# General > General >  The Super Station, Orkney - Radio

## Metalattakk

http://www.thesuperstation.co.uk/

A commercial FM radio station, based in Orkney, serving Orkney, yet playing modern, interesting music that people want to listen to. They are funded by their advertising, and are even able to provide an internet stream for listeners all around the world.

They feature all the local news, jobs, etc., and even run their own media courses for people wanting to learn about the industry.

It's a bright, modern and refreshingly interactive enterprise, and deserves great credit and support.

So, my question is:

Why isn't Caithness FM doing something similar?

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## ciderally

oh good luck on that question....

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## davem

They have costed it out a few times and I believe you have to pay by how many people listen. So long as the 2 goldfish who listen to my jazz show were free I shouldn't cost much, but I as I remember every time it's been looked at it was way more than the station could afford. 
I am sure if there are any legal lower cost alternatives they'll be looked at; and if it can be done it will be.

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## Metalattakk

> They have costed it out a few times and I believe you have to pay by how many people listen.


But surely that's where the advertising comes in - the more people that listen, the higher they can charge for advertising, thus covering the costs?

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## CFM

I think the key to the answer is "commercial" the Orkney superstation is a commercial station, CFM is a community radio station - under the terms of our licence agreement we are not allowed to advertise, therefore we are severly restricted in our methods of income.  Under Scottish law we cannot become a charity  (English stations can) which also restricts our funding opportunities

As I have said, in this forum on many occasions, we are all volunteers, we may not suit everyone but we do actually have a tremendous following - a great many people prefer the country and scottish shows we provide to anything that is available on any other station. As a community station we have to make every effort to attempt to please the other members of the community - or as many of them as we can.

without wishing to sound offensive I would also like to add that I am disappointed that we receive this kind of comment on a public forum, we are always willing to answer questions and show people around the studio - so why not email or phone us with your comments if you are genuinely intersted in the station? we are always looking for new volunteers!

As to the live streaming - we are looking into various options at the moment but as stated by Dave, it's expensive and we need to earn the money to pay for it, (in addition to the time we actually spend in the studio we have to find the time to fundraise as well as promoting and assisting other community groups with their events)we are aware that it is the way forward and can assure you that we are keeping an eye on the situation.


p.s we will be at castletown primary school fair tomorrow 12-3 with our outside broadcast van if anyone is interested in visiting us!

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## Metalattakk

> I think the key to the answer is "commercial" the Orkney superstation is a commercial station, CFM is a community radio station - under the terms of our licence agreement we are not allowed to advertise, therefore we are severly restricted in our methods of income.  Under Scottish law we cannot become a charity  (English stations can) which also restricts our funding opportunities


They operate under a Community Radio License too. As far as I'm aware, advertising can be used to pay costs as the license only prohibits profit-making. I may be wrong though.

In fact: -




> We will usually allow stations to include a certain amount of advertising and sponsorship in their broadcasts. However, at least half your stations income must come from other areas. This could include public funding from local or central government, other government agencies, the European Union, the National Lottery or charities. We may also be able to help. Were receiving half a million pounds from the Government to award in the financial year which ends in April 2005, and the same amount in the following financial year.


Source:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rb...comrad_sum.pdf

Financial constraints might not be a problem.

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## CFM

our agreement is with MFR as they are the licence holders -they do not allow us to advertise as this is their main source of revenue, our agreement with MFR is the only way we can afford to broadcast as the community radio license has too many restrictions for us. 

we would only be able to broadcast in a 5 km radius (they may allow more but not guaranteed) and only 50% of your income can come from one source- making it extremely difficult to make up the difference - believe me we've had many sleepless nights reading and re-reading all the info and trying to work around it!

I should say that there may be changes in the community licence in the next year or two which may change the situation but until such times we really do have out hands tied

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## Metalattakk

Fair enough, I'd overlooked the fact you piggy-back on MFR's transmitter. Damn, that's frustrating!

Hopefully when/if the rules are relaxed, we can look forward to the untying of those hands.

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## CFM

no problem - as I said feel free to come up and visit the studio if you are interested - let me know in advance and we'll sort something out

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## George Brims

> http://www.thesuperstation.co.uk/
> 
> A commercial FM radio station, based in Orkney, serving Orkney, 
> So, my question is:
> 
> Why isn't Caithness FM doing something similar?


