Around a week before Thanksgiving, I made the decision to take two of the ASMAX2 AM Stereo transmitters that had recently returned from Greece and install them in Shirley at the flagship antennas. Then, either next Spring, or whenever a break occurred in the weather, I would either install the two SSTran AMT-5000's (which have served each station since 2014) in Worcester, or swap them for two more Asmax2's, depending upon how well the Asmax2's performed in Shirley.
After putting up with some brutal, late November weather conditions on my roof, I am pleased to announce that the whole project was completed by sunset Saturday. The result has been inspiring and certainly better than what I expected. The range is either just as good or better than with the SSTran's and the audio quality is even better, even on a typical mono receiver.
Since putting Troubadour on the air in 2004, my desire had always been to somehow go AM Stereo. Analog AM Stereo is well suited for Part 15 stations which cover most of their tiny ranges with a weak, secondary signal. Unlike analog FM stereo (and certainly HD AM), the AM Stereo pilot signal is receivable with channel separation to the very end of a station's coverage.
To many of us who were professional broadcasters in the '80's and early '90's when AM stereo had its biggest impact, it's eventual lack of mainstream acceptance, and the subsequent introduction of HD in the early 2000's - with muddy sounding, narrow banded analogue AM radios becoming the norm - is something we never accepted or get over.
There are now three AM Stereo signals receivable during daylight hours in the Shirley Center, North Shirley, and Woodsville neighborhoods: WJIB, 740; Liberty & Justice 1640, and Troubadour 1710. At least that's better than just one.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Thanks
Thank you to all that contributed during our emergency late
October fundraiser. At the current moment, we have reached $400 of the
$500 goal, but I am expecting an after-fundraiser gift in the coming
days that will put us right on the mark. You can support the stations
anytime through our "advertise"
link on both websites. Over the past few days, I have been ordering the
computer hardware and weatherproof boxes needed to perform the upgrades
and repairs, thanks to your help.
Also, I apologize for being off the air from late Saturday morning through late Sunday morning. A power situation occured at my unit and it tripped an outdoor circuit braker that I didn't previously know existed. I don't have conclusive evidence which appliance caused it, but I have a suspicion and I'll see what happens the next time I use it. I will be more prepared.
Also, I apologize for being off the air from late Saturday morning through late Sunday morning. A power situation occured at my unit and it tripped an outdoor circuit braker that I didn't previously know existed. I don't have conclusive evidence which appliance caused it, but I have a suspicion and I'll see what happens the next time I use it. I will be more prepared.
Monday, October 28, 2019
$150 more needed to end fundraising; Investor needed for BistroBrat
The emergency fundraiser for Troubadour 1710 and Liberty & Justice 1640 continues through October 31st. In addition to running my two radio stations, and maintaining full time outside work in the gig economy to support them and myself, I am also in the process of starting my own local multi-restaurant delivery service called BistroBrat.com.
Due to the inconsistencies in low gig economy income, miscommunications involving the delivery business startup, and equipment breakdowns and other frustrations involved with the stations, I can no longer afford to fund them at all, let alone 100 percent. That is why I am having this emergency fundraiser through the end of the month.
I am pleased to announce that we have, as of this writing, raised over 70 percent of our goal of $500. But we still have a ways to go to cover all our necessary equipment costs. Thanks to your generosity, a new router has been obtained and it networks flawlessly. Also the remaining hardware needed to upgrade the Liberty & Justice automation desktop should be arriving this week. However, the Vista era laptop which I use to do production, record voice announcements, and rip or download music and video clips is still causing major frustrations. In fact, while I was writing this message, it had a blue screen crash. I lost all my work and had to start over. It also hasn't maintained a dependable internet connection through wireless for years. There are two options I have for replacing it, one of which will cost over $200, similar to the upgrade of the L&J desktop.
Fortunately, the return shipping from Greece for the three broken transmitters that had provided our Worcester signals cost considerably less than expected. They have been repaired and are on their way back to the States. However, we will need outdoor housing for all three boards that is truly waterproof, which will cost around $60 for all three. So we have about $300 in remaining expenses. Right now, the reserve fund from your donations is around $170. That means we need to raise another $130-$150 by the 31st.
