FORKS – The two-year-old radio translator that broadcasts Northwest Public Radio on the West End is being upgraded to a radio station to provide broader coverage and make it less susceptible to being forced off the airwaves.

“We wanted to upgrade it from a translator to a station because if there’s interference between the two, the translator must go off the air,” said Northwest Public Radio station manager Roger Johnson, speaking from Washington State University in Pullman.

“We also want to pump up the power somewhat,” he said.

“It’s not too much of a problem in Forks, but you never know.”

Johnson said the current translator broadcasts at 170 watts on the frequency 91.7 FM.

The new two-kilowatt radio station will switch to frequency 90.9 FM, he said.

“It won’t be a big difference in Forks itself, but it will provide better reception in the outlying areas,” Johnson said.

“It already sounds good in Forks.”

The new radio station – which will have a 56-foot antenna – will be on the same site as the present translator, which is on Grader Creek Hill south of Forks.

The station has only just applied for the construction permit, Johnson said.

“The process grinds rather slowly. With the [Federal Communications Commission] I wouldn’t even hazard to guess on a timeline,” he said.

The proposed station’s main studio will be downstairs in the Edward R. Murrow Communications Center on the Washington State University campus in Pullman.

The translator began broadcasting Northwest Public Radio programming by satellite from Pullman in the fall of 2005 on frequency 92.3 FM. It switched to 91.7 FM in 2006.

Programming consists of National Public Radio news broadcasts, classical music and specialty programming.