BROADCASTING TO BARNSLEY
Posted on: Wed 20 Jun 2007
BARNSLEY is one of just a handful of football clubs across the country that can boast it's very own radio station! Only teams like Manchester United, Blackburn and Chelsea can match us!
Based in dedicated studios at the Oakwell ground, Oakwell 1575AM has been on-the-air every time Barnsley have played at home since the station's launch back in 1996!
OAKWELL 1575AM really is Barnsley FC's very own local radio service - and it brings you everything you'd expect to find in a full 24 hours of entertainment every match day.
You'll hear the latest news and gossip from the club, interviews with players, management and backroom staff. You'll get the latest ticket and travel information, news of special offers at the Reds Superstore and Reds In Town - and, of course, we'll bring you FULL, exclusive match commentary 'live' from Oakwell.
As if this wasn't enough, our presentation team keep the whole family entertained and informed with competitions, listener requests and dedications, news, weather and travel updates - and a great mix of songs from the 1960s right through to the best of today's releases.
Oakwell 1575AM operates under a licence issued by the Radio Authority. This is the Government body responsible for the licencing of all non-BBC radio stations throughout the UK.
In this section, you'll find out lots more about OAKWELL 1575AM, Barnsley Football Club's OFFICIAL radio station.
First of all .. Let's make sure you know how to find us!!
HOW TO TUNE IN
You can listen to OAKWELL 1575AM on any normal portable radio, hi-fi or car radio - just like any other radio station. The only difference is that you'll only hear us on home match days!
OAKWELL 1575AM broadcasts on the AM or Medium Wave band. You'll need to select the AM (or MW on some older radios) waveband on your radio or hi-fi.
Our frequency is 1575 kHz AM so, if your radio has a digital display, you'll need to tune around until the display reads '1575'. If the radio doesn't have a digital read-out you'll need to look at the markings on your radio - but you will find us towards the very top end of the AM (or MW) band.
Normally this is towards the very right hand end of the scale. Remember, we broadcast on home match days only - so you'll need to re-tune your radio on a match day.
If your radio has 'preset' buttons (most recent radios do!) we'd suggest that you programme OAKWELL 1575AM into one of those buttons so you can find us straight away.
From the start of the 2002/2003 season, we're on-the-air for a full 24 hours each matchday so - although our Saturday Breakfast Show doesn't start until 8.00am - you'll be able to hear us from midnight on Friday. Our overnight service will bring you the latest club information, together with a great mix of music.
Whatever time you get up, you'll be able to wake up with your favourite club's official radio station!
RECEPTION TIPS
To make sure you get the best possible reception, you should make sure that you've tuned us in accurately - and that any aerial on your radio is fully extended.
With AM (or Medium Wave) it's much more important that your aerial is positioned properly - even if you don't normally need to whilst listening to other stations.
If your portable radio has a telescopic aerial, make sure it is fully extended - and try it at different angles until you get the best reception. With many portable radios (especially those with built-in aerials) you may need to try the radio itself at different angles until you get the best signal. On a hi-fi system, make sure that the AM antenna is connected.
Usually this is what is known as a 'loop antenna'. Again, you might need to try the aerial in different positions to get the best signal. On a car radio, you should have little difficulty in finding us. Car systems tend to be more sensitive and you'll probably be able to listen to us further away than you can with a portable set.
Just one final point, the characteristics of AM (or MW) signals means that, in the dark, there is a greater likelihood that you could receive interference from distant (often foreign) stations which also use the 1575 kHz frequency.
This means that, if you live on the fringes of our coverage area, you might not be able to get a clear signal at night - but during daylight hours you'll have no problems. You might also notice a drop in signal quality at night. Again, this is due to interference from distant stations.
If you do have any reception problems, give us a call on matchdays on (01226) 2 1575 2. We'll do what we can to advise you. As long as you live within our service area of course!!
OAKWELL 1575AM - A brief history!
Oakwell 1575AM launched in August 1996. It was the start of our promotion season, and we couldn't have picked a better time to launch as we followed the Reds on the trail to the Premiership.
Our first game was the first home tie of the season against Huddersfield Town at Oakwell. Our original presentation team included Dave Parker (he was the first voice on Oakwell 1575AM at 9am on that August Sunday morning!), Steve Davies (not the one who's with us now!) and Chris Kaye.
Worsborough born Chris, who was only 18 at the time of our launch, is now a presenter with Galaxy 101 in Bristol, Steve is presently working in the Middle East and Dave, who has worked for a string of radio stations across the Yorkshire area, is still managing Oakwell 1575AM albeit not in front of a microphone!
Steve Pearson, who still heads our commentary team, described the action against Huddersfield on that first Sunday - and has rarely missed a game since. Although he's now a very experienced commentator and radio journalist, that Huddersfield game was the first time he'd ever commentated 'live' on a game.
