Staff

Engineering:

Paxton Durham - Chief Engineer

E-mail: JPD@vt.edu

Ask WVTF Chief Engineer Paxton Durham to explain how a radio transmitter works and watch his eyes light up. Buy him a cup of coffee and you might just spend the day with him talking radio.

This veteran of radio broadcasting has logged countless hours on mountaintops in some of the most remote, yet majestic, places in southwest and central Virginia. Paxton’s tenure at WVTF began in 1990. He began maintaining one radio station with two translators but over time, the station grew, and now he’s in charge of a somewhat mind-boggling seven transmitters and 12 translators.

In addition to keeping the station up and running, Paxton oversaw construction of WVTF’s 12,000-square-foot, digital, state-of-the-art Broadcast Center, completed in May 2003. And, as if that wasn’t enough, his new project is taking the radio station into the realm of high-definition (HD) radio.

The Wytheville native and graduate of Danville Community College began his radio career at WQBX in Blacksburg. From there, he moved to Bristol to work with Bristol Broadcasting and became Director of Engineering for the six-station chain. In 1985, he headed east to Roanoke to serve as Director of Engineering for CEBE Investments, owner of the legendary K-92.

In 1986, Paxton founded Broadcast Technical Service, a contract/consulting service, providing his knowledge and expertise to more than 37 radio stations in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. Of those stations, he served as contract engineer and part-time engineer to Roanoke stations owned by Mel Wheeler, Inc., WSLQ and WSLC for nearly two decades.

He’s been a long-time member of the Virginia EAS Committee and local Society of Broadcast Engineers. He’s also an active adult leader in Boy Scouts of America.

He currently resides in Vinton with his wife of 33 years and has two grown sons.

• Staff