It’s what you claim to like
But shy and silent students – no!
Best step up to the mic!
Let’s cut to the chase on the microphones (which hipster DJ-types in the know refer to as “mics”). There were three types that Dr. Propel made a big deal about early on: moving coil, ribbon, and condenser. This generally confused those who thought there was one type of mic: the hand-held.
- In moving coil mics, electricity is formed by moving a conductor through a magnetic field. A thin diaphragm vibrates in response to sound energy. An electrical current is created with a pattern corresponding to the pattern of the original sound.
- Ribbon mics have a thin metal ribbon suspended between the poles of a magnet. Sound energy causes vibrations of the ribbon that move through a magnetic field to produce an electrical current.
- Condenser mics use an electrical element called a capacitor which stores a charge. The charge is applied to the back plate of the condenser. Movement of diaphragm varies the electrical pattern on the back plate. These mics used a battery-operated power source to create the charge on the back plate.
Let’s see...there was this kid named Stephen Cornell my freshman year. We were both in Propel’s class – and may have been in the same Friday lab section – and he had also signed up for news. While I was on in the morning, Stephen somehow got one of the top notch afternoon “drive time” newscasts that I thought were more for students with seniority. I got the impression he thought he knew more than he really did – he may have been the one who bragged his high school had a radio station, which someone said was probably nothing more than reading off “morning announcements” a couple days a week.
I also got the impression he wasn’t as high-and-mighty as he made himself out to be: during the second or third week of my newscasts I had a visit from Troy Meadows, the news director. He was making the rounds to check in on his staff and, after giving me some pointers on the broadcast, mentioned he was glad I wasn’t one of those who had to have a reader – especially pulling a 7 o’clock shift. I was unclear on the term “reader.” Turns out there were a few freshmen that got in a little over their heads and were so nervous that they froze when it came time to read their copy [news script]. It was revealed that Troy had actually done over half of the newscasts that first week. I can understand the students being timid: this was going to be their first time speaking on the radio. No hour-long lab practicum in front of the equipment can set you up for the realization that your voice is being beamed across the city, county, and beyond (well, not that far beyond – our tower’s radiated power wasn’t that effective...).
Most people that I knew that stressed out about speaking into a microphone had their issues early on; after a few weeks this panicky mentality was gone (“weeks” sounds excessive but bear in mind most of us had weekly music shifts).
Granted I didn’t say they got better with age.
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Station Question Box
Topic: Equipment, usage of
Question: Should I talk into the microphone when I’m on the air?
Answer: Radio is one of the most amazing and creative broadcast mediums in that it requires no audio to operate. This station tries not to break the “Dead Air” law of the FCC which states that “radio stations that broadcast dead-air are providing a community service.”
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Microphone Check
(Hollow Tip)
Hollow Tip
From the album Flawless
1998