Improved VPR Classical Signal in Central Vermont

Update for Tuesday, June 28: WVXR 102.1 FM is up to full power as of 3 this afternoon! Thank you for your patience as we finished this big project. I hope you'll try it out and let us know how it sounds!

We have great news for classical music fans in Central Vermont! Engineers are getting ready to replace the antenna for WVXR 102.1 FM in Randolph, which will allow us to broadcast the station consistently at full power. This upgrade will result in a stronger, higher-quality signal for more of the WVXR coverage area.

VPR Classical went on the air in Central Vermont last fall, but due to significant problems with the antenna, we have not been able to broadcast consistently at full power.

As long as the weather holds out, work will begin Monday, June 27 and will take 1-2 days to complete. For the safety of the tower crew we’ll need to take the station off the air during that time, but when it returns it will be a more robust signal than before.

WVXR reaches about 92,000 Vermonters across a large swath of central Vermont including the communities of Randolph, Bethel, Brookfield, Tunbridge, Sharon, Barnard, Woodstock, Royalton, Chelsea, Barre, and more.

We look forward to improving our service to you with this critical upgrade!

WRVT Rutland Is Getting An Upgrade

If you listen to Vermont Public Radio on WRVT 88.7 FM in Rutland, you may have noticed poor or no reception at times this week. I wanted to provide you with an update on the issues we are experiencing and provide details about an exciting improvement on the horizon!

A couple of weeks ago, our main signal from our Colchester studios to WRVT on Grandpa’s Knob failed, and the back-up signal system kicked in. That back-up system does not provide the same level of quality audio our listeners expect, but it at least kept WRVT and running. Unfortunately, the back-up signal also failed, so now we are using a second back-up solution that is operating normally and at 100% power.

The other issue has to do with the time of year: in the fall, many broadcasters (including VPR) are doing critical maintenance work on towers because, as you might imagine, getting to those towers in the dead of winter is a challenge! Because we share our transmission facilities with other broadcasters, we sometimes have to go to low power or off the air completely to protect the safety of engineers working on the tower.

Fortunately, I also have some great news: we were recently granted permission by the FCC to nearly double the power of WRVT 88.7 FM. Beginning November 29th, VPR will be upgrading that transmitter and other critical infrastructure. Once the work is complete, WRVT listeners will have a stronger and better signal – and 40,000 more people in the Rutland County area will be able to receive VPR! We expect the work to upgrade and improve WRVT will be completed during the week of December 13.

Thank you very much for your patience as we work through these issues. Until then, I hope you’ll listen to VPR online if you are able.

Update On WVPR 89.5

If you listen in central or southern Vermont, you may have noticed that VPR has been having significant issues with our transmitter on Mount Ascutney over the last several days. Many listeners from your area have experienced poor reception and in some cases, have lost reception altogether.

I want to assure you that VPR's engineers are working hard to resolve the problem. Our engineers have been on Mount Ascutney all week and have successfully pinpointed the cause of these issues. Due to the failure of a critical broadcast component listeners to WVPR 89.5 FM will continue to experience poor or no reception for the next several days. This also affects our 89.5 HD channels and our low-power translators at 94.5 FM in Brattleboro and 92.5 FM in Manchester.

We have ordered new equipment and we hope to have it installed and have the station back on the air by late next week.

I know you count on VPR to be there for you everyday, and I know how frustrating it can be to be without your daily companion. Thank you very much for your patience as we work to resolve this issue. In the meantime, I hope you’ll listen to VPR online if you are able.

Problems With WVPR 89.5

If you've had trouble listening to VPR at 89.5 over the last several days, I just wanted to let you know that we have been experiencing problems with our transmitter, which affects the signal at 89.5, our translator at 94.5, as well as our HD channels.

We are not sure yet what the exact cause is, but our engineers report there is a problem with the the filter/combiner network that leads up to the antenna. It's causing the transmitter to automatically reduce power in order to protect itself from being damaged.

Engineers working on it, and hope to have the problem corrected and WVPR restored to full power very soon! Thank you for your patience!

Transmitter Move: It's Kind of Like This....

VPR's Rich Parker on our 107.9 transmitter move: "It's kinda like this....a farmer was going to town with a fox, a goose and a sack of corn. When he came to a stream, he had to cross in a tiny boat, and could only take across one thing at a time. How does he get them all safely over the stream?"

Thanks for your patience. We'll be at low power off and on for the next 8-10 days, but the result will be a more reliable signal!

Click here to learn more about this move. If your reception is affected, try listening online using VPR's Audio Player.

Moving our 107.9 Transmitter

We'll be moving our WVPS 107.9 transmitter on Mount Mansfield in the coming weeks. Below, VPR's Director of Engineering Rich Parker explains what has gone into this project - and what you can expect during and after the project is completed:

"We are reaching the final stages of our long term project to move our WVPS 107.9 transmitter and equipment from its previous location in the Vermont Public Television building to a newly constructed facility where the WCAX-TV building used to be. This new facility, a major project of the Mount Mansfield Colocation Association (MMCA, a collaboration of TV and Radio broadcasters on Mt. Mansfield), will be the new permanent home for WVPS.

The preparation and execution of the final move of the transmission equipment will be taking place over the next several weeks. WVPS will go to low power for up to two days this week while engineers start work on the shared transmission lines at the new site. This is the portion near the base of the tower on top of Mount Mansfield.

After that is completed, we will go back up to full power until the end of September, when WVPS goes to low power again for two more days to allow for completion of transmission line work inside the building where the transmitter will be located.

At that point, we will switch to a new, higher-power backup transmitter which will be approximately three times as powerful as the previous low-power backup. WVPS will stay on that new backup transmitter, located at the new transmitter site, for up to ten more days while crews disassemble and move VPR's high powered transmitter down to its new location in the MMCA building.

During the periods of low power operation, some listeners located far from Mt. Mansfield may experience a loss or degradation of signal - more so during the initial low power phases, and somewhat less during the final low power stage (on the new, more powerful backup).

If everything goes as planned, and there are no unexpected delays due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, we expect WVPS to be returned to full power at it's brand new location on Friday, October 9.

This is the culmination of over ten years of work and planning in coordination with the other broadcasters on Mt. Mansfield. With the need for the TV stations to transition to Digital (DTV), there was a need for an entirely new configuration of towers, buildings, and other facilities
atop Mt. Mansfield. Once this work is completed, WVPS will be in a new building, with excellent heating, cooling, and clean air for the transmitters, and two large powerful generators which supply emergency backup power to the entire facility.

Thank you for your patience as we complete this final stage of a very extensive and complex project - but the results will be a much better home for WVPS for years to come."

For more information about the history and scope the colocation project on Mount Mansfield, click here.