WBT went off around 7:20 this morning and didn't come back until around 10:30. Morning Drive is revenue prime time in radio when it comes to airing commercials. Not sure what the problem could have been. There should be backup systems in place for just about everything including the main transmitter. Back in 1989 with 2 towers literally folded in half the station managed to get back on the air in the middle of hurricane Hugo. Sister stations WFNZ 610 and WLNK 107.9 were not affected much like whatever issue they had on April 1.
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WBT off again this morning for hours!
- Thread starter Mike Sheridan
- Start date
Not sure, it's weak where I live so not really a good substitute.
This is the second time they've had problems this month. When it came back on it popped on and off several times before it finally stayed on.
They should have at least 2 if not 3 transmitters if they haven't sold them. An old Harris MW-50, a Harris DX-50 and the current main which is a Nautel.
I guess what I'm really asking is did they continue to broadcast? That could also be determined via radio.com
Yes, a friend told me they were on line and I didn't check but likely on WLNK-HD2 but that's not the same and if I was a sponsor I'd want a make good.
It is my understanding this is storm related. The power went out and the primary genset started. It ran for a while and failed for some reason. They have a second generator onsite and it failed as well.
To my knowledge they have 4 transmitters there but only two can feed the phasor. The Nautel is the main. The Destiny is the alt main. The MW-50A and a Gates Five can be manually put on the air.
t123
This generator scenario is almost identical to the WHDH/WCVB fiasco back in the 70s....
The VERY FIRST day (then) WHDH-TV (Boston Channel 5) became WCVB, under the new ownership of Boston Broadcasters, Inc. (BBI)...power failed at the transmitter...
The PRIMARY generator kicked in --- only to fail a few minutes later.....the BACKUP unit started, but it, too, quit after a short time....
Sabotage was suspected but (afaik) never proven.....
I remember watching this all unfold....Jack Hynes did the initial report (!!)
Good my information wasn't too far out of date then. Hopefully they will see the advantage of doing a weekly or maybe at least monthly generator tests.
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