Early Forerunners to the Network
From Pete Snyder -Ubon 66-67
"Sorry to say I've no pix of the old Ubon radio station, which was a joint
effort between USAF and RAAF personnel in the early to mid 60's, before AFRTS
got involved in Thailand.
The "station" consisted of two small rooms in the base library. The equipment
was borrowed from all over, and the effective range (with a horizontal ant.) was
about a mile. Programming consisted of records and tapes...the tapes being
demos or air checks of radio stations in Australia and the US, requested by us
or base members, complete with commercials for a real homey touch.
I can remember seeing a newby in the chow hall playing with a small transister
radio, and being shocked to hear WARM in Scranton coming over the airwaves.
Nobody at our table had the heart to tell him otherwise.
It was fun..took the pressure off being there, but required a great deal of
skill and diplomacy. I mean, we were not really "there", so we couldn't
identify ourselves. The base became the "campus", and instead of call letters
we just used our first name, followed by "Your Music Hobby Shop".
It also got me hooked on radio, and I spent 6 yrs in commercial booths in PA and
NY before returning to the AF. Much later, I and some other wacko's from the PA
field (I held both a supply and a PA AFSC) started an radio improv group up at
McChord, taping dummy programmes for the unit members heading out to the Gulf.
We'd make about 40 cys a month and ship them all over.....totally incorrect and
full of satire and music....and calls from the IG to make sure no gov't funds
were involved "
Pete Snyder
(SMSgt USAF Ret)
Ubon 66-67
TLC Brotherhood
There's more: --> Mike Kitchen recalls the early days of AFRS radio at NKP, before AFTN.