[BC] FM History

[Al Wolfe]

    Went to Dave Hershberger's site to check out the GE Phasitron. Sure 
brought back a bunch of memories. We helped light up one of these, just the 
250 watt part, for a community radio station back in the late 70's. It had 
been donated, supposedly by WFMT, to a community group in Champaign, IL. We 
got the thing running and sounding OK. It was in the top floor of an old run 
down hotel. The mono audio came from some old phone cable stretched across 
the street and laid on top of some buildings and on to the studio a couple 
of blocks away.

    There was to be a big celebration back at the studio when we first 
turned it on and they could hear it there on the monitor speakers. The 
engineering crew (a bunch of young guys with First Phones with the ink still 
wet) went back over to the studio to join in the libations. About a half 
hour later there was a phone call from a (the?) listener who asked why the 
station had gone off the air. We didn't realize that it was off the air 
because of the celebration racket. So the engineering crew went back over to 
the hotel and went up the seven stories to the room where the transmitter 
was. There was smoke poring from beneath the door, not a good sign. We 
cracked the door and didn't see any flames so crawled across the floor, 
killed the power and opened some windows. We then crawled back out of the 
room and waited until we could at least see the transmitter though the smoke 
before reentering the room.

    We found that the blower motor capacitor had exploded, showering the 
inside of the previously immaculately cleaned up transmitter with aluminum 
confetti. We removed all of the confetti we could find and had a big 
discussion as to the wisdom of running the transmitter with no exhaust 
blower. The consensus was to try it with the back door of the transmitter 
open. Someone would bring up a portable fan later.

    Well, the old girl fired right up. We then returned to the party as 
heroes and continued the libations. Some of the female attendees were quite 
appreciative of our efforts.

    They ran that old GE with two 4-125's for finals for a couple of more 
years but never hooked up the final amp. I don't know whatever finally 
happened to the transmitter when it was retired.

Al, retired, mostly
AKA K9SI

> Previous site of several failed TV stations and the original site of 
> WTAG-FM with its General Electric Phaestron Rig. 
> http://www.w9gr.com/phasitron.html
> That site is now WSRS-FM, arguably the best FM site in Massachusetts with 
> reception possible from Maine to Long Island!
>