Recently saw one of these transmitters on ebay https://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/334088758981 and remembered that I had done some research on it a few years ago.. "DGX 1050 is a low-power, user-friendly, FM transmiffer"
Now generally when Im digging up part 15 history, and come across part FM transmitters, I might make note of them, but it doesnt go any farther than that. But in this case, I dug a little deeper, not because they manufactured over 7,000 units here in the US, and not because it was a successful franchise, it was all because of long-running story about one particular guy who used one of these transmitters, and I think still does...
The company was/is "Drive By Broadcasting, USA", which formed in 1994. Originally you could purchase single transmitters outright for $500 each, but then their marketing plan changed and they began a franchise where for a $2,000 to $10,000 investment dealerships could be established and the dealers clients simply leased the transmitters for $75-$100 a week from them. Well the franchise was successful. Banks, whole branches of them had them installed for their drive-thru. Later, in Canada, 20th Century Fox were using them transmitters in conjunction with the digital billboards to broadcast audio of movie previews. Also in Canda, the Government of Alberta Highway Advisory Radio System Test Project of April 6 1999 involved use of these transmitters. Oh and yes i course Reators and drive thru restraunts were clients, as wellbas department stores using them for Muzak. It was big business.
All this was taking place during the same era as the talking house craze. There were fm talking houses too, there were even some in national parks, but the AM transmitters is what really dominated both the park and realtor scenes.. I'm not sure why. Anyway, it's an interesting story, but let me get to the story of this particular guy who bought one...
Montclair New Jersey, 1999, George Louvis installs ine of these transmitter in the office upstairs of his family’s restaurant and ran ads for the local businesses to the surrounding area (The xmtr boasted a 300-yard radius by the way). When the holiday season began he connected a five-disc CD player and broadcast a mix of carols and holiday radio plays from the 1930s and ‘40s. A lot of locals kept telling him how much they enjoyed listening, so soon he expanded the stations reach by leased copper wire from the phone company to feed to other transmitters, one on the roof of Town Hall, around the town and at friends’ homes. He called his new station "Village Radio Montclair", or "WVRM". After Christmas passed, the station switched to mostly classic rock, but included local news, announcdments, interviews with residents, a sports talk-show (Sports Yak) and a variety of other content. Some local shop took it upon themselves to design and produce t-shirts with the station logo which you can see people in the area wearing to this day.
Then a few months later he ceased his over-the-air broadcast and changed WVRM to an online only station. But that grew to become a problem, as George explains;
[i][b]“It was like $3,000 per month to have a stream that could handle 10 listeners. I saw it as the future and I wanted to be a part of it. But I was too far ahead of that wave and it crashed on me,” Louvis said. “I couldn’t sell enough ads to recoup the cost.”[/i][/b]
So he discontinued his online station but did not revive the AM broadcast.. at least not yet. His transmitter satin the closet unused for the next 7 years..
Its a little unclear exactly how and what happened next, but evidently his transmitter found it's way out of storage one day in 2007 when a friend came to visit. One thing led to another and George loaned the transmitter to his friend for whatever the reason and a week or two later his friend returned it. George plugged it in, made sure it was still functional and noticed that a song had been recorded into the flash memory (it was 60 seconds of the 1994 Boys2Men “I’ll Make Love to You.”) he thought nothing of it and turned the transmitter power back off.
Then fate steps in...
(Oh my god, I'm getting tired, I hope this isn't boring, didn't think it go on this long, but bear with me, it's almost over)
On second thought, I dont feel like it right now. I'll finish it tomorrow. You might have already caught where this is going, as the story has been floating around 20 years now and recently made the news again.
Jump in if you know. I'm tired.
Ok... ok, well that was a long rambling worse than I thought, guess I should have not tried to not rush so hard. But let's finish the story...
So we left off when George Louvis friend had returned the loaned DGX 1050 transmitter back to George. George then plugged it in and powered it on to make sure it was still working properly and noticed that it now had 60 seconds of the Boys2Men song “I’ll Make Love to You.” recorded in the transmitters flash memory. Seemed a little odd, but no big deal, he thought nothing of it and turned the transmitter back off. But he didn't put it back in the closet, he just left it there sitting, power off, but still plugged in the wall.
