CKUA recently completed an important upgrade to its Edmonton transmitter site. New air-conditioning units were installed, and 30-year-old transmitter units were replaced with new equipment built by Canadian companies. Investment in the province-wide network of transmitter towers and equipment is an ongoing necessity for CKUA.
For this improvement, we were grateful to receive one-time project funding from the Government of Alberta.
The Honourable Jason Luan, Alberta’s Minister of Culture, says, “The Government of Alberta is proud to support CKUA’s efforts to showcase the best creative talents to Edmonton and across Alberta. We thank CKUA for helping music, related arts, and culture prosper in our great province.”
CKUA’s Director of Engineering and IT, Rod Setter, explains why the upgrade was so needed. “The Nautel transmitter we chose to replace the existing one is designed and engineered in Canada and has the industry’s best performance and reliability ratings. The previous transmitter was likely not repairable since some of its parts aren’t made any more. And the enemy of new solid-state transmitters is heat, so we replaced the old air-flow control system with an air-conditioning system. This will keep the transmitter room at a much safer room temperature, particularly in the summer months. From now on, failures should be few and far between.”
Last year, CKUA was on the air more than 99 percent of the time across sixteen FM transmitters province-wide; we lost less than one percent to “downtime” due to technical difficulties or other issues. This year, with our new Edmonton transmitter in place, our goal is 100%. CKUA is dedicated to providing reliable service to our passionate community of listeners, and this upgrade will ensure we can continue this important mission.
Technology like this makes music and the arts accessible to everyone in our community. Support from donors, business partners, and grant funding ensure that CKUA’s programming continues to touch and enrich the lives of all listeners regardless of age, culture, location, or financial capacity.
Tune in throughout the day on Friday, February 3, for special on-air programming, as we “flip the switch” to celebrate the new Edmonton transmitter.
