Why Channel 37 Doesn't Exist (And What It Has to Do With Aliens)

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4. Before Satellite and Internet Radio

I remember a set order of stations I'd used to listen to on normal long drives. As the signal weakened, I'd switch to a station with a similar format in another city. On regular trips from Philly to State College in the late 80s and early 90s there as a set station progression I'd follow. WSP or MMR until I got past Lancaster then switched to a a couple Harrisburg stations (WTPA maybe) that I can't remember. Once I got to the Lewistown narrows I was then on stuck in the desert of bland easy listening, top 40 or country radio. The radio selection at school was basically Madonna repeated over and over or Neil Diamond.

I remember meeting a friend of mine in the dorm who introduced me to someone who had a radio signal booster. If the skies were clear and the wind just right he could pull in the Philly or Harrisburg stations very faintly. For a home-sick, music starved kid in college it was a short small reprieve from my worries to hear the familiar DJs from home banter on for the short time between songs or hear a familiar commercial describing places I had once frequented.