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Which tuner to get and getting the most from it. Thank God, for the radio!

RE: WPKN Signal

Acass,

WOW, memories! I went to the University of Bridgeport from 1964 till early 1970 (slow learner). WPKN "Purple Knight Network" was the school FM (10 Watt - TUBE FM / AM Carrier Current in the dorms) radio station. It went "public" once the university was acquired by Rev Moon, and the station repertoire turned VERY ECLECTIC - which everyone from then on seemed to LOVE.
I helped wire the "new" studios in the student center sometime in the early 70's during the time when the Kent State Massacre shut down college campi in the US. Again, what memories of this time in our nation's history!!!!

Visited them about a year ago and NOTHING HAD CHANGED in how many years??? (disgusting carpets) - total lack of money for this and many college stations. Was "chief engineer" for a few years there and when I lived off-campus I would tune across the FM band and marvel how good the station "sounded" versus most of the commercial stations - didn't realize at the time that what I was hearing was the "benefit" of an ALL TUBE (with the exception of a CBS Volumax limiter - or maybe it was Audimax - versus the early transistors probably used in most all other commercial stations boards and transmitters. MUCH better dynamics!!!

Please call up the station and report what you are hearing. Maybe they don't know any better!

FWIW; I repaired a tuner a few years back and then "tuned across the dial" to check it out. One of the local (Oneonta, NY) FM stereo radio stations didn't light the FM stereo light and I thought something was wrong with the tuner - but other stations were OK. I ran into the station manager a few weeks later and "reported" what I heard. He said - "O yeah, our FM stereo multiplex generator broke a while back and we are getting it fixed but one of the few guys who can work on these said it would take a while". It apparently had been broken (and off the air) for at least 3 months and I was the first person to "complain".

SO - FORGET what you may think of the current state of FM broadcasting - what are "listeners" actually listening to - and more importantly, do they even care???!!!

Cheers!!!

Charles



Edits: 12/07/14

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