Our mission:
The FM & TV Translator Administration is committed to pro-actively providing management and supervision of mountain top sites; bringing FM radio and TV signals to the citizens & visitors (people) of Pitkin County, as well as providing the use of the sites for public safety communications.

The Pitkin County FM/TV Department maintains and operates a mountain top translator system that rebroadcasts FM and TV signals to residents of Pitkin County and other portions of the Roaring Fork Valley. There are 9 communication sites. * Go to translator map *   The funding for this service is from a dedicated mil levy of .374, which is an average property tax of $13 per year, based on a home with a $500,000 market value.

Translator signals are considered a "fill-in" service. The translator service that Pitkin County provides is licensed for a maximum of 10 watts of power compared to TV (transmitter) stations that are typically licensed from 350 watts to several hundred thousand watts of power. To receive clear, over the air FM and TV translator signals, a roof top antenna is recommended.

The TV stations that we currently rebroadcast are:


The FM stations that we currently rebroadcast are:



In early 2009 (winter) full power TV stations will stop broadcasting analog, and be digital only. Translators do not have a deadline for ending analog broadcasting. At that point the County's system will receive digital from the TV stations, but will convert to analog at Sunlight and distribute within our system, and to our viewers, as we always have.

There will be no change to our viewers until the summer of 2009 when the County will begin to convert our signal to digital. Viewers could purchase the converters that the government says will be available, but will probably prefer to replace their TV's. Prices for digital TV's have come down, and are quite reasonable unless you want a huge screen. Viewers will get an extra six months to make the change. If viewers purchase a new TV sooner, it should work fine with our analog signals and we make the change to digital. The county WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED!!

If you are experiencing problems with our system please call our pager at 384-9791 or e-mail us at tessab@co.pitkin.co.us at any time. You can also reach us at 920-5395, Monday thru Thursday 8 AM - 5 PM, if you have other questions or comments regarding the translator system.

MASTER PLAN

• Pitkin County Master Plan  
• Master Plan Study  
• Master Plan BOCC Presentation  
• Appendix (You may have to scroll down document to see information)
  Appendix A - Site Information  
  Appendix A.1 - Ajax  
  Appendix A.2 - Crown  
  Appendix A.3 - Elephant  
  Appendix A.4 - Jackrabbit  
  Appendix A.5 - Loges  
  Appendix A.6 - Lower Red  
  Appendix A.7 - Red Hill  
  Appendix A.8 - Sunlight  
  Appendix A.9 - Thomasville  
  Appendix A.10 - Upper Red  
  Appendix A.11 - Williams  
  Appendix B - Composite Coverage  
  Appendix C - Site Minimum  
  Appendix D - Aspen solar  
  Appendix E - Antenna Structure