on that is Eden FM Eden a room full of junk. No equipment and some bloke saying we could have a radio station up and running in 2 months. I thought he was either genius or absolutely crackers. Martin is now a committee member and a presenter on Eden FM. He has witnessed the roller coaster ride of radio. As I explained to him and the group, if we have a box, a mic and a record player that we can wire to a transmitter, that is the worst scenario. Now, 6 months on, Martin is preparing for the next 28 day transmission on the FM frequency. Meanwhile, he is presenting his shows on line every week. The backbone of the team is club DJ, with regular slots at the Loft ‘djsianos’, alias breakfast and evening presenter Sian Whittaker, who with Andy Neen, breakfast and evening presenter and outside events co-ordinator, both share the role of deputy chairman. For the full team line up, it is taking shape and available to view on www.edenfm.co.uk and on page 29 is the programme guide from 1st May to 15th June 2012. The youngest presenter is 11 and the oldest I cannot reveal, but is of a young retirement age. In the team are now around 25 presenters. When Eden FM radio switched on to transmit on 87.7 FM at 10am on 25th November 2011, it had 5 presenters (including the 11 year old) who had actually presented live on the radio station at a community or regional level. No one had ever designed, built and launched a radio station with the exception of one person. It was a steep learning curve, yes and an experience to look back on and build on, absolutely. In a studio for the first time, over 20 people were faced with a studio console with 12 channels. It had switch overs, live feeds for the telephone, an outside broadcasting vehicle channel, 4 microphone channels,
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2 PC channels and a news channel, 2 channels for 2 turntables, 2 mini disc player channels and 2 CD player channels. There was a set pattern in how news would be on the hour, the weather was presented and adverts were played at set times. In between this, music was scheduled and they might interview guests and get to present for up to 4 hours. It was local radio. It is local radio. It’s about local people having a go and for some, living a dream. Local schools having their own shows, local bands playing live, a variety of music covering classical, blues, country, swing and rock. 50s through to today’s chart, local news and events. Local people interviewed every day from the town and the surrounding areas. Away from the studio, our outside broadcasting vehicle was out and about in the community. Over 28 days, Eden FM radio transmitted over 660 hours of radio. Around 40 local people were interviewed during this period, many events in the area were promoted and many charitable events and activities were also supported. Local people, communicating with the community Eden FM radio continues to broadcast and stream live every day via www.edenfm.co.uk. It is preparing for another temporary licence in June and then in the second half of 2012, it will be in a position to apply for a full time community radio 5 year licence. If you have an interest in community radio, or you would like to know more, or you might want to be a volunteer at the radio, please drop us a line at admin@edenfm.co.uk. If you would like to sponsor or advertise on Eden FM Radio, please call 01768 899101 or email sales@edenfm.co.uk. Lee Quinn, Chairman Eden FM Radio Ltd
From a potential disaster to an outside broadcaster, the Eden FM radio OB vehicle complete with 9 metre hydraulic mast.
15 days before transmission vehicle arrived
Weekend before launch phone: 01768 899111
The day we switch on 87.7 FM
www.lakeslocal.co.uk
info@lakeslocal.co.uk
LakesLocal