AM Transmitter Woes
KNOM’s AM transmitter, now in its third decade of service, is nearing the end of its usable life. As multiple outages in recent months have shown, the time has come to replace it.
Explosion!
A recent incident at KNOM’s AM transmitter site is but the latest example of the challenges of operating a radio station in a remote corner of the sub-Arctic.
13 Years Later, Still a Bright Idea
Switching to an LED beacon atop KNOM’s AM transmitter tower has saved the mission tens of thousands of dollars in the past 13 years. It’s an example of how we strive to make the best use of our donations.
The Challenges of Staying On-Air
When a very rare failure occurred at our AM transmitter in late January, thousands of listeners lost access to our station. It took extraordinary measures — and support from near and far — to get us back on the air. The event also underscored the importance of our efforts to renovate our studios.
A visit from Tom and Marian
We can’t thank enough the donation of talent, treasure, and time from two incredible KNOM supporters – Tom and Marian Braun – who spent two weeks at our mission last month. The Brauns have long been financial supporters of our mission, but last month, they took their support to a rare, exceptional level by […]
Before the snow flies…
The hills throughout Western Alaska have seen their first frost of the season. Winter is fast approaching as everyone busily finishes up their summer projects. For some, it is freezing and canning berries; for others, it is putting away their fish and meat before the snow flies and the ground freezes. As we look forward to continued […]
August ’09: “Come back soon!”
August 23, 2009 The transmitter fails this morning, just as the automated remote control commands the increase to daytime power. KNOM general manager Ric Schmidt coaxes it to operate at very low power: about 2,000 watts. The reason for the problem was a lightning strike that severed the jumper cable 100 feet above ground. Due to high […]
Time to tighten up
This time of year, we scramble to make sure that we perform routine maintenance on the KNOM buildings and equipment. As we go through this process, we encounter unusual circumstances. (Several years ago, as we were doing a visual inspection of the AM transmitter site, a herd of muskoxen decided to graze near the tower.) KNOM volunteer […]
A DIY solution for an askew building
We’ve been working hard to stretch our financial resources. Sometimes, that means being creative in problem-solving, even when the ground is literally shifting underneath us – as it has, in recent weeks, at our AM transmitter site. KNOM’s AM transmitter building and tower sit on the outskirts of Nome, about 3 miles east of town. From one season to […]
June ’87: Fixes at the transmitter site
June 8, 1987 Chief engineer Timothy Cochran and general manager Tom Busch extend the 120 ground wires at the AM transmitter site to 320 feet, 1/4 wavelength at KNOM’s frequency. Because of a shipping error back in 1971, the ground wires had been a hundred feet short for 16 years, but the money is finally in place […]