[cma-l] Preparation

Thu Dec 18 20:12:34 GMT 2014

The last bit is absolutely spot on Alan !             we had a local
Solicitors who were keen to come on with us 

.. let’s put it this way, our
Studios / Offices are not a skip, but they are also not the Hilton

..somewhere in the middle possibly swaying slightly more towards the metal
thing that sits on someones drive 

. I get the impression even after going
through what we do thoroughly and having a jolly good meeting, the guy
thought     mmm ???   Mickey Mouse Outfit.

What I have found extremely frustrating over the past ten years with
Community Radio (and I have said this time and time again)   I don’t think
any of us actually know what we are meant to be doing 
.. in fact NO   I
will rephrase that 
.. the ones (ie:- us)  who are meant to be the ones who
don’t know – do know [] and the ones who are meant to know – don’t !

Are we meant to be amateur and at the same time professional ?  are we meant
to be professional but at the same time amateur ?    are we Hospital Radio
but on the FM dial, as opposed to operating in a shed next to Ward 6 ??
are we meant to be earning £200,000 pounds a year so that we can have lots
of full-time staff ? OR ARE WE meant to be running around like headless
chickens chasing our backsides ?      I sort of liken us to a Hamster on a
wheel 
 running like mad but not getting anywhere, falling off the odd time
but nonetheless determined and climbing back on again for some more  :-)

It’s the fact that I work 75 hours a week and get paid for 35 of them if I’m
lucky, and the fact that I do Chicken, Ostrich, Hamster, Parrot impressions
that makes me the Station Manager of a COMMUNITY RADIO STATION 
. And guess
what ?   I wouldn’t change it for the World.

Everyone needs to keep there feet firmly on the ground 

 yes we are
Hospital Radio / Yes we are Mickey Mouse / Yes we are warts n’ all 

. But
that’s the CHARM of it 
 if however through hard work or by hook or by crook
we can improve on the above, then we do 
.. we are NEVER going to be Key 103
or Smooth 
 if we were, WE WOULD NOT BE COMMUNITY RADIO !              it’s
how we sell the charm that matters.

This is what I have found the most frustrating thing over the past ten
years, hopefully everyone understands where I am coming from on this one.
Unless we each have a very soft benefactor and/or someone who has taken
leave of their senses, the Studios / Offices etc etc do reflect what we are

. It isn’t however a crime.

Are we victims of or on the receiving end of ‘snobbery’ ??   I don’t know

.. but alas, if the Solicitors and the five other Companies had supported
us, then we could use some of the monies to refurbish, decorate and fettle
the skip 
.. just a thought that’s all

By the way, we have just had a Christmas Show on the Radio on FM for the
past hour and a half 
. It was called ‘’’Christmas is’’’     I went out and
recorded lots of youngsters between the ages of 6 – 10 at Ash Grove school 

it was brilliant 
. The youngsters gave us their thoughts on what Christmas
meant to them 

. If you have 6 and 7 year olds on-air you are never going
to get in the competitive Market with the Commercials 
. ‘’Hang on a mo
though, we’re not meant to’’

Do you know something, I’m happy for us to be Mickey Mouse 
.. we ought to
be proud of it 
 ought we say a polished Mickey Mouse but with a cherry on
top   :-)

All the best for Christmas everyone

Regards

Nick

  _____  

From: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk
[mailto:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] On Behalf Of Alan Coote
Sent: 18 December 2014 13:36
To: 'The Community Media Association Discussion List'
Cc: 'cma-l'
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Preparation

Cheap / free studio space is seldom right on top of the highest point in
your target area. 

So I would also add that your studio location relative to the transmitter is
one on the biggest decisions you’ll make, and you will need help from
someone like Ian  or Glyn with prior experience on a variety of technical
solutions.  After expensive alternatives  - we ran a dedicated multi-hop 5.G
WAN, backed up by ADSL, with 3G as a further option. Worked a charm without
major CapEX or OpEx.      

To add to Glyn’s point; Another consideration is that if your studios looks
professional, you will be treated differently by local businesses and the
great and good of the area.

If it looks shabby don’t expect people to take you seriously. I have twice
proven this to be the case; advertising rates are partially related to how
professional your organisation looks. Of course there is a rule of
diminishing returns and all of that is undone if the station sounds crap on
air! 

