The following is a set of guidelines that we have created from lessons from this ongoing experiment in Community radio.
`Everything You Wanted to Know About Way High Radio
Way High Radio was started in 1997 to connect the Community of Ward, CO and beyond. It has been guided by a handful of committed individuals over the years. Through Community support from annual benefits, we have managed to stay on air except for about 2 years (2009 -2011) We were brought back to life, with the urging of our local FEMA director, to help aid in emergency services and also to expand our desire to connect Ward and the Indian Peaks Community. In December of 2013, we became part of the Colorado Community Radio Network. A Network of so called “Pirate” radio stations that serve communities in a grassroots way through the sharing of content and a focus on local interests. As far as we know, we are the longest running “Pirate” radio station in the Rockies. We have been granted permission from the Town of Ward to locate our studio next to the Town Hall. All revenue (after expenses) is used to support other Town of Ward projects.
This project is run entirely on volunteer, grassroots support. Nobody gets paid. It is a experiment in Community building that has lasted many years. We believe this is due to the spirit of the music, the intentions of our DJs and an overall spirit that exists within our quirky Mountain town.
This is a Pirate Radio station in the sense that we defy the wishes of the FCC and consider the licensing process to be illegal. But, that does not mean that this is “Free For All Radio” or “Fuck You Radio”. We play first for the Ward / Mountain Community. We have operated this project with a minimal level of rules and structure that we learned along the way. This radio station is run for the Ward Community, powered by the Ward Community. They donate annually to keep us on the air. So, we must be respectful of our listening audience and the individual members of this radio station. Remember that kids are listening during the day. Use discretion. No hate speech!
We’ve seen it all over the years, people living in the studio, running up the phone bill, pissing off the landlord, $1700 worth of 900 number calls, theft, vandalism, Giant Egos, Liars, Jerks, Con Artists, . So PLEASE don’t contribute to our “Hall Of Shame”.
When you become a member of Way High Radio, you get a copy of these guidelines and the combination to the lock on the door. Do not give this combo to anyone. Do not leave the studio unlocked for any reason. We rely upon all of our DJs to help keep the studio safe.
How to use the Equipment
Our Computer is named CHIP.
All different components ( Microphones, Computer, CD Player, Turntable, etc.) are plugged in to the soundboard and labeled accordingly. All of these components have a corresponding fader that adjusts its volume / feed on air.
Pause the Radio DJ Music Player when starting a show or add your music under the current playing song on the playlist. This makes it so we continue to randomly access all of our music library when CHIP is playing.
Make sure that we are streaming by clicking on the speaker icon below. If it says idle press play. There is now automation scripts to keep the stream going at all times.
Keep the main computer volume (the little speaker icon.)ALL THE WAY UP. Keep the volume in iTunes, on youtube, google play, etc ALL THE WAY UP! Drive the sound from the board.
Control the volume levels of the individual mixing channels (1,2,3,etc.), corresponding to the different audio sources (computer, cd, mic)
Use the monitors for your studio volume NOT THE MAIN BOARD LEVELS. These are controlled by sliders 1 & 2 next to the main slider. Remember to keep the monitors aimed away from the mic or it WILL hum or feedback.
The volume meter on the mixing board should peak at 7 and remain around 0. Drive the individual channel / component (computer, cd player, etc.) first. Keep levels set, so main meter LEDS don't go above the orange section. Red = Clipping.
Remember to drive your vocal mic volume enough for people to hear you. At 0 / U or a little above. Speak close to the mic. Watch your main output levels. Keep background music at a point where it doesn't override your voice. Remember to turn off the mics when you’re done.
Don’t use the off switch on the mics. Use the faders or the mute button.
When downloading music on this computer please save it to “(drive W:\Music”. No movie watching or excessive downloading! Nedernet is kind enough to provide the wireless for us, but it needs to be for radio use only. They only have so much bandwidth available.
About bandwidth: Due to the limited amount of bandwidth we have, it is strongly suggested to avoid using sites that have to load ads for long periods as it competes with the outgoing stream.
When leaving, make sure all levels are set to the highest broadcast level possible ( O / U). Make sure Radio DJ is playing.
Eliminate bogus tracks and duplicates in the music library. If it’s clicking, sticking or is unlistenable, delete it from the music library.
Do not touch the compressor limiters or the main volume on the board. They have been set to broadcast at optimum amplitude.
Pretend they're not there.
Turn off cd / tape player, turntable, lights, heat and monitors when you leave. Close the door and lock it.
