The Forum

KCFV 89.5, the voice of Florissant Valley, has been hit with another setback just after making its long awaited return to the airwaves. The campus radio station is, unfortunately, off the air again—this time due to a failed air conditioning unit in the transmitter room. 

While it’s not yet clear whether the outage was caused by the intense heat or by power feedback from prior antenna damage, an investigation is currently underway. The timeline for repairs could range anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks. 

This latest hiccup comes shortly after a much longer outage earlier this year. As STLCC’s spring break began on March 14, KCFV’s antenna sustained severe storm damage. The antenna, which had been in service for over 22 years, suffered corrosion and water damage to the cabling and connectors—many of which had been exposed to the elements for decades. Critically, the connection to the power divider—the device that splits the transmitter's signal evenly between the antenna’s two compnents—was completely detached. 

According to Station Manager Paul Huddleston, this issue was compounded by the fact that the cabling from that unit had damaged insulation on the equipment, contributing to dangerous power feedback. “All of these factors contributed to a transmitter power feedback that was outside of the operating limits of the transmitter, causing it to shut down to protect itself from damage,” said Huddleston. KCFV was completely off the air for just over three months as a result. 

Repairs finally began on July 1 and were completed the following day, July 2, marking the station’s long-awaited return to FM broadcasting—but on the evening of July 3, the station was forced to stop broadcasting by an “unexpected shutdown” once again. 

Huddleston explained, “the internal temperature of the transmitter was 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit) and that is well outside of the normal operating range of 40-55 degrees Celsius (104-131 degrees Fahrenheit).” 

Huddleston noted that despite the setbacks, KCFV—or The Wave—is still a great locale for students to express their creativity and connect to their campus community. “KCFV is dedicated to providing a fun interactive learning environment for those interested in media creation, public speaking, writing, and audio and video creation and editing as well as providing a place for students to find music and information they may not have been exposed to on the curated, algorithm-directed feeds they are accustomed to listening to on sites like Spotify and YouTube.” He continued, “We are a college radio station, non commercial, and that gives us the ability to be closer to our community and their needs. Our community is the students of STLCC and the greater North County area, and we look to return to serving them as soon as we can.” 

For those who still need their KCFV fix, don't worry—you can still catch The Wave online at rdo. to/kcfv, where streaming continues uninterrupted even when the on-air signal is down. 

If you’ve ever dreamed of being on the mic yourself, MCM-219: Multimedia Applications is being offered this fall. The hands-on course puts students at the helm of a weekly three-hour radio show, which they get to design, produce, and present. Only 10 seats remain, so talk to your advisor and save a seat while they’re still hot.