Radio Bux is a student-run club here at Bucks that has been active for over a decade. The club has its members running their own radio shows in different time slots each week while gaining hands on experience as they learn to use the equipment and techniques of broadcasting.
The Radio Bux shows are broadcasted in real time and are easily accessible through their website, radiobux.com, or the app, tuneinradio. It can be found in both the App Store and Google Play.
The club itself is located on the Newtown Campus in reserved student life and club rooms. There are also open office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays each week, as well as scheduled meetings on March 7 and April 11.
There are currently around 15 members of differing majors as the club is meant mainly to help anyone with an interest in broadcasting gain some experience and possibly opportunities. One of these members is President of Radio Bux and Cinema Video major, Nick Macey.
Macey, like presidents before him, is very involved in organizing and running the club’s time-slots and shows. Two of these shows are run by Macey, who is also known by his on-air alias “Mad Hatter.”
The first of his shows is “Jamming with the Mad Hatter,” on Wednesdays from 3-5p.m., in which he plays funk and rock band music. Specifically, he plays bands such as The Grateful Dead.
Macey’s second show is the “Late Night Mad Hatter Metal Show” on Thursday nights from 10p.m. to midnight. He had picked up some listeners from Germany because of it.
This shows off one of the most impressive aspects of Radio Bux. Their shows can reach people all over the world.
When asked what he enjoyed the most about the club, Macey answered, “The joy of broadcasting. There is something really awesome about being able to reach people.”
Other members clearly shared the same passion as they fill their time slots with interests. For example, “Sports Talk with K-Rock” is a Flyers-oriented talk show that runs on Mondays, and he even takes music breaks as there are no annoying ad breaks to interrupt the show.
Another show is, “Mosh the Block with Ethan” which plays punk-oriented pop, and lighter-metal. It is driven by variety in music.
Each week Ethan goes on to interview a band. He org
anizes the music selection around that band’s music.
The freedom Radio Bux has with their broadcasting is another bonus.
They are considered internet radio, which prevents the Federal Communications Commission from having control of them. This allows for more room for expression.
Their ambitions for doing remote broadcasting in different locations adds to their freedom. Their new tech such as the RODECaster Pro and speakers allow for all the trained members to expand where they can broadcast from.
Radio Bux shows a variety of good music amongst other interests to share with their listeners. This club is a great and beneficial way to keep radio alive.