How to E-Mail an E-Note to E-Me....
MarkTime, 6/11/99
Get Your Red-Hot Chicago Market Airchecks Here!
Airchecks R Us
As always, though, I prefer to swap current airchecks. As such, these collection lists are meant only to supplement normal trading. In no way does this or any other collection list imply a desire only for old or otherwise previously-recorded or out-of-market airchecks. If I had a choice between receiving and choosing stations from an AM, FM and TV tape-able list or from an archive list, I will choose the station list at least 7 times out of ten, and always on the first few trades.
In any event, all I do is trade tapes...no recordings are sold here, even in those few instances where I have the rights to sell copies.
When making requests, PLEASE keep it simple! As explained below, each tape is assigned an index number. Please do give that, the side letter (if given, and you want only one side of the tape), and perhaps also the station call-sign involved...not necessary, but go ahead if you're worried about asking for or receiving the wrong tape. Anything else is just clutter.
For the "permanent" aircheck tape collection, the Tape Index numbers will appear on all three lists.
"Thanks" to space limitations on these "free" web-pages, all the info for each tape can not show up on every list. Much, though alas not all, of the infoit is on the main list, for now anyway. Also appearing on all 3 lists are:
TAKING SIDES
I should, by the way, remind one and all that custom-made "cherry-picked" tapes are not possible...please ask for no less than one side of a tape. As such, there is no need to mention those cut numbers you want!?
Also in this slot is noted any tape length besides the standard 45-minute side and 90-minute complete tape. Not that this is of any real importance, but some folks are very concerned for some reason, to the point where it even affects whether they will or will not request a tape?!?!?!?!?
Other information appears only on the main list:
TAPE SOURCE (when known) The vast majority of the tapes on this list were recorded by me personally. When the tape came from someone else's collection, however, it is only fair to mention the original source, when known, or at least as far back as can be determined. Only deliberate exception would be that the sources do not wish to be identified.
I especially want to make note of tapes that come from another person's personal collection, so you may have a chance at an earlier-generation dub direct from the source, and also because I find stocking of one's tape collection with dubs from other people then turning around and copying them for others as if they were their own tapes to be one of the lowest forms of radio geek-dumb. (And that's pretty darn low!)
Other information appears only on the By-State/Province list:
Some of the folks whose tapes are here include:
Also available, a list of stations I can tape from home or work, and of other Chicago-market stations. All things considered, I prefer receiving current airchecks, of stations I choose from your home market, over all else. Please send lists of stations you can get, on AM and on FM...no discrimination here! Please be sure to include stations between 88.1 and 91.9MHz, too often the best stations in too many markets these days.
I would actually prefer to trade airchecks...that is, stations I can record from the Chicago area in return for stations I want to hear (if any) from your home area. This should normally be so much easier than tracking down pre-recorded tapes, plus means much less wear and tear on the dubbing deck, but after all these years it still amazes me how many folks insist on only sending me "file" tapes from some other market even when there are several stations I want to hear from where they live? I do not wish to seem like I am encouraging such behavior, but to supplement my preferred trading, and because I do have the following tapes, I will use this valuable GeoCities space to share the airchecks with others.
Nearly-complete index lists for the MarkTime AudioZines can be found by pointing the little hand (or equivalent) rye cheer.
Digital boom-boxes are back, so hide the women, children and sheep! Alas, they all have CD players built in (like I need another one??) now. The Sony CFD-S33 also has a timer function...the instructions for the timer only cover the radio and CD player, but it also works for tape recordings if you first put in a tape, hit "record" and "pause", follow all the instructions for the radio timer, turn off the power then release "pause".
CONSUMER ALERTS! The current generation of Sony and TDK cassettes lack any screws! The cassette shell is glued together, just like all the cheapo tapes from the 1970s, bleah! I had a problem with one that required transplanting the tape inside into a new shell, so had to literally rip the thing open by hand! Also, the current Fuji tapes have a nasty habit of jamming at the point where someone stopped a tape then mailed it or otherwise jostled the thing severely. It is always a good idea to rewind a tape ALL the way to the beginning before mailing it anyway, but especially for Fujis...even with the FF/rewind method of removing any kinks, it will just stop a bit further up the line for some reason?? Oh yeah, also just noted certain TDK D's have also been arriving without screws! Noticed this when one arrived jammed...TIP: PLEASE rewind tapes before mailing them, or they will jam up in transit. Thanks!
For those who wanted them, I have recovered 2 1/2 of my KHIP "K-Hip" tapes from 1985, and a couple good KFAT tapes! That link, by the way, is to Felton Pruitt, one of my faves from KFAT and KHIP. Haven't heard his current show yet, but should try to get down to Farmer City some Saturday morning soon! Also found a " K-Fat" fan's tribute page the other day.
This page last touched 2/1/99, or later if I forgot to change the date, :).
This page has transformed into general-purpose radio! For the aircheck freaks, this here link tapes, uh takes, you to the "permanent" collection, ha.
Or, check out those weird Spoken Word cassettes, and more. I prefer to send and receive tapes recorded directly off the radio, so of course I feature my "tape-able" list here. Not only that, it has AM and FM in the correct order, and (shocker!) I did not leave out any stations that I was too lazy to mention. This may be a sacrilige to typical Radio Geek-dumb types out there, though I can not imagine why? Worse yet, I prefer to send and receive tapes specifically requested by the receiver...blasphemous, right? More than a few ass-wipes out there hate it that I prefer to get what I like, even when they insist on specific things in return!?! Go figure....
