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 Cost of Living in Alaska
Among the exceptional challenges of life in rural Alaska is its very high cost of living. Explore a few concrete examples of just how more expensive basic staples are in Alaska, compared to their Lower 48 counterparts.
Engineer’s Corner: “Living in a bottle”
In this edition of Engineer’s Corner, volunteer engineer Rolland Trowbridge focuses on our mission’s consumption of batteries – in particular, the very specialized batteries that keep our equipment working during Nome’s frequent power outages and brown-outs – and why our new studios will help us decrease our battery use. The photo above shows all of […]
Hazard averted
Last week, KNOM volunteer Eva DeLappe and volunteer engineer Rolland Trowbridge saved our radio studio. A GFCI outlet in an upstairs bathroom malfunctioned and began shooting sparks, scorching a nearby wall. Eva contacted Rolland, who turned off the electricity and replaced the outlet. (The new outlet is pictured above.) If Eva and Rolland had not […]
By the numbers
As we’ve written before, we’re making every effort to cut costs in the midst of our financial challenges. Since our first broadcast in 1971, KNOM has always been mindful of the need to economize, but despite our best efforts, Nome remains an expensive place to live and to run a radio station. An hour of […]
January 2000: Blizzard!
January 16, 2000 A blizzard packing hurricane-force winds drops power lines at the KNOM transmitter site. The station’s emergency generator keeps it on the air for 16 hours before electricity is restored.
2012 Financial Report
The fiscal year from July 2011 to June 2012 was unique for our mission; the year saw the transition of KNOM to a new, independent nonprofit entity (KNOM Radio Mission, Inc.), as well as the first steps in our studio annex project, the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios. With your enthusiastic support, we finished […]
Halloween, 1970: The AM tower is complete
October 31, 1970 The AM tower construction is complete. Nome Joint Utilities runs a power line across the tundra to the tower, and it is lighted. It’s finished just in time. Two days later, blizzards shut down Nome for almost three weeks.
August 2009: Transmitter trouble
August 23, 2009 The transmitter fails this morning, just as the automated remote control commands the increase to daytime power. From Anchorage, Tom Busch talks general manager Ric Schmidt into coaxing it to operate at very low power, about 2,000 watts. After flying to Nome, Tom discovers that a jumper cable 100 feet above ground […]
DCC update: even more savings!
We so appreciate everyone’s support for KNOM and for our efforts to trim energy costs. With the cost of gasoline at almost $6 per gallon here in bush Alaska, you can understand why we are looking high and low for ways to save.