February 2002: Les and a polar bear
February 5, 2002: As he does every morning, engineer Les Brown drives to the remote KNOM transmitter site, walking the final 400 feet through deep snow in the morning darkness. Les is unaware that someone in a nearby cabin spotted a polar bear prowling the area overnight. Thankfully, Les finishes his work and returns to […]
Christmas lights
As we move through the dark days of winter and sub-zero weather, KNOM brings light to the lives of remote listeners throughout 100,000 square miles of Western Alaska. It is a special time of year for the KNOM volunteers. They are far from their families, yet they treasure the gifts of service that they share with […]
Prayers for Father Armand, and new ways we’re saving power
We continue to give thanks and celebrate the faithful service of KNOM’s spiritual advisor, Father Armand Nigro, S.J. He has been offering prayers and Masses for the intentions of thousands of KNOM’s supporters, our staff, and listeners. We ask for your prayers for Fr. Armand as he deals with a variety of health challenges. He continues to pray […]
September 1997: A solution for drifting snow
September 25, 1997 Chief engineer Les Brown (pictured) has almost single-handedly built the extended fence around the AM tower, preparing for the mission’s higher-power, 25,000-Watt signal. Snow drifting has always been a problem there, and Les tries an innovative solution. For (fence) pickets, he uses 1/2-inch plastic pipes, which he figures will be aerodynamic and […]
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.
Warmer weather and a transmitter update
The temperatures have risen to almost 70 degrees! We are blessed with warmer temperatures and, at times, sunshine. We have great news. At the end of April, volunteer engineer Les Brown, longtime Alaska radio engineer Chuck Lakaytis, and maintenance specialist Rolland Trowbridge installed dynamic carrier control equipment at our AM transmitter site.