Posted by chicagomedia.org on July 07, 2008 at 10:58:49:
Broadcaster keeps it old school
His AM station plays only classic shows
From his backyard in Antioch, Jay Lichtenauer broadcasts old-time radio shows like "Jack Benny" and "The Shadow" from a low-power AM transmitter that's not much bigger than a shoebox on a pole with an antenna.
Although only those living within a mile of his home can clearly hear the station at AM-1710, the station streams online and is somewhat of a kingpin in its niche of broadcasting radio shows from the 1920s through the 1950s.
What makes his station unique is that it is entirely automated. He created software through his company, MacinMind Software, which basically runs his station, selects which shows to play within a set schedule, and even automates his recorded voice to announce the name of the program and its original airdate.
"It is designed as if it was my robot, so I can forget about it for months," he said.
Lichtenauer, a 38-year-old computer programmer, got interested in radio shows when he was 12 years old in Maryland while listening to a local public radio station.
"I didn't have a TV in my room. I only had radios," he said. "I liked the stories on the radio."
His station, which started in fall 2003, regularly attracts about 400 to 600 listeners from across the country, or 80 percent of the Internet market share of similar stations, Lichtenauer said. Donations from listeners cover the $315 in monthly costs to stream the programs online.
Lichtenauer broadcasts at the high end of the AM dial, typically where micro-broadcasters are found, between 1610 kHz and 1710 kHz.
If you're within a mile of downtown Antioch, you can get his station by tuning your radio to AM-1710, or go online to Radio.macinmind.com for schedule information and online streaming.
(Sun-Times)