
Part 4

HOW TO GET STARTED

You have few are no tapes, and without anything to offer in trade you
feel like your collection is never going to grow.  Fear not, there are
many different roads you can take.

Grateful Dead Hour

If you live in an area that has the Grateful Dead Hour radio program
hosted by David Gans you will be in business.  The GDH runs every week
with live Grateful Dead music from recent shows to old rarities.  Call or
write the station running the GDH and tell them how much you like it.  If
it is an NPR or other non-commercial station make sure you send them a
little money when they have their fund raisers.  If no station near you
runs the GDH start bugging some to get it.  If you find a station that is
interested, you can contact David Gans at the addresses listed below. 
Cutting out commercials and other announcements you can usually fit the
GDH on one side of a 100 minute tape.  I use a 110 to be on the safe side
and don't try to cut anything out.     

GRATEFUL DEAD HOUR
National broadcast schedule as of February  1, 1995

WDHA-FM 105.5 Dover NJ joins the GD Hour network Sunday, February 5 at 7pm

KYUK-AM    580  Bethel AK
WQPR-FM   88.7  Muscle Shoals AL          Friday 11pm
WUAL-FM   91.5  Tuscaloosa/Bham AL        Friday 11pm
KZON-FM  101.5  Phoenix AZ                Monday 11pm  
KEKO-FM   92.1  Tucson AZ                 Friday 10pm
KHSU-FM   90.5  Arcata CA                 Tuesday 10pm
KPFA-FM   94.1  Berkeley CA               Wednesday 8pm
KFCF-FM   88.1  Fresno CA                 Wednesday 8pm
KLSX-FM   97.1  Los Angeles CA            Sunday midnight
KNSQ-FM   88.1  Mt. Shasta CA             Saturday 8pm
KAZU-FM   90.3  Pacific Grove CA          Saturday 6pm
KNCA-FM   89.7  Redding CA                Saturday 8pm
KSEG-FM   96.9  Sacramento CA             Saturday midnight
KCBQ-FM  105.3  San Diego CA              Sunday 11pm
KGNU-FM   88.5  Boulder CO                Saturday 8pm
KSUT-FM   91.3  Ignacio CO                Saturday 9pm
WHCN-FM  105.9  Hartford CT               Saturday 11pm
WRUF-FM  103.7  Gainesville FL            Sunday 10pm
WJCT-FM   89.9  Jacksonville FL           Friday 11pm
WOZN-FM   98.7  Key West FL               Sunday 3pm
WZTA-FM   94.9  Miami FL                  Sunday 11pm 
KFMG-FM  103.3  Des Moines IA             Sunday 10pm
KRUI-FM   89.7  Iowa City IA              Sunday 4:30pm
KBSU-FM   90.3  Boise ID                  Friday 11pm
KUOI-FM   89.3  Moscow ID                 Thursday 9pm
WEFT-FM   90.1  Champaign IL              Friday 7pm
WXRT-FM   93.1  Chicago IL                Sunday 9pm
WFHB-FM   91.3  Bloomington IN            Saturday 7pm
KMKF-FM  101.5  Manhattan KS              Sunday 11pm
WRNR-FM  103.1  Annapolis MD              Wed 10pm&Sun midnight
WKHS-FM   90.5  Baltimore MD              Saturday 7pm
WWDX-FM   92.1  East Lansing MI           Monday 11pm
WLAV-FM   96.9  Grand Rapids MI           Sunday 10pm
KUMD-FM  103.3  Duluth MN                 Saturday 4pm
KTCZ-FM   97.1  Minneapolis MN            Sunday 10pm
KOPN-FM   89.5  Columbia MO               Friday 8pm
KKFI-FM   90.1  Kansas City MO            Friday 10pm 
KMNR-FM   89.7  Rolla MO                  Saturday midnight
WNCW-FM  100.7  Charlotte NC              Wednesday 10pm
WNCW-FM   88.7  Spindale NC               Wednesday 10pm
KZUM-FM   89.3  Lincoln NE                Wednesday 10pm
WNHI-FM   93.3  Concord NH                Tuesday 9pm
WDHA-FM  105.5  Dover NJ                  Sunday 7pm <- NEW
KLSK-FM  104.1  Albuquerque NM            Wednesday 9pm
KGLP-FM   91.7  Gallup NM                 Saturday 9pm
KTHX-FM   94.7  Reno NV                   Sunday 8pm
WQBK-FM  103.9  Albany NY                 Tuesday 11pm
WGR-FM    96.9  Buffalo NY                Sunday midnight
WHCL-FM   88.7  Clinton NY                Friday 11pm
WMAX-FM  106.7  Rochester NY              Sunday 10pm
WRPI-FM   91.5  Troy NY                   Thursday 11pm
WNCX-FM   98.5  Cleveland OH              Sunday 10pm
KSBA-FM   88.5  Coos Bay OR               Saturday 8pm
KRVM-FM   91.9  Eugene OR                 Sunday 3pm
KPUR-FM   94.5  Forest Grove OR           Friday noon
KSKF-FM   90.9  Klamath Falls OR          Saturday 8pm
KSMF-FM   89.1  Medford OR                Saturday 8pm
WXPN-FM   88.5  Philadelphia PA           Sat. 7pm & Thurs. 11pm
WDUQ-FM   90.5  Pittsburgh PA             Sunday 8pm
WQSU-FM   88.9  Selinsgrove PA            Saturday 7pm
WNCW-FM   97.3  Greenville SC             Wednesday 10pm
WNCW-FM   96.7  Knoxville TN              Wednesday 10pm
KGSR-FM  107.1  Austin TX                 Saturday midnight
KZFX-FM  107.5  Houston TX                Thursday 11pm
KLZX-FM   93.3  Salt Lake City UT         Sunday 10pm
WCVE-FM   88.9  Richmond VA               Saturday 11:30pm
WROV-FM   96.3  Roanoke VA                Sunday 11pm
WKOC-FM   93.7  Virginia Beach VA         Sunday 11pm
KISM-FM   92.9  Bellingham WA             Sunday 9am
KBCS-FM   91.3  Seattle WA                Tuesday 10pm
KHSS-FM  100.9  Walla Walla WA            Sunday 8pm
WOJB-FM   88.9  Hayward WI                Friday 11:30pm
WMMM-FM  105.5  Madison WI                Sunday 11pm
KUWR-FM   91.9  Laramie WY                Saturday 11pm

