Station translator source of FM radio issues

Interference heard in downtown Salem for 2 days fixed, officials say


The pulsating static interrupting FM radio stations in downtown Salem is gone — and no, it wasn't just your radio.


After two days, the source of the problem was identified: a translator — a device used to re-broadcast another signal — on top of the Equitable Center at High and Center streets NE.


The Statesman Journal received nearly 100 e-mails and phone calls, with most reporting problems with stations in the 90 megahertz range — the stations with numbers in the 90s — and most problems being downtown.


The translator belongs to Bicoastal Media, and it is used to broadcast Albany country station KRKT on the 96.3 frequency to the Salem area.


The translator had "electronically drifted," Bicoastal officials said. Although it did not appear to be damaged, it was broadcasting into other stations as well as its own, known as "spurious emission."


City of Salem engineers contacted Bicoastal's Tiburon, Calif., headquarters about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Kevin Mostyn, the media company's vice president and director of technology.


It was the first he had heard of the problem, Mostyn said.


Eugene-based engineers were sent to fix the translator, and Mostyn said the problem was corrected by 1:10 p.m., although he was short on details.


"We were able to get somebody ... to go in and make an adjustment, so now everything appears to be OK," he said.


"It appears not to have been damaged, but it appears to have drifted slightly," he said. "It was an electrical drift."


It wasn't clear how long the problem had been going on, but those who contacted the Statesman Journal said it had been noticeably worse in the past few days.


Ken Lewetag, the general manager of Northwest Television, said that broken antennas can often cause "splatter," when instead of broadcasting on the correct frequency, small bits of the station spread across the spectrum and interfere with other stations.


Mike Gotterba, a spokesman for the city of Salem, said his radio engineers started investigating Tuesday morning after several complaints of pulsating interference.


Engineers used city equipment to detect the frequency that was causing the troubles and contacted Bicoastal Media, he said.


Although it is possible for the FCC to fine radio stations for broadcast interference, there's many mitigating factors, spokesperson Jessica Almond said.


"A lot of translators are not manned, so we don't hold the licenses to a very high standard of knowing something's gone wrong right away," she said, adding that weather is often the culprit. "They need to look at the totality of the circumstances — was it totally a mistake? Is it weather related? Is it something the station could have prevented?"


Mostyn said he's pleased the problem has been fixed, and wished that he had known about it earlier.


"Had anyone called us earlier, we would have fixed it right away, but we didn't know about it," he said.


And, most of the people who contacted the Statesman Journal spoke of being relieved, having thought it was just them.


"I was just about to call the dealership to see if I needed a new radio," wrote Sarah Nash.