Ever wondered what happened to TLR and Neptune local radio? Ever wondered what it would cost to run a local radio station? The answers to these questions were given by Matt Curtis M1CMN at a fascinating talk on Broadcasting Radio in Kent to the Hilderstone Amateur Radio Club on Thursday 23rd March at the Marlowe Academy.

The early trial local stations were taken over by Kent Messenger, which now runs the KMFM stations in Kent. Matt explained the huge changes happening to local radio. Using the latest software, a 4 hour programme can be recorded in 15 minutes and you would think it was live, because even the time checks can be automated. A skilled DJ like Matt can even do the recording at the same time as he is broadcasting live! The buzzword now is ‘networking’, which means the same music can be played across the county by different radio stations using one DJ but the adverts and news can be for the local area.

The Hilderstone Amateur Radio Club meets at the Marlowe Academy, which of course has its own community radio station, AcademyFM. Matt has been heavily involved with its sister station at the Folkestone Academy. Both studios have fantastic cutting edge technology and facilities. It was interesting to hear how the Folkestone station is quite different with greater student involvement, as can be seen by the number of young presenters on their website. The breakfast programme is strictly for the pupils and can best described as ‘alternative rock’! They also broadcast specialist music such as jazz and folk. Also the pupils can gain a qualification with a radio production course. The best thing about both stations is that there are no adverts.

How much does it cost? A licence would set you back £6k. You could always apply for a RSL, a restricted service licence, which would be only £4k and you could recoup that with advertising. This is exactly what Matt has done in Hythe for their Venetian fete in August. It was so successful with the whole town tuning in that the local businesses wanted him to keep it going for longer!

Being an amateur radio club there were several members ready to pick Matt up if he got his facts wrong! Nevertheless his talk was extremely well received and much appreciated by the members.

The club is helping the Marlowe Academy with its science fortnight in March by organising some fun learning activities on the topics of radio and electronics. At the next meeting on 8th March at 7pm the members will be constructing an electronic circuit to send morse signals, which is still a popular means of communication.

For further information on Hilderstone Radio Club visit http://www.marloweacademy.com/index.php/activities-and-groups/hilderstone-radio-and-electronics-club