General Stuff
A radio show is considered to be about 1 to 3 hours long. Leaving your own playlist on that goes longer than this is essentially turning the radio in to your personal Ipod and is not cool or acceptable. Once you have established a regularly scheduled show, you need to add it to the schedule. Let Skyler or Blair know and they will add it. We try to promote diversity in our broadcast. In order to maintain this, we ask that DJs do no more than an additional (on top of scheduled programming) 2 hours a day, or no more than 4 hours a week total. This number is subject to change with our programming load. Remember most stations allow no randomness whatsoever. If you are doing a random show please make sure that there is not a Network show or a downloaded show going on. Check the schedule. Look for a Team Viewer box. If the Team Viewer box opens while you're doing an unscheduled show, please respect that many times someone might remote in to fix something. Use the chat on Team viewer - right click - click dialog logo to converse with the person remoting in. Let the person know if you are doing a scheduled show so they can try later.
When You Do A Show -
PAUSE Radio DJ Music Player-. Do not Stop. Add to the playlist to do your show or use an outside music player like Google Play, Youtube etc. We use Google Chrome as a browser, please do not change this to Bing or anything else. Keep us signed into the google platform. Reach out if you can't remember the password. We pay a monthly fee to use Google Play which accesses tons of music. Please do not use Way High Radio's Google account for your own personal use at home.
We now have a chat box on the "Listen and Contact" pages on our website. Let your friends on FB know when you're doing a show.
Direct your listeners to connect with you through this option. It uses very little bandwidth and you can interact with your listening audience. Open the Contact page to access the chat, NOT the Listen page. Listen creates a double feed / echo that makes things un-listenable. It is also important to monitor this page for feedback about volume levels. If your show is too low or overdriven people stop listening.
Log in in our new communication book. DJ, Date & Time. This helps keep track of consistent shows.
Check the Schedule / Calendar on CHIP. Promote your show and others.
Set up your different music player windows ahead of time. The internet is slow. Dead Air gets old…
Keep the swear words to a minimum during daytime hours and try to avoid long periods of “Dead Air Space”. Think ahead, songs play out quickly. Use the Music Library as back up.
Use your imagination. Name your show. Create a DJ name. Keep things fresh. Think outside the box.
Try and commit to a scheduled time slot. Make recorded promo for your show that other DJs can play.
Try to identify the station “90.5 Way High Radio” as much as possible. Weather reports and public service announcements are always appreciated. They give the station a local identity. Check the PSA Folder for announcements. Promote your show and others. Make radio station identification clips. Add them to the “Radio Clips” file in the music library. Use your imagination. The more the better. Thank Nedernet as much as you can Remember. Without their help, we might not be around today.
Keep drinks, food and smoking / ashes away from the soundboard, transmitter and amp area. That’s what the little tables for. No Tobacco smoking in the studio.
NO CAMPING OUT!
There is no cleaning service, take your trash with you when you leave. Leave the studio better than when you showed up. Please take your personal items (clothes, pipe, etc) when you leave. There is a trash can behind the studio for trash. Please recycle.
Keep the radio on air. If you hear dead air, go turn it on. Dead Air = No listeners.
Promote the radio station any way you can.
Add more music to the hard drive. More is better! When downloading music on this computer please save it to the “Music” folder. Currently, it is better to use Windows Media Player for adding new music as it interacts with Gracenotes and can identify the music so you don't have to type in all the info.
Please do not borrow media (albums, tapes, cds) from the WHR library. This also goes for cords and equipment.
Volunteer for WHR events and presentations. We do at least one fundraiser a year and are working on creating more WHR Presents shows. We are now part of the Colorado Community Radio Network and active DJs can participate in CCRN events and represent WHR in the process. This can be alot of fun and there is alot of potential to expand on this.
Pull radios from the free box so we can donate them to those who need one in town. Leave them in the studio.
We need desktops and laptops that still operate or seem salvageable. Please keep this in mind. If we can't use it, another station might.
Communicate !
Got ideas, solutions, inspirations complaints etc., write them down in our new “ Communications Notebook”. Then we can all share our thoughts and opinions about things. or use the Way High Radio Crew Chat on FB.
Got any other questions. Please don't hesitate to ask. The more you know the better we operate.
How To Turn on the Computer, Get to the Music Library, and get Streaming Again
If power failed.
Push “On” button on the front of the computer.
Open Radio DJ, Be patient, it usually takes a minute or so to load and may say "Not responding" in the mean time. It should load. If not close it and reopen. There are scripts created that will automatically load Radio DJ and start it. It may take a couple minutes for this to happen.
