WIDB History Chapter 17

Distribution Rears its Ugly Head

   Meanwhile, activity was accelerating. The board was meeting every week. Howie submitted a typed multi-page programming policy, which the board approved. (see attached document) The new WIDB HAD to have jingles, so Howie proposed a small budget to hire singers (he already had music tracks--more about this later). Jim Hoffman wanted money to distribute the "Together Six Campus Countdown." Even though the station had not started, this would "legitimize" the station in the eyes of record companies. Records were already disappearing from the library. Of considerable focus was engineering. Equipment had to be purchased--this was a project in itself. From the day the WIDB Board approved a purchase of equipment, it could take weeks for even an order. The board approval to purchase the transmitters was granted on February 17, 1970. Spring quarter was scheduled to end in early June. Time was of the essence. With a full head of steam and an ever-expanding enthusiastic potential staff, it was critical to get the station rolling soon enough to establish itself before summer.
   Some thought ordering the transmitters was the end of a long process. It was really just the beginning. Purchasing equipment was easy compared to installation. It all sounds so simple! Just hook it up, plug it in and make it work! That's all the WIDB engineers had to do. Jerry and Dan, assisted by Bruce Whiteside and Lew Wright, had this task: Install three 20 watt AM transmitters in Schneider, Mae Smith, and Neely, and make them carry WIDB into every dorm room on 600 AM. Jerry had a strong background in engineering. His father was an electrical contractor. Jerry was a ham radio operator and had a real radio job in high school. He had worked with Richard Compton at Low Power Broadcasting to determine the nature and extent of transmitter and related equipment needed. Jerry also obtained access to blueprints from University Architects. Dan, Jerry, and Bruce were the engineering nucleus. The carrier-current transmitter worked by sending its output (WIDB at 600 AM) through the wall- socket power lines in each building. They had to find a room, or a place, to put each transmitter. It had to be secure and not subject to temperature extremes. They had to get access to these areas, make sure they had all necessary equipment, and then get it installed. They also had to make arrangements for telephone lines to each transmitter site to carry the WIDB audio to the transmitter. Then, they had to test each one to make sure that the antenna was properly "matched" i.e., hum was minimized, and they also had to make sure coverage was complete, and that the audio was clear. Then, they had to do this three more times with 4 watt transmitters in the triads.

   Dan secured a copy of plans for each of the towers and triads. It was represented to Dan that these were then-current plans. Years later, it was discovered they were several versions obsolete. Dan was advised that the entry point for each of the power lines ("risers") was the ninth floor in the towers, and that would be the best place to put the transmitters. The plan versions he had seemed to confirm this. Years later, it was learned that the power lines entered the towers in the basements where the transmitters should have been located. Based on the information he had, and being pressed for time, Dan decided to install on the ninth floors of the towers. The net effect was that WIDB was not very receivable above the 15th or below the 4th floors in each of the towers. Within two years, this problem was cured by installation of splitters, creating additional "antennas" on the 5th and 14th floors. By his own admission, Dan was smarter with the triads transmitter installation. Those transmitters probably worked the best.

   Four-watt transmitters were also installed in Baldwin and Warren at Thompson Point. But Thompson Point presented a problem that was never solved. The "triads" were called that because they were three buildings (Allen I, II, and III, Boomer I, II, and III, Wright I, II and III). Since the three buildings were grouped together, one 4-watt transmitter placed in the center building could cover all three. Thus, the transmitter in the basement of Allen II made WIDB receivable at 600 am in 419 Allen I and Allen II and Allen III. This worked because all three buildings connected to the same electrical system, and there were no interrupting transformers. In other words, a the hope was that a transmitter in Warren would also serve Smith and Kellogg. But it didn't work. Each building had a separate system, with interrupting transformers. So a transmitter could only serve one building, and each building needed a transmitter. WIDB needed nine transmitters to serve the nine TP dorms. This not only meant purchasing six more transmitters, but also six more phone lines each month, six more outputs on the distribution amplifier, and six more transmitters for monthly maintenance. This was too much for the embryonic WIDB. The decision was made to install the two transmitters in Baldwin and Warren and then determine for sure if there was any hope for one transmitter covering more than only one dorm.

   Thompson Point was never adequately covered by WIDB. There were some efforts to expand service there with installation of a third transmitter in Stegall. Unfortunately, it was installed in a room with steam pipes, and there was a leak. Imagine a tube transmitter in a sauna. A replacement was eventually installed in another TP dorm. But WIDB's coverage was never more than three TP dorms, max. If you knew someone who lived there, chances were that they could not receive WIDB. This was another reason that the station had always tended to be east-campus oriented. The staff was mostly from WLTH (Schneider) and WBHR/WISR (Boomer). The station was located in Wright. There were more residents living at east campus than TP. The kicker was when WIDB ended up covering at least 80% of east campus and only 20-33% of TP. Dan, Bruce, Jerry, and the supporting cast had all of these problems and more to identify and overcome to install the transmitters. And, they had only days to finish. By the time that the engineering staff had access to the proposed transmitter locations, it was already the third week in March. The transmitters needed to be installed by the end of spring break. Spring quarter began the last week in March. Dan and the crew got all six transmitters installed in the East Campus dorms by the deadline. The transmitter installations became a permanent part of the university building plans (see attached document). The plans show the installation date as March 26, 1970. But the studio was not wired yet. Microphones to wall receptacles to patch board to mixing board to distribution amplifier to telephone lines to transmitters. There was a Volumax in there somewhere. Also, turntables, cart machines, reel-to-reel tape decks. And headphones, remote switches to start cart machines, turntables, and microphones. Each room needed telephones. The telephone system needed an intercom. Everything had to be completed, tested, ready, in days.

   The engineering frenzy of activity had taken on a life of its own. As Spring Quarter began, Jerry, Bruce, and Dan had the expected "up-all-night-for-a-week" look. Wires, equipment, tubes, tools, food and drink remnants, were scattered everywhere. It looked like they'd never finish, and no one knew how long they could keep going. There were sporadic phone calls, transmitter testing, and then more wiring. No one dared to ask any of them if they were planning to attend their Spring Quarter classes.

end of Chapter 17