2018 Newsletter
Whilst the year began with an anticipation of a prosperous 12 months, it was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of one of our popular Presenters, Eddie Shannon, last month at the young age of 69 years. Amongst many Members who represented 101FM at Eddie's funeral were Roslyn Howarth, Terry, Gray, Paul Barrett, Vonnie - and myself, where we discovered what a lot Eddie had achieved during his life. He was a keen broadcaster not only at 101FM, but in New Zealand as well. He excelled in a variety of sports, which included, boxing, cricket, and rugby. Our thoughts go out to Kathy and his Family at this time. Thanks to Sefton and his Team of hard workers, we ve had carpet laid in both the Reception and Administration areas - and it looks great! Lorraine Sydes has done a great job of working through the filing system and in addition, we welcome our newest receptionist Lyn Potter who looks after Wednesdays. While we re at it, we also say hello to a new Member, John Ruthenberg. Welcome aboard! Plans are underway for our 30 year celebrations, and details will be advised as they come to hand. We are currently preparing our new Constitution - and Sefton, Alister Robertson, Bob Ballantyne, Peter Hope and Peter Verhoeven, are to be congratulated on the work carried out so far. We have begun a new Sunday night program Railway Blues hosted by Steve Morgan. (by the way, Steve Morgan was a Presenter at 101FM some years ago.) It has replaced Classical Interlude. We sincerely thank both Shirley and Charles who worked hard to present Classical Interlude. Charles will continue his role in Jazz Junction on Sunday nights while Shirley hopefully is considering returning after a break, to host one of our weekend programs. All the Best!
30th May Breaking news from the Station Manager! I am very pleased to announce to 101FM members that a mutual long-term agreement with Fitzy's Loganholme has been approved, and they are more than happy to look after us! - Terry Blacker Every future monthly General Meeting will now be held at our NEW VENUE Fitzy s Loganholme Function Centre on the last Wednesday of the month, starting with the 30th of May 2018, at 7:30pm.
Tech Talking This article is about an alternative method of connecting to the internet. At the station we connect to the internet using ADSL+ on cable. We use this connection for our normal office internet, streaming to our on-line customers and connecting to our outside broadcast desk. Normally this arrangement works quite well. Unfortunately, the cables we use have frequent faults which need to be repaired. This does cause disruption to our office services and online listeners but it does not affect our broadcasts to our on-air listeners. At 101FM we have an emergency arrangement using the mobile 4G network to connect to the internet when we have problems with street cables. The following is a description which may be of help to those who have difficulties with their cable connections. My home internet and phone service had become very unreliable even after frequently reporting faults. To get over this problem I decided to use the 4G network to provide these services. Initially to provide internet services, I purchased a 4G WiFi router that connects to one of the mobile 4G networks. I purchased a DATA SIM card with the amount of data I needed at home. Once the SIM card was enabled, I inserted it in the 4G router and established internet connection from my PC and so connected my WiFi enabled devices at home. In my case, I purchase 50Gb of data per month which is more than I use per month. The connection is not as fast as broadband cable but I am more interested in reliability than speed. I did move the 4G router to the best position in the house for a good reliable connection. Once I was happy with the internet connection, I then purchased an ATA (Analogue Telephone Adapter). This device turns a normal home telephone into a Voice Over IP telephone. This means you can connect your old telephone to this device to give phone services. For this device to work I then subscribed to a Voice Over Internet Provider (VOIP). They provided the correct settings for the ATA and once set up I could make outgoing phone calls. I also arranged for my existing telephone number to be transferred to this service. I could then receive phone calls on my old phone number. Voice Over IP companies will provide ATA s already configured ready to be connected if you don t want to set up the device yourself. To provide a connection during power outages, I also installed a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply). The cost of all this was less than $300 - and my monthly charges are less than using the cable network. Since installing this arrangement, I have had a reliable internet and phone connection without frequent outages! This arrangement is not for everyone, but it does provide a reliable phone and internet connection even though it is slower than the other alternatives.
When things go wrong! No matter how experienced you are, things can and do go wrong. Fortunately, listeners are either quite forgiving or they simply don't notice. Remember, most people listen to the radio as background noise that keeps them company. It's only when they're engrossed in the topic that they listen closely. Don't interpret that as an excuse to make light of mistakes! Be aware of what could go wrong and address it BEFORE you go to air. Sometimes however, things simply happen. They could be: You play the wrong song. Phone call drops out halfway through a conversation. Scheduled guest doesn't arrive, or calls in to say they'll be 30 minutes late. Caller swears on air. Computers crash: - no access to music, ads, or promos. Transmitter fails. Power outage. Air conditioner fails. You introduce your guest/s incorrectly No news bulletin. CD Player refuses to play. When things go wrong beyond your control, remain calm and ALWAYS have a backup plan. Always be prepared, and IF you have to apologise,...make it quick and move on. Continual apologies unnerve the listener. As our esteemed Music Director points out, Preparation is the key to connecting with your audience. Don't listen to anyone who says they can walk into a studio and present a radio show without any preparation. It's like asking a surgeon to operate without prior knowledge of the patient. If you really want to connect with your audience and deliver a program that s engaging, relevant and entertaining...you NEED A PLAN. Tip: Get to know your co-presenters and use them as a resource to help you develop your own personal skills. Never stop learning from others.
