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Darien TV 79 Goes Off-Air For Repairs In August

DARIEN, Conn. -- Darien's TV 79 will go off the air for a few days in August to undergo repairs after nearly eight years of continuous operation.

Jim Cameron (left) and David Dever in TV 79's headquarters at Darien Town Hall.

Jim Cameron (left) and David Dever in TV 79's headquarters at Darien Town Hall.

Photo Credit: Daily Voice file photo

Rewiring and enhancements are scheduled to take place beginning Monday, Aug. 11. The work is expected to take four to five days, with full-time broadcasting resuming by the end of the week.

"Our gear has been running 24/7 since we signed on in 2006,” said David Dever, general manager of TV 79.  “Over the years, we kept adding more and more equipment, creating quite a rats nest of wiring.  It’s time to rip it all out and start fresh.”

The government access channel was launched in 2006 by Dever and Program Director Jim Cameron. The channel's first broadcast was a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters.

Since then, the channel has expanded, covering up to five government meetings a week, as well as other meetings of civic interest from entities such as the Darien Library, the Darien Community Association and the Darien Arts Center. In addition, TV 79 also covers events such as the Memorial Day Parade and the July 4 Push-n-Pull Parade. The channel is staffed by volunteers and available to Cablevision subscribers.

“While we are off the air we will still be recording any meetings that week,” said Cameron.  “We figured that mid-August would be a good time to get the work done as the town’s meeting schedule is light and lots of folks are out of town on vacation.”

The rewiring will be paid for by a grant from the Area Nine Cable Council using money collected from Cablevision subscribers. The channel's capital equipment is purchased through grants from Cablevision, and operating costs are paid for by allocations from the town budget.

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