an eating
disorder, and in increasing
community understanding of the
associated risk factors and impacts.
Reporting and Portrayal of Eating
Disorders is an online resource to
provide community broadcasters
and other media professionals with
practical advice for best-practice in
the reporting and portrayal of
eating disorders. The resource
was developed under the
Mindframe National Media
Initiative in partnership with the
National Eating Disorders
Collaboration (NEDC) and through
consultation with eating disorder
specialists and an advisory group
of media professionals across
radio, newspapers, magazines,
television and online platforms.
Overall, Mindframe and the NEDC
aim to encourage responsible and
accurate media representation of
eating disorders through providing
a consistent, evidence based
‘voice’.
The resource is a four page
document providing brief facts
about eating disorders and quick
tips for reporting. Issues for
consideration include the use of
problematic language and images,
stereotyping; approaches to
personal stories; and how to check
if information is accurate. The
resource places emphasis on
promoting help-seeking, healthy
behaviours.
Responsible and accurate
reporting starts with ‘choice of
language’. Certain words can
frame eating disorders as being
‘glamorous’ or ‘trivial’, or can even
portray the disorder as being a
‘lifestyle choice’. Words like “thin”
and “fat”; that refer specifically to
weight or Body Mass Index; or that
provide detailed information about
specific behaviours associated
with an eating disorder, can lead
people at risk of the disorder to
identify and potentially ‘copycat’
behaviours. Alternately,
emphasis can be placed on key
messages about risk factors,
impacts, help-seeking behaviours
and on services that promote
recovery and wellbeing. The
study and treatment of eating
disorders is a complex,
specialised field. Community
broadcasters have assistance
however, and can access several
accredited organisations for
information and advice that will
enable accurate reporting and
portrayal of eating disorders.
The Reporting and Portrayal of
Eating Disorders is a free
resource and can be downloaded
from:
http://www.mindframemedia.info/client_images/110896
7.pdf
HELPSEEKING INFORMATION (for your listeners
and your website):
For Eating Disorders information:
National Eating Disorders Collaboration
www.nedc.com.au
The Butterfly Foundation
www.thebutterflyfoundation.org.au
1800 33 4673 (1800 ED HOPE) national
support line.
For 24-hour Crisis Support for those in distress:
Lifeline – 13 11 14
MensLine Australia – 1300 789 978
Kids Helpline - 1800 55 18 00
INFORMATION FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS
For media comment on eating disorders, services
and access to clinical experts, contact The
Butterfly Foundation on (02) 9419 4499
For storyline advice, contact the Mindframe
project team on (02) 4924 6904 or email
mindframe@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au,
Mindframe are supporters of the National
Regional Rural and Sub Metro
Broadcasters Conference
New Grant Opportunity for Victorian Stations
History Making Grants now Available.
A new opportunity for
enterprising stations has now
become available via the
Victorian Government.
The new grant program
managed by the Public Record
Office of Victoria has invited
community groups to share in
more than $350,00.00 for
innovative projects that preserve
and share the stories of Victoria
from the past to be heard and
cherished by future generations.
however other projects may
appeal to stations.
The grants aim to support a
range of projects including
exhibitions, publications,
multimedia programs and the
production of Oral Histories from
local residents. The most
appropriate project for stations
may be the production of Oral
Histories for on air broadcast,
Applications for the Local History
Grants Program are open now,
and close on Monday 12
November 2012.
For further information or to apply
visit:
http://prov.vic.gov.au/communityprograms/grants-awards/localhistory-grants
Are you a Part of the
Program Distribution System (P.D.S)?
The Program Distribution System
or PDS as we refer to it is
growing and expanding and we
want to make sure that members
are benefitting from the system.
So what is PDS?
Well it is a system developed by
the SCMA exclusively for
members of the SCMA that
provides programs for stations to
use on air at no cost to stations.
How Many Programs are
Available?
Currently PDS has 16 shows
available to member stations;
they range in length from short 5
minute segments through to 2
hour shows and everything in
between.
What sort of content is there?
PDS has a policy of non
offensive content unless the
show has a warning and stations
are aware that there may be
offensive content. At the moment
there are no offensive content
programs on PDS. There is a
wide range of music programs,
talk shows such as Talking AFL
and sporting information shows.
How Much does PDS Cost?
There is no Charge to member
stations for any PDS content or
to use the system.
How do I get PDS?
Contact the SCMA via
ceo@scma.org.au for
information how to set up the
system. You can have a look at
what shows are available by
visiting the SCMA website at
www,scma.org.au
CPK Web Services provides a range of services including, website design,
website hosting and domain names.
We also offer a range of consulting services such as web accessibility consulting.
Plus a great range of graphic design services including logo design and branding.
Contact Chad Kelly the Manager of CPK Web Services for more information or to request a
quote. Discounts are available for SCMA members contact sales@cpkws.com.au for details.
For more information visit http://cpkws.com.au/scma.php
OCR FM at Youth Expo
Life wasn’t meant to be easy,
how often have we heard that?