2 further questions:
(1) Is it streamed on the internet?
(2) If so, what time is Magnus Twatt on?

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## DeHaviLand

> 2 further questions:
> (1) Is it streamed on the internet?
> (2) If so, what time is Magnus Twatt on?


 
You may find it useful to click on the link that MA thoughtfully provided  ::

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## KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN

I enjoy both stations, CFM & the super station - the super station is AMAZING just at half 5 ish when you're making dinner, like CFM for te country music!! Both are better than mfr - its same old stuff!!!

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## George Brims

> You may find it useful to click on the link that MA thoughtfully provided


Oh how disappointing - no Magnus!

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## WeeBurd

> Oh how disappointing - no Magnus!


 
Don't worry, George,  I get your "Magnus Twatt reporting!", jibe,  I'm a great fan too, lol!  ::

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## JamesMcVean

The Superstation used to be on a boat moored in St Margarets Hope...with some Canadian Lassies and when I used to work at Flotta we used to have it on the radio all the time, they certainly played a great bunch o tunes...

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## pinotnoir

CFM, forgive me for being so literal, but in a post above you state

"...under the terms of our licence agreement we are not allowed to advertise"

that seems unequivocal.

However, in more recent post you indicate that 

"we were supposed to be advertising"

in most circumstances it is in my nature to be circumspect, but you are a broadcaster and are giving an ambivalent message.

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## Moonboots

Whats the frequency for superstation

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## Metalattakk

> Whats the frequency for superstation


105.4 apparently. Why they can't give this info on their website I have no idea.

I doubt you'll get it on this side of the firth though, I don't think their transmitters are strong enough.

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## sweetpea

> http://www.thesuperstation.co.uk/
> 
> A commercial FM radio station, based in Orkney, serving Orkney, yet playing modern, interesting music that people want to listen to. They are funded by their advertising, and are even able to provide an internet stream for listeners all around the world.
> 
> They feature all the local news, jobs, etc., and even run their own media courses for people wanting to learn about the industry.
> 
> It's a bright, modern and refreshingly interactive enterprise, and deserves great credit and support.
> 
> So, my question is:
> ...



MFR do media courses as well. From what I hear a radio station can be an amazing setting for learning. I met a guy who spent a week there and he said he had a fantastic time and got a lot out of it.

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## Amy-Winehouse

> 105.4 apparently. Why they can't give this info on their website I have no idea.
> 
> I doubt you'll get it on this side of the firth though, I don't think their transmitters are strong enough.


Oh yes you can, Ive listened to it on a saturday night as the telly was so bad & the dance tunes on it were ace- sorry cfm but it was absolutely streets ahead of anything you play & the d.j`s didnt hesitate or appear totally out of place like yours.

I wish CFM was better as its local but it isnt imo. Superstation sounds so much more professional

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## rambo1978

> 105.4 apparently. Why they can't give this info on their website I have no idea.
> 
> I doubt you'll get it on this side of the firth though, I don't think their transmitters are strong enough.


I've listened to it a few times now from my mums new motor in Wick.  It's quite a good station.

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## Moonboots

Must have a listen to it then... It has to be miles better than CFM ... sorry guys but you need young blood to take your station to a new level.

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## Metalattakk

> Oh yes you can, Ive listened to it on a saturday night as the telly was so bad & the dance tunes on it were ace


Happy to be proved wrong (although I cannae quite get it at home here in Thurso - we're in a bad area for TV and radio reception though).

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## Aaldtimer

> Must have a listen to it then... It has to be miles better than CFM ... sorry guys but you need young blood to take your station to a new level.


Well, we're sorry Moonboots to be such a disappointment to you.
It disappoints us that after 10 years plus of regular broadcasting with a totally volunteer amateur dedicated bunch that we still get this sort of criticism.

If the "young blood" don't care to volunteer, then we'll just have to stagger on with us oldies!

Having said that, we get far more encouragement from phone calls and texts than you might imagine. :Grin:

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## Moonboots

You probably do get alot of encouragement but its just my opinion mind.

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## CFM

Apologies - instead of the word "Advertise" I should have said promote - it was just supposed to be a quick reply to someones question and I did not put much thought into the exact wording!

