Jam 1575
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jam 1575 is Hull University Union's radio station broadcasting all year round. It broadcasts on 1575mw and is looking to broadcast on the internet. It is a subcommittee of Hull University Union's Media and Marketing Committee. All presenters, DJs and executive committee are students. Jam 1575 is a member of the Student Radio Association.
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[edit] History
The station was set up in 1983 broadcasting on an induction loop system around halls of residence and through speakers situated within Hull University Union. In 1997, it became the first student radio station in the UK to broadcast on AM using a newly formulated Low Powered AM license (LPAM). Three other stations were awarded LPAMs by the Radio Authority (now Ofcom) at the same time — two hospital radio stations and one other student station — though Jam was the first. Bruce Davidson was the very first station manager. The station is licensed to broadcast to the campus. The transmitter runs at a 1 Watt and is situated on the roof of the students' union building.
Originally, a loop induction system was installed in the Lawns (a hall of residence at Hull University) as part of a third year project by a number of engineering students. By 1983 the loop induction system was operational. To cut costs, the students cut corners. To insulate the wire, instead of paying for expensive insulation they used Coca-Cola bottles. As a result of this, by 1993 the loop induction system was no longer functional. In 1994 the engineering team carried out a comprehensive survey of the underground induction loop system and were able to partially restore it to several of the Lawns halls as well as fitting a new transmitter to Ferens hall. This system was finally turned off in 1997 after the award of the LPAM license.
The station has broadcast events around the university such as Student Question Time, a student version of the BBC series, as well as club nights from the union. The station's programming consists of mainstream music by day, tailored to the students listening in the union building, and specialist programming by night. Presenters and DJs often host nights in the students' union's John McCarthy Bar.
Until 1997, Jam was known as "URH" which stood for "University Radio Hull".
[edit] Studios
The studios that Jam now uses were originally a printing press, which is why such a large ventilation system was installed. Jam currently has two studios, separated by an office. When Jam was founded (as URH) there were just 2 large rooms - the first (front) was a large office, and the second (rear) was used as the single studio. In the early 1990's the studio was split into two studios by Dave Walters and Scott Doak. Originally they planned to install a garden shed as "booth", but changed their minds at the last minute resulting in the just a single partition being installed, resulting in "Studio 2"
Studio 1 was switched with the office during the summer of 1996 as this was only room large enough to house a large piece of studio woodwork and audio mixer donated by the Radio Group UKRD. For the first 6 months this new studio had nothing to separate it from the noise in the (then) main Union Reception area. During Easter 1997 Peter Jarrett and Liam Burke constructed the studio/hallway wall creating the now infamous Jam Corridor. Ian Hennam glazed the window (which had remained unglazed due to a glass cutting incident) thereby finishing the job.
In the summer of 1997 Paula Giles successfully applied for the Low Power AM (LPAM) license from the Radio Authority and P Squared installed the extra audio equipment and transmission infrastructure required prior to the on-air launch in September.
Jam's two studios were finally refitted in January 2005, installing a £2000 Soundcraft broadcasting desk and a £150 Behringer production desk. Jam had previously been unable to broadcast since 4 October 2004 due to severe technical difficulties. The station resumed broadcast on 31 January 2005.
[edit] Notable previous members
Previous members of Jam who have moved on to work in the media industry include: Bruce Davidson (Technical Director, Chrysalis), Clare Frisby (BBC Radio Leeds), Mike Morris (BBC Radio Humberside) (Viking FM), Harriet Scott (Heart 106), Pam Bailey (Galaxy Radio), Matt Oakes (Rock FM), Saj Hoffman-Hussain ([BBC Radio Lancashire, Tower FM, Trafficlink]) Orna Merchant (Signal 2, Trafficlink and BBC Radio Five Live ), Lydia Barnes (Radio Aire), Ian Hennam (Chief Engineer, Century FM), Dave Walters (Chief Engineer, LBC), Liam Burke (P Squared), Peter Jarrett (P Squared), and Dave McMullen (DNN), Colin Hazelden (East Midlands Today), David Jackson (BBC Radio Nottingham Football Commentator) and Gillian Kelly (ITV News Reporter) - the latter two hosted a show together.
[edit] Current Executive
- Station Manager - Robert Simpson
- Programme Controller - Tim Griffiths
- Secretary/Treasurer - Charli Hill
- Head of Engineering - Richard Jacques
- Head of Music - Alice Scott
- Head of Promotions - Jessica Tollerfield
- Head of Advertising - Jonathan Bonnett
- Head of News - Katherine Mills
- Events Manager - Olivia Hegarty
[edit] Myriad
Jam was the first station in the world to use the Myriad playout software. Liam Burke and Peter Jarrett now head the company P Squared, but began writing Myriad whilst at Jam because Hull University Union would not provide funding for a playout system. The very first version of Myriad was in fact called "URH". Peter and Liam were sat around a bottle of tequila late one night when the idea was floated, and Peter began coding it there and then. Dave Walters (at the time with Classic FM) was also intrumental in helping design the first versions. Jam also makes use of P Squared's Powerlog system to log all broadcast material for a period of at least 42 days in accordance with Ofcom guidelines. Myriad is now widely used across the globe by many commercial and independent radio stations.
