Preparing for winter
We’re at the start of our long, sub-Arctic winter. As rain and mud turn to snow and ice underfoot, we, like our listeners, are taking all the steps you’d expect to prepare for the colder months to come.
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 […]
April 1998: Fighting a spring blizzard
April 24, 1998 The last week of the month brings multiple days of a rip-roaring blizzard to Nome, and KNOMers run outside every hour to clear the station’s satellite dish of snow, which blocks signals. In the dead of winter, snow does not cause this problem, as it is too dry to stick to the antennas.
KNOM heard in Sweden!
The light is returning, and on clear days, the sky radiates a sparkling, deep blue light. Sunrise and sunset glow with fiery yellow and red hues. At night, the stars and planets twinkle with occasional interruptions from majestic auroras. [googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=forsa,+sweden&aq=&sll=64.511934,-165.419399&sspn=0.254408,0.613861&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Forsa,+G%C3%A4vleborg+County,+Sweden&t=m&ll=61.375673,20.522461&spn=5.267514,26.411133&z=5&output=embed&w=600&h=250] Last week, we received notification that a long-distance radio listener in a small village called Forsa […]
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 […]
The people who keep us on the air
Last week, we welcomed the last of this year’s five volunteers to Nome. Lucus Keppel is from Michigan and has committed one year to the KNOM Radio Mission. He joins Margaret, Eva, Dayneé, and Josh. They look forward to a wonderful year of service to listeners in remote bush communities. As always, we thank everyone who helps us overcome […]