And it seems nothing worth
doing is ever an easy quick
task.
That certainly was the case
when our little community radio
put up its hand to take part in
the local Shire initiative ‘Youth
Expo’. The amount of volunteer
hours our members allocate to
this station and continue to
allocate is amazing.
To all the volunteers everywhere
a huge thank because you don’t
hear it enough, where would we
be without you? Thank you .
The Colac Otway Shire held a
Youth Expo at the Blue Water
Fitness Centre on Thursday
19th of July. The purpose of the
event was a chance for the
district’s community, hobby
groups and sports clubs to
reach out to potential members,
and show the diversity the Colac
Otway Shire has to offer.
Being a small community, it’s
really important for the community
to come together and support
local clubs, and by encouraging
young people it promotes the
sustainability of the clubs in the
Colac area.
Volunteers are
the life blood of
Community
Radio
About 40 different groups had
displays at the expo. We were
positioned quite near the Colac
City band that had drums and
other instruments for the students
to try, and Marlene’s school of
dance had a very loud
presentation every 90 minutes.
The noise level was incredible.
OCR FM audio presentation was
lost amongst the competition. We
prepared an excellent
presentation.
It’s amazing how things come
together; different parts being
prepared at different places
coming together to create one
whole well thought out quality
presentation.
Just over 900 youth members and
school children from across the
Colac Otway Shire received
copies of our local program guide
and information on getting
involved with Community radio
through OCR FM.
The main focus of our participation
was to target the teaching staff.
OCR FM ‘Schools Live @ Lunch’
pack was presented to all the
teachers who visited the site to
encourage school children to
actively participate in their learning
using the medium of radio.
Packages included; a professional
flyer from the community media
training organisation with specific
references to OCR FM studios.
The packages included topics and
learning skills which could be
applied to the various years levels
from Prep through to year 12.
This included public speaking,
interviewing, creative use of
technology, script writing, editing,
different text types, collecting and
presenting data as well as
information leading to a career in
media.
Continued on next page …….
Keep up with what is happening in the SCMA
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/myscma
Twitter - www.twitter.com/TheSCMA
YouTube - www.youtube.com/user/candoassosiation
Website - www.scma.org.au
OCR FM at Youth Expo ….Continued
Get your local
Schools involved
in your station
I found the teachers were really
quite pleased to receive the
package. Any teachers that I was
able to spend a couple of
moments with talking about the
station and utilising radio with the
students’ regular curriculum
responded in a very positive way.
The OCR FM display was topped
off with media wall featuring
newspaper articles of youth
involvement with OCR FM, and
our new digital photo frame
showing a slide show of students
and young people from the many
recorded promotions and school
programs, work experience
programs etc which had taken
place at OCR FM. We took the
time to hand deliver the station
contact details to all the other
groups and clubs involved at the
Expo to take advantage of free
community announcements for
their events and activities.
Was all this time and work worth it?
We have since had a couple of
groups taking up the chance to
have on air announcements put to
air regularly and we have already
had some inquiries from a local
school getting involved with
‘Schools Live @ Lunch’. Yes our
efforts were worth it, we anticipate
including photographs of this new
school group in our next promotion
pamphlet, news paper article and
encourage us to plan ahead for the
next Youth Expo to engage the
students for the next youth expo; I
suggest we rewrite the program
guide to include short content
description relating to each
program. I was taking time to point
out to students a couple of
programs that we have which I
thought would appeal to them,
which they thought was pretty
funny, and like the idea. We also
need to include details on
participating at the station a section
for musicians/bands on how to get
their music on the station/interview
possibilities. Also future Youth Expo
should include a competition with
CD’s and/or Posters as a prize
an easy question such as
‘Where do you find OCR FM on
your dial?’ or ‘What frequency
is OCR FM’ write your answer,
name, grade, school and
contact details (preferably
email which could be added to
our database to be notified of
upcoming events fundraisers
and station news).
Always thinking ahead, always
working towards promoting
community radio. Hope this
helps with your newsletter and
promoting of your station and
members activities and assets
that community radio is to all
our area’s.
Yours in broadcasting. OCR
FM Colac and District.
MJM Player V4 Has Arrived
Affordable Studio Audio Automation Designed for Community Radio
MJM Software is pleased to announce Version 4-0-1 of the MJM Player is now available to download
at www.mjm-software.com
The player now comes in different track allocations of 32k, 100k, 150k, 200k
Version V4 is compatible with windows 7 and boasts many new features.
For upgrade pricing from version 3 to version 4 or just to inquire about any of our products
please contact us during office hours
PH: 02 69218333
Email: mjmsoftware@gmail.com
WEB: www.mjm-software.com
Board of Management 2012
President
Vice President
Director
Director
Secretary
Treasurer
Helen Bath
Bob Turner
Mike Culley
Ian Nicholas
Di Richmond
Jason Wilson
Individual Member
3 RIM
3 OAK
Individual Member
EMFM
3 RIM
Ballarat
Melton
Wangarratta
Temora
Echuca/Moama
Melton
helen@scma.org.au
bobturner979@bigpond.com
rogart@optusnet.com.au
ian181241@bigpond.com
di@rrigroup.com.au
jason80s@tpg.com.au
Director
ALWAYS NEW CHALLENGES WITH COMMUNITY RADIO
A couple of Months at Radio KLFM By Brad Geier
Hi to all member stations from
Radio KLFM in Bendigo. We have
certainly had an interesting couple
of Months.
