It’s been a LONG Summer at 105.7 KOKZ! For those of you who aren’t aware, for the past several weeks we’ve been having work down at our tower. I won’t bore you with the details, but the crew had to remove our entire transmission line (over 1,200 feet), then painstakingly install the new line. Add to that Iowa weather, and lets just say the project has taken longer than expected.
So not only are we running at reduced power during the construction, now add temperatures of 100+ degrees AND high humidity, and now you are picking up Appleton, Wisconsin or Sioux City at 105.7 FM!
During the Summer months, long-distance FM reception can occur. It’s called tropospheric ducting. Now I missed that class in school, but during the day, the ground absorbs the heating rays of the sun. At night, radiational cooling occurs where that absorbed heat rises from the earth and goes straight up into the atmosphere to about 1-3 miles up to the higher areas of the troposphere. If the conditions are ripe, mainly during times of high humidity, the troposphere can act like a mirror, a sort of waveguide. Trops are more prevalent during the late night, early morning hours.
Aren’t you glad you asked?! While we are grateful that so many people have asked what’s going on, we like it best when you can hear us! The good news is the finish line on the project is near. The crew just needs a few more non-windy, dry days to complete their work, then we will celebrate. In the meantime if you are able, you can listen on-line 0n this very website or make sure to download the KOKZ app.
We very much appreciate you listening!
