Here’s a quick snapshot of evenings on the Eau Claire FM radio dial as it was in November, 1982. WIAL had just gone live as “I-94″, directly targeting WBIZ “Z-100.” WMEQ “Stereo Q-92″ was going strong in neighboring Menomonie. WUEC was training the next generation of broadcasters at UW Eau Claire, and WWIB was providing inspirational programming from nearby Ladysmith. And of course, WAXX was….WAXX! Same country powerhouse that it’s always been.
I recorded this from Apple Valley, MN. Approximately 20 miles south of Minneapolis. Equipment used was a Pioneer SX-3900 receiver, Winegard 10-element FM yagi antenna, Alliance antenna rotor, and Belden ultra low loss RG59 coaxial cable. The recording was made on a Technics stereo cassette deck with TDK SA90 tape. There is a bit of background noise, but not too bad considering I was about 100 miles distant from the transmitters. The fact that I was even able to hear WUEC at 740 watts is a testament to the signal-seeking power of this receiver and antenna combination. Also a bit of tape distortion since this is a second generation dub. The original Scotch Dynarange 90 minute cassette was destroyed long ago. Still, this recording has held up pretty well over 26 years.
Please let me know if you enjoy this and would like to hear more of these.
#1 by dave on October 23, 2009 - 12:42 am
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That was really neat. I was 14 at that time and living in the area. Brings back lots of memories. Radio was a lot of fun in those days!
#2 by Drew on October 23, 2009 - 8:29 am
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Hi Dave,
I was 18 and attending Brown Institute. This is why I recorded all the smaller stations. I figured that I’d be working for one of them after I graduated from Brown. Turns out, I ended up in Colorado. The great thing about radio in those days is that every market sounded unique. Nearly everything was live and local. Wasn’t WIAL automated easy listening shortly before this? Back then, automated stations would flip to live and local…not the other way around like today!