Updates: WAPR 88.3 FM Progress
**Remember: you can still listen to us online via our online media player.
Tuesday, February 18th 8:20 a.m.
WAPR is back on the air!!!
A few stats on the repair from our engineer, Rich Ranson:
We replaced 72 burned out sections of line or 1440 feet. Two 90 degree elbows. 400 Teflon hangar insulators. 80 rubber O rings. 3 springs on the transmission line hangars.
It took 6 tower climbers 4 full days to effect the repairs. We signed back on at 5:30pm last night.
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Monday, February 17th 9:00 a.m.
Images of the damage to the transmission lines at the WAPR tower can be found above. Photos were taken by Rich Ranson, our engineer.
Keep in mind that these lines were found high up in the tower and to fix them, the repair crews are having to deal with wind and weather as they climb in order to remove the damaged lines and replace them with new ones. You can scroll down to the post below to get an idea of how dangerous this work is!
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Thursday, February 13th 10:58 a.m.
Our engineer, Rich Ranson has sent us this picture, showing that work has begun on the WAPR tower. As more updates come in, we will post them here.
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Wednesday, February 12th 9:45 a.m.
The repair crew is on their way to the tower site and, weather permitting, will arrive tomorrow to begin their preliminary work. Once the current storm front moves out of the area, we are expecting nice weather and - HEAT! (At least in the 60's for the next few days.) This should help facilitate repairs tremendously. We'll have more updates for you in the next few days.
Thank you so much for your continued support and patience!
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Thursday, February 6th 1:20 p.m.
Everything is now in place to perform the repairs at the tower. We are currently awaiting the arrival of the tower crew whom we expect (weather permitting) some time next week. As soon as they arrive we will have a better idea of the estimated timeline for repairs and we will update you at that time.
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Monday, January 27th 9:00 a.m.
As promised, the transmission line shipped out on January 24th and we expect delivery of the line before next week. We still anticipate that repairs will be completed in February. Thank you for your patience and your continued support.
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Friday, January 17th: 9:15 a.m.
The manufacturer of the transmission line has notified us that the line will be shipped from New Jersey on January 24th. We hope to take delivery of the line by February 5 and will immediately begin the installation process which is estimated to be completed within 10 work days. As we receive more scheduling information, we will share it with you.
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Thursday, December 19th: 4:22 p.m.
Help is on the way! We have ordered a quarter-mile of replacement transmission line for the WAPR/98.3 transmitter. The transmission line is a critical component in radio broadcasting. It travels the height of our 1400 foot tower, connecting the transmitter with the antenna that distributes Alabama Public Radio programming over the air. Once the line has been manufactured, it will be shipped via truck to the transmitter site, where a specialized tower crew will perform the repairs.
After replacing several damaged sections of the line over the past year, we have decided to replace the entire 1400 feet of transmission line. That will help provide the dependable public radio service you deserve.
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Tuesday, December 17th: Alabama Public Radio Working to Repair WAPR/88.3 Transmitter
Alabama Public Radio engineers are working to restore public radio service to Selma and other communities in west central and central Alabama, including the capital city of Montgomery. Alabama Public Radio, broadcasting at 88.3 FM, is off the air due to a damaged transmission line.
“A tower crew is being scheduled to make repairs, but this may take several days,” according to Center for Public Television and Radio Director, Elizabeth Brock. “We’re hoping that weather and holiday schedules won’t slow us down as we want to resume our broadcast as soon as possible,” Brock said.
WAPR/88.3 listeners have other options as they can listen live via the Alabama Public Radio website at apr.org or via their mobile device using the NPR News Application. Online and mobile programming offers three streams, News/Classical (main FM station), Contemporary Rock (HD2) and BBC World Service/Jazz (HD3).
WAPR (88.3 FM) is an American non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Selma, Alabama. The station is jointly owned by the University of Alabama, Alabama State University, and Troy University and is operated by UA as part of the Alabama Public Radio network.
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Monday, December 16th: 2:12 p.m.
Friday the 13th is believed to be a day of bad luck…and it certainly was for WAPR!
On that day, WAPR experienced serious transmitter failures, resulting in us going off the air. We are now in the process of making major repairs to the Selma/Montgomery transmitter and we anticipate that they will be completed in January.
Don’t fall prey to “friggatriskaidekaphobia” (the fear of Friday the 13th) and continue to listen by streaming our broadcast at www.APR.org.
Thank you for your patience and your continuing support.
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Friday, December 13th: 2:30 a.m.
Our engineers received an alert letting them know that the WAPR broadcast signal in the Selma/Montgomery area has completely shut down. They are looking into the problem and will be assessing the situation throughout the day.