George thought no more about it. Time passed..
Well, the DGX transmitter has this special feature in case of a power failure. When the power returns the transmitter will automatically boot up go straight into broadcast mode. So, one day there was a power outage in the area and when power came back on the transmitter booted up and began broadcasting that 60 seconds of "I'll make love to you.. over.. and over.. and over.. 24 hour a day... day after day..
George had no idea about what had occurred or how long it had been going on until people began talking about it. By now, the unintended broadcast had actually gained a kind of local cult following, so initially he just left it on, but eventually he decided enough was enough and shut the 60 second loop broadcast off. Much to his surprise people in the area began telling him how disappointed they were that they couldnt tune it in anymore and that he should turn it back on! They wanted that perpetual 60 second loop back on air. So George, a little bewildered, turned the transmitter back on, and the Boys 2 Men song clip resumed and continued non stop for about 15 years now.
"....Though Louvis has attempted to shut down the transmitter a couple of times over the years, loyal listeners have convinced him to keep the station running. “The mystery of it has been so amusing to people,” Louvis said “I feel obligated to let it play until the machine dies.”..."
"..IF YOU HAPPEN to be on Valley Road between Bellevue and Lorraine Avenues in Montclair anytime soon, be sure your car radio is tuned to 91.9 FM. As if by magic, the same song will mysteriously start playing, as it has every day for 13 years..."
Sometimes I can tell a story right. This wasn't one of those times.
There have been numerous articles publish in about this in the last two decades, and recently the story has been making a reprise. Here's a 2024 article, which also provides a video of George talking about it. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/essex/montclair/2024/06/20/tiny-montclair-radio-station-plays-one-song-over-and-over/74124151007/
Not a bad idea having one song repeating over and over again.
That is really true, the 60 seconds of the song repeated for years?!
I think I can set this up with Zara to repeat one song over and over. May try sometime. But for a day not years.
Wonder what song to do it with.
I'd choose The Galaxy Song by Monty Python.
Postscript: Always Look at the Bright Side of Life, also by Monty Python would also be a good choice.
I think it's a great story, but rendition of it sucked, so I copied my story from above and pasted into ChatGPT and asked if it could rewrite it into a more entertaining form. It did vastly improve it it. Its response is below... You ain't got to read it, but it's better than what I wrote above.
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ChatGPT: Here’s a more entertaining rewrite of your short story, adding flair and narrative elements to engage the reader:
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It all started with a casual scroll through eBay, where I stumbled upon some intriguing transmitters. One in particular caught my eye: the "DGX 1050," a low-power, user-friendly FM transmitter. It reminded me of a deep dive I’d done years ago into Part 15 history—an exploration that usually led me to jot down notes and move on. But this time, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to dig deeper, not for the fact that over 7,000 of these units had been made in the U.S. or that they had a successful franchise. No, it was all about a quirky story surrounding one particular user—a tale that still unfolds.
The story begins with "Drive By Broadcasting, USA," a company that emerged in 1994. Initially, they sold individual transmitters for $500 each, but soon pivoted to a franchise model. Aspiring entrepreneurs could invest between $2,000 and $10,000 to establish dealerships, leasing transmitters to clients for a weekly fee of $75-$100. This venture quickly flourished. Banks outfitted their drive-thrus with these transmitters, while in Canada, 20th Century Fox creatively employed them alongside digital billboards to stream movie previews. The Government of Alberta even ran a test project featuring these devices in 1999. Restaurants, realtors, and department stores jumped on the bandwagon, using the transmitters to play background music. It was booming business!
This all unfolded during the heyday of the “talking house” craze. While FM talking houses existed, AM transmitters were the real stars of both parks and real estate. The reason behind this phenomenon remains a mystery. But enough about the transmitters; let’s focus on one memorable character who embraced this technology.
