The Bywong Soapbox

SOLAR-POWERED RADIO FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD

(taken from an interview for the local newspaper)       

Imagine delighting your friends and neighbours with your musical selections as you listen to the radio. You can do that, or take in a community announcement or a 24/7 mix of baby-boomer rock, classics, soul and blues as you negotiate with nature or your livestock in the top paddock. It’s all possible now for some residents of Bywong and Wamboin thanks to a solar-powered narrowcast radio station operating off Macs Reef Rd.   Marcele Martins talked to the man who makes it happen.

After 35 years working in the information technology field, building and designing IT Installations for others, Alex Colquitt decided to design something of his own. Now, “almost retired” – as he says, Alex, using his past experience in the radio field, dedicates himself to his “one man show” tourist radio station and community notice board: The Lake FM  (88 & 87.8 MHz).

With a low power licence, acquired six years ago, he can reach around 400 nearby homes in  and around Bywong/Wamboin  and lately, the Burra/Michaelago area as well, offering 24/7 programming to the community.

“For the joy of listening to what I like”, he answered when asked why he started Lake FM. The accent is American (although he has been living in Australia for 19 years) and for the last 30 years he has been

The face behind the microphone

collecting CDs, vinyls, tapes and MP3s of his favourites artists, amounted to some 11,000 (eleven thousand) pieces to date.

The radio station is based at Alex and his wife Liz’s property in Bywong overlooking gum trees and paddocks grazed by 3 horses. The station is completely automated, operated via software customized by him, using 4 computers, with two of them powered by solar energy. He says the 145 Amp hour per day collectors and battery system provide enough energy for the station even on a string of cloudy days. The technology was set up in collaboration with the local wireless broadband operator, Anthony Goonan from Yless4u.

Two hours per day are spent feeding the system with the day’s mix list. His eclectic style can be noticed in a few minutes listening to Lake FM. While a sequence of ‘80s romantic music was being broadcast during our interview, his mobile phone tone rang a ‘70s Led Zeppelin success. At this point, I had no doubts: Alex really enjoys music!

Alex is not content to share his library only with Palerang: his reach is global through the virtual world. Through ‘Second Life’, he DJs a Blues/Rock Club where up to 50 people get together at a time for real fun.

As a good IT expert, Alex has the Internet on his side. At www.bywong.com.au, the audience can request songs (you can select up to six per hour, played promptly from the huge database) send suggestions and community announcements, and interact with him. It is also through the web that he gets around the limitation of his 1 watt transmitter to reach a broader public. As I am doing now from Canberra, anyone in the world can access The Lake FM learn a bit more about Palerang and enjoy the programming in real time!