On the Air

A while ago, I wrote an article about what goes on before a radio show, possibly leaving some of you wondering what happens when we go live in the studio.  This article will give you some idea of what it is like to be hosting a live show.

I always listen to the previous show for the last 5 - 10 minutes.  If there is a live show out of the other studio, they usually end on time, but a prerecorded show might end a few minutes early, so I have to be ready to go live at any moment.

When it is time for my show to start, I transfer the broadcast to my studio (usually Studio B), turn on my microphone, and give the station identification:

"You are tuned to North Shore Community Radio, broadcasting at
90.7 FM WTIP Grand Marais,
90.1 FM WGPO Grand Portage,
89.1 FM WKEK Gunflint Lake,
and on the web at WTIP.org."

"Now stay tuned for Thirsty Boots (or Women in Music, Classic Country, or Monday Night Mix)."  I then play my theme song if I have one for that show.  My theme songs are:
"Polka Radio" (Peter and Paul Wendinger Band) for Polka Time,
"You're Looking at Country" (Loretta Lynn) for Classic Country, and
"A Calling on Song" (Atwater-Donnelly) for Thirsty Boots.

We were taught in our radio training to pick theme songs that are short, and fit with the theme of the show.  The radio station is really great about letting the hosts play what they want on the shows.

After the theme, I introduce myself, read several underwriter cards, and give out the weather forecast.  If it is on my list, I will also test the Emergency Alert System, which entails holding down a button, and waiting for the buzzing sounds to finish.

I then introduce my first full set, giving information about the musician, and sometimes the songs, although it is safer to back announce the songs (since there are times when the wrong song is played).

I get my music ready to go before the top of the hour announcements, so I usually have to just tap the button on the board, and bring up the volume to start it.  The exception would be MP3, or cassette tape songs (which I have not done in a long time), with which I have to also press play on the device.

Our studio gives us the ability to listen to music through overhead speakers, headphones, or a regular radio receiver.  When a song is ending, and a new one is beginning, I use the headphones, since that best allows me to adjust for the variations in the recorded volume of songs.  After that, I usually take off the headphones and listen to the overhead speakers.  The regular radio receiver and the dials on the board let us know that we are broadcasting.

As soon as the song starts playing, I reach down to my music collection, and grab another recording.  It is usually not for the next song, but the song after, since I commonly have the next song in another player.  When I start a set (group) of songs, I already know what will be played in that set, and am figuring out what I will be playing on the next set.

One of the most important things for me in picking out music is flow.  Getting a smooth flow of music is easy in a Polka show, but is much more of a challenging when doing the Monday Night Mix or Women in Music shows.  I also like a good flow from show to show.  When I am ending the Women in Music show, I will often times play some big band songs, since the following show is Swing Session.  Transitioning from Polka to Classic Country, my first full set will be Country dance music.  If I feel like my transition from set to set may not be extremely smooth, I will talk longer between sets to keep the audience from getting a jarring experience.

Some hosts have every song planned out for the whole show, and others have an idea of what they want to play, but do not have the specifics written down.  I use the latter method, in large part because it makes it easier to work with requests.  Also, two songs may look like they will flow well together on paper, but in reality do not, so I need to change the song on the spot.

There are also a lot of great reasons for using the complete planning method.  It might be less stressful during the show, because you are never lacking an idea of what to play.  It is also good because you are less likely to say something you shouldn't.  The planning method used really depends on what works best for the host.

A very important thing to do as soon as the song starts, is to turn off the microphone.  I personally turn down the volume, and turn off the switch to make sure it is off.  Many of the hosts on our station have left the mic on, and had their private conversations or ramblings go out over the airwaves, and I am no exception.

I love getting phone calls during the show.  The vast majority of the callers are great.  They tell the host that they are enjoying the show, and sometimes request a song.  We love hearing from callers like this!  They let us know that we are making a positive difference in the world by hosting a radio show.  Here are some guidelines for having the best chance to talk to the host and get requests played:

1. The host is also the engineer, and answers the phone (except during pledge drives, or specific call in shows).  If you hear their voice on the air, they are not going to answer the phone.

