Iowa State’s campus radio station, KURE (88.5 FM), is fixing a damaged transmitter in order to get their DJs back on the air.

KURE went off the air May 18, shortly after a severe storm hit the Ames area.

“We’re guessing that it was the charge from a lightening bolt. The charge probably fried it,” said Shane Ross, KURE employee and former marketing director.

The transmitter is expected to undergo a diagnosis today in Des Moines, where it is under examination, said Dave Boone, technical advisor for KURE.

“The factory has been behind — taking a longer time to get to it,” he said. “This has been a slower process than I would have liked.”

Boone said the company hopes to have the transmitter completed sometime this week.

“Once it is done, they can ship it out overnight, and we could have it put into service the next day,” he said.

However, KURE will not know if any other part needs maintenance until the exciter — a part of the transmitter that generates the FM signal — is fixed, Boone said. He also said there may be other problems with the transmitter, but nothing can be detected until the exciter is completed.

“I have no reason to expect that there is anything else to fix, but there is a possibility,” he said.

Since the transmitter was removed, the 28 summer DJs have not had the opportunity to gain broadcasting experience on the air.

“These DJs have a desire to work in music. The positions at KURE are voluntary, so it is obvious these students are willing to work,” said Christina Kitson, KURE’s public relations director.

She said the hired summer DJs have each been “trained on the equipment and have been given a manual containing the basics. They get a good understanding of the station before they go on the air.”

The DJs are waiting to try out the training they received.

Although the station is not accessible over the radio, a few of the shows can be heard on the Internet, Ross said.

“Several of the students are doing their part of the show on the web,” Boone said. “Hopefully, we are developing an audience there.”

Ross said few DJs choose to work on the Internet because there are no calls for requests or interaction with listeners.

“It is hard to know if anyone is actually listening to your show,” he said.

Kitson said the number of DJs working in the summer is about half the size of the usual group during the school year, which turned out to be fortunate because of the station’s transmitter problems.

“It is better that this happened during the summer than during the school year,” she said.