September 1, 2017 — The Summit Daily ran a full-length article about SPRTV’s need for a new power line and our campaign to fund it.
August 2017 — Breckenridge Creative Arts Magazine recently ran a great profile of SPRTV.
January 19, 2015 — A January 19 Summit Daily article said the following about the Summit Foundation including $50,000 for SPRTV’s power line replacement project in its 2014 Fall grant cycle:
While some organizations apply for grants every year, others only apply in certain years, when they have a project coming up. Such was the case with the Summit Public Radio & TV (SPRTV), a local nonprofit that keeps Summit County connected to the outside world via antenna television and radio signals. The group was awarded a grant that will go toward replacing 3 miles of cable to the station at the top of Bald Mountain.
“We got huge support, I was thrilled,” said Sue Greene, vice president of development for SPRTV, about The Summit Foundation grant. Though it’s only a single part of the fundraising necessary for the project, knowing that it was approved “is pretty amazing,” she said.
See the entire article at http://www.summitdaily.com/news/14709786-113/the-summit-foundation-announces-largest-grant-cycle-increase-in-its
Last Night’s Board Meeting and a Search for Volunteers
We had a great Board meeting last night. Even though the weather was cold, almost all of our members were there. A lot of interesting and exciting topics were discussed. Our power requirements and the possibility of increasing our use of alternative energy. How far we can go with providing free Digital TV to Summit County. Getting involved in WiFi. And of course, our newly energized marketing efforts to create awareness of what we actually do.
The bottom line is… we can’t accomplish all we want to do with our current membership. We need help! Over the next several days we’ll be posting the volunteer opportunities here, on Twitter, Facebook, and our website. Keep checking in, or contact us now (volunteer@summitpublicradio.org) if you just want to get involved with a great group of hard working people who all want to give back to the community. We’re sure you’ll find something interesting.
SPR Stations in Summit County
Here is a listing of all the TV and Radio stations we rebroadcast in Summit County, Colorado.
KUNC 88.3 FM
NPR – Diverse Music
KCME 89.3 FM
All Classical Music
KUVO 89.7 FM
NPR – Jazz
KQSE 107.1 FM
Spanish
KLDV 107.9 FM
Spiritual
KBCO 94.3 FM
Adult Rock
KSKE 95.3 FM
Country Music
KMGH/ABC DTV Ch. 10.1
KUSA/NBC DTV Ch. 10.2
KCNC/CBS [temporarily off]
Sue Greene Addresses The Summit Foundation
On June 30, Suzanne Greene, president of Summit Public Radio, had the honor of addressing The Summit Foundation Awards Reception. This is what she told them:
Who are we? Summit Public Radio is a non-profit organization that brings 7 radio stations and 3 antenna TV stations into Summit County. The radio stations include 2 NPR stations, KUNC and KUVO, 1 public all-classical music station, KCME, and KQSE, the only Spanish language radio station in the County.
All of these stations originate beyond the mountains that surround our community. The mountains prohibit these radio and TV signals broadcast from reaching us directly.
Without SPR’s main electronics site atop Baldy Mountain, these stations would not be available in our community. We receive these signals at Baldy and rebroadcast them to your homes and cars and businesses.
SPR provides our service through the hard work of our Board Members and the financial generosity of our Supporting Members and Foundations, such as TSF.
Thank You, TSF!
The support of TSF over the last decade has helped SPR meet many goals: In 1999, a TSF grant supported the acquisition of a building to house the majority of our electronics equipment. There is a plaque on the door as a reminder of your generosity.
In 2004, a TSF grant supported a major upgrade at Baldy Site – the construction and installation of a new antenna tower.
In 2009, we determined the need to acquire the land on Baldy on which the SPR Electronics Site is located. Since 2002, we have been leasing the land. The current and planned investments of SPR and our radio station partners suggested that we needed a more permanent arrangement. Purchasing the surface rights has accomplished our goal. A grant from TSF (and others) permitted SPR to close on this land acquisition on January 25, 2010. Thank you Summit Foundation for your continued support!
Work on the Power Line this Summer
This article appeared in our recent eSignal Newsletter. If you are not getting the newsletter you can sign up by going to our website and entering your email address in the Signup box. We will not use your email address for any other purpose and you can Opt-Out of the newsletter at any time.
Around thirty years ago, a group of hearty guys with a vision for the future dug a channel and laid several cables for an electric line, from the main power transformer on Boreas Pass Road all the way up to what is now the Electronic site, up above timberline, on Baldy Mountain. What a job that must have been! Well, this power line has served us (and other users of the electronic site) well for many years. However, freeze-and -thaw cycles, natural movement of underground rocks, hungry gnawing critters (boy, I bet they were in for a shock), and natural deterioration over time has created many places where the insulation has broken on the cables, allowing the aluminum of the cable itself to corrode, etc., causing ground faults, and decrease of power-carrying capacity. This summer a lot of hard work has gone into locating many of these underground faults (with some StarWars-like gadgets), digging them up, cutting out the bad parts and splicing in new lengths of cable.
Here’s a link showing some examples of the damage to the power line.
Kudos to Gary Peterson, our technical guy and site manager, for organizing this work and rounding up contractors and volunteers to assist him in this arduous task, and keeping us on the air!
Channel 10 is Now Digital
An Important Announcement for Summit County Television Translator Users.
The Summit Public Radio Channel 10 analog television translator has been switched over to the new digital format.
What does this mean?
In order to receive the channel 10 television signal you now need a set-top DTV converter box or a digital television set.
The present station linup is,
Channel 10.1 — KMGH/ABC
Channel 10.2 — KUSA/NBC
For technical assistance tuning in the new DTV translator call (970) 453-9293 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (970) 453-9293 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and ask for Gary.
DTV converter box guide — Choosing the gear you need to receive digital over-the-air broadcasts
After Summit Public Radio and TV makes the full transition to digital television broadcasting, any analog TV set connected to an antenna must be connected to a digital converter box to continue receiving our free over-the-air signal.
Converter boxes are available for purchase either online or at stores including Best Buy, Radio Shack, Sears, Target, and Walmart. Most stores have only a few models in stock; some online retailers have more of a selection. It might take some effort to locate a specific converter. Retail prices generally range from $45 to $80; online shipping typically adds $10 or so to the cost. Be sure your box has the “analog pass-through” feature so you can continue to receive the old analog signals–while they last.
Consumer Reports has tested a number of models and have updated their Ratings of DTV converter boxes, which now include 43 models, covering a broad swath of available units. (Many of the models on the market are related units that differ only in a feature or two, such as having different remotes, or in styling.)
See The Digital Television Guide for a detailed introduction to the new era of digital television.