Since then, he's presided over all the 'up's' and 'down's' at the club - promotion, relegation, FA Cup victory over Manchester United . and the mysterious decisions of referee Gary Willard!!
Working away behind the scenes, Stuart Cocker supervised the building of our studios and, working with Radica Broadcast Systems, the installation of our transmitter which sits in the corner of the main club car park.
Stuart continues to be responsible for all the technical aspects of the station - and, along with Dave, looks after the day-to-day operation of Oakwell 1575AM
OUR STUDIO
Originally, Oakwell 1575AM was based in a small studio on the Executive Floor of the East Stand at Oakwell. At the beginning of the 2001/2002 season we moved to a new base, still in the East Stand - but away from the hustle and bustle of the Executive facilities.
All our presenters work the studio equipment themselves when presenting their programmes. CD and Mini-Disc players, a digital MP3 playout systems and digital 'Diskart' machines are used to play music, interviews, jingles and adverts - all linked together with a professional broadcast mixing desk.
There are a lot of buttons and switches to get used to, plenty to think about while you're trying to make sense to your listeners! Generally, we play music from CD, or the MP3 playout system.
This system allows us instant access to hundreds of songs without the need to search through shelves of CD's! We use MiniDisc to record and play any interviews which are not broadcast 'live'.
For instance, we generally catch up with Manager Steve Parkin the day before a game. He can be too busy to talk to us in detail on the morning of a match!
Station jingles, adverts and trailers are recorded digitally onto computer-style floppy disks. These are then played in the correct sequence using a bank of two 'triple-stack' Diskart machines which allow us to play up to six different items immediately after each other.
MATCH COMMENTARY
To make sure they're in the thick of the action, our commentary team and match summarisers take their places in the Oakwell Press Box. This is situated on the opposite side of the ground in the West Stand.
You can see the press facilities immediately above the old players tunnel in the centre of the stand. The commentary team need to keep their hands free to search through the mountain of notes they prepare for each game - and so they can jot down details of the action as it happens. To make this easier, they wear headsets which combine headphones to listen to themselves and the output of the radio station, with a built in microphone.
The match commentary is relayed back to our main studio using a dedicated radio link. It's then patched through to our main transmitter. The commentary team is in constant contact with the studio through a two-way 'talkback' system - and throughout the 'live' commentary our main studio is staffed just in case something goes wrong!
TRANSMISSION
Oakwell 1575AM's transmitter is sited in the corner of the main car park at the Oakwell ground. It's the strange looking metal structure with umbrella-type spokes at the top.
You'll notice it's in a fenced compound. That's because we need to make sure that curious fingers aren't tempted to touch! Not because we don't want any fingerprints on it - mainly because it would be like sticking your fingers in an electric socket, only many times more powerful.
We'd much rather transmit our programmes through the aerial than through the top of your head. The umbrella-type top, by the way, is to make sure the signal travels around Barnsley rather than up into space! We won't bore you with the technical details about 'effective radiated power' 'watts' 'amps' and 'kilohertz'. Stuart's the only one who understands it anyway!
Generally, the transmitter is designed to cover a radius of about 7-8 miles around Barnsley - although you'll hear us much further away than that on a car radio. We've actually had radio enthusiasts call us from as far away as Scandinavia! - they've even sent us a tape to prove it! Mind you, these enthusiasts don't just use their Sony Walkman!
PROGRAMME TIMES
Oakwell 1575AM broadcasts for a full 24 hours for every home game. A full programme schedule appears on the Barnsley FC website in the couple of days leading up to each game.
ADVERTISING ON OAKWELL 1575AM
If you run a business in the Barnsley area, you can reach a potential audience of almost 200,000 people by advertising your products or services on Oakwell 1575AM.
We have a full range of sponsorship and advertising packages which start from as little as £200 for a WHOLE YEAR.
Even better, from the start of the 2002/3 season, we've introduced our new
OAKWELL 1575AM SMALL AD'S.
It's a simple, basic, straightforward advertising package which gets you on-the-air FOR A WHOLE YEAR for an incredible £100!!
At this price, it's difficult to turn down! For more details about this - and any other sponsorship and advertising packages - call Sophia in the Club's Marketing department on (01226) 211211.
CONTACTING OAKWELL 1575AM
You can call the studio direct on matchdays on (01226) 2 1575 2 That's the number you'll need to call for requests, dedications or to enter our competitions. You can FAX us on (01226) 211444. Make sure you mark the fax for the attention of Oakwell 1575AM.
