Countrymike's blog

Our 88.3 FM frequency which usually covers Palm Beach to Onetangi and probably a good part of Ostend is currently down. The power supply was found to be faulty and an extended family of ants had also taken residence in the transmitter box. We suspect that it was actually the former that is the real problem and the latter have been encouraged to find accomodation elsewhere. We hope to be up broadcasting again on 88.3 later this week. You can still stream us on the internet though! See more info here on how to stream and listen to our podcasts: http://waihekeradio.org.nz/listen

The Onetangi Beach Races started on Waiheke over 100 years ago.  In 1924 local authorities stopped the races because they decided the people of the time were gambling too much money! Revived in 1983 by Keith Haub, the owner of the then McGinty’s pub in Onetangi - named after his champion racehorse - it again became a huge event on the island. Today the races are organised by the Rotary Club of Waiheke and is a fundraising promotion for charity while providing a free, family, fun day for locals and visitors alike.

Waiheke Radio will be broadcasting live from Onetangi Beach this Sunday the 28th so if you can't make it down to the event listen in for all the action and interviews with locals on the beach. Or, if you are coming down stop by and have a chat with us.

Well the title pretty much says it all ... Rock on the Rock will be starting at a new time of 9pm on Fridays. You can either expect to hear Countrymike and Bede doing whatever it is they do (actually this Friday they're doing one entire rock record each - Countrymike is doing Husker Dü's Zen Arcade and Bede is doing whatever he wants); or Ady or perhaps Ben and Ben (those guys who also do the B-Squared Blues show). 35A's latin beats, etc is still on its just starting at 7 now and going to 9, and Stepping Out is still on as well .. its just from 4-6. So update your iCals, Google Cals, or whatever type of Cal takes your fancy or just take a look at the Schedule to find out whats going on on your favourite community radio station!

Oh, and Rock on the Rock would like to thank Malones Irish Pub & Restaurant for coming on as sponsors of the show. Nice one!

Waiheke Radio's very own Shirin Brown (formerly Vocal Local, currently Island Life) will be screening her latest cinematic excursion Plan B at the Waiheke Community Cinema on Monday the 25th. Plan B follows the trials and tribulations of working mother Katrina as she tries to get her children to school and herself to work on time. Plan B will be followed by local resident Matias Pinochet's movie Rollin' Guadalupe. You can watch the trailer for Plan B here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBXixpZfgHE

The American, Local Community Radio Act of 2009, is due for a floor vote in the House of Representatives tomorrow. The bill would pave the way for the creation of thousands more Low Power FM (LPFM) radio stations in the US operating in the up-to 100 Watt range.  The American campaign for this bill has been backed by a large efforts from musicians — established and developing artists alike — who have talked publicly and passionately about the importance of quality local radio to musicians and fans, and supported by many organizations like The Future of Music Coalition.

In NZ our LPFM has a power limit of a measly .5 Watts and is only available in a very small part of the spectrum. There has been some talk recently of reducing the amount of spectrum available for LPFM but possibly opening up some spectrum in the the 50 watt range for non-commercial purposes. While this does not go as far as many of us would like, the potential for a 50 watt transmission is appealing given the almost impossible task of creating a viable station on .5 watts given much of the terrain of NZ. But it would be sad to see this made only available at the sake of part of the existing spectrum available for LPFM. Given that previous administrations took much of their cue from US success with LPFM we can only hope that they're still watching. With increasing problems being faced by the Public Service Broadcasting sector in NZ it might be about time that a substantial review of community broadcasting be undertaken by the Ministry of Economic Development. Such a review of this sector is sadly lacking and policy around funding is reliant on descriptions that are now over 20 years old and hardly seem to reflect the diversity and success of the sector in NZ.