Another Copper Theft, This Time Daytona Beach

Radio station WNDB 1150 AM was off the air for more than eight hours this week after someone ripped two copper straps off the station's pair of 200-foot towers, causing an estimated $10,000 in damage and another $10,000 in lost ad revenue.

The stolen copper, a station engineer estimated, was worth a few dollars as scrap, according to a story by Andrew Gant at The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

"Radio stations all over the country get hit," said Bobby Gray, the engineer for Black Crow Broadcasting who discovered the late-night or early morning theft. "They probably made $30 at the scrap yard."

Daytona Beach police are investigating the case but did not identify any suspects.

Photos by Bobby Gray

Gray awoke to a remote alarm about 5:40 a.m. Wednesday, alerting him the station was off-air. He eventually found the copper, which is at the base of each tower off LPGA Boulevard to protect the transmitters from lightning strikes, was gone.

The station, home of the Marc Bernier Show and other talk shows, was dead until just after 2 p.m. Wednesday, Gray said.

Gray told Media Confidential the station is now on the air with a replacement tower connection made of Home Depot refrigerator copper line. The missing strap is the station's lightning protection.

Read more.