As Auldtimer says - we are a volunteer station, we have around 40 people involved in keeping it up and running, all of whom make a great comittment not only in time but their own money (buying music). As we have said on many occasions, we cannot please everyone however we do feel that we fill a gap in that those of you who wish "younger" or more "modern" programmes have countless other channels to choose from and no we just can't compete with the professionals - however whether certain individuals like it or not - our main audience in this area like mainly country music and scottish music and we provide that, we also provide very popular shows with hits from the 60's etc. We have a very varied schedule with jazz, blues, classical and folk as well as the main stream stuff - what other station provides that? we try to play something for everyone - not just the same stuff all the time - you will very rarely get a repeat track in any evening on Caithness FM - can you say the same of other stations? The super station is great and we wish them well, they fill a gap in their area and good luck to them. What we do find extremely disheartning is that a few individuals on this forum are so negative  - perhaps they should have spent Sunday night sitting in our studio while the station was off air answering countless phone calls explaining to regular listeners why we were not on.

Our previous offer still stands - if you think you can do better feel free to come forward - we are currently looking for a blues presenter


An  finally - thank you to everyone who has contacted us this week while we have been off air - it's great to know that so many of you do support us

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## Torvaig

CFM, you are obviously filling a much needed gap in todays fast and furious world. I applaud the fact that you are all self funding and meeting the needs of those who love your broadcasting with the personal touch.

The needs of the young (and not so young even) are more than fully met by other radio stations with their up to the minute music and presenters so why should CFM change to add to them?

More strength to your collective elbows and well done indeed for giving up your free time and your cash! It is appreciated in many quarters as is shown by your audience and their responses! 

Let's hope there are no more negative remarks on here......only a rush to help either with cash or as new presenters!  ::

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## newpark

I love Superstation Orkney and thats pretty much all I listen to now.

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## Celtic Warlord

I live in Wales & listen to The Superstation Orkney all day long, whilst at home. Cracking station - brilliant music & seriously quite GOOD presenters. Shame it's only available down 'ere on t'internet and is sometimes missing for hours or days on end, due to server failures etc - just wish it was available on digital radio, then could get it in the van too  :: 
Nothing down here in North Wales to touch it - it's a brilliant station 24/7

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## Cedric Farthsbottom III

Just out of curiousity,does the early morning presenter on Superstation Orkney say,"Hello,Hello this is civilisation calling!"Just out of curiousity like. ::

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## sids

Is the old guy Rapson still on CFM?

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## The Pepsi Challenge

> http://www.thesuperstation.co.uk/
> 
> A commercial FM radio station, based in Orkney, serving Orkney, yet playing modern, interesting music that people want to listen to. They are funded by their advertising, and are even able to provide an internet stream for listeners all around the world.
> 
> They feature all the local news, jobs, etc., and even run their own media courses for people wanting to learn about the industry.
> 
> It's a bright, modern and refreshingly interactive enterprise, and deserves great credit and support.
> 
> So, my question is:
> ...


Yet again, Orkney show Caithness the way.

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## Metalattakk

> Yet again, Orkney show Caithness the way.





> I think the key to the answer is "commercial" the Orkney superstation is a commercial station, CFM is a community radio station - under the terms of our licence agreement we are not allowed to advertise, therefore we are severly restricted in our methods of income.  Under Scottish law we cannot become a charity  (English stations can) which also restricts our funding opportunities
> 
> As I have said, in this forum on many occasions, we are all volunteers, we may not suit everyone but we do actually have a tremendous following - a great many people prefer the country and scottish shows we provide to anything that is available on any other station. As a community station we have to make every effort to attempt to please the other members of the community - or as many of them as we can.
> 
> without wishing to sound offensive I would also like to add that I am disappointed that we receive this kind of comment on a public forum, we are always willing to answer questions and show people around the studio - so why not email or phone us with your comments if you are genuinely intersted in the station? we are always looking for new volunteers!
> 
> As to the live streaming - we are looking into various options at the moment but as stated by Dave, it's expensive and we need to earn the money to pay for it, (in addition to the time we actually spend in the studio we have to find the time to fundraise as well as promoting and assisting other community groups with their events)we are aware that it is the way forward and can assure you that we are keeping an eye on the situation.
> 
> 
> p.s we will be at castletown primary school fair tomorrow 12-3 with our outside broadcast van if anyone is interested in visiting us!





