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Monday, September 24, 2007

The WKTZ 90.9 FM transmission facility was damaged by lightning over this past weekend. It was necessary to shut down our transmitter to limit further damage to the facility. We are working hard to resolve the issue. The WKTZ studio continues to operate and our free streaming service continues on Live365.com. WJAX 1220 AM is not effected by this issue.

 

 

WKTZ 90.9 FM Transmitter Site.

Location 9117 Hogan Road, Jacksonville FL 

What you see here is a very small section of our 8 bay antenna 450 feet above ground.  The vertical pipe is is a 3" hard coax made of copper. The lower section is the 6.5 foot Matching Section for tuning the antenna. The Matching Section was completely destroyed inside and out while the 10.5 foot section above this first bay was destroyed on the inside only. The center conductor is a 3/4" copper pipe a little thinner walled than water pipe.  After the initial  damage was done, the energy being transmitted to the antenna was then reflected back into the Coax below where another fire was started.
This is the inside view of the first Bay junction where the Matching Section was attached to the block above shown.

The round connector below is where the Coax connects to the bottom of the matching section.
Now on the ground, this was the last 10 feet of Coax that was destroyed. The round connector above was part of this section.

 

 

We thank our loyal sponsors and listeners who have supported us through donations. We shall resolve this issue and return to normal operation soon. 

 

UPDATE: Tuesday September 25, 2007

 

We have ordered the parts we need to make repairs to the antenna, they should arrive this morning. Once those parts are prepared our plan is to install them tomorrow. We  may be back on the air as soon as Wednesday evening.

 

UPDATE: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 @ 5:03 PM

 

We are back on the air at full power. Repairs to the destroyed antenna system were completed and the transmitter was returned to full power. We received many calls at both the Studios and the Transmitter site while we were off the air.    Apparently the phone book lists the transmitter site as WKTZ Radio. I guess we would have to pay additional fees to not list it. The correct number to contact the Management and Staff of the Radio Station is (904) 371-1184 Direct, or the College at (904) 743-1122 ext 184.

 

        The Management & Staff of WKTZ -

        Jones College Radio

 

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