Your assistance in helping us raise this additional amount would be much appreciated. It will also result in reaching the $500 overall goal. Please visit t1700.net/advertise.html and assist us in any way you can. Keep these unique, courageous, and culturally sound stations on the air. Our programming concerns things that really matter and culture that truly fulfills, unlike controlled mainstream radio.
Also, it has become increasingly apparent over the past few days that if I continue attempting to keep my financial head above water through the gig economy while running the two stations, the delivery service is never going to get off the ground and things will continue to deteriorate financially for me. I am now looking for an investor to assist with my living and other modest expenses for the next few months, as well as some labor and publicity costs necessary for the startup. I absolutely need to devote full time to launching BistroBrat while maintaining the stations after hours. That's enough responsibility for one person! If you are someone who helps startup enterprises get off the ground, or know of someone who does, please put me in touch with them. The email address is founder@bistrobrat.com. Voice/text is 508-202-8697.
Due to the inconsistencies in low gig economy income, miscommunications involving the delivery business startup, and equipment breakdowns and other frustrations involved with the stations, I can no longer afford to fund them at all, let alone 100 percent. That is why I am having this emergency fundraiser through the end of the month.
I am pleased to announce that we have, as of this writing, raised over 70 percent of our goal of $500. But we still have a ways to go to cover all our necessary equipment costs. Thanks to your generosity, a new router has been obtained and it networks flawlessly. Also the remaining hardware needed to upgrade the Liberty & Justice automation desktop should be arriving this week. However, the Vista era laptop which I use to do production, record voice announcements, and rip or download music and video clips is still causing major frustrations. In fact, while I was writing this message, it had a blue screen crash. I lost all my work and had to start over. It also hasn't maintained a dependable internet connection through wireless for years. There are two options I have for replacing it, one of which will cost over $200, similar to the upgrade of the L&J desktop.
Fortunately, the return shipping from Greece for the three broken transmitters that had provided our Worcester signals cost considerably less than expected. They have been repaired and are on their way back to the States. However, we will need outdoor housing for all three boards that is truly waterproof, which will cost around $60 for all three. So we have about $300 in remaining expenses. Right now, the reserve fund from your donations is around $170. That means we need to raise another $130-$150 by the 31st.
Your assistance in helping us raise this additional amount would be much appreciated. It will also result in reaching the $500 overall goal. Please visit t1700.net/advertise.html and assist us in any way you can. Keep these unique, courageous, and culturally sound stations on the air. Our programming concerns things that really matter and culture that truly fulfills, unlike controlled mainstream radio.
Also, it has become increasingly apparent over the past few days that if I continue attempting to keep my financial head above water through the gig economy while running the two stations, the delivery service is never going to get off the ground and things will continue to deteriorate financially for me. I am now looking for an investor to assist with my living and other modest expenses for the next few months, as well as some labor and publicity costs necessary for the startup. I absolutely need to devote full time to launching BistroBrat while maintaining the stations after hours. That's enough responsibility for one person! If you are someone who helps startup enterprises get off the ground, or know of someone who does, please put me in touch with them. The email address is founder@bistrobrat.com. Voice/text is 508-202-8697.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
When it rains, it pours...
It took a while to diagnose definitively, but yet another piece of equipment involved in the operation of the stations has failed, namely my wireless router. I explored the possibility of repairing it myself (perhaps it had bulging capacitors?), but repair involved a tool that even I didn't have, plus the internet LED indicator no longer lights. It cost the same money and far less time to buy an "open box" model on eBay. Thanks to your donations, I obtained one for under $25 and it will be here in the middle of the week.
My ISP provided me with a modem that has built in WiFi. But every time I turn on the wireless in that device, I get low grade headaches and jittery. That hasn't happened with any name-brand, stand alone wireless router I have ever had. So I need to use a separate unit.
The absence of a working wireless router makes the logistics of operating Liberty & Justice 1640 very frustrating. Since I am already overwhelmed with so much, Liberty & Justice will be taken off the air late Saturday night and not return until probably Wednesday 10/23 when the new router is expected to arrive.
Although fundraising started out very slow this past week, I am pleased to announce that a listener living within range of the radio signals made a very generous donation, and now we are more than halfway to the goal of $500. ($330 so far, to be exact). I want to thank those who have contributed to this unique broadcasting effort and I hope I can soon with a personal email.
