Training can help you overcome obstacles and ensure your station remains resilient in all circumstances, as CMTO’s recent experience at 105.5 RoxFM demonstrates.

In March 2023, staff and volunteers from 105.5 RoxFM attended CMTO’s Station Tech for the Non Technical course, with trainer Tim Borgas, in remote South Australia. 

Rox FM is a community radio station that began in 1987, around the same time the remote desert town of Roxby Downs was first founded, and has been a key part of the community for the town’s lifespan. 

Unfortunately, on the day of training, the station experienced STL failure, this means they were facing the reality of going off air. The Rox FM team needed to act quickly and CMTO’s training primed them for action.  With the expertise of engineer and CMTO trainer Tim Borgas on site, they rose to this challenge. 

The team were able to evaluate the immediate broadcasting risks with Tim, map out some strategies and come up with a plan. Luckily, Tim had some handy tools on board, such as a 24V Power Over Ethernet Injector as well as some other tech gear, so they were able to test equipment on their broadcast chain and identify the problem. 

By the end of the day, Rox FM was on air with no issues. 

Tim later told us, “Nothing like a real problem to focus people’s minds on what needs to be done!” 

The nous and adaptability of the staff and volunteers at Rox FM reflects how resilient community radio stations in remote areas are, especially when learning new skills and solving real-life technical issues. 

In this case, the Rox FM team were able to use the CMTO training and the stewardship of their experienced trainer to work out the problems they faced, and applied skills learned to fix them. 

The participants said that they walked away with some new tools in their belt, some in-depth knowledge on how things work technically as well as some fresh ideas.