"We're on top of it and we're working on it," Fink said. "With any type of aging technology, there are going to be problems."

The dropped audio for so-called "over the air" viewers and those with satellite or dish systems comes at a time when the television industry is focused on cable customers and upgrading from analog to digital systems.

KHNL, the local NBC affiliate, and other local broadcasters are required by the Federal Communications Commission to continue delivering television service over the airwaves.

"We will always be required to service our markets over the air," said Mike Rosenberg, general manager of KITV 4.

An estimated 20,000 viewers watch television via the airwaves, Fink said. Another 10,000 get their signals over the air via the DISH Network or DirecTV Group, he said.

Nielsen data shows that 90 percent of Hawai'i's 420,000 television households receive their signals from Oceanic Time Warner Cable.

Some customers still enjoy the savings they get from over-the-air TV and are not pleased when it breaks down.

Craig Farrell was in that position last weekend when he flipped on his 27-inch television set in his home near University Avenue and Date Street and turned the channel to KHNL.

Farrell had recently canceled his Oceanic cable television service because he was watching only a couple of shows a week and thought he could save money.

He phoned KHNL and was told the only customers affected by the audio problems were those who received the signal through the airwaves.

"It upset me that they were so blasé about it," Farrell said.

Fink insisted that KHNL officials are anything but blasé about their malfunctioning main transmitter.

"We've had a few calls," Fink said. "We take all technology issues seriously and we're looking into it."