> our agreement is with MFR as they are the licence holders -they do not allow us to advertise as this is their main source of revenue, our agreement with MFR is the only way we can afford to broadcast as the community radio license has too many restrictions for us. 
> 
> we would only be able to broadcast in a 5 km radius (they may allow more but not guaranteed) and only 50% of your income can come from one source- making it extremely difficult to make up the difference - believe me we've had many sleepless nights reading and re-reading all the info and trying to work around it!
> 
> I should say that there may be changes in the community licence in the next year or two which may change the situation but until such times we really do have out hands tied


I take it in your haste to slag off the county of your birth, Pepsi, you neglected to read the responses of those at CFM.

How remiss of you.

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## Aaldtimer

Thank you for your support MA!  :Smile:

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## kas

As a listener to both stations on a regular basis I just have to throw my tuppence worth in.

First and foremost the Superstaion is broadcast from the south, (Sheffield I think) and its staff will be paid employees, next time you listen count how many local accents you hear on it. One in an advert maybe. 
 While we all know CFM is based and broadcast from Thurso and community run and funded and all the presenters are volunteers, and there are plenty local accents on there some of which are worth listening for.

The Superstation is a good station if you like popular modern music. You get the odd dance show, a slower pace show and 80s show thrown in during the week, however during the weekday afternoon and evenings there play list can be very repetitive. eg right now Cheryl Cole is probably played five or six times a day which can get annoying.
Basically it is an easy listening popular music station which only caters for certain types of music. 

Whilst Caithness FM caters for almost all music tastes. They cater from Folk to rock to Scottish to classical to 50s to modern music. If you look at the schedule it has a wide choice of music and I think CFM should be saluted for this. They have not given into the norm of chart and popular music like many other local radio stations, they cater for everyone. They also advertise all the local events happening in Caithness and provide opportunities for local groups to do interviews on air to publicise their activities.

Bottom line is, if you do not like CFM do not tune it but please do not criticise a bunch of hard working volunteers who go out there way to provide a service to the community.  When it comes to serving communities CFM win hands down over the superstation as they are present at many local events doing their bit.

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## suth13

this station is great wont listen to anything else.

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## KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN

super station I can hear the whole way between Groats to the Dounreay car park....it's a bit scratchy at the traffic lights at Skinandis and once you turn onto Dounreay runway but rest of time it's fine....

Also you can get it all the way between Groats and Reiss....starts to get scratchy once you hit there....

it's a magic station with really good mix of tunes.....


PS>.....is it really broadcast from Sheffield??? They talk about their studios in Orkney ?? and although it's not an Orcadian presenting I was led to believe wither it's right or wrong - they were originally a pirate station playing from a boat somewhere off the coast up here/there??? is that complete myth ?????????

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## Serenity

> http://www.thesuperstation.co.uk/
> 
> A commercial FM radio station, based in Orkney, serving Orkney, yet playing modern, interesting music that people want to listen to. They are funded by their advertising, and are even able to provide an internet stream for listeners all around the world.
> 
> They feature all the local news, jobs, etc., and even run their own media courses for people wanting to learn about the industry.
> 
> It's a bright, modern and refreshingly interactive enterprise, and deserves great credit and support.
> 
> So, my question is:
> ...


I didn't think it was based in Orkney? Going by all the presenters I heard I figured it was a station based in England who franchise out to certain areas and just change the jingle. Not checked the facts but there is nothing local about it either way.  Sometimes switch to it when in the car and nothing else on but it has more adverts than MFR and signal is patchy (obv, the signal is coming from Orkney). TBH I mostly hear it in Taxis in early morning when there really is nothing else on (what I mean is everything else at those times are kinda specialist shows - guess the taxi drivers like keeping the majority happy with the pop stuff).
Don't really see the point of CFM doing it.

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## Aaldtimer

Serenity..."Don't really see the point of CFM doing it."...
Don't really see the point of CFM doing what? ::

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## Metalattakk

> Serenity..."Don't really see the point of CFM doing it."...
> Don't really see the point of CFM doing what?


I'm presuming she means that she doesn't see the point of CFM going down the road of pandering to the Top 40 pop pap princesses.