Fast forward to Montclair, New Jersey, in 1999. George Louvis, owner of a family restaurant, decided to install one of these transmitters in his upstairs office. With a broadcasting range of about 300 yards, he began airing ads for local businesses. As the holiday season approached, George connected a five-disc CD player and curated a delightful mix of Christmas carols and classic radio plays from the 1930s and ‘40s. The locals loved it! Encouraged by their enthusiasm, George expanded his reach by leasing copper wire from the phone company, linking transmitters at various spots around town, including the roof of Town Hall and his friends’ homes. He proudly named his station "Village Radio Montclair," or "WVRM."
After the holiday rush, George switched the station's format to classic rock while continuing to provide local news, announcements, and even interviews with residents. He launched a sports talk show called "Sports Yak" and featured a variety of other content. Local shops even began designing and selling T-shirts emblazoned with the station's logo, which you can still see around town today.
However, just a few months later, George made the decision to discontinue his over-the-air broadcasts, transforming WVRM into an online-only station. This turned out to be a costly venture. As George lamented:
"It was around $3,000 a month to maintain a stream that could only handle ten listeners. I thought I was ahead of the curve, but I was just too early, and the wave crashed on me. I couldn’t sell enough ads to make it work."
Thus, the AM broadcasts were put on indefinite hold, with the transmitter sitting unused in a closet for seven long years.
Now, the plot thickens. In 2007, during a visit from a friend, that dormant transmitter emerged from its slumber. George lent it to his friend for reasons lost to time. When it was returned, he plugged it back in and noticed something odd: a 60-second clip of Boyz II Men's “I’ll Make Love to You” had been recorded in its flash memory. Finding this strange, George shrugged it off and turned the transmitter off.
But fate had other plans. The DGX transmitter has a special feature that kicks in during power outages—it automatically boots up and goes straight into broadcast mode when power returns. One fateful day, after a power outage, the transmitter flickered back to life, blasting that 60-second clip of "I’ll Make Love to You" on repeat—24/7.
Oblivious to the chaos unfolding in his absence, George soon began hearing whispers around town. The unintended broadcast had developed a local cult following! Initially, he left the transmitter on, but when he finally decided to stop the loop, the response was overwhelming. Locals expressed their disappointment and urged him to turn it back on. Bewildered but amused, George complied, and the clip resumed its endless play, continuing for nearly 15 years.
As the years rolled by, George attempted to shut down the transmitter a few times, only to be met with staunch resistance from loyal listeners who adored the ongoing mystery. “The mystery of it has been so amusing to people,” George remarked. “I feel obligated to let it play until the machine dies.”
So, if you ever find yourself cruising down Valley Road between Bellevue and Lorraine Avenues in Montclair, tune your car radio to 91.9 FM. With a touch of magic, that same catchy tune will start playing—just as it has every day for over a decade.
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Let me know if you'd like any further adjustments or additions!
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So what do you think?
@ Rich Powers Wow! That is an impressive re-write!
Say, maybe we should use that to upgrade the introductory words here on the website?
- Carl said Say, maybe we should use that to upgrade the introductory words here on the website?
I was actually toying with that. For example, I asked ChatGPT to "Provide a detailed summary of the discussion at https://www.part15.org/community/general-discussion/establishing-part-15-neighborhoods/ Include the names OP f tthee participants onn the discussion.
The reply:
The discussion on the Part 15 forum, started by Carl Blare, revolves around the idea of creating "Part 15 Neighborhoods" where multiple low-power radio stations could coexist without interference. Carl, along with contributors Mark, Roy, ArtisanRadio, and Centinel, explores the challenges and benefits of such a setup. Key issues include limited space on the FM band and potential interference, making AM broadcasting a more feasible option. Participants shared their personal experiences with running low-power stations in different regions.
For more details, visit: Part 15 Forum
Last night I went to several threads here getting them summarized like that, but I forgot to save the results. But you get the idea. Pretty cool.
Oh, weird thing though, it only works here.. I mean ChatGPT is only successful in summarizing a webpage via a link from here.. it does not work with mbcf.boards.net,.hfunderground.com, antiqueradios.com, or a hobbybroadcaster.net. -- ChatGPT was unable to crawl any of those pages via a link.
But it has no problem scanning here, what d OP think that's about?
Concerning my comment above about it only working here.. that's incorrect, what had happened is my daily time limit with the Pro-version ran out and it had switched to the free-version engine when I tried to summarize threads elsewhere