In the meantime, perhaps you would like to read a "little" article I wrote recently, the CHICAGOLAND RADIO CALL-SIGN HISTORY. It's so big, the article now appears in 4 parts:
The Introduction Page is a good place to start. This includes the bibliography, and hopefully eventually links to other radio-history fan-sites. (I think there's one at "Old Radio", but don't quote me on that!)
Part One, right here, includes call-signs from KFKX to WHFC (or so).
The second section, Nearer to Here, runs from WHFH (more or less) up to and including WNUR.
As if that wasn't enough, there is a Part Three, which takes care of the rest, that is WNUS through WZVN.
I update the articles about once a month, as call-signs change (12/98 has been a busy month, 4 call switches!) and new/old info surfaces. Any help you can give will be appreciated, thanks!
I'm a fan of a few radio personalities...some with web sites include:
Gary Burbank (kind of an old site...another place has slightly more recent fun from his most famous character, Earl Pitts.)
Art Bell has his moments, and just returned from some sort of "forced" absence (I smell publicity stunt!!), though I still get serious belly-aches chuckling over the Art Bell Parody Pages.
There are at least TWO fan sites devoted to radio humorist Jean Shepherd. Anybody have tapes of his old WOR show??
Wacky both as radio personality ("Chickenman" and "Tooth Fairy") and as radio advertising talent, it's Dick Orkin...whose work has been featured in several of my "MarkTime AudioZines".
"Benton Harbor!!!"
A favorite from my Bay Area days was Jeff McNeal. The station prominently featured on his site, KYUU, was pretty good too.
North of here, there is the mildly humorous Michael Feldman.
You know Harry Shearer's voices on The Simpsons, and his face from Spinal Tap, Saturday Night Live some years back, and the occasional guest TV or movie appearance (The Truman Show??).
It may not show on her web-site yet, nor on her ill-fated talk show a couple years back, but Stephanie Miller is extremely funny. Her evening talk show on KABC is a refreshing antidote to the Rushes and Dr. Lauras of the airwaves. If you can only spare 10 minutes, check out her "Stand-Up News" from about 7:08 to 7:18 (Pacific Time) on KABC in Los Angeles.
Last, but hardly least, I have to bring up Firesign Theatre. I've been a small-time fan of theirs for years, however I was TOTALLY unaware of their "Mark Time" character until 1997, or a mere 7 years after I changed the name of my old "ABC/xyz" zine to "MarkTime"!?! Stranger coincidences I've never encountered!
Cool tools for radio in general...type in city, or latitude/longitude, and the engineering eggheads at M.I.T. will find every US station within a radius of your choosing. Careful, though...it seems to go by the center of downtown of whatever city you pick. For me, using Mount Prospect is more accurate than my actual city-of-license. For more specific info, by single station, or by frequency, call-sign, etc., your tax dollars are at work at the Federal Communications Commission (aka FCC, "Uncle Charlie", or "Those @#$%^&* Eeee-diots!").
Distance-Reception fans ("DX") have some clubs (but their deck is otherwise short, ha)...AM-DXers congregate at the International Radio Club of America and/or the National Radio Club. Fans of unlicensed "pirate" stations will go for the "ACE" (Ass'n of Clandestine Enthusiasts?), not to mention my own article on the subject!
General purpose radio hobby sites worth noting include the above-mentioned Tim Noonan pages, and a fellow Wisconsinite handles the DX midAMerica menagerie, even if he's too anal to give my site a reciprocating link!?! Bits of Boston-area radio and tapes occasionally sneak into Bob Nelson's pages...eek-write him for its current whereabouts.
For Chicago radio fans, the Low End pages are worth a look, for some useful tidbits on many of the area school stations.
For LA radio fans, see my new station list!
We're Losing Count!
Long as there's some room, some otherness from the "Trading can be fun, or frustrating" files:
Please Identify the station recorded, using a label on the cassette when possible. I really only need the station call-sign and the date recorded. Useful, but not necessary, are the frequency, time, and city-of-license. Not necessary AT ALL are the market, any multi/non-License cities, names of DJs, finishing time, or any other clutter.
If you have any labeling preferences, please let me know in advance of the next tape. Also any wants or not-wants for the recording itself (for instance, I prefer to have the legal ID, no edits of any program unless necessary to make the recording in the first place, and I avoid "morning drive" except when I want the specific DJ). I prefer unscoped (no editing) tapes, but I see no problem sending you any 'scoped tapes you request...unless I do not have the tape in 'scoped form. Unsolicited tapes sent to me are not guaranteed a reply...if I like the tape, I will respond in kind. To get what you want from me, you must send what I want, not what you want to send ("trading" means trading, eh? Amazing how many are unclear on the concept!)
Videos Here!
(eventually)
"Annnnnd Now, The Rest...Of The Story"
The Formal Link-Poop List
List #1 - radio airchecks
List #2 - spoken word, comedy, Negativland/Over The Edge
List #3 - legal ID, ad and sfx compilations [eventually]
Real Life (the non-radio stuff) starts here
Public Transit Fandom
Chicagoland radio market and/or tapeable list (Now on Angelfire!)
Chicagoland radio history pages, by call-sign
baseball-park page
Food and travel action starts here
My zine fandom shows here
More tapes (at a future time)
Try your hand at your own web site!