You can e-mail us at enquiries@oakwell1575am.co.uk, visit the website at www.oakwell1575am.co.uk, or you can write to us:
Oakwell 1575AM
Barnsley Football Club
Oakwell Stadium
BARNSLEY
S71 1ET
Based in dedicated studios at the Oakwell ground, Oakwell 1575AM has been on-the-air every time Barnsley have played at home since the station's launch back in 1996!
OAKWELL 1575AM really is Barnsley FC's very own local radio service - and it brings you everything you'd expect to find in a full 24 hours of entertainment every match day.
You'll hear the latest news and gossip from the club, interviews with players, management and backroom staff. You'll get the latest ticket and travel information, news of special offers at the Reds Superstore and Reds In Town - and, of course, we'll bring you FULL, exclusive match commentary 'live' from Oakwell.
As if this wasn't enough, our presentation team keep the whole family entertained and informed with competitions, listener requests and dedications, news, weather and travel updates - and a great mix of songs from the 1960s right through to the best of today's releases.
Oakwell 1575AM operates under a licence issued by the Radio Authority. This is the Government body responsible for the licencing of all non-BBC radio stations throughout the UK.
In this section, you'll find out lots more about OAKWELL 1575AM, Barnsley Football Club's OFFICIAL radio station.
First of all .. Let's make sure you know how to find us!!
HOW TO TUNE IN
You can listen to OAKWELL 1575AM on any normal portable radio, hi-fi or car radio - just like any other radio station. The only difference is that you'll only hear us on home match days!
OAKWELL 1575AM broadcasts on the AM or Medium Wave band. You'll need to select the AM (or MW on some older radios) waveband on your radio or hi-fi.
Our frequency is 1575 kHz AM so, if your radio has a digital display, you'll need to tune around until the display reads '1575'. If the radio doesn't have a digital read-out you'll need to look at the markings on your radio - but you will find us towards the very top end of the AM (or MW) band.
Normally this is towards the very right hand end of the scale. Remember, we broadcast on home match days only - so you'll need to re-tune your radio on a match day.
If your radio has 'preset' buttons (most recent radios do!) we'd suggest that you programme OAKWELL 1575AM into one of those buttons so you can find us straight away.
From the start of the 2002/2003 season, we're on-the-air for a full 24 hours each matchday so - although our Saturday Breakfast Show doesn't start until 8.00am - you'll be able to hear us from midnight on Friday. Our overnight service will bring you the latest club information, together with a great mix of music.
Whatever time you get up, you'll be able to wake up with your favourite club's official radio station!
RECEPTION TIPS
To make sure you get the best possible reception, you should make sure that you've tuned us in accurately - and that any aerial on your radio is fully extended.
With AM (or Medium Wave) it's much more important that your aerial is positioned properly - even if you don't normally need to whilst listening to other stations.
If your portable radio has a telescopic aerial, make sure it is fully extended - and try it at different angles until you get the best reception. With many portable radios (especially those with built-in aerials) you may need to try the radio itself at different angles until you get the best signal. On a hi-fi system, make sure that the AM antenna is connected.
Usually this is what is known as a 'loop antenna'. Again, you might need to try the aerial in different positions to get the best signal. On a car radio, you should have little difficulty in finding us. Car systems tend to be more sensitive and you'll probably be able to listen to us further away than you can with a portable set.
Just one final point, the characteristics of AM (or MW) signals means that, in the dark, there is a greater likelihood that you could receive interference from distant (often foreign) stations which also use the 1575 kHz frequency.
This means that, if you live on the fringes of our coverage area, you might not be able to get a clear signal at night - but during daylight hours you'll have no problems. You might also notice a drop in signal quality at night. Again, this is due to interference from distant stations.
If you do have any reception problems, give us a call on matchdays on (01226) 2 1575 2. We'll do what we can to advise you. As long as you live within our service area of course!!
OAKWELL 1575AM - A brief history!
Oakwell 1575AM launched in August 1996. It was the start of our promotion season, and we couldn't have picked a better time to launch as we followed the Reds on the trail to the Premiership.
Our first game was the first home tie of the season against Huddersfield Town at Oakwell. Our original presentation team included Dave Parker (he was the first voice on Oakwell 1575AM at 9am on that August Sunday morning!), Steve Davies (not the one who's with us now!) and Chris Kaye.
Worsborough born Chris, who was only 18 at the time of our launch, is now a presenter with Galaxy 101 in Bristol, Steve is presently working in the Middle East and Dave, who has worked for a string of radio stations across the Yorkshire area, is still managing Oakwell 1575AM albeit not in front of a microphone!
Steve Pearson, who still heads our commentary team, described the action against Huddersfield on that first Sunday - and has rarely missed a game since. Although he's now a very experienced commentator and radio journalist, that Huddersfield game was the first time he'd ever commentated 'live' on a game.
