During devotions this morning the FM transmitter went off the air. It was quickly determined that the cause was a power failure and, with no backup power, it did not return until after lunch. This is a small 600-watt transmitter broadcasting to the people of Bonaire.

We reviewed the 100,000-watt AM transmitter log and found that power was reduced at 9pm last night and continued at that lower level most of the night. Rich West called me via the internet from Elkhart to suggest that this was likely caused by water bugs flying through the arc gaps of the towers, causing a flash over, then the transmitter sensing a problem and reducing power to prevent further arcing. Water bugs are around because of standing water due to unusually heavy rains a couple of weeks ago. Rich says this problem will go away as the water slowly dries up. Which it is! Rich then noted that after the ground dries up termites start coming out of the ground about 9am. He also noted that by painting the arc gaps a dark color rather than white, like they were initially, that the frequency of arcs was reduced. I wonder if some type of screen could be used around the gap to prevent this, but this screen would have to be insulation material that can handle the high voltage! With Virginia’s experience with salty dust coating the windows screens, that may not be such a good idea!

The automation system has now been programmed to give me a call when the transmitter reduces power so we will be more aware of what is happening, and maybe find a solution. Joe Barker also tried to set up a laptop computer so that I could increase the power back to normal from home when this happens. Unfortunately, it did not work from the place where we are staying, so we’ll have to think about this some more. Transmitter control can be done via my cell phone, but it is very cumbersome and I can not verify whether corrective action has actually taken place.

The above efforts took a considerable amount of time so I only got to the site about 3pm. Picked up on the spare PA Module repair that was started yesterday. Managed to locate most of the spare parts, needed to make the repairs, including one spare fuse, which had a different number than the manual specified. Also gained access to all the faulty parts in the module after taking out lots of screws. Now to remove the faulty parts from the circuit boards. I’ll need to get the soldering station from town. Also need a thin wall 5mm socket or nut driver with a maximum outside diameter of 7mm. Can find nothing at the site or in town with thin enough wall. May have to get a socket and grind it down on the lathe.

Hopefully there will be more obvious progress tomorrow.

Another thing I discovered this morning is that the odd fuse that was blown in the PA module is only rated at 150 vdc rather than 500 vdc like the other proper ones. This could have been the cause of added damage with the initial failure. The one I discovered this afternoon in stock is a Ferraz Shawmut A5Y20-2 which is a direct replacement for the Buss Limitron KLM-20 fuse(s) that are needed.

This evening, we learned that plans to pack the 50,000-watt AM transmitter tomorrow morning in Elkhart has been delayed due to the shipping company’s inability to determine whether it will be able to connect with the ship leaving for Africa on October 23 and arriving there on December 5. TWR Swaziland would prefer it not get held up and incur storage fees should it arrive during the long holiday breaks by customs and others over Christmas and New Years.

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