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WNEP Tower Down

B

berniek

Guest
WNEP's tower came down this morning around 7 am. I understand on its way down it damaged WVIA's TV tower, taking out their HDTV equipment, crushed some cars on the ground and more or less destroyed the WNEP tower building. No word on injuries.
 
It looks like everything along Penobscot was affected.

WOLF Fox 56 was off until 11am. CW38's picture was frozen til mid-morning.
WBRE was off until about 11:45am.
Not sure about WYOU, Comcast in Pottsville has KYW in its place on channel 4 now.

This is probably the worst weather-related tower falling at that tower farm since 1/7/89, when WBRE's tower fell because of ice.
 
WVIA TV is off as well. Tower break happened above the FM ANtenna so they are boadcasting at WWVIA-FM, but snow and ice and Wind has claimed at least 2 of those towers. (The transmitter shacks are right next to each other up there) Good luck to both those station in restoring full service, they have 1 heckuva job ahead of them.
 
The utility feeds apparently were effected which is why interruptions occurred. Link to story WNEP: http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?S=7503525 Photos look like the tower fell toward mostly the north-east falling between the WNEP-DT building/tower and the WYOU-TV tower. I wonder if management at WYOU were wise enough to maintain the old analog site on Bald Mtn.? Here's a link to Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=wilkes-barre,+pa&ie=UTF8&ll=41.183006,-75.869726&spn=0.003819,0.007145&t=h&z=17&om=1 What you will see... center bright, new looking roof is WNEP-DT building. Just to the left of that is the WNEP-TV tower that came down, the transmitter building being the one jest to the left of the WNEP-DT building. Just to the left of WNEP-TVs building is the WVIA-TV/FM tower and building. Just to the left of that is Magic 93 and 97.1 building/tower. A little further left almost out of frame is the WYOU tower and building. All the way right with the brighter roof is the WBRE building and tower. (I believe I have all that correct but any input is welcome.
 
The word I have is that the WNEP (analog) and WYOU towers are down. WBRE-DT was also on the WYOU tower. The FCC DB says WCLH-FM is on the WNEP tower so unless they have an aux, they're probably off too. I've heard the same thing about the top of the WVIA tower also being down, taking their TV and -DT off. (hadn't heard about the FM still being up but that's certainly plausible) 92.9 FM has an aux on the WYOU tower but their main is on a different tower so they're probably currently unaffected.

A DXer in North Jersey is reporting WSWB-38 also off and WNEP-DT (different tower from their analog) on reduced power. WBRE's analog signal however appears to still be on at full strength.
 
This is from the TL:

"Lou Abitabilo, vice president/general manager of WBRE-TV said as of 3 p.m., WYOU-TV Channel 22 was still off the air because their power line was severed when another TV station's tower collapsed and fell on it.

"WVIA-TV Channel 44 announced on its Web site that the ice storm affected the station's television signal, but the public TV and radio station is still on the air." (It is operating from another site it owns on the mountain after the tv section of the tower fell.)
 
WNEP tower down destroying WNEP analog and WCLH antennas. WVIA's tower cut in half, top half down destroying WVIA analog and digital. WVIA-FM was sparred, FM antenna below where tower was cut. WOLF tower standing but guy wires damaged, WOLF analog and digital OK and WNEP digital also ok (always located on WOLF tower). WYOU guy wires also damaged but tower standing, electrical power feed damaged. Old WVIA tower (89.5 located there) is OK, Old WVIA analog antenna now in service on this little 200 ft. tower. WBRE not damaged, power feed damaged, though. Power out to southern Penobscot towers (Magic, 91.3 FLN, BHT). WQFM tower (north of WBRE) not damaged. Power company repairing causing occasional power interruptions.

BALD MTN - Power out at Bald all day, WEZX bup, 100.5, 98.9 FLN, Temple 106.1 back on at 9 PM; power likely on at adjacent Froggy tower. Power still out at Ch 38 apparently, 95.7 BHD back on.

North Valley - QFM 100.1 and KLOVE 88.3 OK with a couple of short power failures in morning. 94.3 LNP off over 6 hours with dead carrier (transmitter on, T-1 feed off broadcasting silence).

Love to know how others fared?? The roughest weather day in the history of NEPA broadcasting.
 
94.3 LNP off over 6 hours with dead carrier (transmitter on, T-1 feed off broadcasting silence).
Click to expand...

So what's new? I hear this from time to time, usually after midnight.
 
I was working for WBRE TV when their tower went down in 89...What a mess...The aftermath of trying to compensate paid clients was beyond a nightmare. Other stations pitched in to help. IT was a complete MESS.
 