Since then, he's presided over all the 'up's' and 'down's' at the club - promotion, relegation, FA Cup victory over Manchester United . and the mysterious decisions of referee Gary Willard!!
Working away behind the scenes, Stuart Cocker supervised the building of our studios and, working with Radica Broadcast Systems, the installation of our transmitter which sits in the corner of the main club car park.
Stuart continues to be responsible for all the technical aspects of the station - and, along with Dave, looks after the day-to-day operation of Oakwell 1575AM
OUR STUDIO
Originally, Oakwell 1575AM was based in a small studio on the Executive Floor of the East Stand at Oakwell. At the beginning of the 2001/2002 season we moved to a new base, still in the East Stand - but away from the hustle and bustle of the Executive facilities.
All our presenters work the studio equipment themselves when presenting their programmes. CD and Mini-Disc players, a digital MP3 playout systems and digital 'Diskart' machines are used to play music, interviews, jingles and adverts - all linked together with a professional broadcast mixing desk.
There are a lot of buttons and switches to get used to, plenty to think about while you're trying to make sense to your listeners! Generally, we play music from CD, or the MP3 playout system.
This system allows us instant access to hundreds of songs without the need to search through shelves of CD's! We use MiniDisc to record and play any interviews which are not broadcast 'live'.
For instance, we generally catch up with Manager Steve Parkin the day before a game. He can be too busy to talk to us in detail on the morning of a match!
Station jingles, adverts and trailers are recorded digitally onto computer-style floppy disks. These are then played in the correct sequence using a bank of two 'triple-stack' Diskart machines which allow us to play up to six different items immediately after each other.
MATCH COMMENTARY
To make sure they're in the thick of the action, our commentary team and match summarisers take their places in the Oakwell Press Box. This is situated on the opposite side of the ground in the West Stand.
You can see the press facilities immediately above the old players tunnel in the centre of the stand. The commentary team need to keep their hands free to search through the mountain of notes they prepare for each game - and so they can jot down details of the action as it happens. To make this easier, they wear headsets which combine headphones to listen to themselves and the output of the radio station, with a built in microphone.
The match commentary is relayed back to our main studio using a dedicated radio link. It's then patched through to our main transmitter. The commentary team is in constant contact with the studio through a two-way 'talkback' system - and throughout the 'live' commentary our main studio is staffed just in case something goes wrong!
TRANSMISSION
Oakwell 1575AM's transmitter is sited in the corner of the main car park at the Oakwell ground. It's the strange looking metal structure with umbrella-type spokes at the top.
You'll notice it's in a fenced compound. That's because we need to make sure that curious fingers aren't tempted to touch! Not because we don't want any fingerprints on it - mainly because it would be like sticking your fingers in an electric socket, only many times more powerful.
We'd much rather transmit our programmes through the aerial than through the top of your head. The umbrella-type top, by the way, is to make sure the signal travels around Barnsley rather than up into space! We won't bore you with the technical details about 'effective radiated power' 'watts' 'amps' and 'kilohertz'. Stuart's the only one who understands it anyway!
Generally, the transmitter is designed to cover a radius of about 7-8 miles around Barnsley - although you'll hear us much further away than that on a car radio. We've actually had radio enthusiasts call us from as far away as Scandinavia! - they've even sent us a tape to prove it! Mind you, these enthusiasts don't just use their Sony Walkman!
PROGRAMME TIMES
Oakwell 1575AM broadcasts for a full 24 hours for every home game. A full programme schedule appears on the Barnsley FC website in the couple of days leading up to each game.
ADVERTISING ON OAKWELL 1575AM
If you run a business in the Barnsley area, you can reach a potential audience of almost 200,000 people by advertising your products or services on Oakwell 1575AM.
We have a full range of sponsorship and advertising packages which start from as little as £200 for a WHOLE YEAR.
Even better, from the start of the 2002/3 season, we've introduced our new
OAKWELL 1575AM SMALL AD'S.
It's a simple, basic, straightforward advertising package which gets you on-the-air FOR A WHOLE YEAR for an incredible £100!!
At this price, it's difficult to turn down! For more details about this - and any other sponsorship and advertising packages - call Sophia in the Club's Marketing department on (01226) 211211.
CONTACTING OAKWELL 1575AM
You can call the studio direct on matchdays on (01226) 2 1575 2 That's the number you'll need to call for requests, dedications or to enter our competitions. You can FAX us on (01226) 211444. Make sure you mark the fax for the attention of Oakwell 1575AM.
You can e-mail us at enquiries@oakwell1575am.co.uk, visit the website at www.oakwell1575am.co.uk, or you can write to us:
Oakwell 1575AM
Barnsley Football Club
Oakwell Stadium
BARNSLEY
S71 1ET
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