KNOM Radio Mission http://www.knom.org/wp 96.1 FM | 780 AM | Yours for Western Alaska Wed, 01 Oct 2014 21:57:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0 A visit from Tom and Marian http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/09/24/a-visit-from-tom-and-marian/ http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/09/24/a-visit-from-tom-and-marian/#comments Tue, 24 Sep 2013 21:28:09 +0000 http://www.knom.org/mission/wp/?p=1418   We can’t thank enough the donation of talent, treasure, and time from two incredible KNOM supporters – Tom and Marian Braun – who spent two…]]>

 

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 visiting us in person and helping us with some much-needed summer work.

Much of their time was spent at our AM transmitter site, a few miles outside Nome, where the couple helped us repaint our transmitter and backup generator buildings and replace our perimeter fence.

Tom paints at the AM transmitter site

Marian also created brand-new curtains for the KNOM volunteer dormitory.

For the Brauns, this type of generous volunteer work has become a lifestyle; the retired couple travels across the country, often in a motor coach, helping those in need – whether it’s displaced tornado victims or a Habitat for Humanity construction crew.

Not only did they donate their labor to our mission – along with ample doses of goodwill – but the Brauns also paid for their own travel expenses to and from Alaska. Thanks so much, Tom and Marian!

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This article is part of the October 2013 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

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Before the snow flies… http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/09/05/before-the-snow-flies/ http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/09/05/before-the-snow-flies/#comments Fri, 06 Sep 2013 02:00:21 +0000 http://www.knom.org/mission/wp/?p=1381 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 progress on the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios building project, we will be working at the AM transmitter site.

The work includes scraping and painting exposed areas of the buildings housing our AM transmitter hardware and its generator. We will also be rebuilding the site’s crumbling tower fencing.

We are blessed that a few mission supporters have volunteered their time to travel to Nome and join us in this project. They also provided the funding that will make this renewal project (at our AM transmitter site) possible. Please keep them in your prayers.

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August ’09: “Come back soon!” http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/08/22/august-09-come-back-soon/ http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/08/22/august-09-come-back-soon/#comments Fri, 23 Aug 2013 01:57:16 +0000 http://www.knom.org/mission/wp/?p=1323 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 reflected power, the station might be actually transmitting only a handful of watts.

“Come back soon!” reads an e-mail from the village of White Mountain. “You are my connection to the outside world!”

Three days later, a tower crew from Anchorage discovers that about five feet of the tower’s cabling are scorched (due to the lightning strike). Their repairs soon return KNOM to full power.

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Time to tighten up http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/06/17/time-to-tighten-up/ http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/06/17/time-to-tighten-up/#comments Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:04:21 +0000 http://www.knom.org/mission/wp/?p=1147 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 Rolland Trowbridge has discovered that the AM transmitter building (sitting on four wood pilings) sways a bit in the wind. Higher velocity wind causes vibrations that are loosening screws and nuts in the wiring and broadcast equipment.

Rolland has been busy tightening components of the AM transmitter – and even the screws holding the wiring in the building outlets.

His attentiveness and his dedication to mission have been a true blessing to KNOM.

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A DIY solution for an askew building http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/06/04/a-diy-solution-for-an-askew-building/ http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/06/04/a-diy-solution-for-an-askew-building/#comments Tue, 04 Jun 2013 19:28:36 +0000 http://www.knom.org/mission/wp/?p=1129 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 the next, the ground at the site thaws and re-freezes, as it does all over Western Alaska.

These cycles of freezing and melting cause the wooden piling supporting our transmitter building to slightly shift its position. In the spring – during the melting period Alaskans call “break up” – the piling tends to push up, or “jack up,” from the ground.

This spring melting was to blame for a slight slant in the foundation of our transmitter building, recently observed by our volunteer engineer, Rolland Trowbridge.

We had planned on hiring a crew to come and level the building. But by tapping past experience and using equipment on hand – some of it borrowed from supporters, some of it more than 50 years in age – we shot levels and jacked down the south side of the building about five inches, bringing the structure back to its proper level.

By going the DIY route (do it yourself), our mission saved about $1,500!

As always, we thank those whose support makes every minute of our mission possible – from broadcasting to problem-solving.

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June ’87: Fixes at the transmitter site http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/06/04/june-87-fixes-at-the-transmitter-site/ http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/06/04/june-87-fixes-at-the-transmitter-site/#comments Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:45:26 +0000 http://www.knom.org/mission/wp/?p=1126 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 to correct that.

In addition, Tom and Timothy add 240 new radials to improve transmission.

