Troubadour 1710 and Liberty & Justice 1640 have an opportunity to add Part 15 AM transmitters in downtown Worcester. Crowdfunding effort announced to cover equipment and other costs.

In the past four months, Minimum Wage Media has stumbled upon an exciting opportunity to expand. We have been granted permission to add Part 15 AM transmitters for Troubadour 1710 and Liberty & Justice 1640 in downtown Worcester Massachusetts, New England's second largest city. Better yet, the space is rent free in exchange for services I have already been performing for the property's tenant who is a fellow Part 15 broadcaster.

But in order to take advantage of this opportunity, we need to cover total equipment costs of $3200 and legal costs of $600 (formal incorporation of Minimum Wage Media).

With the demise of Part 15 AM kit manufacturer SSTran, gone are the days of assembling a high quality AM transmitter for less than $250. That leaves the $900 Hamilton Rangemaster as the only other option for truly trouble-free operation.

I have set up a crowdfunding page at Fundrazr.com to help finance the Worcester downtown signals project. You can also read the full story as to how this opportunity came to be. Those wishing to support us on an automatic, monthly basis can visit our support page at Patreon.com.

As a special bonus, I am offering a year of free advertising to any suitable Worcester area business or institution that contributes $1000 or more to this effort. Such a business will have their spot run a minimum of five times a day on each station for a full year, commencing once the Worcester signals have been established.

Troubadour 1710's folk, Americana, and new age music format is the product of 29 years of continual effort and a voice for cultural sanity. And Liberty & Justice 1640's courageous talk format doesn't shy away from deep research and suppressed controversy. The stations would be unique in any market. They deserve a shot at a larger audience and Worcester is as good a market as it gets when it comes to potential.

Once the signals in Worcester are established, the potential to expand into Fitchburg and Leominster also becomes a real possibility. My fellow Part 15 broadcaster has that as her next goal. We have a site there IF it can accommodate three transmitters. Fitchburg/Leominster is a market long overdue for intelligent radio with a vision.

So, if you can, please support this effort on Fundrazr.com.

Thanks so much for your time and consideration.

The Pre-1997 (old Walden 1120) music library needs a new home

First, I want to humbly thank Carol and Jack of Marlboro for housing the old Walden 1120 music library rent free for the past 20 years. When I look back at all the financial turmoil that has occurred over that time, I don't know what I would have done without this ongoing storage "gift." With that said, I am currently in the process of finding a new home for the library, either temporary or permanent. I also need to reclaim the shrinking living space in my own home for the ever growing post-1997 library.

Troubadour 1710 main format extended by an hour

I have decided to extend the regular Troubadour 1710 format from a 10 PM ending to an 11 PM ending seven nights per week. Sleep Enhancement will now air from 11 PM to 6 AM each day.

April marks the 20th anniversary of the end of folk music on Walden 1120 Radio

It was this month 20 years ago that I presented the last hour of folk programming on Walden 1120 AM in Concord, MA. Years of gross mismanagement and dishonesty resulted in an erosion of trust from the local business community and brought about the station's inevitable demise. Today, as WBNW, it has no local identity with the communities near its transmitter site, and the money to operate it comes from a rich investment broker, not local advertisers or listeners. Nevertheless, at this late date, there is still some hope in getting the format on a licensed station in the north central Massachusetts region. There are a couple of possibilities I will be investigating over the coming weeks and if anything develops, I'll reveal what I can here.

Troubadour 1710's computer hardware project has been completed

Work on Troubadour 1710's computer hardware was completed on Monday 11/28. Nowhere near the number of new parts thought necessary were utilized. A new hard drive was all that was installed. 24/7 operation has been restored.

Troubadour 1710: More off-air periods likely before the end of the month

Until the end of November, there may be periods when Troubadour 1710 is off the air due to work on the station's hardware. Some outages may last up to two days at a time. After much frustration and experimentation, a temporary fix was put in place around the 10th. But a more ambitious, permanent upgrade is proving to be inevitable.

I will be replacing the motherboard in the main Troubadour 1710 computer with a Gigabyte board that is commonly used for gaming and multimedia. The total cost of the upgrade, including an 8-core CPU, memory, power supply, 1T hard drive, and possible upgrade to Windows 10 will run in the neighborhood of $275.

If any of you could be kind enough to assist me in some small way with this expense, at a time when spending in other critical areas of my life has also increased, I would be very greatful. Visit our support page and help keep independent, neighborhood media alive.

102.9 FM "Jill Not Hill Radio" is now on the air through November 8th

In recent days, I have resurrected Mulpus Brook FM3, our old facility for occasional specials and temporary use as "102.9 FM Jill Not Hill Radio." 24 hours a day, the station is airing speeches, interviews, and responses to debate questions by the most sane and genuine presidential candidate that most Americans will have as a ballot choice in 2016, Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein, along with her running mate Ajamu Baraka. The broadcast effort is an attempt, in some small way, to counteract the mainstream media bias against third party candidates and their exclusion from the main debate stages.

Mulpus Brook FM3's signal coverage in Shirley Center/ North Shirley, MA is almost comparable to the range of our other micro signals. For everyone outside of our tiny coverage area, you can listen to the station's live stream.