2. Wait 30 to 45 seconds after the first song of a new set starts.  This gives the host a chance to get the next songs ready, and enter the current song in the online playlist.  There is also a fair amount of time before the set ends.

3. If you don't get the host right away, try again later.  There is a strobe light that we can see in both studios if someone is calling, but we may not be looking in that direction, or we may be in the bathroom, or talking to someone else.

4. When you talk to us, keep the conversations relatively brief, since the set of music only lasts so long.

5. Give the host your requests with at least a half hour of the show remaining.  It can take some time to find the song and artist you requested, especially if we have to go search the station library.  There is also no guarantee that we have have the song.

Most of the music hosts at our station log our playlist online.  You can access the playlists at wtip.org.  When I first started hosting shows, we had to write the list down on paper.  Thanks to the typing class I took in high school, the online method works a lot better for me.

When we are on the air, we do not know how many people are listening (although the station can see how many people are web streaming us).  It could be one person, or a thousand people.  In our training, we are told to talk as though we are talking to just one person.  We are also told to use our own voice, since that rings most true to our listeners.

Roughly every twenty minutes during a show, we read underwriter cards, and play promos.  The specific cards and promos are on a list that we find when we arrive for our show.  Due to the FCC regulations, we have to read everything on the cards word for word.  Since we are a public station, we are not allowed to give any calls to action (Go eat at ...), or prices since that would be advertising instead of underwriting.

At the top of the hour, we give the station identification again, as well as weather, underwriters, promos, and other announcement (such as birthdays).

In case you are wondering, the next time I am on the air is on Thursday, August 3, 2017 from 8 - 10 PM for the Thirsty Boots show.  Thanks for listening!

To the Moon!

Today is the 48th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.  It was a long, but fast road to get to that point.  The United States completed a goal in about 8 1/2 years that would have otherwise taken decades.

For many years, there was little interest in bringing this country into the space age.  However, that all changed in October of 1957, when the Soviet Union launched a satellite named Sputnik into space.  The cold war was in overdrive at that time, and many people feared that if the Soviet Union dominated space, Earth would be next.  This brought about an incredible space race.

The National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA)  began operation in October of 1958, taking over for its predecessor, the National Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).  There was only one rocket capable of putting a satellite or person into space in the U.S. at the time, the Redstone Rocket, which was the first intercontinental ballistic missile.  The Mercury 7 astronauts were all vying to be the first person in space.

Prior to launching a person into space, NASA sent a satellite, and a chimpanzee named Ham into space to make sure someone could survive up there.  Allen B. Shepard was chosen to be the first American astronaut into space, with a launch scheduled around the beginning of May.  However, on April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union flew Yuri Gagarin into orbit.  Shepard followed with approximately 15 minutes in space on May 5, 1961.

The United States was behind in the space race, and President Kennedy sent Vice President Johnson to NASA to figure out where they could get ahead in space.  Their conclusion was that they could possibly beat the Soviet Union to the Moon.

On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy addressed a special joint session of Congress, and put forth the goal to get a man to the Moon, and return him safely to Earth before the decade was out.  At this point, the United States only have 15 minutes of manned space flight.  NASA had not yet flown its own rocket into space.  No American had been in orbit, or on an Extra Vehicular Activity (spacewalk).  Computers were very primitive.  Not only had the technology to get to the Moon not been invented, but the tools to make that technology were still not in existence.

It was decided to use three space programs with very specific goals to get to the Moon:

Mercury - Get one astronaut in space, and in orbit at a time.

Gemini - Get two astronauts in space, rendezvous two craft together, and get out of the spacecraft (Extra Vehicular Activity).

Apollo - Get 3 astronauts to the moon and back.

