Many people have asked me these questions so I thought I would answer them here.
Q: What is an aircheck?
A: An aircheck is simply any recording made from a radio station. Plain and simple.
Now, in more specific terms, you have a scoped aircheck and an unscoped aircheck. A scoped aircheck means that the tape is edited in some way (usually the music and/or commercials have been taken out). An unscoped aircheck means that the recording is completely intact. All of the music, sweepers, commercials, and DJ talk is included. So an unscoped tape sounds exactly like it did when it was broadcast over the radio. Most aircheck collectors, including myself, look for the unscoped tapes. Although in many situations, only scoped airchecks are available of a specific station.
Q: How can I hear these airchecks?
A: You must make a trade with me. I trade on a “minute-for-minute” basis. For example, if you request a 90 minute tape from me, then I will request 90 minutes of material from your collection. Of course not everything times out evenly. An aircheck labeled 90 minutes might actually only be 87 minutes or it might be 94 minutes. Therefore, the times don’t have to match up perfectly.
Q: Which method of trading is preferable?
A: These days I prefer trading by sending mp3 files. There are several free websites where you can upload a large mp3 file and send it to someone else. One I like best is WeTransfer.
Q: Can I buy airchecks from you?
A: This has to be one of my most asked questions. If you have nothing of my personal interest to trade, then we can work out a deal. I don’t want to profit from the tapes, but I will charge you what I think is fair for the time it takes me to dub your requested aircheck in real time, as well as the materials and shipping(if applicable.) I can provide the airchecks in MP3 form and send them via WeTransfer or Sendspace or I can send them in audio form on CD-Rs.
Price list:
$5.00 per 1 hour of recording time…
This includes (and I will not charge extra for) any necessary fixing of audio levels (if I can do it) and trimming of any dead beginning or end space of the aircheck if you are requesting a copy on CD. Also, if you so desire, I can split the tracks on a CD aircheck to divide the segments between songs or talk breaks or however you’d like. But I will only do this if you specifically request this service, since I understand that most aircheckers don’t want it that way.
50 cents per CD-R used…
These will be basic grade, commonly sold CD-Rs. I will also include a paper envelope to protect the CD.
Shipping and packaging…
This will vary depending on how big the package will be, what it weighs, and where it will be going to. Provide me with your zip code and I will give you a price on that.
Q: How will you accept payment?
A: I will accept money orders or personal checks, but be advised that I will wait until the check clears before I send out your package. Please DO NOT send cash, as I cannot be responsible for cash that may be “lost in the mail.” I will also accept PayPal.
Q: Do you have any trading limits?
A: Yes, but this will be based on your aircheck list. If you are new to the hobby or otherwise don’t have a lot on your list, I may limit trades to no more than two 90 minute airchecks per trade. Of course if you happen to have items on my “want list” below, I will definitely make an exception.
Q: What airchecks are on your want list?
A: These are specifically the airchecks I’m looking for:
(1) Any pre-2000 Tampa Bay or Southwest Florida airchecks, just about any format.
(2) Selected other Florida airchecks.
(3) Easy Listening (Beautiful Music), Smooth Jazz, and Adult Standards stations from anywhere.
(4) Rochester, NY airchecks from the mid ’70s to the mid ’90s.
(5) Many other random things, so just send me your whole list!
Any other questions?
Send Me an E-mail (Please note as of 2/7/22, I am not accepting new trade requests at this time)
Banned Traders List:
In my 25 years of aircheck trading, I have only been stiffed by someone on three occasions. This means I had sent them their airchecks, waited patiently, followed up with e-mails and/or phone calls, and they still have refused to send the airchecks they promised. I am listing them here as a warning to others.
- Chris Stelly from Louisiana: I sent him multiple airchecks in 2000 and he would not send me the ones I requested.
- Marc Haze from Tampa, FL: I sent him one aircheck in 2001. He did not send mine in return.
- Barry Miller from Southwest Florida: I sent him one aircheck in 2017. After that, he refused to communicate with me and he refused to send me what he promised.
Because of these occurrences, if you initiate a trade with me, I ask that you kindly send your airchecks first. Thank you.