UPDATE 9/2: As of Feb. 8, WNIX(AM) and its FM translator, W266BY, are both back on-air. WNIX is broadcasting a 1 kW signal into a “spare” tower — a 199-footer from the station’s old directional array that was still on-site. W266BY is operating from a one-bay antenna that was hung on WNIX’s STL tower at its studio in downtown Greenville, Miss.
WINX’s owner told Radio World that it was actually a backhoe that hit the tower, not a concrete truck, as he was previously led to believe. The concrete truck was parked in the driveway and the backhoe was ferrying concrete to the site when the incident happened.
It’s safe to say that the last few days have been more-than-trying for a couple AM radio stations in the south. First, WJLX in Jasper, Ala., reported that someone stole the station’s 200-foot AM tower.
Now, in Mississippi, WNIX’s 199-foot tower has been hit … but not by thieves.
On Sunday, foundation was being poured for WNIX’s new transmitter building when a concrete truck on-site backed into a guy wire, causing the tower to collapse. Located on the northeast side of Greenville, Miss., the radio tower has stood tall since 1994.
As of Tuesday afternoon, both WNIX(AM) and its FM translator — which operates from the same tower — are off the air, although the station continues to stream online.
WNIX is a news-talk radio station licensed to Greenville, Miss., broadcasting 3.8 kW during the day and 55 watts at night. The station is owned by Delta Radio, of which Larry Fuss is the president and CEO.
Fuss told Radio World that it will take a while to repair such extensive damage.
“The [construction company] didn’t even bother to call us and let us know what happened,” said Fuss. “We didn’t discover the damage until Monday when we couldn’t get the AM transmitter to come back up remotely.”
Click on the photo to toggle through pictures of the damage.
He said WNIX Engineer Russell Laferty will be on-site Wednesday, and plans to have the AM signal back on-air with help from an unused tower from the station’s old directional array.
The translator, however, will be going back on-air courtesy of a standby, one-bay Nicom antenna that will be mounted on the STL tower at the studio, Fuss said. Before the tower’s collapse, the translator was using a two-bay antenna, which can be seen in one of the photos.
“Ultimately, we have to put the permanent tower back up along with a new FM antenna for the translator,” said Fuss. “That’s going to take some time.”
Fuss said he is in contact with the construction company’s insurance carrier, which should hopefully be footing the bill.
