Dear NSPR Listener,
Some North State Public Radio listeners are experiencing weak or poor signal quality on 91.7 KCHO and the rural translators served by KCHO. We should have the problem resolved by mid-July. Here is what happened, and what we are doing about it.
Two months ago, an air conditioning failure at the KCHO Cohasset transmission site caused heat damage to the radio transmitter. Our transmitter was quite old. Much like when your old car breaks down, we had to weigh whether to make expensive and difficult repairs or visit the dealership for a newer, more reliable model. We chose to look to the future and upgrade.
We have redundancies in place and have been operating on our lower-wattage back-up transmitter. The new, specially built transmitter has been ordered and will come to us from the manufacturer in July. In the meantime, long-time supporter Royal Aire Heating and Air Conditioning has increased their already generous support of NSPR and will install a new AC unit in the coming weeks.
We acknowledge that this is not happening as quickly as any of us would like, but we are doing this thoughtfully and with equipment and vendors that will ensure it is done right and will provide superior radio service for many years to come. We have set up a special capital fund to pay for the new equipment and several NSPR members have already graciously contributed. You too can be part of this campaign to provide a strong and secure radio signal to the North State and you will hear about opportunities to help in the coming weeks.
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to call or write us, 530-898-5896 or jmcoke@csuchico.edu. We thank you for your patience and continued support of your North State Public Radio.
Sincerely,