As the programs progressed, more astronauts were brought into NASA.  Project Gemini brought both Neil Armstrong, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.  During Gemini, both astronauts proved they had the right stuff.  Armstrong avoided what could have been two disasters by keeping calm when his Gemini spacecraft malfunctioned and put them in rapid spin in space, and when the Lunar Module live flight simulator malfunctioned, and he had to eject.  If it hadn't been for Buzz Aldrin pioneering the underwater training, the astronauts could have never gotten out of the spacecraft and done their tasks on the Moon.

On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were launched aboard a 363 foot (35 story) Saturn V Rocket to the Moon.  The rocket carried a million gallons of fuel, and still is the largest rocket ever flown from anywhere on Earth.

July 20, 1969 brought the separation of the Columbia Command Module, and the Eagle Lunar Module in Lunar orbit.  Michael Collins piloted the command module around the Moon, and Armstrong and Aldrin journeyed to the surface.

When the Eagle was over its schedule landing spot, Armstrong looked down, and saw R.V. sized boulders throughout the area.  He stayed calm, and leveled out the spacecraft, flying until they found a suitable landing spot in the Sea of Tranquility.  When he set down, there were only a few seconds of fuel left before the automatic abort.  The first radio transmission from the moon was, "Houston, Tranquility Base here.  The Eagle has landed."

After a mandatory rest period, the astronauts ventured out of the spacecraft.  Commander Neil Armstrong was the first to the surface.  His immortal words were, "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."  The transmission was a little garbled, and the existence of the (a) has been debated ever since.  He definitely meant to say "a man" since that is grammatically correct.

The landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon was one of the great moments in our world's history.  If you talk to people who were old enough to remember that event, they can tell you exactly were they were at that moment.  I was not born several years after the landing, but have a similar imprint in my mind of the Challenger disaster, and a few other events in my life.

In going to the moon, people learned about what Earth would have been like at its very beginning.   There is evidence of major astronomical events on the moon, that has long been erased be the weathering on Earth.

The technological push of the space race also brought us far ahead of where we would be otherwise.  Many of the technologies that we take for granted now, were developed or seeded at that time.

I saw a taped interview with Neil Armstrong at the Smithsonian a few years ago.  He made a great point that the space race was a way for the United States and the Soviet Union to work out the tensions of the cold war in a peaceful way.

The effort go get to the Moon was undertaken by many thousands of people, and thousands of industrial firms and universities.  Apollo 11's mission patch shows an eagle landing on the Moon with an olive branch in its talons.  The names of the astronauts were not on that mission patch because it was an effort of so many to get to the moon.  In an interview with Michael Collins, he talks about touring the world after the mission, and how wherever they went people would say "we did it" rather than "you did it," which shows what a great moment this was not only in American history, but also the history of the world.

In this day and age, I would love to see more events that bring the whole world together.  We need more heroes like Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and the other astronauts and NASA workers whose work and sacrifices culminated in bringing the world together with the landing at the Sea of Tranquility of July 20, 1969.

Below I have several pictures of the moon that I have taken over the last few months:

July 3, 2017

June 5, 2017

May 7, 2017

May 10, 2017

May 31, 2017

GTVFD Canoe Races

Tonight was the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department Canoe Race fundraiser.  We had a wonderful turnout of people from throughout the area.  For 40 years, this has been the biggest gathering of the year on the Gunflint Trail.

A great committee of locals has been organizing this event for a long time, some of them from the very beginning.  They have done an incredible job, and we hope that someone from the next generation will take the reins of the event, and bring it into the future.

The event starts with kid's activities, followed shortly by the opening of the food tent.  Most of the foods were made by the locals, and included such things as sloppy Joe's, beans, hot dogs, and desserts.  It was all very tasty.

There has always been a raffle, and in the last few years, a silent and live auction as well.  Most of the items raffled and auctioned are donated by local people and businesses.  There has also been a yearly raffle for either a brand new canoe or kayak.

My job for almost every year that I have been on the Gunflint Trail has been in the rescue boat.  It is a fun vantage point with which to see the races.  This year, I brought my camera along to take some pictures and video as well.

