PRESS RELEASE — July 20, 2009
For Information Call Karen Svea Johnson at 208-373-7369
or Anne Peterson at 208-373-7368

IdahoPTV’s No Business Peak Translator Operating at 10 Percent Power; Brundage Service Restored

Idaho Public Television’s service to McCall and surrounding areas suffered a knockout blow last week but is making a comeback.

The translator on Brundage Mountain, which beams an analog signal into McCall and New Meadows, was knocked off the air during the weekend of July 11-12 by a lightening strike that blew out the fuses. By Wednesday, the fuses were replaced and analog television was restored.

IdahoPTV Director of Technology Rich Van Genderen said the translator on No Business Peak west of Donnally was not as lucky and is currently operating at 10 percent of normal power.

“The outage occurred during an attempt to make a needed repair at the tower and we were forced to switch to the low-powered spare,” he says. “The translator that should be in there operates at 100 Watts. The spare that we installed temporarily is operating at 10 Watts. That is a significant difference, but at least it is on.”

Engineers will be working to repair the equipment during the next several days. It should be repaired and restored to full service within two weeks or less, Van Genderen says.

The translator on No Business Peak provides a digital television signal to Donnelly, Lake Fork, New Meadows and the Meadows Valley, and parts of McCall.