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Boston Red Sox fans in the Ellsworth area have had to “get their Sox on” from another radio source for the last month with Ellsworth station WDEA (1370 AM) off the air.
“We lost our main transmitter [at noon on Aug. 19] and at the same time, our backup failed,” said WDEA general manager Tom Preble. “And because it’s one of the best-sounding AM signals in the area, we didn’t want to rush to replace it.”
But after extensive inspection and evaluation by technicians, it was determined that the 40-plus-year-old transmitter was beyond repair and needed to be replaced. As far as the backup, WDEA personnel are searching for replacement parts to repair its exciter – an electronic device that translates the station’s audio feed to a radio signal.
The new transmitter is a more powerful model requiring a three-phase electrical configuration, which means the tower facilities have to be modified from the old two-phase setup. The station still will broadcast a 5,000-watt signal, however.
Station officials hope to have the station back on the air in 10 days or less.
“The transmitter’s been ordered, built and is being shipped out Friday,” Preble said. “It’ll take seven days for shipping and it should take one or two days to install it and get it on line, barring any unforeseen complications.”
Preble and other station officials have been fielding a flood of telephone calls from listeners, both inquisitive and angry, and they regret the inconvenience.
“We have a very popular morning show host they like to listen to and he’s essentially been taking some unplanned time off and we have a lot of Red Sox listeners who aren’t too happy, so we’re concerned about getting the Sox back on as they get down to the stretch run,” said Preble. “We put an ad in the local paper and people have pretty much been very understanding.”
The silver lining to the station blackout is the realization of just how popular the station is, given the amount of calls generated.
“Yeah, and that’s great because it means a lot of people love the station,” Preble said. “It’s just too bad we had to find out just how much this way.”
Preble said the Sox broadcasts couldn’t be moved to a fellow Cumulus Media station due to Red Sox contract and exclusivity restrictions and the lack of another Cumulus low-power station that would reach only the Ellsworth market.
Go Inside with the Bears
If you missed the first episode of The Black Bear Insider on Bangor television station WABI (Channel 5) Sunday, don’t throw your remote at the wall. You can still catch it this week online at GoBlackBears.com.
The new show features behind-the-scenes looks at the University of Maine athletic program with day-in-the-life features, looks at game preparation by teams, coaches’ insights, and player interviews.
The show is airing bi-weekly September through May. The next episode will air on WABI at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 26.
Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or aneff@bangordailynews.net
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