702 DZAS Targets December 2026 Operation for New AM Transmitter
FEBC’s replacement project brings new equipment to Bocaue, continuing a broadcasting history that began with a 1,000-watt station in 1948.
702 DZAS, the Christian AM station operated by Far East Broadcasting Company Philippines, is preparing for a transmitter replacement intended to improve the reliability of its broadcasts. FEBC’s latest published timetable anticipates the equipment’s arrival in the Philippines in October 2026, followed by installation and testing at its Bocaue, Bulacan, transmitting site. The broadcaster hopes to put the new transmitter into service by December.
The project follows a fundraising effort launched in June 2023 under the campaign “Transmitting Signal, Transforming Lives.” FEBC says the required funds were fully raised in early 2025. Shipping and logistics difficulties subsequently affected the schedule, prompting the revised delivery and installation timetable.
At the center of the project is a Nautel NX50, a solid-state AM transmitter capable of 50 kilowatts. FEBC has identified the model in its project information. The initiative replaces equipment the broadcaster describes as aging, with dependable operation a central objective.
Nautel’s specifications describe an NX50 built around 20 power modules. The NX series allows modules to be serviced while the transmitter remains operational, and incorporates a duplicated exciter—the section that supplies the signal driving the power modules—with automatic changeover if the active unit fails. These features are designed to help a station maintain service while faults are addressed.
The system also provides remote monitoring, detailed operating logs and equipment alerts. These tools give engineers ways to identify and investigate problems without relying entirely on checks made in front of the transmitter. Their practical value is easier maintenance and closer oversight of the equipment carrying the station’s broadcasts. The benefits ultimately experienced by DZAS listeners will depend on the completed installation and its performance in service.
The upgrade has a long history behind it. DZAS first went on air at 6 p.m. on June 4, 1948, using the call letters KZAS. FEBC’s anniversary account identifies its opening selection as the hymn “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” The broadcast established the beginnings of the station now known as 702 DZAS, or “Agapay ng Sambayanan.”
Its original facilities grew out of FEBC’s early efforts to establish a Philippine broadcasting base after World War II. The Museum of Broadcast Communications records the organization’s acquisition of land in Karuhatan, north of Manila, in November 1946. Fundraising supported the land, generators, transmitters, towers and production facilities needed to build the operation.
The scale of those first broadcasts was modest by comparison with the equipment planned today. Gleason H. Ledyard’s historical account, Sky Waves, records DZAS operating in 1948 on 680 kilocycles—680 kHz—with 1,000 watts. That early entry provides a useful starting point for understanding how far the station’s transmitting operation has developed over nearly eight decades.
The station later became familiar to listeners on a different place on the dial. In November 1978, DZAS moved from 680 to 702 kHz as Philippine AM stations adopted the regional nine-kilohertz channel spacing. Its studios also evolved: DZAS and sister station 98.7 DZFE moved to One Corporate Centre in Ortigas Center, Pasig, in June 2012.
The new transmitter belongs to the other end of that broadcasting chain. FEBC identifies Bocaue as the home of the DZAS transmitter, making the Bulacan facility central to the current replacement project. The studio produces the programs; the transmitting installation puts their AM signal on the air.
Delivery will still leave important engineering work ahead. Nautel’s commissioning guidance describes equipment checks, connections, adjustments and performance testing before a new installation is accepted. Such work establishes whether a transmitter is operating to specification; arrival at the site is one milestone in that process.
The next milestones to watch are confirmation of delivery, completion of installation and testing, and an announcement that the replacement transmitter has entered regular service.