Then Press “Play”
Make sure Butt, our stream client is on. if not, open it's window and press play. It should say "on air". The LEDS will be active. Minimize window, DO NOT CLOSE.
Most of this has been automated but it doesn't always work as designed.
How to Open Google Play our Internet Music Player
We pay monthly for Google Play, an online music player that has tons of content and is very intuitive. You can search by artist, song name, lines in a song ( sometimes). To get to Google Play, open a Google search page and make sure the computer is signed in to the google account. Once signed on, select the cluster of 9 little squares (top right corner), select Google Play, The site will open, select "Music", then select "My Music". Now you have arrived at the music player. You can search in the box at the top of the page to find the artist / song you're looking for. Right click on the song, a drop down menu will appear. Select "Add to Que" You can continue to add to que to create a playlist that can be switched around. To access the que, click on the stacked line icon in the lower right hand corner of the page. A list will pop up of the songs you have selected so far. You can move these songs around and delete them. Clear or save the list when done.
Tips For Working With You Tube, Reverb Nation, Etc.
Always “Mute” the program before loading songs. Many programs start automatically and that will mix with whatever is playing on air.
Give time for a song to load. You Tube is notorious for stopping in the middle of a song.because you’re loading audio and video. Audio programs work faster.
Set videos to lowest resolution.
Some programs will play the next song of their choice immediately. Be prepared to “Pause” at the end of the song chosen.
You can only cue one song at time with Reverbnation and YouTube per tab. Remember, loading too many tabs will slow everything down.
Bouncing back and forth from one player to another can cut down on dead air and create an interesting mix.
How to Listen to Something “Off Air” on the Hard Drive
Browse for media file(s) (What you might want to play), Start Adobe Audition and Drag files into the File Panel. Select Songs from file panel and press play at bottom of panel.
How to Listen to Something “Off Air” on the Mixing Board
Find and press the “Mute” Button located on the mixing board channel associated with the component you want to use (ie: CD Player, Tape Deck, etc…)
Make sure the Alt 3-4 Fader is at -20db.
How to Answer the Phone
We have a Google number. Sometimes it works. If the phone rings, a prompt will pop up in the corner of the computer screen. If you answer it will be immediately heard on air.
`Everything You Wanted to Know About Way High Radio
Way High Radio was started in 1997 to connect the Community of Ward, CO and beyond. It has been guided by a handful of committed individuals over the years. Through Community support from annual benefits, we have managed to stay on air except for about 2 years (2009 -2011) We were brought back to life, with the urging of our local FEMA director, to help aid in emergency services and also to expand our desire to connect Ward and the Indian Peaks Community. In December of 2013, we became part of the Colorado Community Radio Network. A Network of so called “Pirate” radio stations that serve communities in a grassroots way through the sharing of content and a focus on local interests. As far as we know, we are the longest running “Pirate” radio station in the Rockies. We have been granted permission from the Town of Ward to locate our studio next to the Town Hall. All revenue (after expenses) is used to support other Town of Ward projects.
This project is run entirely on volunteer, grassroots support. Nobody gets paid. It is a experiment in Community building that has lasted many years. We believe this is due to the spirit of the music, the intentions of our DJs and an overall spirit that exists within our quirky Mountain town.
This is a Pirate Radio station in the sense that we defy the wishes of the FCC and consider the licensing process to be illegal. But, that does not mean that this is “Free For All Radio” or “Fuck You Radio”. We play first for the Ward / Mountain Community. We have operated this project with a minimal level of rules and structure that we learned along the way. This radio station is run for the Ward Community, powered by the Ward Community. They donate annually to keep us on the air. So, we must be respectful of our listening audience and the individual members of this radio station. Remember that kids are listening during the day. Use discretion. No hate speech!
We’ve seen it all over the years, people living in the studio, running up the phone bill, pissing off the landlord, $1700 worth of 900 number calls, theft, vandalism, Giant Egos, Liars, Jerks, Con Artists, . So PLEASE don’t contribute to our “Hall Of Shame”.
When you become a member of Way High Radio, you get a copy of these guidelines and the combination to the lock on the door. Do not give this combo to anyone. Do not leave the studio unlocked for any reason. We rely upon all of our DJs to help keep the studio safe.
How to use the Equipment
Our Computer is named CHIP.
All different components ( Microphones, Computer, CD Player, Turntable, etc.) are plugged in to the soundboard and labeled accordingly. All of these components have a corresponding fader that adjusts its volume / feed on air.