The first race is the long distance.  It starts at the beach, goes around a boat anchored about a mile away, and comes back to the beach.  The next pictures are of that race.

Near the Start

Half Way Point

The remaining races were on the shorter course.  There are male/female/mixed sprints, single paddler, backwards paddling, and gunwale pumping.  Most of the work for the rescue boat is during the gunwale pumping, since the participants stand up on the gunwales (sides) of the canoe and jump up and down in such a way as to make the boat go forward.  That race is also last since so many of the participants go in the water.  For a video of the gunwale pumping, click on Gunwale Pumping.  To see a video of the backwards paddling, click on Backwards Paddling.

Short Sprint Race

Gunwale Pumping

At the conclusion of the races, everyone pitched in for a very quick clean up.  Hopefully, the tradition of the canoe races will continue on well into the future.  Many thanks to the Gunflint Trail and Cook County communities for coming together to support the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department.

Two Giant Waterfalls

In the past five weeks, July 3 -4 were the only two days that it hasn't rained in this region.  I am enjoying the rain because it reminds me of Ireland, and it makes for spectacular waterfalls.  On July 2nd and 3rd, I took a wonderful trip to Thunder Bay, Ontario, and was able to view the biggest waterfalls in the region: Kakabeka Falls on the Kaministiquia River, and the High Falls on the Pigeon River.

According to the Ontario Parks web site, the Kakabeka Falls is the second largest waterfall in Ontario.  It is located near the city of Thunder Bay, and is easily accessible when you have entered Canada through the Pigeon River Station.  The park is open throughout the year.  Below are some of my pictures I took on July 3, 2017:

I took this picture from one of the many viewing platforms near the parking area.

This picture of the precipice was taken from the bridge above the falls.  It is definitely worth walking across the bridge, and seeing Kakabeka Falls from both sides.

It was a beautiful day to view Kakabeka Falls.  I took this picture from an overlook near the Visitor's Centre on the far side of the falls from the parking lot.

The above video is a quick look at Kakabeka Falls in action.  If you can't view the video here, I have also placed it on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/225516568.


On the way back across the border, I could see the spray coming from the High Falls on the Pigeon River as I crossed the bridge from Canada to the United States of America.  After conducting my business with the US Border Patrol, I drove into Minnesota, and took an almost immediate right into the Grand Portage State Park.  From the parking area, it is an easy, and relatively short hike in to see the High Falls.

According to the on-site interpretive signs, the falls is estimated to be 100 - 130 feet tall.  An average of 3,200 gallons of water per second flow over the precipice, although I suspect it was a much higher amount when I took these pictures.

Below are some of the many pictures I took on July 3, 2017:

The High Falls on the Pigeon River are on half in the United States, and half in Canada.

This picture is not out of focus.  I took it from the platform nearest to the falls on the American side.  There was an amazing amount of spray coming off of the High Falls that day.

I took this picture from as far back as I could get on the American side.

This picture shows how lush the vegetation is around the falls.  It looks more like a picture you might see of a rain forest than a waterfall on the border of the United States and Canada.

The above video is of the High Falls on the Pigeon River.  If you can't view it here, I posted the video on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/225517985.  I've also posted a longer video from that day at https://vimeo.com/225515912.

The Pigeon River, and Kaministiquia River were major routes for the fur trade from the 1600's to the 1800's.  The inland headquarters of the mighty Northwest Company was located at the Grand Portage from 1781 - 1802.  The reason the 8 1/2 mile Grand Portage was located there was to go around several waterfalls on the Pigeon River, including the High Falls.  Grand Portage's fort was located at the Lake Superior end of the portage, and Fort Charlotte was located on the inland side.

All of the trade goods and furs for the company went over the Grand Portage, until the Scottish owned Northwest Company had to move north of the border on the Pigeon River to the Kaministiquia River, where they build the larger Fort Kaministiquia, which was later renamed Fort William.  A few decades ago, the towns of Fort William and Port Arthur joined to become Thunder Bay, Ontario.