OSWEGO -- Public radio fans who live in or travel through northern New York have a new option to catch programming from WRVO Public Media. The station's newest full-power repeater, WRVH, is now on the air at 89.3FM.
Licensed to Clayton and transmitting from a few miles west of the village, WRVH is broadcasting with an effective radiated power of 7,900 watts from an antenna 26.3 meters above average terrain. The 60 dBu coverage contour, as shown on the FCC website, covers areas along the Saint Lawrence River from a few miles west of Clayton to a few miles east of Alexandria Bay. Heading south from the border, WRVU’s 60dBu contour stretches far enough along I-81 for travelers to make the jump to or from Watertown repeater 91.7 WRVJ.
"WRVH will improve our signal for thousands of listeners in the North Country, especially in the Saint Lawrence River basin," said GM Michael Ameigh. He says WRVO is cooperating with "our good friends at North Country Public Radio in Canton ... to expand news and public affairs coverage in the North Country." Ameigh called WRVH's sign-on "an important step" in that effort.
If the news has you feeling a sense of déjà vu, you're not dreaming: you read about WRVH right here in March. The station's 2009 construction permit was about to expire when WRVO requested "license to cover" status for the station. A few days later, the FCC granted the request, and -- on paper, anyway -- it appeared WRVH was up and running.
But, after noticing WRVH remained missing from the string of call signs in WRVO's hourly IDs, we discovered an application for "Special Temporary Authority" to remain silent had also been filed, almost immediately after WRVO had filed for the license to cover.
From reviewing an April extension of the original STA request, it appears that WRVH did sign-on long enough to satisfy the requirements to transition from "construction permit" status to having a full "license to cover," but WRVO explained, "due to weather issues, the utility power configuration ... was temporary. The utility company and the local electrician [were] finalizing the utility power feed for the radio station."
WRVO stated that WRVH would resume broadcasting as soon as the problems were resolved. With today's announcement, it appears that work is now complete.
Our thanks again to WRVO's Leah Landry for making sure cnyradio@cnyradio.com is included among the media outlets receiving announcements from WRVO. We encourage all local radio and TV stations to do the same, if you haven't already. Or, if press releases aren't your style, informal messages are just as helpful and appreciated!