Some people may have noticed that our over-the-air TV — yes we still have that, thanks to the CRTC mandate — as well as over the air radio (CFTK)
has had intermittent issues over past the few months.
It all goes back to the record or near record rains we had in late September, as the transmitters up on Copper Mountain and the power supply buried in the road bed had been washed out in places and took out the power. Yes. they do have a back-up generator, but those generators are not designed to run 24/7 for weeks on end. Plus with no road access, the fuel had to be transported by helicopter and they can not fly in really bad weather.
The other problem was that there are actually two generators, a larger one and a second smaller one, and when a part broke on the larger one, it had to be sourced or actually made because of how old the generator was. The large generator was able to run both radio and TV, but when that one was out, the smaller one could do radio only.
Because both radio and TV do not generate revenue, the company has to fix the problem for free and there are not really any funds for those services. Money has to be taken from other sources of revenue.
Then there is the age of the equipment. For most of it, you cannot buy spare parts and instead have to source from other places and that takes time.
For all the people who still watch over-the-air TV and listen to the radio, locally sourced and produced, please be patient and enjoy local news while we still have them and can get them. A big hurrah for local, and still free, news on TV, radio and in newsprint!
Martin Holzbauer
Thornhill, BC
