KOSW fixes full music library drive, adopts workaround for recording; engineers investigate intermittent broadcast distortion

KOSW volunteers installed a new 4-terabyte music drive over the weekend and put in a temporary workaround so on-air recordings continue while engineers track lingering problems with encoders and the station’s digital path.

The station’s volunteer who reported the upgrade, Trey, said the previous 2-terabyte drive had “gotten to the point there was only about 300 gigs left and searches were getting slow,” so the station purchased and installed a 4-terabyte unit to restore normal operation. “We got it all back together and no more hiccups,” Trey said, adding that he and volunteer Randall performed the swap and verified the music library was intact.

The new drive fixed slow searches and playback hiccups but exposed other problems in the station’s digital chain. Station engineer Marty described an intermittent distortion listeners reported as a “tinny” or “metallic” sound that affects the broadcast for short periods. Marty said the problem is intermittent—sometimes absent for weeks and sometimes lasting 5–15 minutes, once nearly an hour—and appears while the digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversions occur along the studio-to-transmitter path.

Marty said possible causes include: an overloaded output stage on the studio console, the microwave link that carries audio to the transmitter, or aging encoder/decoder appliances. “Those are the two most likely suspects because they’re the same device, they’re the same age, and they’ve been in place the longest,” Marty said of the small decoder boxes used in the signal chain. He noted the devices are compact units no longer manufactured and that modern replacements are more expensive but have better performance.

To keep program recordings available while the team troubleshoots, Trey described a workaround: he created a “taped interviews” folder on the auxiliary computer’s C: drive, gave network permission to other station machines, and routed recordings there so volunteers can copy files off the network. Trey said he spent late nights resolving related issues and that some problems required workarounds rather than immediate fixes.

Engineers asked volunteers and listeners to note the time and the song title when distortion occurs so they can test whether particular recordings or music tracks trigger the problem. Marty said codec-sensitive songs exist and that identifying repeatable instances would help isolate whether the problem is song-specific or equipment related.

The board also reported several smaller purchases to support operations: an electric lawnmower to reduce physical strain on volunteers who maintain station grounds, new indoor flag stands to replace concrete buckets, and tent supplies and weights for upcoming outdoor events. Trey said volunteers also planted native perennials (Oregon grape, ocean spray, bearberry and kinnickinnick) in a station garden to improve the station’s public-facing appearance.

No formal board action was taken on technical replacements or equipment upgrades during the meeting; volunteers reported purchases and equipment changes as operational updates. The board directed staff and volunteers to continue troubleshooting, to log occurrences of distortion with times and song IDs, and to report back when they have budget and vendor estimates for replacing aging decoders if needed.