-- 
    David Gans     tnf@well.sf.ca.us   http://www.well.com/www/tnf/
    Truth and Fun, Inc., 484 Lake Park Ave #102, Oakland CA 94610

Local Friends

After the GDH, the next best way to get some tapes is to meet Deadheads
in your area.  Many Deadheads, including myself, are more than happy to
loan out tapes for people to copy.  Just make sure you take very good
care of them and do not loan them out to anyone else.  Also dub them
quickly and get them back as soon as you can.  It would be a nice gesture
to give the lender a little something for his kindness.  He/she should
not *expect* something though.  Always remember how someone helped you
out and be willing to lend tapes to others who are just starting out.

Buying Tapes at Cost

For a variety of reasons sometimes tape traders need to liquidate part or
all of their collections.  The most ethical price is the cost of the
blank tape.  Some feel they deserve at least something for their effort
in acquiring the tape.  Also the cost of blanks can vary quite a bit. 
This will be debated forever.  To me $1.75-$2.00 a tape seems to be a
fair price in most situations.  The price could be a little higher if the
tapes are metal or Maxell XL-IIS or lower if they are normal bias tapes. 
The recipient of the tapes should pay the postage.  Don't be willing to
pay too much out of desperation to get new tapes.  Something will come
up.  It is considered unethical and technically illegal to sell tapes
above the cost of the tape.  Use your best judgment.

Tape Trees

Getting on tape trees will not only guarantee you the tape being treed,
but if you are in a good position on a tree you can get a few additional
trades out of it.  This is where high quality equipment can help you out
as tree placement is largely based on that.    

