A station in the resort town of Hua Hin in Thailand, Surf102.5FM was relaunched recently.

The station has been on air for eight years with the aim of serving the mainly expat community of around 12,000 residents, broadcasting through a 500 watts transmitter.

It caught the attention of radio professional Richard Buckle who noticed the station appeared to be out of touch with its potential listeners and had almost no advertising during his weekend trips to the beach at Hua Hin a few months ago. 

He approached the owner Pongsawatch Charoennithithat with a proposal to re programme the station and put Surf 102.5 back on the map.

Charoennithithat accepted the proposal and the need for change.

Working without a budget, the only way forward was to automate using the existing Sambroadcaster playout system and make it as lively as possible.

The station launched on November 1 with a hybrid ‘Hot AC new and old’ format and has received positive interest from local business and listeners.