Upgrades to FM tower and facilities in Ironton provide increased sound quality, reliability and emergency services to region

FM radio listeners in the Ironton/Lawrence County region may have noticed a significant difference in sound quality and reliability recently. That’s because new state-of-the-art transmission and audio chain equipment have been installed at the WOUL-FM tower site.

“This ensures a consistent high-level sound quality that is second to none,” said Broadcast Transmission Supervisor Ken Cash. “The long-needed equipment upgrade at the WOUL facility also allows the station to operate more reliably and insures the delivery of Emergency Alerting Notifications. Also, we were able to add backup power to cover any commercial power outages and that will enable WOUL-FM to remain operational without interruption during inclement weather and other disasters.”

The project has been in the works since 2020 and was finally completed in September 2024.

“The main goal of this project was to replace the aging FM radio transmitter, related broadcast equipment and shelter at the WOUL-FM tower site in Ironton, Ohio,” said Cash. “The WOUL-FM facility has been on the air since 1987 and the existing shelter’s construction was a prefabricated fiberglass structure. It was in poor condition, unrepairable, and no longer suitable to house equipment. The FM radio transmitter and associated support equipment were also no longer serviceable, as repair/replacement parts were no longer available from the manufacturer.”

Cash says the old equipment resulted in many unexpected failures causing the station to sometimes go off the air. With the new equipment in place, that should no longer be an issue.

“Listeners may not notice when the station is operating as it should,” said Broadcast Technology Specialist Ken Dobo. “However, when it sounds bad, or is off the air the problem is evident.”

The project was funded by a one-time State of Ohio Capital Grant administered through Ohio’s Broadcast Education Media Commission (BEMC) which was matched by WOUB Public Media maintenance funds.

“This collaboration highlights the importance of public media funding in supporting local initiatives,” said WOUB Chief Technology Officer Steve Skidmore.

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