A sled and snowshoes became necessary equipment for an otherwise-routine visit to KNOM’s AM transmitter site.

General manager Margaret DeMaioribus and visiting engineer Van Craft donned snowshoes to aid their trek over several feet of accumulated snow to the transmitter site, about 300 feet from the road. Craft used a sled to help haul replacement parts for the important studio-to-transmitter link. The STL enables KNOM studios in town to transfer the broadcast signal to the AM site for transmission throughout the station’s 100,000-square-mile listening area.

Regular maintenance checks and hardware updates like these are essential to smooth mission operations. Many thanks to Van, and fellow engineer Les Brown, for all of their guidance — and for making treks across the snowy tundra, when necessary!

Photos above and below: In snowshoes, Van Craft traverses drifts on the path to the AM transmitter site, pulling behind him a sled with replacement parts.