In my next message, I will be listing the equipment needed that the (hopefully) $500 will be budgeted toward, including the upgrade or replacement of two Windows Vista era computers, which at times cause a great deal of frustration and wasted time. (One of them is running the L&J automation.)
Once again, the deadline to reach the $500 goal is October 31st. If you have enjoyed or benefited from the programming of either or both stations, and you can afford any size of donation, I would be honored by it. My hope is that when BistroBrat, my local multi-restaurant delivery service, is finally established, I will once again be able to financially support the stations 100 percent. But for now, that is an impossibility. Donate by visiting this link.
My ISP provided me with a modem that has built in WiFi. But every time I turn on the wireless in that device, I get low grade headaches and jittery. That hasn't happened with any name-brand, stand alone wireless router I have ever had. So I need to use a separate unit.
The absence of a working wireless router makes the logistics of operating Liberty & Justice 1640 very frustrating. Since I am already overwhelmed with so much, Liberty & Justice will be taken off the air late Saturday night and not return until probably Wednesday 10/23 when the new router is expected to arrive.
Although fundraising started out very slow this past week, I am pleased to announce that a listener living within range of the radio signals made a very generous donation, and now we are more than halfway to the goal of $500. ($330 so far, to be exact). I want to thank those who have contributed to this unique broadcasting effort and I hope I can soon with a personal email.
In my next message, I will be listing the equipment needed that the (hopefully) $500 will be budgeted toward, including the upgrade or replacement of two Windows Vista era computers, which at times cause a great deal of frustration and wasted time. (One of them is running the L&J automation.)
Once again, the deadline to reach the $500 goal is October 31st. If you have enjoyed or benefited from the programming of either or both stations, and you can afford any size of donation, I would be honored by it. My hope is that when BistroBrat, my local multi-restaurant delivery service, is finally established, I will once again be able to financially support the stations 100 percent. But for now, that is an impossibility. Donate by visiting this link.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Donations desperately needed at this time
This has been an incredibly challenging and difficult year for me. In addition to operating and programming two Part 15 radio stations and trying to survive by working 35-40 hours per week in the often unreliable gig economy, I have been attempting since the late Spring to launch a new local multi-restaurant delivery service called BistroBrat Food Delivery. But due to a miscommunication, the startup has been delayed another three weeks and the mistake is causing crippling service fees and bank fees for merchant services that I'm not even going to be using. Furthermore, during early September, my gig economy income plummeted for several weeks while the company involved revamped its entire payment structure, causing work offers received by all contractors to be severely reduced. I'm still feeling the effects of that.
I have not received a single dime in donations this entire year in support of the radio stations. I ask, isn't all this unique content I am either creating or sharing worthy of some donation? If you listen to my stations, and both haven't enriched and improved the quality of your life over the past year, I question your humanity.
Do you think for one minute that any licensed commercial station in Massachusetts would have the courage to air what Liberty & Justice airs? What about Infowars, the most banned network on the internet? What about all the red-pilled dating knowledge and training for men that I am now mixing in on weekends, proving what an utter fraud and disaster the feminism of the past 50 years has been for both sexes and our relationships with each other? This information is finally empowering men and has even saved some from suicide!
What about the natural health summits I've been airing in their entirety, such as the iThrive series, which blows the lid off the entire medical/pharmaceutical complex concerning diabetes and obesity? The series host is living proof of what you can do to dramatically improve your condition. Do you think mainstream media, financed by big pharma and fast food is going to reveal this?
And what about all that wonderful, introspective, acoustic flavored Americana music on Troubadour 1710? Isn't it a far healthier cultural influence than what you get in most places today? We need a revival of Americana, both in culture and in values, and Troubadour is carving that path. What about all the new age music overnight helping you to rest and ease the stress of the day?
And what about keeping you informed about local community and cultural events? The FCC has granted LPFM licenses to broadcasters who do nothing more than run an automated jukebox with an on-the-hour station ID. That's it! The new LPFM station over in Acton does this and nothing more, 24/7! Here is a class of licensed station designed to be a community service. Yet my Part 15 stations, with zero income and no license, provide more community information in one week than that station does in an entire year.
Isn't all this worthy of your financial support? Where else are you going to get all of this conveniently in just two places? And from a station owner who not only works elsewhere full time but is also trying to start a multi-restaurant delivery service on the side? Where else do you get this kind of productivity and value???
