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Because of overwhelmed University of Maine personnel, UMaine’s student radio station has failed to meet its October deadline for the completion of an upgrade to its tower on the Witter Farm in Old Town that would expand its coverage. The upgrade requires electrical work done by the university, which it has yet to start.
WMEB expected to complete the project — approved by the Federal Communications Commission about one year ago — by fall. The more than $40,000 upgrade will increase the station’s power from 680 watts to 10,000 watts and extend its range 70 miles past Bangor, making it Maine’s most powerful college radio station. It currently reaches as far as Pittsfield and Belfast.
Although UMaine and the University of Maine System are not funding the project and their role at the station is auxiliary, Tom Grucza, WMEB’s station manager, said he is waiting for the university to complete work on its end, without which the station cannot finish the upgrade.
“With the help of the university, we have spent a lot of time preparing the site for the upgrade,” Grucza said. “We have finished the ventilation, but this technology requires a lot of electricity. We are relying on Facilities Management to install the electrical components. We have no idea when this will happen, but we are also approaching the winter months, which could cause more delays. The upgrade will happen; it’s just a matter of time. Once the electrical work is finished, all we need to do is install the equipment, and then the expansion will take effect.”
Grucza said Facilities Management told the station it has an overwhelming workload that is forcing the upgrade to Facilities Management’s backburner, but it considers the upgrade a priority. The station is not yet facing a FCC fine for the delay.
According to station engineer Bill Ducharme, the crucial piece of equipment requiring so much electricity is a new antenna array. The current antenna uses 440 watts of power. The new antenna is larger and will use 4,700 watts of power.
In 2007, the University of Maine System office informed WMEB of an opportunity to expand its coverage, leading the station to apply for the wattage increase with the FCC. The approval period lasted six months, during which the FCC investigated the possibility the increase would interfere with the signals of other stations. Typically, the approval period lasts longer for traditional radio stations, but the legalities have recently been relaxed for educational stations such as WMEB. Upon completing the investigation, the FCC determined there would be no interference and approved the increase.
Initially, when the FCC permitted the upgrade, it issued a strict October 2009 deadline for the project, and WMEB expected to meet it. The station is not yet facing a fine because the FCC has issued an extension until sometime after the winter months. The cost of the project is worked into the station’s operational budget for the next three years, and WMEB has purchased much of the equipment for the upgrade on credit. The equipment is currently stored on campus, waiting to be installed.
The station’s funding comes from the communication fee, which is currently $15 a semester, per enrollee. The communication fee is a source of financing for a number of student media outlets, including The Maine Campus and ASAP. The split for WMEB amounts to a yearly operating budget of between $50,000 and $60,000 according to Grucza.
Michael Murphy, the station’s advisor working directly with Facilities Management on the upgrade, said the project is nearing completion. He expects a clearer picture concerning the exact finish date to emerge sometime early next week.
“Facilities Management has been cooperative with us, and I have been communicating with the Facilities office about the completion of the work necessary for the transmitter upgrade. We’ll be able to actually throw the switch on and start transmitting with our new equipment soon,” Murphy said.
The station’s plans for an upgrade are a part of a greater effort to build its image. Despite the setback, WMEB is still working on improvements.
“Its not frustrating, just a little disappointing. As of right now it’s out of our hands,” Grucza said. “We are still working on our Web site extensively. We’ve created things like a music blog for our DJs and a Now Playing list that allows our listeners to identify the music they are listening to, if they don’t know who the band is. We’re always trying to improve.”
Grucza said students working at the station make crucial decisions, like the move to increase wattage, with only mild assistance from a faculty advisor. An advisory board oversees station activity.
“The faculty advisor points us in the right direction. The important decisions are made by the students, and then they are filtered through our advisor for approval,” Grucza said. “We face very limited interference from the university. Their role is strictly advisory. They help us to make certain decisions and make sure we are keeping up with all the regulations of a radio station. They make no content or editorial decisions; they are just there to help.”
According to Grucza, the station is an outlet to get hands-on experience in the broadcast world for those who wish to enter the field. For those who are not going to enter the field, he emphasized the station’s role as a source of “passion and education through music for the communities surrounding Orono.”
“The music we play is usually underground or independent. We provide an alternative to a lot of the other stations in the area. There are a lot of weird gaps in our current coverage; the proposed upgrade would expand thorough coverage to within a seventy mile radius of the Bangor area,” Grucza said. “This would help cover those gaps and improve our station’s role in the surrounding communities. That is our main goal with this upgrade. By being able to better deliver our coverage and increase our signal it will allow us to serve the community better, it will provide us with more listeners. The station has always been shaped by its listeners and more listeners means a better station.”
