about Beaker Street. The station at various times broadcasts a feature called "Radio Yesterday" which includes the memories of the station's top 40 heyday. Transmitter site issues The KAAY transmission facilities in Wrightsville have been vandalized several times. Copper thieves stole a large amount of transmission line, degrading the station's signal significantly. Roof damage allowed water to enter the MW-5 5,000-watt transmitter, knocking it off the air with a shorted high voltage power transformer. Station staff reportedly "wanted way too much for a new transformer", and ended up getting a Collins 5,000 watt transmitter from their sister station in Dallas. Technical staff couldn't run the MW-50A, only having a 7/8 coax purchased to get something on the air. In 2015, the station purchased a transmission line and buried it underground to deter thieves and put the MW-50 back on at 50,000 watts day and 10,000 watts night. In 2017, KAAY purchased a new Nautel NX-50 transmitter, new coax cable and a new phasor to connect the end towers. Mike Patton was contracted to install and tune the phasor. That June, Daniel Appellof, assistant chief engineer for KAAY Citadel/Cumulus Media Little Rock from July 2006 to September 2017, was tasked to remove the old RCA transmitter to make room for the phasor and the NX50. He had left the company to move to Las Vegas to be closer to his family. In December 2017, there was a major shake up in the engineering department and Appellof was asked to return to Little Rock to finish the project. The new Nautel Transmitter and the phasor were installed in early 2018, and in late February KAAY was back to 50,000 watts day and 50,000 watts directional at night. In May 2020, the westernmost tower collapsed, and the station filed for special temporary authority (STA) to operate at a reduced night power of 12,500 watts non-directional. As of July 2021, the station is still waiting on the owner of the tower site, Vertical Bridge, to make the repairs. In February, 2022, KAAY applied to the commission to transmit permanently with eighty (80) watts omnidirectionally during nighttime hours, but still 50,000 watts daytime. References External links FCC History Cards for KAAY Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1924 AAY Clear-channel radio stations