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Engineering Star

Grey-haired, bearded man, holding tools, stands over large, illuminated star inside maintenance shop adorned with tools and shelves.

Volunteer engineer Les Brown’s latest visit to KNOM produced some very bright results.

Keeping the station warm

Our new boiler

It might seem like a routine or prosaic replacement, but for a radio station in the sub-Arctic, it’s utterly crucial: last month, KNOM replaced the boiler in its studios (as pictured, mid-replacement, above). Our studio boiler, which generates the heat for the ambient temperature of the building, had been in need of a permanent fix […]

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 […]

Engineer’s corner: “Shake, shake, shake”

As promised in last month’s edition of the Static, we’re happy to present the latest on KNOM’s equipment and technical issues with a new segment – the Engineer’s Corner – courtesy of volunteer engineer Rolland Trowbridge: On one morning in early May, the transmitter-to-studio data link, or TSL, quit working. This link allows volunteers at […]

KNOM Radio Mission, 2012: Twelve Snapshots

January In Nome, KNOM’s news department is on the front lines for a story with worldwide interest: the Russian tanker Renda makes an unprecedented winter fuel delivery, escorted in its journey through the frozen Bering Sea by the US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy. The delivery comes in the wake of an epic, fall 2011 storm […]

Back in the building! – Fr. Ross, John, and Tom

Father Ross – pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Nome and president of the KNOM Radio Mission board of directors – is back in Nome from a short sabbatical. Fr. Ross was a KNOM volunteer in the late 80s and has been a part of the radio mission in one way or another ever […]

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 […]

Rain, fish, boats, and Rolland!

Summer storms continue to dump lots of rain, and some streams and rivers are swollen with water and fish. We have seen wonderful examples of folks sharing their catch with elders and families who really savor these fresh food staples. Recently, KNOM opened its doors to the Coast Guard to inform our listeners about voluntary […]

July 1999: Rod Ewing paints the tower

July 21, 1999 Rod Ewing begins to apply a new coat of paint to the KNOM tower. How do you paint a tower? “The first thing you do,” Rod jokes, “is take a bucket of paint and pour it over your head, so you get that part taken care of right off the bat.” Actually, […]