Preparing for the DTV transition hasn’t been easy for station WSKY-TV, which is licensed to Manteo, N.C. A story by Philip Walzer in The Virginian-Pilot describes the incredible series of problems WSKY-TV faced getting its new tower constructed. This past March, the tower collapsed into the new transmitter building, narrowly missing the transmitter. Last month, one of the subcontractors for the company hired to construct the tower finally finished the work.
For details on the WSKY-TV saga, see Sky Television sues over toppled tower.
Here are some of the problems Walzer described. Tower Innovations failed to order guy wires, according to Sky Television, causing a two-month delay. When the tower fell, it was “months behind schedule”. A suit by WSKY-TV against Tower Innovations said the foundation, “was woefully inadequate to provide even a fraction of the resistance necessary to hold the 300,000-pound tower erect in modest winds, let alone under hurricane-force wind loads.” According to the article, the contractor hired to build the replacement for the tower that fell couldn’t afford to rent a crane to continue the work because Tower Innovations owed it over $270,000 for past work.
Here’s hoping your DTV transition tower work in 2008 goes more smoothly!