WNEP is doing a nice job on the website keeping people up to date with news and programming. WVIA is asking for people to pledge to help pay the cost of their repairs, don't they have insurance?
 
Update: WVIA must have insurance, they took the pledge to help pay for the repairs button down...
 
Funny how WNEP only has digital still shots and channel 50 (WYOU/WBRE) had video of the aftermath.

If WYOU had a generator at the site would they still be up to near full power? (Oh that's right, "Generators are too expensive and you don't need them" (paraphrased quote of Nexstar management earlier this year). This is the second time this year.

God bless the guys that have to work up there. I wonder if WNEP called Bob Schacht :)
 
I can't tell you how many times I'ver heard bean counters say that a gen set isn't worth the money. Well, lose programming a day or 2, and it pretty much pays for itself, now mulltiply by 10 years, and you can see its a pretty darn good investment. Anyways, I take it Bob isn't at WNEP anymore, too bad, good guy and talented. What about his cousin Ron? Last I heard he was in Iowa. If he was here, I could just see him riding his Harley upto the top of Penobscott, and rigging something incredible wacky, but making everything work in a few hours. He was amazing. (Follow the empty cans of tuna up on the Mountain, and you'll find him...... :)
 
Plooker: Last I heard, Bob was let go to cut costs when new management came in to WNEP. Ron's still in IOWA. Separately, they are great engineers. Together they are unstoppable. They could play off each other's weaknesses.

I still have memories of watching the "crazy" guy riding his bike in the snow just to get to WYZZ on Prospect street in Wilkes-Barre. Ron never liked vehicles with 4 wheels.

The trail of tuna cans..BWAHAHAHA
 
...to Bill Braskey!!!

Seriously, I remember seeing Ron on his bike, I think it was January? Six inches of snow on the ground. Like he was daring it to slide out from under him. Hell of an engineer. He would have had them off Gilligan's Island in like two shows!
 
I remember working with Ron at WNAK, first time I saw him he was carrying a bike helmet under one arm...and a piece of equipment under another. Sets the gear down and pulls out a hard boiled egg out of a pocket of his army jacket and proceeds to have lunch...

The sound he could get out of an old transmitter at WNAK was amazing.
 
The big story in NEPA

Lead story in the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre papers today. Also the lead story of Northeast Radio Watch this week.

Update as of this post:

WNEP-DT is back on from an alternate tower. Never went out on Comcast or Service Electric thanks to fiber feeds (Scranton Times-Tribune). Reportedly back on DirecTV (station website).

WVIA-DT is dark; WVIA analog is back on at reduced power (station website). Dish, DirecTV and some cable systems not affected.

WYOU-TV/DT never went out on Service Electric thanks to fiber feed. As station is otherwise dark, cable companies have permission to import out-of-market CBS stations (WYOU website).

WBRE-DT is dark; WBRE analog is not affected. Comcast, Service Electric and DirecTV are carrying it as usual.

CW38 went black due to a separate outage on Bald Mountain (NERW). Amazingly, Fox56/CW38 website has nothing on the ice storm.

My64 stayed on from Bald Mountain, presumably on generator power (NERW).

travist102 said:
It looks like everything along Penobscot was affected.
Click to expand...

The Luzerne County 911 tower is also on Penobscot Mountain. Luzerne County Emergency Mgt. has long feared if the TV towers go down, the 911 tower goes as well (per W-B Times Leader).
 
Last evening a large CAT generator was dragged up the mountain (from the Wyoming Mtn side across the top) to power southern side of the mountain. I think WYOU and Citadel are operating on this (Citadels generator failed yesterday). WBRE, WOLF, WNEP-DT, and WQFM have power. Speaking of you guys preaching about generators; both Citadel's and WQFM's generator failed at some point over the past 3 days; in the very cold, generators can be very uncooperative.

KF
 
I agree that Gen Sets can be uncooperative, but only if they don't get serviced regularly. I'd have mine done twice a year, and never any problems. They should run once a week to self test, thats a given, if they don't your asking for problems, its like anything else, has to be maintained. And since gen sets are internal combustion engines, its basically like servicing your cars engine, clean oil is a major, keeping the ignition system gapped, and points and plugs clean, etc... You'd be surprised at how many folks neglect the generator, thinking if its not used or running, it'll be fine. Hydraulic lock is another big issue if they don't get self tested regularly. Costs a little bit of money but its like the old Fram oil filter commercials, Pay me now, or Pay me later...
 
Plooker, in the case of the WQFM's generator; it had been serviced 6 weeks earlier.....admitedly, this generator is getting up there in years and hours; getting time for replacement.

KF
 
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