Our Antenna Is Being Replaced: RadioActive Returns at Full Power in Early October

If you’ve noticed that RadioActive 91.3 has been harder to catch lately, or has disappeared altogether on some of the neighboring islands, here’s why, and what comes next.

After about 15 years of faithful service on the tower at Agios Merkouris in Artemonas, our antenna system has reached the end of its life. Years of salt, wind and summer heat took their toll, and the antenna developed a fault. A broadcast antenna is supposed to send the transmitter’s energy out into the air. A faulty one reflects part of that energy back down the cable into the transmitter, and that is exactly what happened: along with the antenna, our transmitter equipment was damaged too.

What happens next

The new antenna system is on its way from Italy. As soon as it arrives, an installer is coming from Athens to climb the tower, take down the six old dipole antennas, and put up six new circularly polarized antennas in their place. The rest of the system is being renewed as well, so when the work is done, everything will be new and improved.

Why circular antennas

The old dipoles send out a signal polarized in a single plane. That works well when the receiving antenna lines up with it, and less well when it doesn’t. And real radios rarely line up: a car has a vertical antenna, a portable radio’s antenna points wherever you left it, and a phone uses the headphone cable, which could be at any angle.

Circular antennas send out a signal that rotates as it travels, carrying both horizontal and vertical components at once. Whichever way your antenna points, it picks up a good share of the signal. In practice that means steadier reception in the car, fewer dropouts and less flutter as you move, and better listening indoors. It also helps across the Cyclades, where the signal bounces off mountains and sea before it reaches you.

The cost

This upgrade will cost more than €7,000 in total. It isn’t optional: without it, there is no RadioActive on FM. If the station means something to you and you’d like to help, you can support us at our support page. Every contribution goes toward bringing us back stronger.

In the meantime

We are still transmitting, at minimal power, so that 91.3 doesn’t go silent. Listeners on Sifnos may hear us weaker than usual, and those on the neighboring islands may not hear us at all. We apologize, and we promise to come back stronger. Our online stream is not affected: the RadioActive app and radioactivefm.gr work as always.

RadioActive should be back on air at full power at the beginning of October. Thank you for your patience, and for your educated ears.