As many in the community have noticed, the FM band at 101.1 megahertz is all static, and not the usual mix of static and music that would signal the low-power presence of KFUG Community Radio. What happened? Where did KFUG go? 

There is a certain amount of sorcery involved in the complicated process behind shoving an antenna into the sky and subsequently hearing a voice come out of a paper cone several miles removed. Maybe it’s the panoply of compounding variables that gives broadcasting this numinous quality, but after twenty years of radio-living, I can confidently assert what I have learned: Radio is NOT science. Sure, it incorporates wires and circuit boards and math, but really it’s witchcraft. And just as with Elphaba, this witch’s bane is water.  

Last month’s bomb-cyclone was the vector of doom, at least this year. KFUG goes off the air every winter for basically the same reason: Water gets into a line or a component and our signal shrinks and folds in on itself, leaving us standing there, gathered around the online stream like a bunch of flying monkeys with clipped wings. 

In past winters, the relatively mild weather has helped, allowing us ample time up on the roof with the antenna. This year has been different. With maybe one clear day among twelve rainy ones, figuring out the problem with the transmission has been slow-going. We’ve replaced connectors, A-B’d our transmitter with the old one we still have on a shelf, trimmed the hard line, and run the seemingly fixed antenna back up the mast only to have it immediately freakout again (this happened twice). It has made no sense. 

Like I said, witchcraft. 

Yesterday, a fresh 50-foot run of hard line (basically the fattest speaker wire you can imagine!) came in the mail. We’ll install it later this week. If that doesn’t work, it means a whole new antenna, which will cost a couple thousand dollars. 

Expensive witchcraft. 

When the signal returns, it will be a little weaker, having to now fight up over the rooftops and trees to get to you, but this will be temporary. Later this spring, we’re going to raise a 50-foot free-standing tower, which will add about 15 feet of elevation over our old antenna height. This will boost our signal appreciably around Crescent City and the surrounding environs, perhaps even getting our little LPFM all the way to the Oregon border. 

This tower is being paid for by the Caldwell Family Fund. Dr. Caldwell is a fan and supporter of what we do, and last year his family fund dropped $25,000 on us for the new tower and accessories. We held on to the money for a while to make sure we got to our next round of funding. We’re there now, so now’s the time to hoist The Fug higher. We’ll keep you all posted!

As always, KFUG Community Radio is still online at our NEW website: kfugradio.org. You can also still find us with your favorite radio stream aggregators like Tunein or Online Radio Box. 

Thanks to all the people who have stopped by the FugHouse on Elk Valley Road or accosted my wife at work at the Library to ask what happened to KFUG. We’re still here, doing the news, training the youth, and making noise…and we’ll be loud again very soon!