Meanwhile, Nome receives a visit from Gaithersburg, Maryland consulting engineer John Mullaney, who serves KNOM at no charge. John works with tower climber Rod Ewing to adjust KNOM’s folded unipole antenna for maximum signal strength.

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Engineer’s corner: “Shake, shake, shake” http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/05/31/engineers-corner-shake-shake-shake/ http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/05/31/engineers-corner-shake-shake-shake/#comments Fri, 31 May 2013 19:55:14 +0000 http://www.knom.org/mission/wp/?p=1105 Rolland in the engineering room

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 the studio to know the health of KNOM’s AM transmitter without having to go to the transmitter site (located several miles outside Nome, on the tundra near the edge of the ocean). The link is the only warning that something is wrong at the transmitter, and on this day, the link was mute.

I drove out to the site, walked the last quarter mile over thigh-deep snow, and found that the TSL (transmitter link) was not getting power, and neither was the backup power supply that protects the link. The circuit breaker wasn’t blown, so I plugged the transmitter link into another outlet, and just like that, I had everything running again – except that I didn’t know what had happened to the bad outlet.

The next day, I took the outlet cover off and found all the screws to the outlet were loose. I picked another random outlet that wasn’t being used and checked the terminal screws on it, and two of them were loose. Shaken loose.

The transmitter site bears the brunt of the intense winds that are so frequently whipped up from the Bering Sea. I have been in the building with 60-knot winds, and it literally shakes. Everything in that building gets rattled.

This requires extra diligence. Every year, we take sections of the transmitter and tighten every connector in them to prevent loose wires that burn up. Now, I am adding all the outlets and wiring to that list and putting them on a tightening schedule.

This is all part of doing ministry in this corner of God’s world, and I thank you for your support.

 

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This article is part of the June 2013 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

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2012 Financial Report http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/01/04/2012-financial-report/ http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/01/04/2012-financial-report/#comments Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:45:08 +0000 http://www.knom.org/mission/wp/?p=635 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 the fiscal year in the black. Our income was $2,039,092, our expenses $1,646,678. Nearly all of this “extra” income is dedicated either to our digital studios construction or to other long-term development goals, described in further detail below.

(Click to enlarge.)

As always, the large majority of our income in the past fiscal year came from individual donors. 55.6% of KNOM’s overall income ($1,133,241) was from one-time or recurring donations, while 24.3% ($495,860) came from legacy gifts (funds entrusted to KNOM from wills, bequests, or estates). Legacy giving continues to provide a vital part of our operating budget.

Miscellaneous income – 17.6% ($359,668) – was higher than normal and consisted almost entirely of a settlement KNOM received in April at the conclusion of a two-year litigation against a former contractor. This money is earmarked for a long-term development plan to build financial infrastructure for KNOM’s future sustainability.

The remaining 2.5% of our funds came from interest on our bank accounts (just $826) and related income ($49,497), consisting of program underwriting from local organizations and fees from the National Weather Service, which rents space on our AM transmitter tower to broadcast its dedicated weather channel.

Both our expenses and income over the fiscal year were made higher by our digital studios campaign. While our capital campaign brought in more financial support, our expenses also included the architectural designs and plans for our studio expansion and renovation: a project that will continue, with your support, well into 2013.

(Click to enlarge.)

Our expenses included $361,995 for fundraising (22.0%); $115,698 for this newsletter (7.0%); $245,237 for general operations (14.9%); $239,989 for programming and technical costs (14.6%); and $683,759 for staff salaries (41.5%).

Our full-time volunteers remain an essential part of our operations, and their service – working full-time for room, board, and a small personal stipend – saved our mission about $111,000 in fiscal year 2012.

We saved, also, through new, energy-efficient technologies described in previous editions of this newsletter. In particular, the installation of dynamic carrier control (DCC) – a cost-saving method of power management at our AM transmitter site – paid for itself within three months, and we estimate that DCC will save $35,000 in electricity costs over fiscal year 2013.

As always, everything that we do is made possible through your support. Thanks so much!

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This article is part of the January 2013 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

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KNOM Radio Mission, 2012: Twelve Snapshots http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2012/12/12/knom-radio-mission-2012-twelve-snapshots/ http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2012/12/12/knom-radio-mission-2012-twelve-snapshots/#comments Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:29:55 +0000 http://www.knom.org/mission/wp/?p=529 January

The Russian tanker Renda

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 that delayed Nome’s final fuel shipment.

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February

Pete Kaiser wins the 2012 NS450

KNOM covers the inaugural running of a sled-dog race honoring a community leader in Western Alaska. The Paul Johnson Memorial Norton Sound 450 sends dog teams from the community of Unalakleet (YOU-nuh-luh-kleet) to the finish line in Nome. In the pre-dawn hours, musher Pete Kaiser finishes first, and KNOM’s Laureli Kinneen calls the finish live.

