Virtually every single piece of equipment in a broadcast chain these days is a computer. Given that fact, every one of those computers seems to need software (and occasionaly hardware) upgrades from time to time. This can be difficult when those computers are located on mountaintops but it has become a large part of maintaining a modern digital broadcast facility.

We recently had a tech from the manufacturer of our monitoring equipment visit our shop to perform some hardware and software upgrades on their equipment. These upgrades were to resolve issues we had been having with lockups. I had spent the past few weekends removing the equipment that had already been installed so it could be upgraded. After the upgrades were complete, I went back out into the field to reinstall the units. While I was reinstalling this equipment, I took the opportunity to perform some other much needed upgrades at sites in the same area of the state.

The first stop was Rock Springs, then Pinedale, then I spent the night in Jackson. The next morning I picked up the key and headed to the Jackson transmitter site.

Beautiful scenery en-route to the transmitter site on Snow King

Looking uphill toward the towers

The main transmitter required a power supply replacement and some amplifier module firmware upgrades. I had to take it off the air in order to perform the work.

Time to put the aux transmitter on the air so I can work on the main…

This is the failed power supply module from the main transmitter…One of six.
The transmitter would still run but only at reduced power.

One task complete…The lower right hand power supply module
has been replaced and is once again operational.

Now that the power supply replacement was complete, it was time to upgrade the firmware on the amplifier modules. This upgrade will make them more resistant to momentary power ‘glitches’ that might otherwise cause them to fault and go offline. After CAREFULLY reading the instructions supplied by the manufacturer, I proceed with what could potentially be a dangerous upgrade if not done correctly. The last thing I needed was a set of dead power amplifier modules due to a botched firmware upgrade!

The transmitter is wide open and connected to my laptop…

Specialized programming cable connected to the first of five modules…

All set to (nervously) upgrade the first module…

Success! Everything worked exactly as expected and the main transmitter is back to full power.

Once I finished in Jackson, I proceeded to check out a reported translator failure in Dubois and to perform the same upgrades at our Thermopolis transmitter site. I should be in Thermopolis by this evening. It’s going to be a LONG day…