Xan at the controls.
For over eight years the work of a very dedicated group of volunteers has been on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
105.4FM is the frequency of Radio Foxton which broadcasts live from the MAVtech Museum’s studios with guest announcers from Horowhenua and all around the world.
One of MAVtech’s cameras took photographs of volunteer station manager Xan and presenter Zeb bringing the radio station to the community during the Spring Fling with an outside broadcast.
Radio Foxton was founded by the late Ian Little in 1991 and ran from his Trolley Bus Museum off Foxton’s Main St. Much of the early equipment came from the former Gisborne station 2XM and used to run from Ian’s former home in Miramar.
But when Ian and his wife Christina moved to Foxton they thought the town needed its own voice on air and before long there were three studios operating.
Broadcasting from MAVtech 24/7 since August 23, 2015, Radio Foxton’s studios uses equipment from the museum’s collection and donated from other radio enthusiasts like Matt Bud from Nelson’s Fresh FM.
Professional DJ turntables such as the Technics SL-1200 work side-by-side with equipment from the former New Zealand National Film Unit - not to mention some of Ian Little’s original collection which is still working well.
There is even equipment from the 1960s which is occasionally used for special broadcasts and the old Himatangi Radio Station control panel at MAVtech can even be wired up and used as part of a show.
But a highlight for the volunteer announcers is an outside broadcast. Xan and Zeb have broadcast live from local markets, The Big Dutch Day Out and the Shannon Car and Bike Show among many other locations.
Making radio on location is very different to being in a studio.
“It’s a live performance of sorts,” Xan explains, “so you get instant reactions from an audience. It’s fun. It can be gruelling, but when it’s over, there is a real sense of achievement.”
Zeb adds that Radio Foxton often does giveaways during their outside broadcasts and their speakers double as a public address system. For him, it all comes down to ‘real time with real people’. The camaraderie between announcers is just as important as the music and the volunteers like host shows together.
Being an announcer is part of a lifelong passion for the volunteers. Growing up, Zeb never missed the Casey Kasem Top 40 show and would tune in to overseas stations with the family’s shortwave radio. Zeb also remembers tuning in to the first moon landing while listening to a portable transistor radio.
Xan loved listening to Jason Wawatai on 2ZN Nelson and seeing the radio technicians set up and run outside broadcasts became a fascination. Soon he had an old mono record player and tape deck at the centre of an ‘in house’ radio station with speakers in every room.
There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ broadcast on Radio Foxton. Xan hosts a metal show, however, female vocal trance, drum’n’bass and dubstep music are actually his favourite genres to play on air. Zeb loves 1980s pop rock mixed with classic New Zealand music and he also hosts a Sunday Comedy Slot at 7pm.
Radio Foxton was also playing classic hits of the 1980s long before other stations focused on it. The tunes on an outside broadcast depends on the event, such as Dutch music for the Big Dutch Day Out.
Radio Foxton’s programmes are about to reach a much larger audience as the station prepares for an improved aerial. This upgrade will improve its FM range, allowing for a clearer signal for Foxton Beach and for drivers to stay listening for longer as they drive through town.
Xan is looking forward to the benefits advertisers will get from the upgrade. For listeners who still cannot tune in there is a link to Radio Foxton’s digital stream on the MAVtech website.
All the shows are digitally recorded and archived, meaning that in years to come Radio Foxton’s outside broadcasts will be part of the history of Horowhenua. Being both a live broadcast and history at the same time is fitting for a museum with a radio collection.
The photograph of Zeb at the microphone was taken with a 1920s Kodak Brownie No 2 camera. Named after house sprites which were popular cartoon characters, its design was first launched in 1901 and it is often considered the Ford Model T of family cameras.
Costing little to buy and simple to use, for many families this was the first camera they owned. Before automation that simplicity had its drawbacks. Close-up photography was out of the question, as were any action shots. MAVtech has many different ‘box cameras’ on display.
Other photographs in this article were taken with a 1990s Seagull camera and one with a digital camera. To view more photographs taken with vintage cameras visit www.mavtech.org.nz.