Radio automation pioneer Rogan Jones was remembered as an “idea man who spawned notions as fast as his aides could cope.” That was the description of him in a newsletter that later recounted the history of the company he founded: IGM.

Jones got into radio with the acquisition of KXRO in his hometown of Aberdeen, Wash., in 1928, settling the back-rent that was due to him and his brother for space in a building they owned. The station had been off the air after one of its owners — a police lieutenant — was convicted for using it to coordinate a fleet of rum-running speedboats!

The following year, Jones bought 100-watt KVOS in Bellingham, Wash., for $8,500, and purchased two other stations. He subsequently bought or started many West Coast FMs, including in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and San Bernardino.

Although the stations were not financially successful — most listeners were still tuned to AM — Jones said the experience contributed to the development of his automation systems.

Because in 1959, Jones founded International Good Music to produce and sell taped music programs and automation equipment.

Simplimation

In 1961 IGM moved to a location on Home Road in Bellingham, where it would operate for the next 15 years. From that location came the “Simplimation” automation seen at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. It was on display for the public and provided background music.

Early IGM automation sequencers, such as the 200 model introduced in 1961 and the 300 model soon after, were limited to a fixed number of playback sources. They were relay operated and used an “insertion” scheduling method.

Each non-music source, such as a single-play cart machine (or later an SCM Carousel) could be scheduled by an operator to play every 5 minutes, 7-1/2 minutes, 10 minutes etc.

When no more non-music sources were ready to play, music was played from reel-to-reel players until a non-music source was again ready.

A 300 system automation package cost $14,800, or about $155,000 in today’s dollars.

The model 500, displayed at the 1965 NAB show, was IGM’s first modular system and became the company’s most popular. Each non-music source was controlled by a plug-in card, allowing for expansion. Switching was done with small, inexpensive and readily available plug-in relays on the cards. A system started at $9,000.

In the late 1960s a large IGM van with a working 500 demonstration system sat parked behind my hometown radio station, WFLR(AM/FM) in Dundee, N.Y. The general manager was convinced after he saw and heard the system. He bought much of a 500 system that was being traded in by KFRC-FM in San Francisco, including an “Actan” music controller. An IGM technician once told a WFLR engineer that the Actan originally was designed to control traffic lights.

Thirty years later, KFRC Director of Engineering Phil Lerza told me he remembered wheeling each of those blue IGM 500 racks out of the station on a handcart when they switched to a new system.

The 600 IGM model introduced in 1965 was a 500 model with added program scheduling via an “automatic typewriter” and punch-card reader. Typical system price was $20,000, equivalent to $203,000 today!

IGM cart sources were usually single-play or Carousel multi-cart decks rebadged from competitor SMC. That changed in 1969.

Ernie Burkhart, an aviation parts designer, had joined IGM in 1963 to build “bits, parts and pieces” in his words. One of the pieces he designed was the Instacart.

It held 12, 24 or 48 carts. Each cart was placed in a tray with a pinch roller and then inserted in an Instacart slot, where a solenoid would move the tray 1/16-inch in for playback.

Every slot had its own head, minimizing tape misalignment. Every column of trays had a common motor and capstan. For additional cost in 1979, each slot could have its own audio output.

The initial price for a 48-slot Instacart with the memory unit to allow a sequencer to access carts in desired order was $5,600.

IGM models changed from relay to solid-state sequencing beginning with the 400 model in 1971. The 700 family, introduced the following year, was a series of models — some controlled by DEC PDP-8 minicomputers — and a progression of punch card, paper tape, mag tape and ultimately disk drives as the boot and program loaders.

The quantity of events that could be scheduled became a horsepower race in the industry. IGM’s typically started at a minimum of 1,000 and could be expanded at additional cost. The quantity of input sources was expandable as well.

The IGM RAM model of 1975 was promoted for standalone use or as an add-on to a user’s existing system.

Succession

Following Rogan Jones’ death in 1972 and his son’s death in 1974, VP of Sales and Service Irv Law left to form Broadcast Supply West, and IGM split into three companies.

The local radio stations continued to be owned by the Jones family until sold to the Saga Radio Group in 1998.

IGM’s billing, traffic and accounting software systems was acquired by Sales Manager Joe Coons and President Lee Facto, with whom I would later work at RCS.

IGM’s music syndication division was sold to broadcaster Kemper Freeman Jr. of Bellevue and renamed Broadcast Programming International or BPI.

Some BPI formats included general “voicetracks” recorded with each song, creating the impression that the announcers were at the local station. A business owner once asked if the Jim French that he heard on WFLR “was one of the Frenches who lived over on Hollister Street.” French was actually at KVI in Seattle.

Ernie Burkhart bought the IGM automation side and designed a vertical Carousel-type multiple cart player called the Go-Cart, introduced in 1975. While less expensive than an Instacart, it improved on SMC’s Carousel product. Holding 24, 42 or 78 carts, the trays rotated bidirectionally under microprocessor control for fast access. A cart was removed from a tray and placed into a playback deck to minimize tape misalignment. The unit was hinged to swing open for maintenance. Pricing began at $4,045 for a 24-tray model.

By the late 1970s, about 500 stations were using IGM systems, roughly a third of the automation market.

The MARC VII (for “Manual Assist Remote Control”) came out in 1976; it was an early IGM microprocessor product, using an 8748. It included a “TV” display and control keyboard. The Basic A & B models (1977) each used three 8085s. The model B had dual floppy drives. Both models used “plain English” control and display on a color CRT and printer.

IGM employed 105 people in 1969, but by 1980 the number had dropped to 33, and production halted temporarily. That year, following a heart attack, Ernie Burkhart sold a controlling interest in IGM to a local real estate developer. Later, IGM President Jim Wells bought the company. But by 1984, only 20 employees remained.

The SC model (for “Sophisticated Control”) was designed for PC control and came out in 1985, retailing for about $14,500. The EC (“Economical Control”) followed the next year for $4,975. These prices did not include the personal computer.

The MC, issued in 1990, was IGM’s last model. The company’s final mention in Radio World was a trade show exhibitor listing in the fall of 1991. IGM never made the jump to hard drive audio storage.

Sources for this article include Archives West, Bellingham Herald, Broadcast Engineering, Broadcast Management/Engineering, Broadcasting, Radio World and IGM documentation and staff interviews.

The author wrote last year about Gates Radio’s ST-101 tape recorder, introduced in 1959.

Got a memory of IGM or other automation to share? Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line.

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