Pause the Radio DJ Music Player when starting a show or add your music under the current playing song on the playlist. This makes it so we continue to randomly access all of our music library when CHIP is playing.
Make sure that we are streaming by clicking on the speaker icon below. If it says idle press play. There is now automation scripts to keep the stream going at all times.
Keep the main computer volume (the little speaker icon.)ALL THE WAY UP. Keep the volume in iTunes, on youtube, google play, etc ALL THE WAY UP! Drive the sound from the board.
Control the volume levels of the individual mixing channels (1,2,3,etc.), corresponding to the different audio sources (computer, cd, mic)
Use the monitors for your studio volume NOT THE MAIN BOARD LEVELS. These are controlled by sliders 1 & 2 next to the main slider. Remember to keep the monitors aimed away from the mic or it WILL hum or feedback.
The volume meter on the mixing board should peak at 7 and remain around 0. Drive the individual channel / component (computer, cd player, etc.) first. Keep levels set, so main meter LEDS don't go above the orange section. Red = Clipping.
Remember to drive your vocal mic volume enough for people to hear you. At 0 / U or a little above. Speak close to the mic. Watch your main output levels. Keep background music at a point where it doesn't override your voice. Remember to turn off the mics when you’re done.
Don’t use the off switch on the mics. Use the faders or the mute button.
When downloading music on this computer please save it to “(drive W:\Music”. No movie watching or excessive downloading! Nedernet is kind enough to provide the wireless for us, but it needs to be for radio use only. They only have so much bandwidth available.
About bandwidth: Due to the limited amount of bandwidth we have, it is strongly suggested to avoid using sites that have to load ads for long periods as it competes with the outgoing stream.
When leaving, make sure all levels are set to the highest broadcast level possible ( O / U). Make sure Radio DJ is playing.
Eliminate bogus tracks and duplicates in the music library. If it’s clicking, sticking or is unlistenable, delete it from the music library.
Do not touch the compressor limiters or the main volume on the board. They have been set to broadcast at optimum amplitude.
Pretend they're not there.
Turn off cd / tape player, turntable, lights, heat and monitors when you leave. Close the door and lock it.
General Stuff
A radio show is considered to be about 1 to 3 hours long. Leaving your own playlist on that goes longer than this is essentially turning the radio in to your personal Ipod and is not cool or acceptable. Once you have established a regularly scheduled show, you need to add it to the schedule. Let Skyler or Blair know and they will add it. We try to promote diversity in our broadcast. In order to maintain this, we ask that DJs do no more than an additional (on top of scheduled programming) 2 hours a day, or no more than 4 hours a week total. This number is subject to change with our programming load. Remember most stations allow no randomness whatsoever. If you are doing a random show please make sure that there is not a Network show or a downloaded show going on. Check the schedule. Look for a Team Viewer box. If the Team Viewer box opens while you're doing an unscheduled show, please respect that many times someone might remote in to fix something. Use the chat on Team viewer - right click - click dialog logo to converse with the person remoting in. Let the person know if you are doing a scheduled show so they can try later.
When You Do A Show -
PAUSE Radio DJ Music Player-. Do not Stop. Add to the playlist to do your show or use an outside music player like Google Play, Youtube etc. We use Google Chrome as a browser, please do not change this to Bing or anything else. Keep us signed into the google platform. Reach out if you can't remember the password. We pay a monthly fee to use Google Play which accesses tons of music. Please do not use Way High Radio's Google account for your own personal use at home.
We now have a chat box on the "Listen and Contact" pages on our website. Let your friends on FB know when you're doing a show.
Direct your listeners to connect with you through this option. It uses very little bandwidth and you can interact with your listening audience. Open the Contact page to access the chat, NOT the Listen page. Listen creates a double feed / echo that makes things un-listenable. It is also important to monitor this page for feedback about volume levels. If your show is too low or overdriven people stop listening.
Log in in our new communication book. DJ, Date & Time. This helps keep track of consistent shows.
Check the Schedule / Calendar on CHIP. Promote your show and others.
Set up your different music player windows ahead of time. The internet is slow. Dead Air gets old…
Keep the swear words to a minimum during daytime hours and try to avoid long periods of “Dead Air Space”. Think ahead, songs play out quickly. Use the Music Library as back up.
Use your imagination. Name your show. Create a DJ name. Keep things fresh. Think outside the box.
Try and commit to a scheduled time slot. Make recorded promo for your show that other DJs can play.
