With 3,000 watts and a signal contour allowing it to serve three Southern Illinois cities, a noncommercial FM with a checkerboard schedule of programming has attracted an audience by being a true community radio offering.
Recently, the need for an FM transmitter upgrade arose for the station’s owner. It ultimately went with a product from a company based not far to the west, in Quincy, Ill.
WDBX-FM 91.1 in Carbondale, Ill., licensed to Heterodyne Broadcasting Co., selected a Elenos ETG3500 transmitter. Thus far, the station’s Operations Manager, James Helfrich, couldn’t be more pleased with the new equipment.
“When it was time to replace our aging transmitter, we shopped around quite a bit on medium power compact transmitters,” he says. With set-up of the new transmitter an easy task for WDBX, Helfrich says it brought a non-broadcast benefit that truly helped the station’s budget. “In the first summer of operation we experienced an average of 30% of more in energy saving from unit operation and association reduction in cooling cost.”
WDBX is pairing the Elenos ETG3500 with a new Inovonics 272 processor. As a result, Helfrich says, “Our signal is stronger and has never sounded so good.”
The Elenos ETG line offers circuit boards with a special coating, coupled with an aluminum chassis. This protects from corrosion. Redundant fans provide ample air flow for cool operations; a “lifeXtender” control algorithm keeps the transmitter operating at the highest safe power level even in the event of total fan failure.
“We are excited and pleased to help WDBX deliver its unique programing across Southern Illinois and thank them for trusting the Elenos Group with this important purchase,” BE President/COO Rich Redmond said. “We know the energy savings and the reliable operation that the ETG transmitters deliver will provide WDBX reduced operating costs and peace of mind for years to come.”
Elenos Group sales associate Ben Marth worked with WDBX with the acquisition of the new transmitter.
