Josh's Blog

Wednesday, March 18th

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Finally, time for another update! Today marks exactly one month since the fire, and we are finally approaching the finish line. This time tomorrow, there's a very good chance WANO will be back on the air, although I can't promise. It seems that every time we've been sure of a sign-on date, we encounter a setback. I've posted some pictures below of the equipment rack. We (we being Brian) have been setting it up at the studio all day today, putting all the new equipment in the proper place and wiring it up. That way, we'll just have to load the rack up and take it over, and we won't have to spend time wiring it up on site. All the important elements are in the rack, ready to be plugged in and attached to the tower.

Being big believers in heritage and history, we decided to use a part of the old station in building the new one. If you'll look close, you'll see that the equipment rack is the original Gates model. We were able to salvage it from the fire, and Brian did a great job cleaning it up and painting it.

It has been exciting to see progress happen again. For almost three weeks now, we haven't made a whole lot of progress, simply because we've been waiting for our ATU to be rebuilt. It was a setback we didn't expect, but at least now we'll know the entire airchain is in good shape when we sign on.

I spent another sleepless night out at the tower site last night. After dinner, I stopped by to check on the progress, as Brian and Rick waterproofed the building yesterday. When I got there, a car was parked in the parking lot, but drove off as soon as I got there. It seems that we still haven't solved the problem of trespassers. When I gated the driveway leading to the tower a few weeks ago, somebody destroyed the gateposts within just a few days. I do not understand the mentality of these people, who have absolutely no respect for the property of other people. I've tried being very nice to anybody I found on the property, but I'm quickly reaching the point of frustration. I'll feel much better once all the equipment is installed and construction is completed, because things will be locked up properly, and we won't have construction materials sitting out at the site. I also have some firm plans to secure the property, including fencing and remote cameras. As we've learned, a few bad apples can ruin things for the entire community, but I'm determined not to let a few people take away the community's radio station again.

Here's hoping you'll be hearing WANO again tomorrow! If not, though, the time is near! Stay tuned, literally!

The new rack, partially assembled.

Brian's mess.

It's almost like Christmas with all the boxes!

Something old, something new...

The new Transmitter.

Sine Systems Remote Facility Control, and Omnia Processor.