There was a time, in the not too distant past, when vessels transiting the Columbia River would pass through “dead spots” of radio coverage.

Dead spots are areas along the river where radio communications are virtually impossible due to the geography of the surrounding landscape.  In 1991 the MFSA recognized the potential for disastrous situations as the ships passed through these areas.

State-of-the-art communications systems were investigated to alleviate this problem. It was determined that a “command and control microwave repeater system using simulcast technology” would provide continuous VHF-FM radio coverage between Astoria and Portland and virtually everywhere in between.