Yesterday was one of those days we all have. The whole thing started Friday afternoon  (the 4th) during my show. My computer started doing all sorts of crazy things, then locked up. Luckily, my engineer was quickly able to get it up and running. Yesterday, I asked my engineer to replace some lights that had burned out on my board. A board is what a jock uses to perform a multitude of tasks during their show. They get a lot of use, parts wear out, and they need to be replaced from time to time.

During my show, the engineer came in and installed the necessary parts. I plugged in my headphones and found I had couldn't hear anything. The purpose of a jock using a headphone in the radio studio is to hear himself speak, but to also hear the music, so he knows exactly when to speak. I called my engineer, and he discovered my headphone jack had busted. I thought that odd, as I take really good care of my headphones, and in all the years I've been in broadcasting, I've never had that happen before. No worries, I keep an extra pair of phones with me, so I plugged in the other set and they worked fine...for about thirty seconds...then no sound at all. Again the engineer found the same problem, a busted headphone jack. I had two jacks break in less than five minutes, and all I did was plug them in!

So now I'm on the phone, since all the jocks had gone home for the day. I called jeanne from Mix 108, and asked if I could borrow her headphones. If you know Jeanne, she know she laughed like heck (it is one of those freakish things) and told me to go ahead and use hers. So here's what I learned. The next time you you are by an electronics store, buy an extra one or two headphone jacks. They are inexpensive and it's good to have a spare..just in case! I mean really, what are the odds of two jacks busting in less than five minutes?

 

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