During hot weather patterns during the summertime, there are sometimes transmission issues with the signals being sent to our transmitters from our studios. This is due to an atmospheric condition called heat inversion that causes our signals to 'fade' between multiple microwave relay points that are used to transport our signals from the studios in Conway to the transmitters that are located around the state.
Heat inversion is caused when the temperature inverts, going from a higher to a much lower temperature or vice versa. This occurs mostly in the mornings or evenings, at or around sunrise or sunset, as the atmosphere heats and cools. Humidity and local terrain can also factor in this scenario, such as, during the summer months.
This seldom happens to local commercial stations because they are not a statewide network like Arkansas PBS. They are not pushing their signal across hundreds of miles as we do.
Unfortunately, there is nothing Arkansas PBS, cable or satellite providers, or even our viewers can do to repair heat inversion until the atmospheric conditions that are causing them change, and everything goes back to normal.
Each time the conditions have gotten severe enough to affect the programming streams, our engineering staff thoroughly checks each of our affected sites for equipment problems.
From an engineering perspective, we wanted to give a brief explanation as to what has caused these issues. We regret that this is an inconvenience to your viewing pleasure, and we hope this helps you understand it a bit more.
We value each and every one of our viewers and work to provide the best viewing experience we can deliver. Thank you so much for your comments, and we hope you continue to find TV worth watching and supporting on Arkansas PBS.
HOW TO WATCH if heat inversion affects you: PBS app