Try to identify the station “90.5 Way High Radio” as much as possible. Weather reports and public service announcements are always appreciated. They give the station a local identity. Check the PSA Folder for announcements. Promote your show and others. Make radio station identification clips. Add them to the “Radio Clips” file in the music library. Use your imagination. The more the better. Thank Nedernet as much as you can Remember. Without their help, we might not be around today.
Keep drinks, food and smoking / ashes away from the soundboard, transmitter and amp area. That’s what the little tables for. No Tobacco smoking in the studio.
NO CAMPING OUT!
There is no cleaning service, take your trash with you when you leave. Leave the studio better than when you showed up. Please take your personal items (clothes, pipe, etc) when you leave. There is a trash can behind the studio for trash. Please recycle.
Keep the radio on air. If you hear dead air, go turn it on. Dead Air = No listeners.
Promote the radio station any way you can.
Add more music to the hard drive. More is better! When downloading music on this computer please save it to the “Music” folder. Currently, it is better to use Windows Media Player for adding new music as it interacts with Gracenotes and can identify the music so you don't have to type in all the info.
Please do not borrow media (albums, tapes, cds) from the WHR library. This also goes for cords and equipment.
Volunteer for WHR events and presentations. We do at least one fundraiser a year and are working on creating more WHR Presents shows. We are now part of the Colorado Community Radio Network and active DJs can participate in CCRN events and represent WHR in the process. This can be alot of fun and there is alot of potential to expand on this.
Pull radios from the free box so we can donate them to those who need one in town. Leave them in the studio.
We need desktops and laptops that still operate or seem salvageable. Please keep this in mind. If we can't use it, another station might.
Communicate !
Got ideas, solutions, inspirations complaints etc., write them down in our new “ Communications Notebook”. Then we can all share our thoughts and opinions about things. or use the Way High Radio Crew Chat on FB.
Got any other questions. Please don't hesitate to ask. The more you know the better we operate.
How To Turn on the Computer, Get to the Music Library, and get Streaming Again
If power failed.
Push “On” button on the front of the computer.
Open Radio DJ, Be patient, it usually takes a minute or so to load and may say "Not responding" in the mean time. It should load. If not close it and reopen. There are scripts created that will automatically load Radio DJ and start it. It may take a couple minutes for this to happen.
Then Press “Play”
Make sure Butt, our stream client is on. if not, open it's window and press play. It should say "on air". The LEDS will be active. Minimize window, DO NOT CLOSE.
Most of this has been automated but it doesn't always work as designed.
How to Open Google Play our Internet Music Player
We pay monthly for Google Play, an online music player that has tons of content and is very intuitive. You can search by artist, song name, lines in a song ( sometimes). To get to Google Play, open a Google search page and make sure the computer is signed in to the google account. Once signed on, select the cluster of 9 little squares (top right corner), select Google Play, The site will open, select "Music", then select "My Music". Now you have arrived at the music player. You can search in the box at the top of the page to find the artist / song you're looking for. Right click on the song, a drop down menu will appear. Select "Add to Que" You can continue to add to que to create a playlist that can be switched around. To access the que, click on the stacked line icon in the lower right hand corner of the page. A list will pop up of the songs you have selected so far. You can move these songs around and delete them. Clear or save the list when done.
Tips For Working With You Tube, Reverb Nation, Etc.
Always “Mute” the program before loading songs. Many programs start automatically and that will mix with whatever is playing on air.
Give time for a song to load. You Tube is notorious for stopping in the middle of a song.because you’re loading audio and video. Audio programs work faster.
Set videos to lowest resolution.
Some programs will play the next song of their choice immediately. Be prepared to “Pause” at the end of the song chosen.
You can only cue one song at time with Reverbnation and YouTube per tab. Remember, loading too many tabs will slow everything down.
Bouncing back and forth from one player to another can cut down on dead air and create an interesting mix.
How to Listen to Something “Off Air” on the Hard Drive
Browse for media file(s) (What you might want to play), Start Adobe Audition and Drag files into the File Panel. Select Songs from file panel and press play at bottom of panel.
How to Listen to Something “Off Air” on the Mixing Board
Find and press the “Mute” Button located on the mixing board channel associated with the component you want to use (ie: CD Player, Tape Deck, etc…)
Make sure the Alt 3-4 Fader is at -20db.
How to Answer the Phone
We have a Google number. Sometimes it works. If the phone rings, a prompt will pop up in the corner of the computer screen. If you answer it will be immediately heard on air.