Hutt Radio

Hutt Radio: Update on their broadcast schedule

Well its good to see Hutt Radio progressing so well since my last update in January.

The current lineup.

The BBC WORLD SERVICE is streamed whenever the programme is not “live and local”

Here’s the current schedule of local broadcasts:

Monday-to-Friday 10 am to noon: TEN TO TWELVE
Monday-to-Saturday 12 to 1 (or 2) pm: Kai Time/ music
Monday 7-to-9 pm: SOCCER + CRAIG & COMPANY
Wednesday 7-to-9: Wednesday Night Edition (live chat)
Wednesday 9-to-11 pm: JAZZ-Lite + BIG BANDS Doco
Thursday and Saturday 4-to-6 pm: Music & Local Info
Saturday 10-to-noon: TODAY In The HUTT REGION
Saturday 12-to-6 pm: Three Music-based Programmes

Sunday 11 am-to-5 pm: Music, Humour, Folk, Country
_____________________________________________

39 live hours per week. 15 studio personnel.
About 20 regular contributors per fortnight!

Hutt Radio and others

Its been a while since I updated on Hutt Radios progress. This project has developed over the last 4 months from their requests for announcers to their first public meeting and earlier developments .

But I am happy to release the latest news following their early hard work and funding issues:

Hutt Radio, the new community station now on 106.1 FM,
hopefully has most of the inevitable teething problems solved.
The Trustees are pleased to finally have BBC World on-air,
24 hours a day. Technically, this is the “test broadcast” phase.
It won’t be too long before some live local content is inserted
on a regular basis, in partnership with the BBC World Service.

Current coverage is the whole of the Hutt Valley from the
southern end of Upper Hutt, right down the valley to Petone.
Until the Trust can afford to site the transmitter on a hilltop,
some areas in the Western Hills will be unable to pick it up.

The transmission is from a NaeNae rooftop. FM radio is a
“line of sight” signal, so houses tucked behind a bit of hillside
won’t receive it. Nor will steel-reinforced concrete buildings.
Cars with Japanese radios will need to insert an expander.
Hutt Radio should eventually cover the entire Hutt Region.

via Hutt Radio

Congratulations all around to those involved as the continuing hard work is paying dividends. I look forward with interest to their continuing development in 2010.

Network radio is the current business model but I for one would like to see Hutt Radio succeed if only to provide a conduit for local voices, that seems to have been lost in the drive for commercial success.

As a sidebar the development of this community asset piqued my interest in the history around earlier radio broadcasting in the Hutt Valley (does anyone remember KIX FM?) but also similar activities already underway.

Several other broadcasters exist in this area that I have uncovered (albeit LPFM and/or internet based) which while limited in their range and coverage show the desire of others to express themselves via broadcasting. Whilst not all about community some show interest, and with the desire to broadcast on a network basis by the bigger radio stations the role of a community station servicing only the Hutt community is novel in todays world.

Visiting the NZ LPFM website provides insight into a list of 29 stations within Wellington of which 7 are in the Hutt region. Registration is voluntary and there could be more, but does show the diversity of people wishing to pursue their avenue of broadcasting, some with local content.

My chance to plug two that I have listened to (and know they are around) and like

The Cheese
Frequency:	88.4 FM
Broadcast Area:	Wellington, Wainuiomata
Description:	The Cheese is commencing broadcast shortly. Covering a base of music from the 80s, 90s and Today.
Contact:	Grant Thoms (Email: thecheese@paradise.net.nz)

Grant of the The Cheese is also on Twitter as http://twitter.com/zollymonsta

Upper Hutts River FM
Frequency:	88.1 FM
Broadcast Area:	Wellington, Upper Hutt
Description:	The station has been broadcasting since Feb 2009. It is a community station broadcasting community information and interviews as well as a wide range of music.
Phone:	0274367890
Website:	http://upperhuttsriverfm@gmail.com
Contact:	Craig (Email: upperhuttsriverfm@gmail.com)

These guys are also on YouTube

No doubt they have other social media addresses and I apologise if they are not your best avenues or are out of date.

Does anyone else have any favourites that are out there?

Hutt Radio: Update on developments

Following on from the earlier post on the inaugural public meeting of Hutt Radio, further details have emerged as to the current concept development for Hutt Radio. The latest from Eddie O’Strange one of the Trustees of Hutt Radio:

Our pathway to becoming a fully-fledged community station is now a bit different to how we planned and represented it.

In a nutshell, the new plan is this:

– we initially transmit from Naenae.
– we start off in a temporary studio.
– we broadcast BBC World interspersed with local live slots.
– we move into our complete studio site in two stages.
– the ultimate transmitter site is, as yet, unknown.

The reasons for the changes?

– we’ve gone past the on-air deadline imposed on us.
– the Kaukau transmission site is too costly at this time.
– the various Public Funding Agencies can’t help us yet.

Funding continues to be a real and pressing problem for Hutt Radio, and while sourcing initial funding from the inaugural public meeting, given the current economic climate prudence in development seems an appropriate step at this time.

If you are interested in being part of the project please contact Hutt Radio through

http://www.huttcity.com/huttradio/

or become a friend through

http://www.myspace.com/huttradio
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hutt-Radio-1061-fm/123613418758

Hutt Radio – Results from Inaugral meeting

The first public meeting of Hutt Radio was undertaken on Sunday at the Taita RSA.

The trustees spokeperson Eddie O’Strange undertook to explain to the crowd of about 40, the background, purpose , previous history of Hutt based radio stations and current funding concerns and conditions around the licence issued last year to the group. The meeting had several speakers including ex Lower Hutt Mayor JohnTerris.

The principal goal was to secure funding of $37,000 for the transmission chain. The outcome of that meeting was this announcement yesterday :-

A big thank you to all those who attended the meeting on Sunday.

But we’re about to take a significant step forward:
we now have a private sponsor for the purchase of the transmitter.
We still need a bit more funding to pay for all the technology
required for the complete chain from Naenae rooftop to Kaukau.
If you can pledge a donation (lump sum or drip-feed), contact me.
[Some public funding is also needed – to get everything into place.]

This a major step foward for the group sourcing funding to purchase equipment that will enable them to start broadcasting albeit BBC initially thus validating the minimal licence conditions. Further funding is required to expand coverage and content, but what with the positive attitude at the meeting, and more key people onboard, it would appear that a Hutt based community station has crossed their first hurdle