It’s a Class D AM radio station with a mere 28 watts after dark with an FM translator helping it serve Wichita, Kansas, with a mix of Christian Talk and Teaching and Adult Standard programming. The facility is owned by a former reporter for KAKE-10, the market’s ABC affiliate, who in 2003 decided to buy the station and exit television.
Now, Terry Atherton is suffering not from a lack of access to his AM radio station, but from another threat that has impact his property: the theft of copper wire.
According to KAKE-10, “hundreds of feet” of copper wire were lifted by thieves. Now, Atherton is struggling to find a solution while he works with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as the wire powers the lights on the broadcast tower for KSGL-AM 900 in Wichita, which has a tower near the intersections of Central Avenue and West Street.
It’s a dangerous situation. As Eli Higgins shared on Tuesday night’s 10pm edition of KAKE News, the site is completely barren of light and pitch black after dark. As such, no pilot would readily know that two 300-foot broadcast towers were standing on the site.
For Atherton, that’s frustrating because the thieves, he says, “don’t get much out of what they steal.” But, the destruction of the wiring that goes to the towers has ceased the FCC-required lighting. Broadcasts still can be heard at AM 900 and on FM 105.7 via an FM translator also housed on one of the two towers.
What does the lack of lighting mean for Atherton and for KSGL? A Notice to Airmen with special notes to pilots about flying conditions was issued, noting the tower has “lights unserviceable.”
But, Atherton tells KAKE-TV the “NOTAM” is about to expire. This means spending money on expensive coil to relight the towers. He says, “My hope is that doesn’t happen again. I hope that’s a realistic thing to hope for.”
Atherton hopes to find the funds to pay for the new coil ahead of potential FAA fines for the lack of lighting.
