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WKMS
FACILITIES
The
WKMS tower is near the site of the former community of Mont,
Kentucky between the Golden Pond Visitor's Center in Land Between
the Lakes and Grand Rivers, Kentucky. At the top of the 500'
tower there's a 14 bay FM antenna manufactured by ERI in Evansville,
IN. Mounted just above them is a device called a Staticat which
works to deflect lightning strikes. Down the center of the tower
is a sealed copper tube called the transmission line. This line
connects the antenna to two Harris 20K transmitters, primary
and auxiliary, inside a concrete block building secured within
a locked security enclosure.
Midway down the tower is the WKMS auxiliary antenna connected
by a flexible transmission cable to the transmitters. The two
separate antennas and two transmitters provide redundancy in
emergencies. Also there's a "dummy load" power receptacle
inside the transmitter building, which allows testing of the
transmitters when there are line and antenna problems. This
allows maximum efficiency in recovering from interruptions to
the system such as power surges, lightning strikes, etc.
Further down the tower is the microwave receive antenna, which
is calibrated to capture the studio transmitter link signal
from the microwave send antenna atop Price Doyle Fine Arts tower
at 15th and Olive Streets in Murray. The signal from the main
studio travels from the microwave receive antenna down into
the transmitter, then travels up the tower via the transmission
line to the FM antenna for broadcast at 91.3 FM with 100,000
watts of power.
In addition to WKMS equipment, the tower hosts broadcast equipment
belonging to Kentucky Early Warning System (KEWS) Kentucky Fish
and Wildlife, Kentucky State Police, the U.S. Forestry Service
and Satellink Paging.
Murray State University has a working agreement with KEWS whereby
KEWS provides WKMS a transmission signal to the Murray Studios
for phone telemetry, including all of the remote monitoring
required to keep the system within parameters set for each broadcast
station by the Federal Communications Commission, and KEWS has
space for its equipment in an area of the 8th Floor of the Price
Doyle Tower as well as in the transmitter hut at LBL. KEWS also
shares the cost of HVAC repairs and tower painting at the LBL
site. The U.S. Forestry service provides landscape clearance
to maintain the WKMS tower guy wire paths and anchors without
threat of invasive damage from vegetation. The U.S. Forestry
service also assists in maintaining the gravel road access and
occasional security matters.
Pennyrile Electric of Trigg County provides the lines to the
WKMS tower site and responds to emergencies there. Frequently
the source of power interruption is an event of some sort at
the TVA Lyon County substation, during which Pennyrile summons
TVA crews and follows up after their repair to assure WKMS restored
service at its remote location.
The ultimate redundancy for the WKMS system would involve the
installation of a power generator backup. Due to the cost on
the equipment and its monthly monitoring needs, and the infrequency
of power interruptions, the station has no current plans to
acquire a generator.
WKMS rents space from Kentucky Educational Television for its
translator that improves reception for parts of Paducah. The
tower is within the Department of Emergency Services compound
on Coleman Road. In Paris, tower space for the WKMS translator
is provided by WENK broadcasting.
WKMS
Gets Started:
WKMS
History Highlights:
Grant
Funding for WKMS Activities over the Years:
WKMS
Physical Plant - Murray State Campus:
WKMS
Long-term and Short-term Goals
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