| MY PIRATE DAYS GOES BACK TO THE EARLY 80'S..... BACK IN NEW JERSEY THE TRANSMITTER WAS A OLD "GATES' DRIVE IN UNIT THAT THE RHINESMITH BROTHERS SNAGED OUT OF THE OLD LEDGEWOOD DRIVE IN WHEN THEY WERE TEARING IT DOWN. THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS,BUT DON BEHAI AND MYSELF FIGURED IT OUT PRETTY QUICK... IT WAS A TUBE UNIT,CRYSTAL CONTROLLED SET AT 88.5 MHZ WITH THE ROCK THAT WAS IN IT THIS THING WAS PUMPED IN TO A PIECE OF LEAKY COAX FOR A ANTENNA SYSTEM AND THAT WAS THE AUDIO FOR THE MOVIE PULL UP WITH THE FAMILY IN YOUR "71 FORD L.T.D COUNTRY SQUIRE WAGON,TUNE TO 88.5 FM AND ENJOY THE SHOW!!!! THING IS THOUGH....... I WENT TO THIS SAME DRIVE IN ABOUT A THOUSAND TIMES DURING ITS HEYDAY AND I DONT REMEMBER THIS SHIT THEY HAD THE BOXES THAT WERE HUNG ON POLLS AND THE BOX SAT IN THE WINDOW MAYBE THEY DID IT BOTH WAYS? HOW THE FUCK SHOUID I KNOW,I WAS ONLY 9 YEARS OLD!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT THIS THING FIRED RIGHT UP AND WORKED!!! THE AUDIO INPUT FOR SOME REASON,WAS A 1/2 PHONO PLUG AND WE WASTED NO TIME UNSOLDERING JOHNNY RHINESMITHS ASTATIC D-104 AND SOLDERING A 1/2 PHONO PLUG TO THE AUDIO AND SHEILD AND WITH A SHAKESPHERE BIG STICK FOR A ANTENNA SYSTEM, I SAT IN JOHNNY'S DRIVEWAY AND LISTENED TO A EXTREMELY DISTORTED DON AND JOHNNY ON 88.5 WE WERE FUCKIN PIRATES!!! WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM A ARRL HANDBOOK WE MADE A BROADCAST GROUNDPLANE OUT OF PARTS FROM A BUSTED STARDUSTER CB ANTENNA AND JOHNNY PICKED A HORRIBLE 4 CHANNEL MIXING BOARD OUT OF THE GARBAGE SOMEWHERE THEN HE TOOK HIS KIDDIE RECORD PLAYER (THE KIND THAT USED A SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE) AND DISCONNECTED THE SPEAKER AND HARDLINED IT IN TO THE MIXER SO,WITH A ASTATIC D-104 PUMPED IN TO CHANNEL 1 A KIDDIE RECORD PLAYER PUMPED IN TO CHANNEL 2 AND A HORRIBLE PRECOR TAPE DECK HOOKED IN TO CHANNEL 3 FALCON RADIO WAS BORN WHAT A PILE OF SHIT...... BUT IT WAS ALL WE HAD AND AFTER SOME TWEAKING AND TUNING IT REALLY DIDNT SOUND THAT BAD...I GUESS THERE WAS NO ALC CIRCUT SO DISTORTION WAS A PROBLEM, ESPECIALLY WITH JOHNNYS PREAMPLIFIED D-104 NO MATTER HOW LOW THE PREAMP WAS SET,BUT LATER,ONE OF JOHNNY'S COUSINS BOOSTED A DECENT MIKE OFF THE PA SYSTEM AT ROXBURY HIGH SCHOOL, THIS WORKED MUCH MUCH BETTER..... RANGE.......... KENVIL NJ IS A SMALL TOWN LOCATED IN MORRIS COUNTY AND ALONG WITH ITS SISTER TOWN SUCCASUNNA, ITS NESTLED BETWEEN 3 MOUNTAIN RANGES, MINE HILL TO THE EAST,KINGTOWN MOUNTAIN TO THE WEST AND MOUNT FREEDOM TO THE SOUTH NOT TO METION HOPATCONG HILLS TO THE NORTH IT REALLY IS A SHIT SPOT FOR RADIO BUT IN THIS VALLEY JOHN RHINESMITH AND FALCON RADIO WAS KING!!! JOHNNY LIVED OFF OF EYLAND AVENUE BY THE TRAIN TRACKS WHERE SAKRETE IS AND AFTER WE GOT EVERYTHING IN CHECK DON AND I RODE AROUND IN HIS "73"AUDI WE FOUND THE RANGE TO BE BETTER THEN WE COUID EVER HOPE FOR, JOHNNY HAD A FULL QUIETING SIGNAL FOR AT LEAST THE FIRST MILE AND A HALF AND STRECHING