Radio station studios and transmitters are only somewhat the same as they were when I was in the business. This hour-long video tour of WION, 1430 AM in Ionia, Michigan, scratches a major itch.
What’s missing? Russco Cue-Master turntables with Micro-Trak tonearms, fitted with Stanton 500 cartridges!
Back when I was sitting in the DJ chair at a commercial AM station, I’d sometimes switch my AKG K-140 headphones to monitor the on-air signal. With the transmitter tower in the field next to the station house, the sound was almost as good as monitoring directly from the control board. AM at its very best can be heard on WION’s online stream, which is sourced from their AM stereo broadcast signal.
This image, with Russco/Micro-Trak turntables, is from a PBS documentary that aired in November. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/taken-hostage/.
