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ebownedcc
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Does anybody know how long WFAS has been off the air for?
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WFAF, which suimulcasts WFAS on 106.3 is also off the air. Sister station WFAS AM 1230 is down as well. In addition, the WFAS online stream is not functioning. Perhaps the studio lost power, along with many other locations in the region, as a result of last weekend's storm.
Meanwhile, there is now another opportunity to temporarily hear Thunder Country on 106.3 in many places where it normally would not be possible due to interference from WFAF.
Meanwhile, there is now another opportunity to temporarily hear Thunder Country on 106.3 in many places where it normally would not be possible due to interference from WFAF.
Most of the Danbury stations are off the air as well (WRKI, WDBY, etc.). WFAS-FM came back on this morning. WFAF is still down.
I realize that this was an extraordinary event, but seriously...what sort of backup plan do these stations have? Other than a few standouts (WHUD comes to mind), what's the point of local suburban radio? I'm not talking about the big NYC signals...stations like WCBS have done an excellent job staying on top of things.
It says a lot about the state of local radio. Allan Sniffen had a generator running his "Rewound Radio" Internet stream, and you mean to tell me that Cumulus does not have a way to keep its stations on the air? It's a joke.
I realize that this was an extraordinary event, but seriously...what sort of backup plan do these stations have? Other than a few standouts (WHUD comes to mind), what's the point of local suburban radio? I'm not talking about the big NYC signals...stations like WCBS have done an excellent job staying on top of things.
It says a lot about the state of local radio. Allan Sniffen had a generator running his "Rewound Radio" Internet stream, and you mean to tell me that Cumulus does not have a way to keep its stations on the air? It's a joke.
luperm said:
In a heavy wet snowstorm, it's not just about having a generator. In many cases, icing on the antenna elements causes standing wave that kicks a fully powered transmitter off. And even if the elements have heaters or radomes, heavy snow can build up ice faster than it can be melted... sometimes harming the elements. Even a backup antenna can fail for the same reasons. Of course, the transmitter building roof might fail, and things like the ability to maintain remote control could fail too (failure to control requires the transmitter to shut off). The link from the studios can fail if it is a T1 or other landline, and the microwave antennas are very susceptible to icing and to damage from falling ice.
Beyond that, in smaller markets there is a point beyond which a station can not afford to make everything redundant and failsafe. It's too expensive. A good and extreme example is an AM antenna or antenna system. Nearly no station has a backup, and damage to the ATU or phasor for DA's or a tower failure can't be prepared for.
In other words, there are some emergencies that just can't be prepared for. Consider the weakest points of communication in a hurricane or earthquake: cellular sites. There is not much that can be done in such emergencies to keep cellphones working if the infrastructure gets blown or wobbled away.
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ebownedcc
Guest
It is unacceptable when you call yourself a local station owned by a huge company like cumulus to be down for that long...and the power was the issue...it's been high 50s since the snow on Saturday, its basically all melted
David makes some excellent points. Granted, each situation is different and different stations may have experienced different weather conditions...so it's hard to make a fair comparison. I just find it interesting that everyone else manages to stay on the air.
Take WHUD...they have a studio up in Dutchess County. The signal takes 2 microwave hops to get to a transmitter on top of a mountain near the Bear Mountain Bridge. They stayed on the air.
Take WFAS-FM (forget about WFAF...that station is off the air half the time on a good day)...The WFAS studios and AM/FM transmitters are on a lot in Hartsdale. No STL...it's all right there. They're silent for days Add to that the fact that the entire Cumulus cluster in Danbury was silent for days.
I believe the WFAS-FM site in the Bronx is built and tested. It's just not licensed as an AUX.
It appears that some owner take more precautions than others, and you do have to consider the cost/benefit analysis. Disasters like this are chances for radio to stay relevant. It's just sad to see such an opportunity passed up.
Take WHUD...they have a studio up in Dutchess County. The signal takes 2 microwave hops to get to a transmitter on top of a mountain near the Bear Mountain Bridge. They stayed on the air.
Take WFAS-FM (forget about WFAF...that station is off the air half the time on a good day)...The WFAS studios and AM/FM transmitters are on a lot in Hartsdale. No STL...it's all right there. They're silent for days Add to that the fact that the entire Cumulus cluster in Danbury was silent for days.
I believe the WFAS-FM site in the Bronx is built and tested. It's just not licensed as an AUX.
It appears that some owner take more precautions than others, and you do have to consider the cost/benefit analysis. Disasters like this are chances for radio to stay relevant. It's just sad to see such an opportunity passed up.
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