NJ 101.5 phones go down. It’s time for ‘Operation Pink Cord’

After many months of dealing with the phone lines disconnecting at the station and Producer Kristen and Board Operator Kathy having to crawl under the broadcast table to literally unplug and replug in the system to reset, a solution has been found.

Now the new system doesn't replace the tried and tested method of spraying fabric softener in the studio when it's dry and staticky, but baby steps.

Instead of crawling around on a floor that looks like it was installed in 1987 and risking the ever-present danger of a head bump, as far as the static situation, worse in the winter of course, we were able to obtain an internal memo from an anonymous source:

There is a spray bottle of fabric softener to spray the carpets when it is dry in the studio. Hopefully this will help reduce the number of times the module freezes. - Internal NJ 101.5 memo.

The good news is that the operation itself is very simple. I go to the phone, and the system freezes, board op Kathy simply presses "B" to reset and then "A" to get the system going again.

So far so good.

We had a phone "situation" at 6:42 a.m. on Wednesday and the system was back online by 6:44 a.m.

Well played, New Jersey 101.5 engineering! I'm thinking of a "Batman" style light for the studio so that I can shine a pink "distress" call into the producer booth to alert the team. Still working on that.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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