Groveling

When all else fails you can always grovel for people to make you copies
if you send blanks.  Keep an eye out on the Internet for people making
offers.  Also look in the classifieds of Unbroken Chain, Dupree's Diamond
News, and Relix for people willing to spin tapes for blanks.  Be polite
when asking people to make copies for you and don't be put off if they
won't do it.  Usually when people offer to spin for blanks they will get
deluged with requests and end up with more than they can handle.  When
someone offers to make you tapes DO NOT send more than was agreed on. 
Don't deal with anyone asking for something in exchange like you sending
5 blanks and him sending back 4 and keeping one.  There are too many
people willing to do it for nothing.  It is a nice gesture to let the
taper keep the Maxpoints.  It is also a nice gesture to send something
along as a way of saying thanks.  It does not have to be much, something
like stickers, tape covers, or the like

Make things as easy as possible for the person making tapes for you.  Get
a padded envelope and address it to yourself and have the correct postage
on it.  (see section on shipping).  Put the blanks in the padded
envelope.  Put the padded envelope inside a non-padded large envelope
addressed to the person making the tapes.  Include a  list of the shows
you want or ask the person to pick favorites from certain years or
all-time.

Suggestions On What Tapes To Start With

When you are getting your first tapes you obviously will be looking for
tapes you want, but you should also keep in mind what tapes will make
good trading potential.  If you try to get low generation tapes of really
good shows, you will then have some good stuff to offer in trade.  Most
of the classic shows are really common, so be patient and wait for good
copies to turn up.  Eric Doherty makes some good points:

"The most important thing for me when collecting tapes (although not
always anymore as I search for rare tapes) is getting quality low gen
recordings.  High quality low gen tapes are what people are looking for
and you should get them whenever you can.  If someone has a 1st gen SBD
of some show in 1973 you should pick that over some unknown generation
tape from 1972.  You are likely to find that '72 tape on other lists, but
you may not find a SBD/1 of that '73 show again.  What you are looking
for when you trade are tapes that will allow you to get other tapes.  It
is all one big game.  Consider your SBD/2 1973 tape a key which you use
to get a SBD/2 of some 1970 show.  I also think it is valuable advice to
wait for better quality tapes when you can.  I waited
about 6 months to get a copy of 8/27/72.  I saw it on lots of lists, but
I was looking for the best copy I could get.  If you do not absolutely
need a copy of 2/15/73 then wait around and see if something better turns
up later.  The fewer times you have to upgrade shows the more money you
will save and the more tapes you can collect.  It frustrates me when
someone picks an AUD tape from '93 on my list over a SBD/1 rare 1970
show.  They are going to get a lot more mileage out of that 1970 show,
and that is the trick to this game, IMHO."  

Once you get a few good tapes you should be all set for trading.  Use
your best tapes as bait.  


Deadbase

If you are planning on really getting into tape trading you should get
Deadbase.  This will give you all the setlists, reviews, stats and also
has a section listing favorite tapes for individual years and all time, 
among many, many other features.  Deadbase VIII covers everything up
through 1993.  The yearly editions have extensive stats and reviews for
just that year.  Ordering information:  

                         Book Rate  First Class
Deadbase '93               12.00       14.00
DB 88-93 (6 book set)      56.00       60.00
Deadbase VIII              29.00       32.00 <-new prices
Deadbase VIII (hardcover)  37.00       40.00 <-new prices

DeadBase 93 is likely to be the last in the series.

Deadbase Orders
P.O. Box 499
Hanover, NH 03755

Deadbase is only available through the mail or from Terrapin Tapes.

Terrapin Tapes

Terrapin Tapes 1-800-677-8650 will give you just about as good a price on
blank tapes and audio equipment as you are going to get anywhere.  They
also sell Deadbase.  Internet users are offered additional discounts. 
They are an independent business and deserve our support.

*******GUIDE TO CASSETTE DECKS AND TAPE TRADING***************
by
MICHAEL BELL
mbell@mail.utexas.edu
version 1.01
February 1995

Permission to copy this document or *complete* parts is freely granted. 
Please do not break up sections.

