Radio standby tapes
G'day bloggers,Well, after hearing numerous stories about radio station's standby tapes going live during the one minute silence last wednesday (remembrance day), I couldn't help but write a piece about it.
If you're not sure what they are or what they do, basically their purpose is to ensure that programming continues from the transmitter end if something goes wrong at the studio end which results in the broadcast falling silent. Then the good ol "no signal detector" kicks in at the transmitter and the broadcast continues until the studio end comes back up again. The standby program is typically music and station ID's only. 2GB has an ID, an announcement that they're having 'technical difficulties' and then music, interspersed with different versions of the announcement. I have heard theirs being broadcast sometimes, none more so in 2004 when some serious problems gripped the on-air system and they were repeatedly going off air. The first track on their standby is George Benson's "Breezin'". I must've heard it about 5 times that night - but I love the song so all was well.
Unfortunately, things can't happen in reverse - but why would you bother? If you're transmitting program, folks listening to you on a radio and not through a webstream or other relay, you won't be heard, such was the case last thursday during a storm moving through Sydney. A few splats, and bang, the 2GB transmitter was hit. End of on air program - but only for a few seconds. One reset to the tower, and there they were, back on air. Quite amazing stuff!
..and so to rememberance day. Stations take note - I thought it was common sense to turn OFF your standby programming at 11:00am. Doesn't look like it. River949 fell victim to it, their standby unleashing "2 times" by Ann Lee, a fairly upbeat dance track in the middle of the one minute silence. According to Radioinfo, "Apparently this equipment, for reasons unexplained, recognised the silence as… well, silence and triggered the emergency tape to ensure that programming continued.". Well...DUH! That's what the emergency "tape" is there for (well it's called a tape as it sort of goes back to the days where a 10 inch reel to reel tape would be cued on the transmitter equipment rack but it's more so off either CD or a computer now) - but they're not the only ones. 2GB also fell victim to it a couple of years ago, but the standby tape although activated during the silence didn't go to air...well..it sort of did..I could hear it bleeding through the silence. Same sort of bleed you sometimes get when something is playing on a cueing channel and the desk isn't too good at isolating various channels.
Be that as it may, this year those guys did an absolutely stunning job, albeit a minute too early - but the compile they played in the leadup to 11:00am was a brilliant job and an absolute credit to them.
Am I a 2GB fanboy? Yeah! And I'm not bloody ashamed to admit it. I'd rather listen to them, 2UE or ABC Newsradio than triplets on FM breakfast shows saying things like "Oh I scratched a pimple on my bum and it bled! Haw haw haw!". Give me a break.
2 Comments:
I know 2NM has some library music during the Continuous Call Team when the network comes on later than they expected.
And I know what you mean with your station choices, although I also listen (occasionally) to Power FM as well. I once had a mobile phone that had a AM/FM tuner for that reason...until the bleedin' antenna cord stopped working. My new phone only has a FM tuner, but ABC Newsradio and local radio is on FM here (local radio is also on AM as well).
Hi Dan
Yeah, the library music has certainly saved a few on the network.
Ah interesting about ABC Newsradio and local radio!
Sorry I took a while in putting up your note by the way, it just occured to me I hadn't put it through yet :)
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