Conference govt02::basingstoke

     
    Not bad for a bunch of KIDS
    ---------------------------
    

 The DJ's are kids! and they aren't that bad either. They asked for volunteers
 from the local schools and colleges to do sessions.

 Two of my daughters friends have been on the air - age 13 and volunteered by
 their school friends - do you think you could as well?
 I think they manage very well, if I had been dropped in it like they had
 I would have ben stuttering and stammering and not done nearly as good a job.


    

	I wonder on what basis they are allowed to broadcast. The Home Office 
pursues pirate radio with vigour. There are incredibly involved processes for 
bidding for commercial radio franchises. So how has Radio Cracker done it? Why 
can't we all set up radio stations at Xmas?

Nigel

Cracker Radio is active from 1-Dec to 24-Dec.  Its set up by a charity called 
the Oasis Trust (combined with afew others that I forget).  The radio 
stations are located at about 95 sites around the country, one of which is in 
Basingstoke (located at the Gazette offices).  Basingstoke is on 100.7 FM and 
I know Southampton is on 101.7 FM.  The transmitter power is very low (you 
can only just receive it on the fringes of Basingstoke).

As you say, the DJs are mainly kids - many are from youth organisations like 
the Scouts and Guides.  Even so, I think they could do better in general.  
Some aren't bad.  Some have learned a lot and are much better than they were.

I've been helping as sound engineer for some off-line programme recording for 
the Hampshire Multi-Magazine prog which transmits on Sunday evenings from 
Basingstoke and Monday from Southampton.  I dread to think what it would have 
been like if they had tried to do it with the equipment they originally 
planned to use.  They are also recording at the Scout centre in the New 
Forest but its really difficult to use these recorded interviews because the 
quality is very poor (people just have no idea about how to use microphones).

Although Cracker Radio is entirely volunteer run and equipment has been lent 
I was appalled to hear that they had to pay around �2000 per transmitter for 
the licence.  I feel so strongly about this that I think I'll find out the 
facts and write to complain.  After all, the Home Office have to do next to 
nothing for their �2000 per transmitter.  The mugs like me have travelled the 
length and breadth of Hampshire, consumed numerous audio cassettes, videos 
and reel-to-reel tape as well as the loan of my house and equipment for the 
studio and for the Southampton station (because they didn't have an LP video 
player).   The least the Home Office could have done is to donate the 
transmitting licences.

Mike

>  After all, the Home Office have to do next to 
nothing for their �2000 per transmitter. 

So who pays for the wages of the guys in the Home Office who police
the radio waves?

I can't think of any reason, there should be a special case for
some radio broadcasters. If the �2000 per transmitter makes it
unviable, then they should use a different method for collecting
the money.

Mark.

Well, you have a valid argument, but it does seem unfair that those who are 
putting in the most effort and incurring the most expense (personal expense,
from income which has already been taxed) are the people who are getting
nothing, whilst the organisation that is doing the least gets a large slice
of the money which the donors think is going to charity. 

I have to agree that it might be better to stand on the street corner with a 
collecting box - at least there would be more liklihood of the money reaching 
the charity itself.

From the general feedback I've heard the whole thing is seen as a poor gimic 
and largely a waste of time.  I wonder if it will happen again next year.

Incidentally, your point about the Home Office policing the airwaves is 
probably a misnomer.  I wonder just how much useful work they do in this 
area.  They certainly don't seem to do much to police the CB frequencies 
which are often unusable because of illegal and inconsiderate practice.
I'm a bit out my depth because I don't know much about this subject but I'm 
somewhat scepticle about where the licence fees go.  We know, for example, 
that much of tax paid by road users does not go into the road infrastructure 
for the country.

Mike

    
    
    the home office has an application written in VAX Rally that holds all
    the license applications, I used to help somebody get the thing working
    all the time.
    
    And a Rally licence isn't cheap anyway you look at it 8-)
    
    Simon

    I would have thought that the people who are running all over the place
    to run these things are getting their reward from knowing that at least
    someone will benefit from their effors.
    
    Dave.

    .7� at least someone will benefit from their effors.
    
    Yeah ! The Home Office at �2000 per transmitter.

    	Read in the paper that over 10,000 pounds was made by the station
    over the chrimbo period - not bad for a bunch of kids methinks!!:-))
    
    Kevin