NY-VT Radio:WEQX Tower Rocked By Ice, Winds

Listeners of 102.7 WEQX 102.7 FM (licensed to Manchester VT) could only hear static over their car radios after an ice storm Tuesday snapped its tower and transmitter in half.

The station, which reaches the Albany NY Capital Region, continues to stream music online at weqx.com and plans to install a temporary transmitter Thursday, Jeff Morad, programming director said.

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"We hope to be able to piece it together and put it back on full power in the next week," Morad told the Albany NY Times-Union.

The temporary transmitter will not have the range of the previous tower, but Morad said they are unsure exactly how powerful it will be.

The 75-foot tower crested the peak of the 3,855-foot Mount Equinox, allowing the station to broadcast from Kingston in Ulster County, N.Y., to Pittsfield, Mass., and Keene, N.H.

The location of the tower, however, means reaching it could be difficult.

The only road to the peak is closed for the winter, Morad said, and the station is considering using snowmobiles, a helicopter or other means to carry equipment up the mountain.

Tuesday was the first serious weather-related mishap in the tower's 31-year history, Morad said. He said a deer broke into a generator shaft last winter and chewed through some wires.

Tower repairs could cost around $10,000 plus labor, Morad said. The station has spoken to advertisers and has said it will make up ad time once the station comes back online.

WEQX 102.7 FM (1.25 Kw_ Red=Local Coverage

Fans seemed understanding of the plight.