Here are some details of our studio activity on a Wednesday morning…

Listeners’ wallets are delivered to us in large Royal Mail sacks.

These sacks are then emptied onto a table ready for sorting.

Each listener has his or her own unique identification number. This number is entered onto our computer. Our computer will then display who’s wallet we’ve got, and will tell us whether or not this listener requires our publication this week.

Next, we empty all the wallets. We rewind and erase all the tapes which are returned to us.

CD’s which are returned to us cannot be re-used. They can however be recycled.

Listeners are advised to either keep their CD’s, or recycle them.

After identifying who requires our publication this week, we sort the wallets into separate piles, depending on where they live. This helps with loading them back into the large mail sacks ready for posting back to our listeners.

Meanwhile, all the erased tapes are being re-used on our high-speed copiers. They’re having this week’s publication recorded on to them. We can put a publication onto 16 tapes (both sides) in under 3 minutes. Whilst copying onto the tapes, we mark each one, so that we can identify how many times they’ve been used. When they have been used to their maximum, we will replace them with new ones. This is because tape stretches over time. Not only that, but it can deteriorate, and even lose audio quality on playback.

For some people, CD’s are easier to use and offer better enjoyment all round. Our CD’s are copied using a pair of high-speed CD copy towers.

It might be worth noting, that our listeners have a choice of either tape or CD.

Whichever they prefer, we can provide.

In the future, we may be using USB ‘Memory Sticks’ or ‘Flash Drives’ as they’re also known.

We’re working to investigate the best and most affordable options, as well as consulting local organisations and other groups who may also be using these devices.