Someone left this comment to the post below:
Trapped at the transmitter site! I've felt like that a few times
This comment was unsigned, but I'm sure it was from a transmitter engineer. In my book, the engineers were radio's unsung heros. If you were a listener, you never knew they were there. If you worked at the studio, you might have known they were there but probably never had much contact. The 50,000 watt transmitter for KAAY is at Wrightsville, a very small town a few miles South of Little Rock. In the 60s and probably up to the 80s a First Class Commercial Engineer had to be at the transmitter 24 hours a day. The F.C.C. at some point in time relaxed that requirement all at least the daytime non-directional signal could be controlled by remote from the studios. Pat Walsh was never real excited about the prospects of saving a little money. He always said the value of the station was at Wrightsville. If something happened, it could burn to the ground and it would be awhile before anyone knew what happened. This is why there was so much attention to auxiliary power, and keeping the transmitter and building spotless. When I first started at KAAY, I found the crank up telephone that was a direct line to the transmitter. When I got bored, I'd ring up the transmitter to see who was there and shoot the breeze. When we first started the KAAY Komando basketball team, Felix McDonald, the Chief Engineer was on the team along with one of the other engineers and Eddie Graham, who was a studio engineer at that time. They played when some of the air personalities would not. In fact, I think they would use an air name that wasn't playing on the team. Most broadcast stations view engineers as a necessary evil. NOT KAAY! Pat Walsh always had lots of respect for Felix and his crew. I had the pleasure of touring the transmitter with Felix and Pat a year or so before Pat's passing. I took several digital pictures but they were lost a computer that has long since bit the dust. If I sent any of you one of those pictures please send it back. Let that be a lesson to all. Back up those pictures with a hard copy.
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1 comment:
To be sure, these broadcast engineers were the guys that came out in all kinds of weather, at all times of night, to make sure things were running smoothly for our listening pleasure- my hat's off to them!
Later, when stations and groups consolidated, many engineers found themselves out of a job and doing contract work...taking care of numerous stations for pay only, no benefits and often travelling many, many miles for sometimes hardly anything at all...and waiting sometimes months for their pay. Many engineers wised up and went into computers, becoming I.T.'s and the like, making GOOD money...I wonder how many stations are faring now?
Bud, Mobile, AL
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