[NFCB] LPB Blue 5C Console Repair

[al davis]

On Thursday 15 May 2008, Read, Aaron wrote:
> The piper always gets paid, Al...if a station can't afford a
> $1500 console, what makes you think it can afford the parts
> and engineering time it will take to rehab an old one?

Been there, done that.  More than once.  Both in situations 
where money was a real problem, and in situations where there 
was plenty of money and rehabing an old one was a way to get a 
classic that was not available any other way, rehabbing a 
$100000 API console.

If you can afford only a $1500 console, the rehab approach might 
make sense because you might be able to get what would be a 
$10000 console nearly free or for the same money you would 
spend on something inadequate.


> I mean, sure, if you happen to have a competent engineer
> willing to do the work for free, that certainly changes the
> situation.  But that also raises its own set of issues, too.

or even an incompetent engineer.

Small radio stations need to learn to handle their own repairs.  
The tech people are as much a part of the station as the 
programming people.  If you have a predominately volunteer 
operation, you should be able to have predominantly volunteer 
tech help too.  If you can't, you are doing something wrong.  
If you can and don't, you might be alienating a part of your 
community that wants to help.

The "competent engineer" doesn't need to do all the work, only a 
start and to direct volunteers in what to do.  Much of rehabing 
an old console is repetitive, almost like a production line.


For anyone who doesn't believe me, who has an old broken console 
that you think is not worth fixing ...  Can you send it to us?  
We need it.