Fairbanks PBS switches from UHF to VHF

Reception problems with PBS affiliate KUAC in Fairbanks, Alaska, prompted it to move from UHF Ch. 24 to VHF Ch. 9, at a cost of $1.1 million and six days off the air, according to Broadcasting & Cable. It switched in late September by undergoing rechannelization. The new Harris VHF transmitter and ERI transmission line and antenna had to be installed in a “tightly coordinated process,” B&C reported, due to Alaska’s brief period of mild weather. Climate is always a challenge in the state; currently, a message on the dual licensee’s website explains to FM radio listeners that all that static is due to the transmitter operating at reduced power because of antenna icing. “Unfortunately, nothing can be done but wait for the weather to get colder which will cause the snow/ice to fall off of the antenna,” it says.