August 11, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - WKYU-PBS and WKU Public Radio are about to complete a major upgrade to their emergency backup power systems that will make the stations more reliable in the event of a power outage.
The stations, local PBS and NPR affiliates based at Western Kentucky University, installed a new back up generator about a year ago, replacing a failing unit installed in 1969. Now the final installation work on a large uninterruptable power supply (UPS) system will help to provide the public broadcasting services with a smooth transition to generator power in the event of a power outage. This means the stations will be able to provide much more reliable broadcast signals during bad weather or other emergencies.
The final electrical installation of the UPS system will require WKYU-PBS and WKU Public Radio to sign off for several hours the night of Wednesday, Aug. 20. WKYU-PBS will not air Charlie Rose and European Journal on that night because the station will sign off early at 10 p.m. For WKU Public Radio listeners, classical music broadcasts and hourly newscasts will be pre-empted for a few hours starting at 10 p.m. Both the TV and radio station will return to their regular schedules the following day.
WKYU-PBS, channel 24, digital 24.1, and Insight channel 11, provides the only locally-based, locally-programmed public television service to communities in south central Kentucky and northern Tennessee.
WKU Public Radio stations reach public radio audiences over most of Kentucky, northern middle Tennessee and southern Indiana and include WKYU-FM 88.9 in Bowling Green, WDCL-FM 89.7 in Somerset, WKPB-FM 89.5 in Henderson/Owensboro, WKUE-FM 90.9 in Elizabethtown and live online at www.wkyufm.org.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Jack Hanes at (270) 745-6519 or Linda Gerofsky at (270) 745-3833.
-WKU-
"A leading American university with international reach"
Office of Media Relations
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, Ky. 42101-3576
Phone: (270)745-4295 - Fax: (270)7455387 - E-Mail: western@wku.edu