Large Ham Radio

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    "Helloooooooooo Capital Wasteland, this is Three Dog, *AUUOOOOO* comin' to ya loud and proud from Galaxy News Radio! Bringin' you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts."
    —Three Dog [1] DJ of GNR, Fallout 3

    Radio, especially the amateur variety, will always attract a certain type of DJ/Announcer, namely a Large Ham. At least in fiction.

    Anyone put in front of a radio mic, even if he's never seen one before, will instantly switch into a confident DJ-persona, complete with nickname, Catch Phrases and a smooth baritone voice. Otherwise they might become an abrasive Dumbass DJ. Whatever style he chooses, there won't be a second's hesitation, confusion, dead air or any other problems you might expect of a Naive Newcomer.

    If it's ham radio they're getting into, it's very likely they'll also immediately turn into a Soapbox Sadie Conspiracy Theorist convinced that the government wants to shut them down.

    Another common variant, more popular in the United Kingdom, is the Tony Blackburn-esque (probably better known to younger generations as Smashie and Nicey-esque) cheesy 1970s pop DJ.

    Not to be confused with Radio Voice. Closely related to Danger Deadpan, a similar effect caused by speaking over an aeroplane intercom. Compare Large Ham Announcer.

    Examples of Large Ham Radio include:

    Advertising

    Fanfic


    Film


    Literature

    • Rose, aka Mother, the communications officer of Phule's Company. In person, she's so cripplingly shy that hardly anyone has ever managed to speak to her face-to-face, but over radio equipment she becomes talkative and even flirtatious. Apparently she had a stutter as a child and became afraid of the sound of her own voice, but later discovered that she didn't mind so much when she was speaking into sound equipment.
    • Lee Jordan, the definitely-not-neutral Quidditch announcer from the Harry Potter novels.


    Live Action TV

    Music

    "I am a DJ, I am what I play/I've got believers believing me!"


    Video Games

    • Three Dog[1] from Fallout 3 is the very definition of this trope.
      • And Best Friend Tabitha from the sequel [2] takes it one step even farther than that.
      • Mr. New Vegas (Wayne Newton) is an inversion, speaking in a calm, friendly tone more appropriate to a DJ for a station that plays music from the 40s and 50s.
      • Fallout 3 also features an aversion: if Three Dog[1] is killed, his replacement, Margaret, drops the news segments and prefaces the music with annoyed comments about just being a technician and the actual DJ having been killed. Apparently, just being put in front of a microphone is not sufficient for this trope to kick in in the Fallout universe.
    • DJ Professor K. JET SET RADIOOOOOOOO!


    Web Original

    • Done in Homestar Runner, with Strong Sad, whose usual droning, whispery voice changes to a rapid-fire shock jock when on the radio, during one of the Strong Bad Emails.


    Western Animation

    • Homer Simpson, as a ham radio operator.
    • Timmy used magic to do this on an ep of Fairly Odd Parents. He had a magic mic that made anyone who spoke into it have a smooth baritone voice.
    • Parodied in Phineas and Ferb, Isabella is given the chance to announce P&Fs Monster Truck Rally and does so in a deeper, louder, male voice with standard huckster dialog. In one deep breath.
    • Double subverted with Family Guy: One episode had Brian end up with a radio show after criticizing the local Dumbass DJs. His show started off intelligent, NPR-ish, and performing poorly with listeners. After Stewie prank calls him a couple of times, the executives force Brian to add him to the show, at which point it devolves into exactly the kind of thing he was complaining about earlier, complete with Howard Stern-esque antics and annoying sound clips.
    • Sealab 2021, "Radio Free Sealab": Captain Murphy starts a pirate radio station out of sheer boredom, adopts the DJ persona "Howlin' Mad Murphy", and conducts the usual on-air hijinx until the FCC blows him (and the rest of the station)up with a depth charge.
    • In the Hey Arnold! Halloween special, this is apparently the case with the local radio station's DJ. Only when he's in front of the mic does he produce the deep voice required for his job.


    Real Life

    The voices other examples are parodying.

    • Big radio personalities in general need to be self-promoters. Radio shows don't get the same kind of marketing push that TV shows and movies get, so successful radio hosts tend to be very comfortable with blowing their own horn.
    • Gary Owens is the "announcer" voice for which everyone strives these days (unless he's trying to copy the In a World guy).
    • Wolfman Jack.
    • Casey Kasem.
    • Averted by NPR, which has the exact opposite reputation of its hosts being very soft-spoken. As Family Guy put it:

    "This is NPR, the station where we talk very softly, directly into the microphone. Can you hear us? We're right inside your head..."

    1. 1 2 3 AUUOOOOO
    2. ↑ Threats all around us! Converging, like a noose! Tightening! Two-head bear people astride battle cattles!!!
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