KBTN-FM temporary transmitter shack

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We were able to get KBTN-FM back on the air Monday. Inside the van
are an STL receiver and a 250 watt exciter. At first, we ran it off a
generator, until commercial power was restored Tuesday. It will be a
few days before we can begin rebuilding. But, this little bit of
'inventive engineering' at least has the station on the air.

The tower, an ERI put up by Rocky Mountain Erection about 10-years ago, survived the tornado with no apparent damage. We will have it plumbed and tensioned just to be sure.

While this is a big loss to us, it pales by comparison to the loss of life in this deadly storm. Over 20-people were killed, many close to this location. Kinda puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

Art

KBTN -This is the floor decking of the building

This is the floor of the building, some 100+ yards away from the site.
The steel entry door the building hasn't been found yet!

KBTN-FM Xmitter site- looking to the NE

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KBTN-FM Hailstone from storm

Matt Krueger holds a hailstone from the tornadic storm. This shot was
taken 3 hours after the event, and the hailstone was still this size!

KBTN- what's left of equipment rack

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KBTN - Other half of FM10T

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Half of BE FM10T lying in field

KBTN tower site demolished - looking to the SW

KBTN-FM Transmitter Site Demolished

KBTN-FM, (class C3), licensed to Neosho, MO is operated by Community
Radio of Joplin, MO. It is a classic country format. Transmitter was
located about 3 miles NW of Neosho, MO, or about 10 miles SE of Joplin,
MO. The tower is about 400feet tall, located along state route "NN",
near it's intersection with "Iris Road".

I was involved in a Skywarn amateur radio net when my assistant, Matt
Krueger called to say that KBTN was off the air, and he was on his way
to investigate. A long-track tornado had been on the ground for some
time, moving from northeast Oklahoma into southwest Missouri. Matt
called back to say that the KBTN transmitter building was demolished,
and the equipment was scattered across the adjacent field. The 16x20
pre-fabricated wood frame building is a type that's commonly used for
transmitter buildings in this area. It was completely destroyed. The
steel entry door hasn't been found yet.
The transmitter, a BE FM10T was tumbled into the adjacent field. It
was also pounded with baseball sized hail during the event.

The site was right in the path of the 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide tornado,
described as perhaps an F4. Homes and other buildings in the area were
also demolished.

The tower is still standing, and appears sound. The antennas and coax
look good, but there's no building or power on the site. The station
is currently off the air, and we're considering what we can do to get it
back on the air.