Stay calm: a methodical minute finds the fault faster than random button-pressing. Work along the signal chain, from the studio to the transmitter, and find the last point where you can still hear the audio.
- Is anything leaving the studio? Check the desk's programme meters are moving, and listen on studio monitors or headphones switched to programme output.
- Is the right source live? A fader down, a channel switched off, or the wrong studio selected on the studio switcher are the commonest causes.
- Is the playout system playing? See Playout system frozen or not playing.
- Is it going out on every platform? Compare FM, DAB and the online stream. If one platform is silent and the others are fine, the fault is after the studio (see Online stream down but on air is fine).
- Check the off-air monitor, and that it's switched to the right source. A monitor tuned or switched to the wrong thing can make a working station sound dead.
Get audio back on air first, even if it's the emergency playlist or a live presenter link, then report the fault with the times and what you checked. Don't press transmitter or processor controls unless you know exactly what they do.
WEESdesk