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May 24, 2022 7:07 am  #1


CKTB Off The Air For Half An Hour During Morning Drive

Still no word what happened, but CKTB went off the air for at least 30 minutes on Tuesday. I first noticed it around 6:15 AM. Whatever happened, it didn't appear to be at the transmitter site, since there was clearly a signal there - just no one to fill it. By 6:45 AM, they were back, with no explanation. But as most here know, dead air is the #1 sin of any radio station, especially during morning drive!

It's rare but it happens. If anyone knows the reason, I'd be curious to hear it. Unlike the station, which for a while, I couldn't hear at all!

 

May 24, 2022 8:28 am  #2


Re: CKTB Off The Air For Half An Hour During Morning Drive

Were you able to hear Columbus or Philly while they were silent or was there too much daylight by then?

 

May 24, 2022 8:30 am  #3


Re: CKTB Off The Air For Half An Hour During Morning Drive

No, nothing underneath. CKTB's signal and carrier current were still there. There was just no content. So whatever happened wasn't likely at the antenna or the transmitter. 

     Thread Starter
 

May 24, 2022 7:14 pm  #4


Re: CKTB Off The Air For Half An Hour During Morning Drive

It is astounding to me they wouldn't have backup. That's just irresponsible. Imagine if the kind of storm that hit here and Eastern Ontario happened there and residents left in the dark were depending on their only real news/talk station for ongoing info - and they weren't there. 

Still, I'm not entirely sure what really took place. They've been hit by power problems before at their TX and were on for several days at a lower power - but at least they were there. This time, the signal stayed on but the studios were down. How does that happen in this day and age?

     Thread Starter
 

May 24, 2022 8:22 pm  #5


Re: CKTB Off The Air For Half An Hour During Morning Drive

Perhaps there's only a backup at their transmitter and not their studio? That would be quite foolish if so, but it is the only story that makes sense based on what you know about their transmitter, and what they've said about their studio. 

 

May 25, 2022 2:38 pm  #6


Re: CKTB Off The Air For Half An Hour During Morning Drive

Now it's Sauga960's turn. Their signal disappeared around 1:50 PM Wednesday. As of this posting, it's still not on the air. Don't know what happened here, but you'd think all these guys would be more prepared. 

(Waiting for Charlie to post that no one noticed they're gone!) 

     Thread Starter
 

May 25, 2022 3:36 pm  #7


Re: CKTB Off The Air For Half An Hour During Morning Drive

Back on around 3:30 PM - a roughly 90-minute outage. Even for a smaller station, I'm amazed it went on for so long. 

     Thread Starter
 

May 25, 2022 8:50 pm  #8


Re: CKTB Off The Air For Half An Hour During Morning Drive

Back in the days many stations had a basic back up studio at the transmitter site.