Caroline 819 programmes from 1989

I enjoyed Caroline 819 the overnight alternative as it was called, I found it much more enjoyable during june/july/august 1989 than 558 which had begun to sound a bit sterile in my opinion, plus the signal on Caroline 558 was not good at night in the car, and I only lived about 30 miles from the ship.

I hoped the masts would have soon been finished (would this still have happened if the raid hadn't taken place?) and I actually thought when I tuned in on Saturday 19th August 1989 that they were going off air to do some more work, but sadly not the case.

I used to try listening to Radio Fax but the signal on my radio was normally swamped by WMR on 6215.

The new aft mast was finished after the raid. The new front mast can be seen on the raid pictures standing in front of the old front mast (the pipe). The (not very) new (anymore) masts are still on the ship today. So they got things together after the raid. Including two radio valves after some time to put out 7.5 kW.

But the antenna masts were never completed, there were still several sections still to be added both front and rear to make the new antenna which was to carry an increased signal on 558/819. Infact if you look at the current set up you can still see the angle iron support used to hoist the sections attached to the back mast, and 2 sets of cross trees on the front mast, the first set were deemed too flimsy, which probally delayed things a bit more.

last time I saw the ship they looked in a bad way with several rusty,missing and very loose stays, when I mentioned it to the crew no one seemed interested.

Hi Andy Burnham. Very much thanks from me to you for all this programmes of you. I already have also made an item about this in the Dutch google group nl.media.radio.zeezenders so that also all the interested Dutch listeners can (re)listen to this programmes. Greetings of Nico from Gouda, the Netherlands.

You're very welcome. If you listen to the end of some of them there are a few minutes of the Dutch 819 programmes. What has been said about the mast building over the summer of 1989 is correct. Part of the time I was there the transmitters were being turned off at 1pm for work on the front mast, adding the top sections to the height it is now.

I was too scaredy to climb the mast, although in my defence I had been up all night doing God tapes + 819 prog 12-4am + breakfast news + 558 prog 9am-1pm, and by the time all that was over I was ready for bed! Andy

Hi Andy. Very much thanks from me for your answer! Nico.

Hi Andy. Have you also downloads of the Radio Caroline top-500 of December 2005? Greetings of Nico from Gouda, the Netherlands.

No I don't. I would be interested in these too if anyone else has
Andy

Actually I think he was in the 558 studio, it was taken after the raid, when Caroline 558 returned they used the old dutch studio area for some reason.

Perhaps it was the nice sound proofing or maybe just less damage to repair.

over the past few weeks I have been downloading and listening to several shows both from Caroline 558 and 819, I had forgotten just how good the station actually sounded.

BTW has anyone got any recordings made during the october hurricane in 1987, I have airchecks but would like to hear the whole show again, you could actually hear the wind howling everytime the mic was opened.

Quoting a previous RF Burns contribution:-

BTW has anyone got any recordings made during the october hurricane in
1987, I have airchecks but would like to hear the whole show again, you
could actually hear the wind howling everytime the mic was opened.

Maybe the squatters will be able to do impressions of the great storm day during next week's bad weather.

--
* Christopher England just said that *

They should be able to they are full of hot air after all!

Actually I think he was in the 558 studio, it was taken after the raid, when Caroline 558 returned they used the old dutch studio area for some reason.

Perhaps it was the nice sound proofing or maybe just less damage to repair.

over the past few weeks I have been downloading and listening to several shows both from Caroline 558 and 819, I had forgotten just how good the station actually sounded.

BTW has anyone got any recordings made during the october hurricane in 1987, I have airchecks but would like to hear the whole show again, you could actually hear the wind howling everytime the mic was opened.

I don't know how that equipment shown survived the raid, it was all quite portable so perhaps they hid it? The 'Dutch' studio was better all round, but the 558 had the 'heritage' equipment which was classic in its own way but rather unwieldy. That Gates mixer reminded me of driving a train, steam radio eh?
http://www.offshore-radio.de/images/pdh55.jpg

over the past few weeks I have been downloading and listening to
several shows both from Caroline 558 and 819, I had forgotten just how
good the station actually sounded.

Rob Harrison had taken the helm of 558, a lot of the musical pap had been ditched, and singles from the Pixies, Cult and a couple from up and coming bands that I hadn't heard of slipped into the contemporary playlists*. I was 'down with the kids' in student radio at the time and this was good stuff as far as I was concerned.

The new/old mix always worked for me. I don't think Chris' 'down with the kids' music would be mix-able with 60s music in the same way (and I don't think anyone would be mad enough to try) but 60s/70s/80s worked and still does today, albeit now as an oldies format. I suppose an 80s/90s/00s format might work today in the same way.

(*I wondered at the time how some of these records came to be in the current singles playlist as I've never heard them played before or since but they were quite OK. I tracked some of these singles down in the bargain bins afterwards for fun, one being Seven Ways to Kill a Love by The Power of Dreams)

Andy

It did not survive the raid. Equipment was brought out to the ship afterwards. Both the main studios and the studio(s) at the stern were almost completely stripped, I think only the clocks remained. I don't know why the ex-Dutch studio room (not studio, only the interior remained) was used and not the ex-558 studio room. The Classic versus modern look I think refers to the present situation, were the ex-558 studio is rebuild with original equipment after it was given back to the organization. The port studio contains the original Dutch mixer with PC's and the like to do live broadcasts. Most of the original god and overdrive studio's is also as it was in 1989.

The hidden equipment consisted mainly of transmitter parts, as the raiders went away for lunch and left no guards. This enabled the rebuild of one working transmitter.

I didn't think so. It does look a lot like I remember. Must be my memory going.
Perhaps I was remembering what I saw in that photo a few years ago on the web!
Thanks.

Quoting a previous Andy Burnham contribution:-

(*I wondered at the time how some of these records came to be in the
current singles playlist as I've never heard them played before or since

Cash? :-)

Well I was going to suggest that but don't like making allegations without any evidence. Do you or anyone have any inkling that this was going on at the time?

Quoting a previous Andy Burnham contribution:-

Do you or anyone have any inkling that this was
going on at the time?

Of course it was. That's why there was always crap in the high rotation box!
--
* Christopher England just said that *

I thought Nigel Harris became programme controller or was that later on.

One of things I didn't like about the 558 format, I read somewhere they wern't allowed to back announce songs, which shows on some of the recordings I downloaded. Presentation style before the raid sound very tight compared to earlier on in the year. I suppose the changes were made in preparation for the power increase which would have returned Caroline 558 to the position it was in in 1986/7