From the Radio World Who’s Buying What page: Crawford Broadcasting has outfitted three of its FM translators with Nautel VX Series transmitters.
The broadcaster operates 810 KLVZ(AM), the oldies-formatted “Legends Radio,” licensed to Brighton, which is about 20 miles northeast of Denver. Its FM translator, 94.3 K232FK(FM) and also licensed to Brighton, received a VX600 transmitter in May.
Director of Engineering Cris Alexander moved the translator’s transmitter to where KLVZ’s AM facility is located, as part of the installation. He reported needing to trench a line from the transmitter to the base of the tower for the translator, which was approximately 200-feet away. He was able to dig the trench in just a few hours time and by mid-afternoon, the new transmitter took to the air.
KLVZ is also heard on 95.3 K237GG(FM) in Denver and Crawford upgraded it to a VX150 last April. As one might expect on the Front Range of the Rockies, the most challenging part of the transmitter’s installation was traversing the snow-covered Lookout Mountain, where the translator is located. Crawford’s crew, led by Amanda Hopp, hiked up the access road, hand carrying the VX150. At approximately 7,390-ft. above sea level, the company said it provides full-market coverage.
Over in Rochester, N.Y., Crawford is using 107.1 W296EF(FM) to provide full market coverage for its 990 WDCX(AM), the religious-talk formatted station. The translator received a VX300 transmitter in September.
The company began pairing most of its AM stations with FM translators in 2017 and has been evaluating upgrades for those translators since. Alexander said installing and configuring the new Nautel models was straightforward.
He said the VX’s SNMP capability allows the transmitters to be controlled remotely with Crawford’s Burk ARC Plus Touch remote control units. He is particularly fond of the attachment user interface on the VX series. “That lets us monitor all critical parameters, including temperature,” he said.
Alexander described the VX interfacing with their auxiliary transmitters through switching and interlocks as easy to wire. He also noted their front-removable power supplies.
“The VX transmitters run cool and efficiently and fit easily in our equipment racks,” he said.