Acronym Busting The difference between POP3 & IMAP email protocols. Terry, what is POP3, is it a new music genre? Post Office Protocol (POP) offers a way of interacting with mail servers that dates back to a very different Internet than we use today. Computers tended to not have permanent Internet access. Instead, you connected (dialled up) to the Internet, did what you needed to do, and then hopped off. Those connections were also pretty low bandwidth compared to what we have access to, today. I remember those bad old days, what happened then? Right - well, engineers created POP as a dead simple way to download copies of emails for offline reading. POP3 works something like this: Your app connects to an email server, downloads all messages to your PC that have not been previously downloaded, and then deletes the original emails from the server. Ok, this other piece of jargon IMAP Of course (laughs) it stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. When you connect to an IMAP server, the client app lets you read those emails (and even downloads copies for reading offline), but all the real business happens on the server. When you delete a message in a client, that message is deleted on the server, so you don t see it if you connect to the server from other devices. Send messages are also stored on the server, as is information about which messages have been read. In the end, IMAP is a much better protocol to use if you re connecting to your mail server from multiple devices. Your advice to us? Look, of the two, IMAP is the better option - and the recommended option - when you need to check your emails from multiple devices, such as a work laptop, a home computer, or a tablet, smartphone, or other mobile device.
The 5 P s of Radio Have you heard about the 5 P s of radio? Five words that can make your radio shift run smooth and sound professional. PRIOR PREPARATION PREVENTS POOR PERFORMANCE Let s see how the 5 P s can help us all: Have you checked all studio equipment prior to going on air? Are all required faders, including the News fader at the right levels? Do you have music / announcements queued and ready? Do you know what you are going to say before you open the microphone? Do you have the current weather written out, as per the policy? Do you use a script when introducing a segment? Do you pre plan each hour of your shift? When to talk and when to play? Do you use a written list of songs so you never repeat an artist plus obtain the correct mix of music and decades? Do you pre-plan the last 15 minutes of each hour to finish on a full song into the News? Prior preparation of a shift will prevent poor performance. Why not give the 5 P s a go?
The year has started with so many things on the go. During February 2018, we had some problems with our phone system on a couple of occasions which were caused by faulty street cables. Locally, we also had a major power outage that meant we ran on our generators at the studio and transmitter for over 8 hours. There was no break in our service during this time. Although many people in the community were not as fortunate. In February, we managed to replace the floor covering in the Reception and the hallway at the Station using the remaining money from last year s Radiothon. We also replaced the floor covering in the Administration area. The upgraded entrance, administration and the refurbished studios really lift the look of the station and improve the sound. We are very grateful for all those who gave up their time and helped clear the rooms and move the furniture so the vinyl floor covering and carpet tiles could be laid. They included Mal West, Bob Ballantyne, Terry Lindsay, Cyril Callaghan, Stu Robertson, Gray Tienan, Neil Willis, Charles Costello and Terry Blacker. We ve set up a Sub-Committee consisting of Alister Robertson, Peter Hope, Peter Verhoeven and Bob Ballantyne with myself as Chairman.. We are currently updating our Constitution as required by the ACMA as part of our five year licence renewal. This new Constitution will build on our current one but will improve and update it for the future of 101FM. At present we have a draft Constitution that will be taken to all our members for a vote soon Technical Report
101FM sincerely thanks these great Sponsors! Jetts Logan Central. Albert & Logan News. Bethania Mowers Elements Retirement Living Springwood Bendigo Bank: Marsden, Springwood, Beenleigh, Browns Plains, Shailer Park McDonalds: Logan Central, Marsden, Holmview, Beenleigh, Eagleby. Browns Plains Real Estate. Keith4Wheels. Eye Health Centre. Club Beenleigh Twin Towns Services Club K M Smith Funerals Translink Logan Chamber of Commerce Salvation Army Family Stores: Meadowbrook & Loganlea Drew's Sign It 4118 Club Mars Campers Technology Training Group Inspirations Paint Logan City Council Motorama Springwood Yellow Cab Company Richardson & Wrench The Coffee Club Springwood Vital Balance Springwood Marine Woodridge Vet Clinic JG Lohrisch Funeral Directors Fitzy's Loganholme On Hold Professionals Hospitality Plumbers Yellow Cabs Brisbane Jazz Club Audio Book Production Woodridge Vet. Surgery Bogarts Fine Coffee IGA Meadowbrook The Reel Filming Company...and 101FM proudly assists these Organisations. Diabetes Australia Australian Red Cross Reading & Writing Hotline Stop, Revive, Survive Australian Cancer Council Fast Stroke Foundation Crime Stoppers QFRA Organ Donation Brain Injury Australia State Emergency Service Triple 000 Autism Australia Alzheimer's Australia Zero Tolerance Guide Dogs Qld RSPCA Qld Beyond Blue Save Lives /Join the Drive Cerebral Palsy National Security Hotline Flood Watch Salvos' Red Shield Appeal Heart Foundation
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