As some of you may have noticed, KMSU was not on the air for this morning's show. We've been off a couple days now for weather-related reasons. We should be back on the air very soon. Thanks for your continued support of the station and the show.
Here's the official word from our station manager, Jim Gullickson,
KSMU is off the air.
February 2, 2007
Ice storms are very bad for power lines, tree limbs and radio stations. It appears there is a substantial layer of ice on the KMSU antenna elements, causing something called "reflected power". It is just what it sounds like... power output from the transmitter is reflected back to the source, and it can cause irreparable damage. Very low amounts of reflected power are normal, perhaps one or two percent. We were seeing eighty to ninety percent relected power on our wattmeter, and decided then and there to shut down the system to avoid permanently damaging all of our equipment. I realize that being off the air is not acceptable in nearly any circumstance. This scenario, however, demands that we protect our equipment. Now we wait for the sun to do its work and melt the ice off the antenna elements. I expect we will be back on the air by no later than Saturday afternoon.
Thank you for your support, and for your patience.
Sincerely,
Jim Gullickson
General Manager
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