TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Four Honolulu radio stations were off the air, losing revenue and treating would-be listeners to "dead air" for some 24 hours Monday to Tuesday -- because not one but two water mains broke near the stations' shared broadcast tower at Hart Street and Waiakamilo Road. Water and electricity don’t mix
Board of Water Supply spokeswoman Denise DeCosta said broadcast equipment on the tower is close enough to the ground that when the break occurred it flooded.
"There was about a foot of water in the transmitter and it burned up a few things in the antenna combiner system," KCCN broadcast engineer Ernie Nearman said.
The Board of Water Supply sent a representative with claim forms to affected customers including an auto repair service and construction business, as well as the Kalihi Kai Fire Station. "They were extremely understanding and cooperative," Nearman said.
DeCosta said a 12-inch main broke at 1:44 a.m. Monday, and when the emergency repair crew had difficulty in isolating the break they discovered a second, 16-inch main had been broken by the sheer force of the first break. The 12-inch main was repaired at 12:20 Monday afternoon, the other at 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Nearman said KWAI (1080 AM) was first off the air, while the other stations affected included KCCN (1420 AM), KNDI (1270 AM) and KREA (1540 AM).
Mike Kelly, general manager for KCCN parent company Cox Radio-Hawaii, said the station lost several thousand dollars but had not calculated an exact figure, "Fortunately there was no UH game on the air." Broadcasts of Wahine Volleyball began yesterday. Ironically, AM radio stations with broadcast towers near salt water enjoy superior signal strength.
Volcanic vows
Mick Kalber, president of Tropical Visions Video Inc. who has made his livelihood as a volcano videographer since 1984, recently put his mouth where his money is.He and his wife Ann were married July 14 on a lava flow during a shoot for the Discovery Channel show called "The Best Place to Watch a Volcano." It's to air in January or February, and he's been told the show will include footage of his nuptials -- shot by another crew.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com