Right now, I have no money to even buy gas for my car until Tuesday morning. I can't perform my gig economy work without gas in my car! Please, if you have never supported Minimum Wage Media before, or have in the past, now is the time to contribute to this unique media effort.
I have not received a single dime in donations this entire year in support of the radio stations. I ask, isn't all this unique content I am either creating or sharing worthy of some donation? If you listen to my stations, and both haven't enriched and improved the quality of your life over the past year, I question your humanity.
Do you think for one minute that any licensed commercial station in Massachusetts would have the courage to air what Liberty & Justice airs? What about Infowars, the most banned network on the internet? What about all the red-pilled dating knowledge and training for men that I am now mixing in on weekends, proving what an utter fraud and disaster the feminism of the past 50 years has been for both sexes and our relationships with each other? This information is finally empowering men and has even saved some from suicide!
What about the natural health summits I've been airing in their entirety, such as the iThrive series, which blows the lid off the entire medical/pharmaceutical complex concerning diabetes and obesity? The series host is living proof of what you can do to dramatically improve your condition. Do you think mainstream media, financed by big pharma and fast food is going to reveal this?
And what about all that wonderful, introspective, acoustic flavored Americana music on Troubadour 1710? Isn't it a far healthier cultural influence than what you get in most places today? We need a revival of Americana, both in culture and in values, and Troubadour is carving that path. What about all the new age music overnight helping you to rest and ease the stress of the day?
And what about keeping you informed about local community and cultural events? The FCC has granted LPFM licenses to broadcasters who do nothing more than run an automated jukebox with an on-the-hour station ID. That's it! The new LPFM station over in Acton does this and nothing more, 24/7! Here is a class of licensed station designed to be a community service. Yet my Part 15 stations, with zero income and no license, provide more community information in one week than that station does in an entire year.
Isn't all this worthy of your financial support? Where else are you going to get all of this conveniently in just two places? And from a station owner who not only works elsewhere full time but is also trying to start a multi-restaurant delivery service on the side? Where else do you get this kind of productivity and value???
Right now, I have no money to even buy gas for my car until Tuesday morning. I can't perform my gig economy work without gas in my car! Please, if you have never supported Minimum Wage Media before, or have in the past, now is the time to contribute to this unique media effort.
Downtown Worcester transmitters off air for the time being
The downtown Worcester transmitters for Troubadour 1710 and Liberty & Justice 1640 are off the air due to either transmitter failure or a deterioration in performance. The signals only covered a few blocks of downtown and provided considerably less coverage than expected. The ASMAX2 AM Stereo transmitters were shipped back to the manufacturer in Greece for testing and repair. New transmitter housing will be required once they return and more experimentation with the repaired ASMAX2's will be needed to discover the cause of the poor signal coverage.
Co-sited Part 15 AM station Expresso Latin Radio 1620 has reverted to its original Procaster transmitter while its ASMAX2 is also being checked or repaired.
Co-sited Part 15 AM station Expresso Latin Radio 1620 has reverted to its original Procaster transmitter while its ASMAX2 is also being checked or repaired.
Thursday, May 2, 2019
8th Annual Food Revolution Summit replays on Liberty & Justice 1640
Continuing
for the next few weekends, we will be replaying some of the entire
sessions from the 2019 Food Revolution Summit (4/27 - 5/5), hosted by
John and Ocean Robbins. They will air starting at 9 on Sunday nights on
Liberty & Justice 1640 and conclude after midnight. Join us for
some amazing stories and some amazing research. You may purchase the
entire program (along with a lot of bonuses) on their website.
Monday, April 8, 2019
Troubadour 1710 and Liberty & Justice 1640 now have a dedicated streaming URL
We now have a dedicated domain for all our audio streams:
mwmstreams.com
Effective Monday, April 8th, the following streaming addresses for our stations will take effect. Please make appropriate changes to your players, devices, and bookmarks.
Troubadour 1710:
http://mwmstreams.com:7010
Liberty & Justice 1640:
http://mwmstreams.com:7012
mwmstreams.com
Effective Monday, April 8th, the following streaming addresses for our stations will take effect. Please make appropriate changes to your players, devices, and bookmarks.
Troubadour 1710:
http://mwmstreams.com:7010
Liberty & Justice 1640:
http://mwmstreams.com:7012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)