On Friday evening, July 24, 1987, my AM radio was turned on. It was tuned in to 1620 kHz and the cassette was in the deck. It was all a buzz until -- the frequency was abuzz with the sounds of the 2nd test transmission of Radio Newyork International. My friend Randi Steele was at the controls, about to show NYC what free form radio was going to bring to the city. The first transmission, the prior evening, went well, but lacked the professional polish that Randi was about to bring to the airwaves. Not that there weren't audible studio glitches, but then it was free form.
My own recorded air contributions to the short lived RNI-fest of 1987 were never aired. They are probably sitting on VHS cassettes on a dilapidated school bus in northern Maine, perhaps never to be heard, perhaps to end up on Area 51 some day as others have. I was to have been part of the original air team on a part-time basis (wisely keeping my day job). Nonetheless, my contributions to the station are heard two-fold in this transmission. I coined the expression "The Wet One" as a station slogan, and Hayes Hayes delivers on its promise as a station slogan for a shipboard station with his deep, laborious pronouncement. I also provided the recordings of the "original" Dutch RNI jingles that were used as production material.
The station was heard all across the Eastern USA. QSL cards were issued and the legend had begun. While RNI is now simply a name used on WBCQ by a Johnny-come-later, this recording of the promise that Allan Weiner and Randi Steele offered NYC media remains for your listening enjoyment.
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