Radio signals from three local stations will be silent until Friday evening as the Santa Barbara Department of Public Works completes mandated work on the 198-foot radio tower.
The Broadcasting Monopoly, owned by Rincon Broadcasting, has stood in its current location in a public works maintenance yard at Garden and Yananoli streets since 1965.
The monopole’s “triplexer” allows three radio stations—KZSB AM 1290, KCLU 1340 AM, and KOSJ 1490 AM—to share the same radio tower.
Sexton Broadcasting and Marketing Consultants said this monopoly is “considered the only functioning triplex broadcast monopoly in North America”.
An inspection determined that the monopole did not comply with the most recent structural standard for support structures and antennas from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and the telecommunications industry, requiring modifications to reduce height from the tower at 128 feet.
According to the modification plans, in order to retain the stations‘ current signal strength while meeting height requirements, a “top-loading” electronic engineering technique will be used, attaching horizontal “whiskers” to the top of the tower.
Mustaches are made from square hollow metal tubing 12 feet long.
Changes are being made by a team that includes Tashijan Towers Corporation, Hatfield and Dawson Consulting Engineers, and Remote Possibilities director Richard Rudman.
Radio station signals were turned off at 7 a.m. Tuesday and will be on the air again at 7 p.m. Friday.
In the meantime, radio stations will continue to broadcast their regular shows online at am1290kzsb.com, kclu.org and oldschool1490.com.
– Noozhawk editor Serena Guentz can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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