PA radio broadcaster targeted by copper thieves for third time in five years

Pennsylvania radio station owner Pottsville Broadcasting Company had its transmission operations in Norwegian Township vandalized on Dec. 7, 2021, for the third time since 2016.

The thieves stole wires and equipment containing copper from the tower and buildings of the Pottsville outlet, which broadcasts AM station WPPA and WAVT-FM.

Owner and General Manager Argie Tidmore, in a letter to the editor of Radio World, wrote, “They took every little scrap of copper. Even one-inch-long jumper wires. They did not touch anything non-copper. Ground copper straps and screens were completely pulled out.”

The theft took place overnight Dec. 7-8, according to Coal Region Canary. Someone cut through fences surrounding the station’s five radio antenna towers, it reported, and took flattened copper tubing, copper straps and copper mesh screening, with the value of the stolen copper estimated at about $100,000.

Tidmore said he had surveillance cameras installed at the remote mountaintop location, but the footage was not clear enough to identify suspects. Insurance has covered the latest theft, as well as the earlier thefts, according to the broadcaster.

It’s unclear how long the stations were affected or off-air. However, Tidmore said as a result of the thefts, he relicensed the stations to use a single tower with a nondirectional signal rather than a directional signal needing multiple towers.

The move has increased listenership, Tidmore wrote, adding, “I figured if they steal copper again, at least I only need one tower repaired and not five.”

When reached by the Tracker, Tidmore declined to comment further.

Radio stations, their towers and equipment are being targeted for copper amid a rising global demand for the metal. For example, AM station WGSF in Memphis, Tennessee, went off the air for six months in 2025 after three men attempted to steal copper wire. The AM broadcaster came back on in December 2025, but only during daytime hours.

In another instance, in January 2024, thieves seeking copper wire toppled the radio tower of KITX in Oklahoma. The following month, WJLX in Alabama reported that its 200-foot AM tower was stolen, most likely for its copper.

A coalition created to address copper theft and vandalism reported 9,770 incidents from January to June 2025. Apparently, individuals steal encased copper cables, remove the sheathing and then sell the raw copper to scrap metal dealers, the report from Protecting America’s Critical Communications Infrastructure explained.

While the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates interstate communications, has called copper theft a “growing epidemic,” the agency has no jurisdiction over privately-owned communications facilities.