Kind Regards

Alan

 <http://www.letstalkbusinessonline.com/> Hear Alan Every Week on Let’s Talk
Business The UK’s Premier Radio Programme For Current and Future
Entrepreneurs - Now Broadcast To 5 Million People  

Email -  <mailto:alan.coote at 5digital.co.uk> alan.coote at 5digital.co.uk

Phone - 0800 949 6655

Mobile - 07801 518858

Twitter -  <http://www.twitter.com/TheAlanCoote> @TheAlanCoote

Web -  <http://www.5digital.co.uk/> http://www.5digital.co.uk 

Let’s Talk Business

Twitter -  <http://www.twitter.com/LTBShow> @LTBShow

Web -  <http://www.letstalkbusinessonline.com/>
http://www.LetsTalkBusinessOnline.com

cid:image001.gif at 01CE03CD.223AC920

The Media Production, Broadcasting and Training Company

From: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk
[mailto:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] On Behalf Of Associated
Broadcast Consultants
Sent: 18 December 2014 12:03
To: The Community Media Association Discussion List
Cc: cma-l
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Preparation

100% agree with Ian! 

The most expensive solution is not necessarily the best choice (but
sometimes is).  Likewise free or low cost solutions can often be suitable
(or not) depending on your situation.  It's all about tailoring teh right
solution for your budget and requirements.

The start of your project is likely to be when you are the most well off.
Take a little time (and maybe spend a little bit) to get some good advice
and avoid wasting any precious cash!  You may regret it later on if you do
not!   It's difficult to tell what is good advice and what is not - so
consult widely to get a range of opinions and interrogate them why.

Associated Broadcast Consultants can also help with this - we don't sell kit
or earn commissions so we have to charge for our independent advice.

Glyn Roylance - Principal Consultant 

Associated Broadcast <http://www.a-bc.co.uk/>  Consultants

On 18 December 2014 at 10:48, Ian Hickling <transplanfm at hotmail.com> wrote: 

With all the new Applications having gone in this week - and Post RTPG
letters notifying clearance appearing regularly, can we offer some sincere
advice based on having to deal regularly with problems which should not
occur: 

*	Don't assume that the studio packages on offer are going to be right
for your own requirements. Our 15 years' experience tells us that there is
no such thing as a "standard" studio. Get at least three quotes. Bone fide
suppliers will provide these promptly and free of charge if they want your
business.
*	Don't assume that you can install studio equipment yourself - or
that a tame engineer with other skills will be able to do it. It's a highly
complex job and one wrong solder joint in the many thousands required can
produce huge problems and take ages to find and fix.
*	Get advice on how best to cover your target audience. Detailed
coverage predictions are easy to obtain but must be prepared by someone with
expert knowledge of the terrain, of antenna design and of Ofcom's many and
complex requirements. Most suppliers and consultants will make a charge for
this.
*	Don't assume that sticking an aerial on your roof - or the location
you used for RSLs - will provide good signal coverage. It's vital to the
success of your project that you get this right before you commit to a
design.
*	Make sure you know how much power you will need and tell Ofcom at
the outset. Ofcom will listen to a well-constructed argument and will
generally meet your requirements.
*	Don't assume that you can change your transmission system once
you're on air if it isn't performing as you would like. Doing it later will
definitely be a long painful process.
*	Ofcom will almost certainly award mixed polarity. Currently only 17%
of the 225 CR transmitters currently on air are using balanced mixed
polarity propagation. The rest are wasting some or all of the extra power
they could be using.
*	Do all these things before you submit your final transmission format
to Ofcom. 
*	If you're not providing a coverage service good enough for your
listeners then your business will suffer.
Ofcom is not in a position to tell you whether what you have proposed in
your Application will work in practice - only that it complies with some
very general guidelines

OK - we provide all of the above services so to an extent I'm pushing our
business.
We do an awful lot of that without charge - because that way we believe
Clients will come back to us when they are ready to invest.
But there are a lot of other good suppliers/installers out there too - so
you do have quite a wide choice.

I just hate to see honest conscientious people spending their hard-earned
money on systems and equipment that are simply not right for this very
specialised job - for the sake of asking a few questions to people who have
current first-hand experience.

Ian

_______________________________________________

Reply - cma-l at commedia.org.uk

The cma-l mailing list is a members' service provided by the Community Media
Association - http://www.commedia.org.uk <http://www.commedia.org.uk/> 
Twitter: http://twitter.com/community_media
http://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation
Canstream Internet Radio & Video: http://www.canstream.co.uk/
_______________________________________________

Mailing list guidelines:
http://www.commedia.org.uk/about/cma-email-lists/email-list-guidelines/
_______________________________________________

To unsubscribe or manage your CMA-L mailing list subscription please visit:
http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/cma-l

---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20141218/c13534a2/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 5394 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20141218/c13534a2/attachment.gif>