I’m sorry to report that I just discovered Lefty Gomez of KLNJ Radio has pulled the plug.
I’m sorry to report that I just discovered Lefty Gomez of KLNJ Radio has pulled the plug.
Lefty was previously an Air Personallity at an AM in California. When the station owner decided to change programming and generally degrade the quality of the operation, Lefty decided to go it on his own.
He started KLNJ-DB, an internet radio station. He had a show on the commercial station known as Lefty After Dark which had a good following and he continued that show on his KLNJ-DB. After running that for a while he decided to get into Part 15 AM. That’s when he contacted me for some information. You may have noticed some of his posts on Part15.us from which he found me.
We collaborated for a short time as he asked if I would like to carry his After Dark show on my station which I did.
His internet stream went down two weeks ago and when I inquired he reported that a utility pole had been hit taking out his DSL and phone service. I continued to run After Dark from my archives and after a week, I inquired as to how it was coming.
There was no reply. Today, a week later, I checked the KLNJ-DB website to find a notice the station was no more. He states he is pulling out of Radio altogether and moving on to other endeavors.
I wish him well and hope he finds what he’s looking for.
Highest Respect
Sad story, but also understandable. Lefty is obviously a serious person who wants to find a professional platform for his broadcast talent, and doing so with part 15 would require more than luck, talent or hard work.
Maybe his shows can go into a public domain archive, now you have got us curious about them.
“Other endeavors” is a wide and deep ocean of possibilities.
If there is more to the story later on let us know.
Good Luck Lefty!!!
really… i always wanted to hear him on the air…. damn… hey bob let me know on part15.us when you have the archive up and going, and to Lefty Gomez… i wish i could heard you on the air but that’s okay its very understandable because i went through something similar and i felt like i couldn’t anything on the radio and temporarily went off the air the first week of January but i wish you the very best and god bless you and may fate find what your looking for and good luck to ya!
Bentley
Lefty Not Quite LIve…
I have been running the archive since Lefty first lost his DSL.
Prior to that, he went full automated due to a loss in the family and never quite got back on live.
I have about a dozen shows but only about half of those were actually live shows. When the live shows dropped and he went full auto, I edited the two hour shows by dropping in his voiceovers from previous shows to give it a live feel.
You can hear the shows at MRAM 1500 WINAMP or for Windows Media player go to mms://mram.gotdns.com:8090
The show runs 8am to 10am EST and 12am to 2am EST.
He had some nice gear. Maybe it’ll turn up on Ebay.
Crossed The Mind
I have even considered shutting stuff down and doing other things. Sometimes it seems that it would be the best thing to do considering how bad things are in the economic wheels.
The love for radio will never go away as far as I am concerned. But there are days when I sit here wondering WTH I am doing spending all this investment and time for a mere 250uV at 3m and 219 100mW 3m stick.
It is the CC system that really keeps me going as it covers a massive area. The FM is just tagging along for the ride and to simply say there is an FM in the mix.
The streaming end of things…dime a dozen..or more like dime a gazillion. That end of it is also a “WTH” question. And I certainly do not intend to turn this thing into a “clone” just to do the same things, carry the same shows or music like a gazillion others do.
There will come a day when I pull the plug on everything..no question about that. It is not a matter of if..but when.
The when could be sooner than even I expect. Just depends on how things develop and churn out as I go along with it. But there are a couple of things in the works/planning stages that just might bring an entirely new light into my station operations..as well as bring a new doorway to indie artists in the western hemisphere while working with a major indie promotions and management outfit based in the eastern hemisphere.
Big bucks? Who knows. Big deal? Probably. Probably not. But at this point…is about the only real thing that might keep that “pull the plug” day from happening.
RFB
Sometimes I feel the same
Sometimes I feel the same way.
There’s a lot of cost associated with running an unlicensed station. There’s the cost of computers, audio equipment, transmitters, etc. One time, admittedly. Then there are the ongoing costs of Internet – I run my own server, so I need some form of Business Internet and lots of bandwidth. Then there are the copyright costs, news costs, etc.
But then I get an idea to try out something, and cost seems somehow less important. I’m currently experimenting with covering Pitt Meadows, BC (where I now live) with a hotspot that will allow reception of the radio station – using Trango equipment. It should be able to support many more users than my Internet stream (and have a far greater range than my FM transmission). I host an 80s hour Friday evening (New Wave music) that has gotten me interested in that era once again. And so on it goes.
I imagine if I was really strapped I would stop. But as long as I’m using my brain and learning things, and can afford it, then I’ll continue. And we do have quite a few worldwide listeners that I wouldn’t want to disappoint.
Ditto
“I imagine if I was really strapped I would stop. But as long as I’m using my brain and learning things, and can afford it, then I’ll continue. And we do have quite a few worldwide listeners that I wouldn’t want to disappoint.”
Taking casual surveys by simply asking folks here and there, my station does have a more local listener base than on the web, except on Friday’s..for some reason Fridays are our best web listener count.
It’s sort of a commitment, sort of not. But even if there were just a few listeners, web or local..I would still want to provide them with good radio programs they won’t find anywhere else from the other local stations.
It’s a rough ride for sure with the current economic situations everywhere. Hopefully the choice to shut down will not have to be one that is from a “have no choice” prospective.
RFB
Thank you all for caring and
Thank you all for caring and I truly mean that .
I am working to bring the station back with a new name and with a better signal and better content.
I am also going to bring KLNJ back online soon along with the AM Station.
The New Station will be called ” Banana Belt Radio ”
Santa Cruz’s Home Station with a soul.