You can also mail a check to:
90.5 WESA
Transmitter Replacement Fund
67 Bedford Square
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
The 90.5 WESA transmitter must be replaced due to significant water damage, a side-effect of the recent massive snowfall. The damage occurred on Sunday, Dec. 20 when snow melt leaked through the roof of the building housing our transmitter and caused it to shut down. It cannot be repaired.
Fortunately, a new, replacement transmitter is readily available. We should be able to install that transmitter once it is delivered and once the building is repaired. The process could take up to a month and the total cost could be $200,000 or more. Insurance will cover some, but not all, of the costs.
That $200,000 price tag includes the cost of the transmitter itself, which is about $100,000. Additional costs include delivery, installation, and necessary improvements to the facility beyond repairing the roof. The $200,000 also includes a upgraded, low-power back-up transmitter ($11,000) that will allow for a better signal than our existing back-up system. We hope to have the new back-up operating before Christmas Eve. Reception for many listeners will improve when that happens.
I’m asking that you please make a contribution to the 90.5 WESA Transmitter Replacement Fund to help us cover this sudden, unexpected cost. This type of expense is at the upper limits of contingency spending in a normal year and, financially speaking, this has not been a normal year. All of us at WESA are grateful for anything you can do to help.
Information on Listening
WESA is presently operating at low power on its main signal. Our translators on 92.3 FM in New Baltimore and on 104.1 FM in Ligonier and Somerset are also affected by this outage. We’re working hard to restore that service.
Meanwhile, our transmitter in Johnstown, on 100.5 FM, is unaffected.
There are several ways you can still listen to WESA if you cannot receive 90.5 FM or the other translators.
- 90.5 WESA HD-1: Operating at full power
- Stream at WESA.FM
- Tell your smart speaker to Play NPR or Play WESA
- The WESA Mobile App, which has the WESA stream and is available for Apple and Android devices
- The NPR One App
As noted above, we anticipate the new back-up transmitter will be operational by Christmas Eve and reception should improve for many listeners.
Thank you for your patience and for your support,
John Sutton