Which is fine by me.

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## Aaldtimer

Me too!................ :Wink:

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## orkneycadian

> Yet again, Orkney show Caithness the way.


 :: 
I think not!  I think theres more folk in Orkney listen to CFM/MFR than do the "Superstation"!




> I doubt you'll get it on this side of the firth though, I don't think their transmitters are strong enough.


They only cover a small part of the mainland around Kirkwall.  You can't get it in Stromness, whilst you can get CFM/MFR there loud and clear on 102.5




> They operate under a Community Radio License too. As far as I'm aware, advertising can be used to pay costs as the license only prohibits profit-making.


I think that will be a foregone conclusion.  There is an advert for them in the Orkney Advertiser this week, thanking their own advertisers - All 3 of them!  :: 




> Just out of curiousity,does the early morning presenter on Superstation Orkney say,"Hello,Hello this is civilisation calling!"Just out of curiousity like.


Yep, they should do, as all the presenters live in England and voice track their shows in over the internet from there.  The place that "passes" for their studios is permenantly locked up and in darkness.




> First and foremost the Superstaion is broadcast from the south, (Sheffield I think) and its staff will be paid employees, next time you listen count how many local accents you hear on it. One in an advert maybe.


Even the adverts are done by MFR (a bit of moonlighting?) I would have thought producing adverts for your competitor would be a bit detrimental!  They did have one presenter based here for a while, but he jumped ship to BBC Radio Orkney about a year ago.

It doesnlt find a lot of favour over here - Poor coverage, no local presenters and almost 100% automated playout seem to put most folk off.  On top of that, the music "policy" is almost non existent.  In an effort to try and appeal to as many folk as possible, the playout machine seems to be programmed to mix and match (or not as the case may be), any old combination of music, and it just doesnt fit.  At least with CFM, you know you will get country on the country programmes (and can retune to MFR on 97.4!), rock (sort of) of the Friday Night rock Show (more so when Tugmistress was doing it!) and something half decent when Jim Anthony comes on on a Friday night.  With the Superstation, you'll get the biggest mismatch of music over and over again.

They were trying to sell it a few years ago, but guess they had no takers....

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## orkneycadian

p.s.  They also nicked CFM's tagline - "More Music, More Variety!"  Not even an attempt to change it!

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## retrodj

Although CFM is not my cup of tea, I do appreciate that it serves a purpose and has a lot of loyal followers in the area. The fact also that everyone is a volunteer tells you that they all have a passion for music and a fire in their bellies to keep the station going for the good of the local community.  If I had more time I would volunteer my services having DJ'd in pubs and clubs in the past. Maybe one day. Although, like most other people, I have never set foot in a radio studio and it would probably be quite a nerve wracking experience to begin with. Especially with my dulcet tones. 

What equipment is currently used? is it still vinyl and cds or is there computers etc and the music is mp3's? 

I do prefer the superstation as it has more dance orientated music.  Maybe a specialist dance slot on CFM for the young-uns of caithness might enhance the stations popularity with the young folk and in turn get young volunteers involved.  :Smile:

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## orkneycadian

> Maybe a specialist dance slot on CFM for the young-uns of caithness might enhance the stations popularity....


Ah, I can hear it now.....

"And we hiv a request here fer some Armand Van Helden, whoever he might be....  Sorry, but we divn't hiv at wan, but ere's some Kenny Chesney instead.  A hope ats OK fer ye"

You know the DJ in question....  :Wink:

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## Kenneth

Retrodj - CFM uses a bunch of stuff! Vinyl, CDs, Mini-CDs, MP3s, and even cassettes (and on some occasions you will hear a live band up there!)

I think the volunteers up at CFM do a great job. Its quite hard work doing a show every week for an hour (sometimes more)...and in fact Im sure I make it sound far too difficult at times haha.

But whilst admittedly, some of the shows lack a little professionalism, you have to remember its done voluntarily, and I would think for many, local radio is an interesting niche in the market. I would point out that most of the presenters do a great job, and there is one English chap, I cant remember his name, but he has the BEST voice for radio I've ever heard.

I've listenend to SS and although it does seem to cater for a younger audience, it does tend to become a touch repetitive. 

Long live CFM

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