Repairs set for next month on AETN antenna tower

— Thousands of television viewers are still unable to view the Arkansas Educational Television Network because of the Jan. 11 collapse of an antenna tower, but help is on its way, network officials said Wednesday.

A crew is expected to begin repairs in June on the 2,000-foot tower that fell in Redfield, said Darbi Blencowe, viewer service coordinator for the network. The tower, owned by KATV, Channel 7 in Little Rock, fell in the Jefferson County town when workers were replacing several sets of large guy wires.

AETN's KETS, Channel 2 analog transmitter was on the Redfield tower.

Most cable companies were able to switch to AETN's digital broadcast signal, Blencowe said. But viewers in Maumelle, Beebe, Vilonia and Searcy, along with those who use smaller cable companies around the state, have been unable to receive the signal.

The digital KETS signal wasnot affected, and viewers in most places who receive the channel by cable or satellite dish did not have their service interrupted.

However, some smaller Arkansas cable companies do not receive the digital signal, and those customers cannot see the network. Those who watch AETN with a television antenna also cannot receive the signal.

"Thousands still cannot get our station," Blencowe said.

She said she receives 10-15 calls a day from viewers.

One Little Rock woman hoping to watch the channel again soon said she allows her pet parrot to watch only AETN after the bird learned objectionable language from a broadcast network, Blencowe said.

"She won't allow the parrot to watch commercial television anymore," she said.

A rigging contractor will install a new antenna 1,000 feet above the ground on the tower about four miles from Redfield in the "early part" of June, she said.

The contractor is working on a project in Colorado now.

"They need seven to 10 days of calm weather," she said. "They'll be 1,000 feet up, and they need the wind no more than 10 to 15 miles per hour."

She could not predict when the signal would be restored fully.

"It's all based on the weather. We need calm, clear weather," she said.

AETN has provided a temporary digital signal by retransmitting it over KTWN, Channel 18 in Searcy. KTWN picks up the analog signal from Mountain Viewand then retransmits it over its digital system. Some cable companies can covert the signal back to analog, Blencowe said.

After the tower collapsed, engineers conducted a new structural analysis. It took about six weeks to complete, Blencowe said. Building authority officials in Redfield then had to approve the plans.

Still the process was slow, she said.

"It's like building a house," Blencowe said. "There's a lot of paperwork."

Arkansas, Pages 14 on 05/29/2008

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