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March

Martin and Rohn Buser

KNOM rallies to cover all angles of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (the 1,000-mile competition from Anchorage to Nome). The race is an inspiration to thousands, and in 2012, a new generation takes center stage: 25-year-old Dallas Seavey wins the race, while young musher Rohn Buser finishes alongside his father, Martin, a multiple-time Iditarod champ.

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April

Diomede, from the runway

Volunteer Matty Guiffré visits the community of Little Diomede (DYE-yuh-meed), located on the steep slopes of an island adjacent to the International Date Line and the Russian border. He reports: “the residents of Diomede were very welcoming, and I quickly became accustomed to what it was like to live on a cliff.” Matty collects interviews with Diomede students.

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May

Dina Sagoonick

We’re thrilled to report that KNOM alumna Betsy Brennan has re-joined our staff in the role of Development Data Manager. We also offer thanks to architect Frank Schmidt and contractor Randy Pomeranz for their prep work for our digital studios. Finally, we highlight recent guests to our studios: among them, respected elder Dina Sagoonick (pictured).

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June

Ben Matheson

In the Static, we report that KNOM has received its fifth Crystal Award (recognizing excellence in community service) from the National Association of Broadcasters. We also bid farewell to news volunteer Ben Matheson (pictured) and report on the installation of dynamic carrier control, a more efficient method of power management for our AM transmitter site.

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July

Landbridge Tollbooth at the Concert for KNOM

Our newsletter pages detail a special benefit concert in Nome dedicated to KNOM’s digital studios project. As we report, the community event was the first-ever concert to support KNOM specifically; its performers – including old-time ensemble Landbridge Tollbooth, pictured – bring in $5,385 for the planned studio annex.

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August

Rebekah Pierce with sister Kathryn

We say goodbye to volunteer music director Rebekah Pierce (pictured with sister Kathryn), who departs after a year of service. In the Static, we report on a major fire in the nearby community of Teller; the conflagration destroys three buildings but stops short of Teller’s Catholic church. On-location reports from news volunteer Matthew Smith lead our newscasts.

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September

Matthew on the sea ice

It’s a season of hellos and goodbyes. We greet an entirely new group of volunteers – first among them, music director Joshua Cunningham – but also bid farewell to second-year news volunteer Matthew Smith (pictured). Meanwhile, our new system of power management at our AM transmitter site – dynamic carrier control – has already paid for itself.

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October

Finished pilings for KNOM's digital studios project

The Static includes warm welcomes to volunteers Dayneé Rosales and Eva DeLappe and thanks to engineers Rolland Trowbridge, John Kelsey, and Tom Bunger, each of whom has done fix-it or maintenance work at our station (and/or at our transmitter site). We also report on the first construction steps of our digital studios: the laying of its foundation pilings (pictured).

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November

Hands against domestic violence, Teller, Alaska

We offer greetings to new volunteers Margaret DeMaioribus and Lucus Keppel, both of whom had arrived earlier in the fall. We also detail a trip taken by Lucus and news volunteer Eva DeLappe to the village of Teller; at the village school, the two attend a unique community event that confronts domestic violence, an issue that’s tragically rampant in rural Alaska.

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December

KNOM Staff, 2012

Our Christmas newsletter leads with a group photo of KNOM’s current staff and volunteers; the crew is standing on the site of our future studio annex. The Static also announces the transition of our online newsletter to our Mission Blog (this blog!).

 

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This article is part of the Year-End 2012 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

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Construction underway! http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2012/09/16/construction-underway/ http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2012/09/16/construction-underway/#comments Sun, 16 Sep 2012 16:15:52 +0000 http://www.knom.org/mission/wp/?p=246 Drilling a hole

Construction workers drill the first hole for the foundation pilings of KNOM’s new studio annex.

Construction of the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios has begun! The pilings are in place, and the contractor will arrive soon to build our super-insulated addition. Please pray that more supporters come forward to make this last dream of the late Tom Busch a reality.

We are so thankful for your gifts and for all the blessings we have received, especially lately! Engineering volunteer Rolland Trowbridge is replacing five dysfunctional power modules in the Nautel AM transmitter; one of the modules actually caught fire for a brief time. Thankfully, the fire was limited only to the module itself! The new transmitter equipment brings us an unexpected expense of $5,000-6,000. However, the cost would have been much higher if the entire AM transmitter building had caught fire.

There are always challenges to meet and obstacles to overcome as we work to keep KNOM on the air in service to dozens of remote communities. Thank you for making our mission possible. We thank all who help KNOM.

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