Alabama radio station's AM tower stolen!

[thewayne]

The station HAD a two-hundred foot tower! Had is the operative word as it has been stolen! And now the station is completely off the air. The station has an FM side, but apparently it is a repeat of the AM side and the FCC says it cannot broadcast if the AM side is down, so the station is completely off the air.

The tower itself dates back to the 1950s and is worth over $200,000. There's additional equipment installed on it in service of the broadcasting worth another $60,000. And these towers aren't exactly stocked and ready to be delivered. This seriously cripples the station, and if there's an area emergency like a tornado or wild fire, the people in its broadcast footprint won't be able to tune in for information!

And since they are licensed for broadcast by the Federal Communications Commission, interfering with their broadcast, perhaps by doing something like stealing their tower is a Federal crime and will earn you up to ten years in the Fed pen!

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/200-foot-am-radio-tower-disappears-halting-alabama-station-broadcast/

Comments

[conuly]

Okay, but can I say I'm a bit impressed that the thieves pulled this off?

[acelightning73]

I assume the thieves are going to have it cut up and sell it for scrap. I have to believe that the station had insurance on the equipment. But how come nobody noticed? Messing with the tower would include disconnecting the feed from the transmitter. And in most radio stations the audio on the speakers in the studio area comes from an air monitor - a receiver tuned to the station's frequency. If there's no RF being transmitted, there'll be no sound on the studio speakers, or in the announcer's headphones.

I owned a pair of headphones with a built-in radio receiver, which I would use to make sure the signal was still going out. It was especially useful for doing a remote broadcast (from a used-car-lot grand opening to a live band at the bar that booked country bands). It was intended for people who wanted to listen to the radio (especially the folks who always had the ball game on while they were working on something around the house) while they were mowing the lawn or jogging.

[disneydream06]

WOW... That is just bizarre.
How do you steal a two hundred foot tower? :o :o :o
Hugs, Jon

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

... but you kinda have to admire someone who could steal a 200 foot tower.

[silveradept]

That's certainly a very planned-out heist, but I still have to wonder why you would steal the entire broadcast tower, instead of some of the other components that would be easier to pawn or otherwise fence.