[BC] Re: WLBK WDEK

[Xmitters@aol.com]

In a message dated 11/11/05 7:44:06 PM Central Standard Time, 
broadcast-request at radiolists.net writes:

<< > I came on board one or two months after the tower and building were 
 > installed.  It was a transition period between Jeff and myself.  Not 
 sure if 
 > Jeff can provide more info on it.  I do recall that the top portion 
 was 
 > tapered and I agree that it sure looked like an Atlas.
 > 
 > Paul
 > 
 > 
 > ====================================
 > Paul Christensen, CPBE, CBNT >>

Paul, Mike:

Jerry Cerny is truly a great person and broadcaster. I doubt if I would have 
gotten a very good start had I worked for someone else. I could write volumes 
about the bad examples I avoided by starting out working with Jerry. I got my 
First Phone while in high school and Jerry always told me I would have to get 
experience before he would hire me. Quite a dilemma; how do you get experience 
working in a radio station so you can work in a radio station? I was working 
for Warner Cable as a system tech and stopped by the station to report to 
Jerry that a bad line extender was responsible for his bad cable service. He then 
asked me if I would be interested in baby-sitting his SMC automation while he 
was on vacation. So that's how I got started. He came back from vacation long 
enough to help me with an MW-1 problem. He slipped out of town a few days 
later. I came in to work, and no Jerry. Dianne Leifheit, the office manager 
greeted me and I asked her when Jerry would be in to show me what I was supposed to 
do. Oh, he's on vacation. When will he be back? I asked. Oh sometime in 
September or October. This was in July! Dianne later told me that my face turned all 
kinds of neat colors after telling me that. She also wondered if I was having 
an asthmatic attack. That's called sinking or swimming folks. I guess I swam, 
that was thirty years ago.  Jerry's station is certainly legendary and 
deserves mention here. BTW I wrote to Jerry a few months ago and he's doing well.

Yes, Mike, that's an Atlas tower you have there. I think Jerry and I either 
attempted an audio proof on that station and it had issues, or it passed its 
test, but I think I left before we got program test authority from the FCC

One of Jerry's first engineers, Wally Kaszinski now of WOCO in Oconto, played 
a huge part in training me in preparation for the First Phone test, and was 
the first engineer I ever met and the FM-5H and BC-1T were the first 
transmitters I had ever seen. Wally did a great job of introducing me to "the bug" and 
making sure that it bit me very hard :-)

I wish all new engineers could apprentice with Jerry or someone with his 
values. School and education were very important to Mr. Cerny and he told me in no 
uncertain terms that I would be in deep trouble if he found out my college 
classes were slipping. He really cared about his people and the WDEK WLBK 
audience. Nowadays people work the new guys till they drop.

Jeff Glass, BSEE CSRE (largely via the help of Jerry Cerny)
Chief Engineer
WNIU WNIJ (Wally's old stomping grounds)