Radio Popolare Lonato: Year Zero (Part 1)
By Roberto Darra
It was August 18, 1976, when a new sound burst onto the airwaves in Lonato. It was not a RAI broadcast, but a private radio station broadcasting music and news from a garage in Via Ludovico Ariosto. After numerous preparatory meetings at the bakery of the brothers Franco, Giordano, and Ezio Stuani, a group of friends launched the station. Its signal? A mere ten watts of power, a ground-plane antenna, a self-built mixer, headphones, microphones, and a mountain of 33 and 45 rpm vinyl records.
The only supervising technician was Alfredo Facchetti: “My collaboration started immediately, turning on the first transmitter on the 102.9 and 102.7 MHz frequencies. Later, we shifted to 93 MHz. I worked there constantly until 1981, managing the high and low-frequency technical setups, programming, and scheduling. I also hosted several shows as a speaker and DJ under the stage name JOELE.”
The garage that served as headquarters belonged to Nadia Pagni, and the nearby Roma family watched the constant coming and going of people with curiosity. Floods were frequent, and every time, the team dried the vinyl sleeves using hair dryers. The records belonged to the collaborators; only later did the station start buying its own vinyl with the first advertising revenues.
The broadcasting booth was soundproofed with polystyrene and egg cartons, and the heating system was a noisy boiler that made reading the news bulletins an adventure. We wanted to be an information radio, so we joined the Federation of Democratic Radio Broadcasters. Behind the microphone were myself, Roberto Darra, and the brothers Gianfranco and Leonardo Pizzocolo, Sergio Corsini, Gianfranco Bresciani, Eraldo Cavagnini, Mauro Pizzocolo, Aldo Lucchini, Roberto Paghera, Donatella De Pero, Ernido Urbani, Giancarlo Serina, Lorena Papa, and Roberto Parolini.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
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