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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, April 26, 2005

State OKs KIPO FM tower on Tantalus

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i Public Radio has won state approval to build a new transmitter for its KIPO FM operations that should give the station near-islandwide coverage.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources last week granted HPR's request to build a 140-foot tower on a Tantalus ridge. The 2,600-square-foot site is adjacent to a radio tower operated by Verizon.

Construction on the $400,000 project could begin this fall and be completed in the first quarter of next year, said Michael Titterton, HPR president and general manager. The tower will allow KIPO 89.3 to operate at 100,000 watts, rather than its current 3,000 watts.

"It's been a long time coming, but finally listeners all around O'ahu can look forward to the service from KIPO they have been requesting ever since KIPO first went on the air in 1988," Titterton said.

The station originally transmitted at 100,000 watts, but problems arose less than six hours after KIPO went on the air, Titterton said. Federal officials determined that KIPO's Palehua transmitter was interfering with monitoring stations of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration.

"HPR was asked to turn down its power until it got below the threshold of interference with these monitoring stations, and it did so and turned it all the way down from 100,000 watts to 3,000 watts," Titterton said.

The result was a very weak signal that has restricted KIPO's "useful coverage" to a small portion of Honolulu, he said.

Since then, the station has tried to correct the problem, but Titterton said the only solution was to build a new transmitter. KIPO's sister station, KHPR 88.1 FM, has an antenna on Wiliwilinui Ridge above Wai'alae Iki, but there isn't enough room for another antenna, Titterton said.

About five years ago the station began to look for a new location and a year ago started applying for the permits for the Tantalus site.

"It was a long and rocky path," he said.

Titterton said the tower will be positioned and camouflaged so most of it will not be visible.

"From any kind of distance it's going to look like another tree," he said.

Titterton said the project will be financed by proceeds from the sale of KHPR's AM station in 2002.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8025.