(If anyone out there has any other letters to share with us and, ultimately, other KAAY fans around the world, please contact me at my e-mail address below. bs)
This first letter comes from Havana (Habana), Cuba. At Wayne's insistance, I've edited it (and other letters to come, from Cuba) to remove the names, as political pressures even today may endanger those who may still be living. As I've gotten assurances from some KAAY fans in Cuba, but warnings from others who have left Cuba, I must err on the side of caution, as per Wayne's wishes; I would wish NO harm to anyone, in any way, through this blog!!!
This first letter (yes, we'll get to it!) is from a fan club; I'll only publish two pages here, as the last page had the members' names on it. This information will NOT be shared under any circumstances, due to security reasons. The second letter, also edited, is the reply from KAAY to the fan club. Although lengthy, both HAD to go together for cohesiveness and continuity....
OK, read history here! Note in KAAY's reply all the people who signed it!
...and KAAY's response:
What wonderful history! Our thanks go to Wayne Moss for this and other letters to come.
Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)
It should be noted that what the Havana listeners heard as "Greetings, Cuban Zealots" was in all probability a recorded legal ID that said "Greetings, QSL-ers, this is KAAY, Little Rock."
ReplyDeleteI've never known (or have long since forgotten) what the letters QSL stand for, but the process involves picking up a station at some impossible distance, sending a description of the programming (audio recording or written) and requesting a verification of reception from the station. This usually came in the form of a QSL Card.
It was just like Wayne not to correct our Cuban zealot friends on this matter, but rather to let them enjoy their dream. I haven't said this enough: Wayne Moss was a GREAT guy to work for!
David B. Treadway
Doc Holiday VII
The Last PD
That was actually an era when radio stations welcomed out of town (and state) listeners. This morning, June 2, 2012 at 5:26am I am attempting to tune into KAAY 1090 on a general coverage ham-radio transceiver (Yaesu FT-897) and 75m dipole antenna from Star City AR (Less than 70m S/SE of the KAAY txmtr site) only to be greeted with adjacent-station IBOC/"HD Radio" interference from Dallas (KRLD-AM 1080).
ReplyDeleteWhat music, or spoken word programming that is broadcast cannot be heard reliability. Not that I care about the current format of KAAY (I despise it), but its pathetic to see a once great radio station reduced this this. Back in the late 1970's-early 1980's I can remember issues with hearing both the groundwave and skywaves of KAAY causing reception issues in this town, but that was with just a regular transistor radio (NOT a communications-grade receiver).
BTW, I do have a receiver (FM/AM) with an IBOC decoder. I can count the number of times I have decoded IBOC/"HD Radio" on AM on just one hand (actually only 3 times: KARN-AM (daytime during the winter with no computers on, etc before they dropped it); WLAC 1510 Nashville TN (a quick decode before dropping out); and blowtorch WOAI 1200 San Antonio (again, a quick inconsistent decode).
I also owned a vehicle a decade ago with AM Stereo, and the then remaining AM Stereo stations (especially at night) would come in with decent quality. AM Stereo came about a decade late and if there had been a single standard may have prolonged the fate of music radio on AM, at least on the big signals (ie: KAAY, WLS, WBAP--yes they were a country station for years).
Fritze
This is terrific. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMark from Central Iowa.