My Own Microphone and Orange Crush
1979 Champaign, WKIO. This was a hugely popular station with about 1500 fluctuating watts depending on whether the song you were playing had alot of bass or alot of pianos. The tower was no more than 75 feet high and looked like a home TV antenna. This was small time radio at it’s best. I was the new morning guy and couldn’t believe the main on air studio was fitted with a $89 microphone. Everyone on this station sounded bad - partly due to the microphone. Mark Nakada, the night guy, always sounded good though. One night, I visited and discovered he was using a different microphone. Ahhhh. That’s it. I went to a local music shop the next week and purchased my own on studio microphone. When I got off the air at 10am, I un-hooked it, and took it with me. Much of the music I played were my personal albums. This is just the way it was back then. The station succeeded despite the technical issues. My favorite moment was the day it rained and didn’t quit. It poured for what seemed hours. The studio was in a steel portable building and the transmitter was sitting on Orange Crush crates in dirt. As the rain continued, the water began to rise beneath the crates. The water rose as the transmitter sunk in the mud. Then, just as we had about a half inch before the sparks flew, the rain stopped. I was fired before I ever saw this operation cleaned up. Every disc jockey has a story like this. WKIO today is full power with a real tower, a real building, and no doubt, a decent microphone.
