Cumulus Media has placed an order for 35 more GatesAir Flexiva FAX air-cooled radio transmitters as part of the second phase of efforts to replace its tube-based transmitters, according to a GatesAir press release.
This order largely consists of transmitters in the 10-to-40 kW power range. Additionally, most transmitters have also been outfitted with HD Radio-ready GatesAir exciters, according to the announcement.
The transmitters will be deployed in various markets, including Youngstown, Ohio, where the design is intended to address the WLLF(FM) transmitter building’s “heating and cooling imbalances,” GatesAir said.
In the Atlanta market, transmitters will be installed as part of an auxiliary facility buildout for WNNX(FM), WKHX(FM) and WWWQ(FM), all of which are affected by the TV spectrum repack. While work is done at the main facility and tower to relocate TV operations to new UHF channel assignments, the stations will be able to stay on air, the company said.
[Read: Cumulus Orders GatesAir Transmitters]
Radio World previously reported that the broadcaster ordered 70 Flexiva FM and AM radio transmitters in spring 2017.
“Our daily operations have greatly benefitted from the Flexiva’s modular design, notably hot-swappable power modules and dual power supplies,” Cumulus Vice President of Engineering Yancy T. McNair said in the release. McNair added that the Flexiva’s design “also reduces our transmitter footprint, freeing space for other equipment and making it more comfortable to perform maintenance inside the buildings.”
In its February Chapter 11 filing, Cumulus listed a debt of $45,596 owed to GatesAir; however, the Cumulus CEO Mary Berner announced that the company had completed its financial restructuring and emerged from bankruptcy in early June.
