Posted by chicagomedia.org on August 04, 2009 at 10:01:15:
Radio from the Rafters
Dan Churney
08/04/2009, 12:26 am
For all you cool cats out there in Ottawaland, the attic of an antebellum house on the East Side is the lair for a local "Wolfman Jack."
Like ya' dig, it's Jonathan Freeburg, baby.
An attorney by trade, but a radio buff at heart, Freeburg established a Federal Communications Commission-approved radio station earlier this year at 103.9 FM, sending classic rock into the ether over Ottawa. Freeburg has also been a member of The Times' Write Team columnist group and has a background in radio, which includes occasional spells on WCMY-AM Radio's Second Cup talk show. Years back, he performed with the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago.
The magic flows from a transmitter Freeburg has set up on a table in the attic of his 153-year-old house. The usual objects abound — an old hobby horse sits on one side of the transmitter, a dissembled crib on the other — but other items present are not usually found in a creaky attic.
A 21st-century iPod and equalizer feed music to the transmitter, with a line running to the other end of the attic and connecting to an antenna. From there to the air. The antenna does not protrude above the roof, because Freeburg explained the Lincoln-era wooden roof does not block much of the signal. However, he is looking for a tower in Ottawa to attach the antenna to improve transmission after he receives an FCClicense to do so in the next six to 12 months.
The station puts out less than a watt, but after he is licensed, he can go up to 10 watts. For comparison, 95.3 SAM FM — Ottawa's WRKX — beams 5,000 watts, allowing it to cover the entire Illinois Valley region.
Under good conditions, his transmitter now reaches most of the city. When weather is bad, it only penetrates a few blocks. Once he is licensed to increase power and raise his antenna higher, transmission should cover a 2-mile radius around Ottawa. Freeburg noted other low-power stations on the same 103.9 frequency in Dundee and along the Indiana border sometimes "bleed" into his station, because of atmospheric conditions, in particular, low cloud cover that can bounce signals.
Freeburg said the project cost him a couple of thousand dollars, about $1,000 of which went to obtain the approximately 1,500 songs for his iPod. He hits "shuffle" and "repeat" on the device, and the music plays around the clock.
Freeburg prevailed upon friends in the voice-over business to record "liners," in which they identify and promote the station. One of these friends is Bob Souer, who does voice work for the Discovery Channel, the History Channel and the Learning Channel. One cable show in particular for which Souer has worked is Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch."
Another friend is J. Scott McElroy, the official voice for the cable show "Animal Planet." McElroy can also be heard on Mazda commercials.
The liners are broadcast about every five songs.
"I'm an old radio guy. Igot my first gig in radio when I was 14. I worked in Chicago radio 10 years, before changing careers. I love local radio. My station is noncommercial, so it's grassroots," Freeburg said.
Freeburg has established low-power stations before in Sister Bay, Wis., which he turned over to a church there, and in Winter Park, Colo., which a brother now runs. Freeburg moved to Ottawa 15 years ago to run WKOT-FM Radio, with plans to buy it, but the buying part never came to pass. Now having his own station in Ottawa, he hopes an arrangement can be worked out in which high-schoolers with an interest in broadcasting can use his facilities for vocational training.
Freeburg has no call letters yet, but hopes to land WOSI; he said the letters don't stand for anything, but he likes their sound.
In the meantime, Ottawans can dial in 103.9 FM and catch the tunes spun from the East Side attic. As Wolfman Jack might have said, "Like crazy, man."