AFN hopes to have Okinawa 648 AM station back on the air by September.
By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, 27 July 2023. Camp Kinser, Okinawa.
Fans of talk radio and NPR on American Forces Network must wait a little longer while further repairs are
made to a faulty tower and supporting equipment on Okinawa. Surf 648 AM — sister station to Wave 89.1 FM — went off the air March 21 so crews could fix a support wire for the station’s radio tower, AFN spokesman John Clearwater said in April. The work was expected to be completed by June 1.
While making repairs, contractor KBR Inc. discovered “severe” corrosion on a transformer, which regulates and conducts electricity to the tower, according to a Tuesday email from Keith Smith, chief of operations for AFN Pacific. The network hopes to have the AM channel back online by early September.
“AFN Okinawa’s Camp Kinser AM Tower is nearly complete,” Clearwater said by email Friday. “Our AFN Pacific Technical Service crews are working to fully restore AM service to the Okinawa community on AM Surf 648 as soon as possible.”
(https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2023-07-26/afn-am-radio-tower-okinawa10868456.html via Dave Kenny via BDXC-UK)
Medium Wave News Sept. 2023 (2023-08-29)