Lee County, Fla. - A local Christian radio station is broadcasting a very weak signal, after vandals smashed transmitting equipment. Someone may have targeted "WAY-FM", which has been airing Christian music and messages, for 20 years.

88.7 "WAY-FM" is airing Christian programming from its studio in Fort Myers, but the signal is going out on only 50-watts, far weaker than the 75,000-watts that normally broadcast from the tower in Estero. The signal usually covers all of Southwest Florida.

"As a radio station that provides daily encouragement to people, well, some people did not get that today. So yeah, that makes me sad," said Jeff Taylor of "WAY-FM."

Sometime early Friday morning, vandals climbed a fence, went over the barbed wire and headed to the shed that houses the station's transmitter. Once inside, they took a bat or sledgehammer to the FM transmitter.

"I don't know how they can fix this. To me, it's totalled. Destroyed? Destroyed!," said radio engineer Rich Gallo.

Gallo says the transmitter costs at least $60,000. The vandals also wrecked the back-up transmitting equipment.

You can pick up the 50-watt signal in your car in parts of Lee and Collier Counties, but the signal cannot penetrate a home or office building.

Still, the people at "WAY" will keep airing what they call their "ministry," for whoever can hear it, and they will remember the importance of patience and prayer, as they wait to get back to full power.

Insurance will pay to replace the broken equipment, but when that will happen isn't clear.

Station manager's don't know of any threats or beefs against the station.

Deputies say there are no signs of a break in, and no suspects so far.