Just before the Olympics, we
were contacted by our news
provider 3AW (Fairfax) that due to
very strict copyright restrictions,
we could not broadcast our news
on our Internet Stream. As you
could imagine, this posed a
challenge, as we would have to
have the audio feed switched
every hour for 5 mins while the
news was on our two FM feeds.
There were several options.
1, Electronically switching the
audio on, then off for a period of
5mins whilst switching alternative
audio within that 5 mins, with +/0.01% time accuracy.
2, Software controlling the
streams multiple audio and time
switching, or
3, stopping the stream all together
whilst the Olympics were on. This
latter option was only to be used
as a last resort.
As time was running out, the
option of building an electronic
timer switching unit capable of not
only multiple audio switching, but
time control switching was not an
option. As for software, all the
scheduling software we found
could not do the multiple audio
and stream switching every hour
for multiple pre defined times. If
we had time, I’m sure we could
have found something and played
around with it for a while, however
we had only Two days before the
Olympics to ensure our news
would not be steamed on our
internet service.
Now with only half a day to the
Olympics, we took our problem to
our Streaming Provider (RightClick
IT services). Thanks to Brad at
Right ClickIT, who came up with
some very clever scripting and
smart programming that enabled
the streaming feed to be cut at
every hour for a duration of 5
mins. This was also achieved
with the +/- 0.01% time accuracy
whilst integrating KLFM’s audio
and streaming software to then
recognize the Pulses from our
Fairfax Satellite, and allow an
alternative audio track to be
played whilst the news was on,
then once the news end pulse
was received, audio from the On
Air studio would then be patched
back through to our stream. This
worked very successfully for the
Two Weeks of the Olympics, and
thus, making sure that we did not
breach any copyright restrictions.
Many thanks to Brad at Right
Click IT services for all his help
and assistance. It certainly goes
to show, that copyright,
especially with major events, is
very serious and all stations,
especially community stations
Continued next page
ALWAYS NEW CHALLENGES WITH COMMUNITY RADIO
A couple of Months at Radio KLFM By Brad Geier……. Continued
must stay vigilant on copyright
matters.
GALE FORCE WINDS BATTER
VICTORIA AND CUTS KLFM
LINK.
On Wednesday the 5th of
September, much of Victoria was
lashed with gale force winds.
Here in Bendigo it was no
different. It was just after 10pm on
that night, when a major wind gust
swept through Bendigo. The
station started dropping out and
within half an hour we had lost our
Link signal all together. This was
our 800Mhz STL Due to the very
high winds and the lateness of the
night, we were powerless to do
anything until the next morning.
On the next day, we went to the
transmitter site (Mt. Herbert). Our
main STL receive yagi had been
blown of direction and also bent,
due to a tree branch flying through
it. Keep in mind that the yagi is
mounted 250ft up the tower. The
wind gauge on the mountain
stopped at 150Kph and no longer
worked, so we assume we got
gusts of up to 200Kph at the site.
Many of the other antennae on the
tower had also moved from their
original position throwing many links
off line. In the 25 years we have
been on the site, this was the first
time that we had seen wind gusts of
this speed, even to the point of
causing antennae damage. We
have a back up yagi lower down on
the tower which was not affected,
so we patched that in to get the
station back on air, and as yet, the
winds are still bad so we just have
to wait for calmer conditions so the
riggers can climb and install a new
yagi.
CAR YARD SPONSOR
ANNOUNCEMENTS
A quick reminder to Victorian
stations that if you run car yard
ads, they MUST include the
traders LMCT number in the
announcement. This is not a
requirement in some other states
but is so in Victoria. We had this
confirmed by Consumer Affairs
Victoria recently before we
started airing a motor trader
client.
That’s about it from down here in
Central Victoria, hope you found
some of the above interesting
and keep on enjoying this
wonderful medium of Radio.
Brad Geier
General Manager
Radio KLFM / 3EON FM
Bendigo
The Last Word
I was in Echuca a few weeks ago for EMFM's AGM. It was a well run and well organised event congratulations
guys on a successful day.
It's all ahead full for 2 MIA I was there on a station support visit recently and they are about to do a full studio
upgrade that will include a new console.
Past President Graeme Macartney recently blew out some Candles….Happy Birthday ….apparently no official
age was available.
We want your feed back, input and opinions on what we as an association are doing and what you think we
should be doing to serve you the members of the "Can Do" Association.
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The Content of this newsletter is made up of both editorials and contributed articles.
The SCMA believes in open forum communication and hence will publish Submitted items within reason.
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