KNON had survived the FCC deadline and was allowed to keep its license. However the station's problems were far from over. Money was an immediate and continuing problem. In September of 1983, the station qualified for a bank loan of $15,000 that helped KNON stay in business while volunteers were recruited and equipment was being repaired. That was critical start-up money that allowed KNON to get on its feet. The antique equipment that had been cobbled together meant that we were only broadcasting at a few hundred watts instead of the licensed 9.6 kilowatts. The joke was our signal only reached a few blocks
from the transmitter. There were few volunteers so a search began to find reliable people who could do programs. The small staff consisted of Lou Sartor as station manager, Charlie "Sonny" Rawls as program director, Mac England as volunteer coordinator, and Tom Davis as community outreach director. The staff spent countless hours doing broadcast slots until a small cadre of on air volunteers could be built up. The mission statement of KNON was: To empower the low to moderate income community.
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The original broadcast booth was literally in an old closet on the second floor of 4415 San Jacinto. The broadcast board looked like something from a 1950s Russian submarine with huge black bakelite knobs used for volume control and large, loud switches used for pot controls. You had to lower the volume before flipping a switch, otherwise the "clunk" of the switch would go out on air. The control room included two old turntables, two cassette decks, and a rotary phone. The station frequently went off the air for hours or days at a time until various repairs could be made. The most serious downtime occured in December of 1983 when the station was down for almost 2 weeks as the engineer searched for replacement parts for our obsolete transmitter.
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1985 was a banner year for the station as our signal finally reached many more people. This led to recognition by press and listeners alike. KNON was named best radio station in Dallas by the readers of the Dallas Observer. Volunteer Phil York's program, The Texas Toast, was also recognized as the best radio show in Dallas. Volunteer Nancy "Shaggy" Moore was the subject of a cover feature article in statewide magazine Texas Monthly. Her life story was optioned as the subject of a possible movie project (which never happened). The Dallas
Times Herald featured the station in a multi page cover feature in the July 21 edition of their weekly magazine supplement. KNON issued its first regular newsletter, The KNON Scrapbook, in the fall of 1985. The Scrapbook lasted 4 issues before it was discontinued.
I found a cassette tape I made of the Lone Star Dead show I recorded in 1985 when I lived in Dallas. It's in pretty good condition, would there be any interest in it?
ReplyDeleteWow! Those were the good old days in San Jacinto. Working with Jeff, Mark and the Volunteers was a special part of my life as the PD. It never felt like work to me.
ReplyDeleteWow! Those were the good old days in San Jacinto. Working with Jeff, Mark and the Volunteers was a special part of my life as the PD. It never felt like work to me.
ReplyDeleteI owe an entire career to that clunky old board and the closet that it sat in. Many thanks to Brad & Marshall, Craig "Nightman" Taylor, Shaggy, and everyone else in the early 80s who breathed life in to that building.
ReplyDeleteI have Nightman, Billy King, MIke Quinn, and Shaggy's LOST HIGHWAY band on cassette. It's a hoot.
ReplyDeleteThanks and that i have a keen proposal: How Much Budget For House Renovation house renovation credit
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