OUT TO FIVE TO SEVEN MILES IN SOME DIRECTIONS SOUNDING GREAT UP DEWEY AVE ALL THE WAY TO ROXBURY AUTO WRECKERS WICH IS ALMOST IN TO WHARTON, AND ALL THE WAY TO SUSSEX TURNPIKE IN MT FREEDOM TO THE SOUTH, AND FROM THE PARKING LOT OF KINGTOWN DIESEL IF THE WIND WAS RIGHT. JOHNNY HAD ABOUT 2 RECORDS OF HIS OWN AND 1 "GET THE KNACK'"CASSETTE TAPE SO IT DIDNT TAKE LONG TO RUN THROUGH HIS PLAYLIST IT WAS MUCH BETTER WHEN WE ALL CAME OVER WITH OUR OWN ALBLUMS AND TAPES AND SHIT. THE RHINESMITHS HAD A LOT OF FREINDS AND IT DIDNT TAKE LONG FOR WORD TO GET OUT ABOUT FALCON RADIO FALCON RADIO WAS ON THE AIR 24/7 THIS WASNT HARD,THERE WAS 9 PEOPLE LIVING IN JOHNNY'S HOUSE AND NOBODY EVER WORKED SO A 24/7 SHEDULE WASNT A PROBLEM DON LATER RIGGED UP A PHONE PATCH FOR CALL IN'S THAT WORKED VERY WELL AND WE USED THE SHIT OUT OF IT IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE THE PEOPLE THAT USED TO LISTEN TO FALCON RADIO! ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK AT 2 OR 3 IN THE MORNING I WOUID TUNE IN TO 88.5 AND SOMEBODY WAS ALWAYS ON THE PHONE WTH JOHNNY, MOST OF THE TIME IT WAS HIS IDIOT COUSIN ROGER TASNADY FROM MT ARLINGTON,BUT OTHER TIMES IT WAS JUST PLAIN FOLKS LITTLE KIDS,GRANDMA'S, CONVENANCE STORE CLERKS ON THE NIGHT SHIFT, EVEN FIREMAN AND POLICE CALLED TO MAKE REQUESTS! THE JINGLES FALCON RADIO HAD SOME REALLY COOL JIINGLES, THANKS TO SOME GOOD OLD FASHIONED RAZORBLADING AND INGINUITY,CLICK HERE FOR THE SONOVOX STORY FALCON RADIO WAS ON THE AIR 24/7 FROM THE SUMMER OF"81" TILL THE EARLY PART OF"83" WHEN THE OLD GATES BLEW A RECTIFIER TUBE, DON REPLACED THE TUBE WITH DIODES AND WHILE HE WAS AT IT,HE CAME UP WITH THIS HALFBAKED IDEA TO REPLACE THE FINAL TUBE WITH A "6146" TO INCREASE POWER OUTPUT BUT IT NEVER WORKED RIGHT,AND THE GATES STARTED BLOWING OUT SOME SERIOUS HARMONICS TO BOOT I COUID BE A MILE AWAY AT THE RAMSEY OUTDOOR STORE IN LEDGEWOOD AND HERE ALL KIND OF GHOSTIMAGES WITH JOHNNY'S VOICE UP AND DOWN THE FM BROADCAST BAND...........NO GOOD WE NEVER HAD PROBLEM ONE WITH THE F.C.C SO WE STARTING LOOKING FOR ANOTHER EXCITER BUT COUIDNT FIND ONE WE COUID AFFORD SO THAT WAS THE END OF FALCON RADIO JOHN RHINESMITH WAS A LOCAL LEGEND AND A TRUE RADIO PIRATE WHERE IS HE TODAY? ABOUT 5 OR 6 YEARS AGO I WAS IN THE BIG TRUCK HEADING BACK TO OUR TERMINAL IN MT FREEDOM WHEN I HEARD A VOICE THAT SOUNDED LIKE JOHNNY ON CHANNEL 19 "HEY FALCON"...................AND THE VOICE REPLIED "IS THAT YOU MATT?"........HOLY SHIT,IT IS JOHNNY!!! THEN I LOST HIM IN THE NOISE JOHHNY I HOPE YOUR OUT THERE IN CYBERLAND SOMEWHERE AND NOT IN SOME UNMARKED GRAVE I RODE PAST JOHNNYS HOUSE NOT TOO AWFUL LONG AGO THE HOUSE IS NEWLY RENAVATED AND THERE'S A NEW SUBURBAN IN THE DRIVEWAY,SO IM SURE THE RHINESMITHS ARE LONG GONE DON BEHAI IS NOW LIVING HAPPLY EVER AFTER IN BOGOTA NJ WITH HIS BOYFREIND ALEX AND HERE I AM AT 40 YEARS OF AGE PIRATING THE FM BAND ONCE AGAIN LIFE IS FUNNY |
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