[BC] Dumb Listeners

[Gary Peterson]

Not all dumb listeners are "civilians."  In the latter half of the 80s, we
received a call from the manager of an FM station that was located about
fifty miles away.  This "easy listening" station had a translator in our
city.  When this jackass called, he accused our country AM of "taking over
their frequency."  He reamed our receptionist so severely that he had her in
tears by the time he hung up.

It turns out that he was in our city, doing some business.  His FM had gone
off the air and the translator was retransmitting some country FM in
Oklahoma.  Apparently, there was some good sporadic E propagation that day.

I considered this fellow to be a jackass for two reasons.  First, for
thinking an AM station would be likely to capture his translator.  Second,
for his verbal abuse of our receptionist and his subsequent refusal to call
her and apologize.

I made the decision that if this station had problems, and their contract
engineer was unavailable, I would refuse to render assistance until the GM
personally apologized to our receptionist. I have done emergency work for
most every station within a 70 mile radius, at one time or another.
However, I never had the opportunity to exact retribution from this one.

Gary