Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 11, 1993 TAG: 9308110104
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
The country music station, which calls itself "CD Country 101.7," lost its vintage 1975 vacuum tube-type transmitter Friday afternoon after its power transformer gave up the ghost.
Station officials decided to use the dubious opportunity to replace the transmitter, rather than repair it.
The station already had purchased a newer, more powerful transmitter, but the unit was still in South Carolina. "We quickly rented a truck and sent two men to get it," said news director Bob Thomas.
In the meantime, the station wired up a low-power transmitter to its antenna, just off U.S. 11 in Fairlawn, putting out 35 watts instead of the usual 3,000 watts.
With that makeshift arrangement, the station could reach listeners in the immediate Fairlawn-Radford area.
The replacement transmitter arrived late Saturday, and engineer J.J. Largen and his crew had it installed and on the air less than 24 hours later.
The old transmitter will be repaired and used as a standby.
"We actually missed about two full days of programming," Thomas said.
The new, solid-state transmitter puts out 6,000 watts, a power level already authorized by the Federal Communications Commission.
Thomas said that the bigger signal will increase the station's coverage somewhat, and will improve the signal in places where the reception had been spotty at the old power level.
He said that the station got a lot of calls from listeners who could not hear the puny signal from the temporary transmitter.
"Some people thought we should go on the air and tell them why we were off," he said.
by CNB