The dry season on Guam has finally started to look more like
a dry season, and with it our staff at KTWR has found itself in the midst of a
busy work season. Our IT personnel are currently working on an upgrade for our
NETIA system, the database system that feeds programs to the transmitters for
broadcasting. This system upgrade will help us make use of certain NETIA
features that we have not be using up until this point. One advantage is that
it will link together our system on Guam and our system on Sri Lanka. This is
an advantage because our staff on Guam manages the broadcasts for our
transmitters on Sri Lanka. Now if there is an issue with those broadcasts, we
will be able to see those issues and address them more directly from our remote
location.
Another task on our staff’s to-do list is replacing the
Dummy Load that was installed this time last year. You may recall our reports
on this project that began in July 2015. It appears that at some point the
output of a transmitter was routed to the Dummy Load instead of to an antenna
while the Dummy Load's cooling pump was turned off. This burned up the
resistors on the load, which led to the need for a replacement.
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| Replacement resistors for the Dummy Load |
Next, after months of waiting for this shipment to arrive,
the solar panels (and their accompanying parts) for the third and final phase
of our solar panel project arrived at the site last week! Now we will be able
to finish the work on this project that has been three years in the making. We
have already benefitted from the first two installments of solar panels, but
once this third phase is complete, we will be able to save even more money on
energy costs—our greatest ministry expense. The money we save can go toward
expanding TWR’s ministry to the Asia/Pacific region.
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| Unloading the panels from the truck |
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| Posts and other parts for the solar panels |
All of these tasks have taken place as we have been gearing
up for our bi-annual season change, which took place Sunday, March 26th.
Twice a year we must apply for new frequencies for our broadcasts with the FCC
and come up with new broadcast schedules for our programs. This requires much
collaboration between all of our departments—IT, engineering, content
management, etc.—and between all of our ministry partners in the region. Once
we know which frequencies we have been given by the FCC for broadcasting, we
then have to decide which programs will broadcast on those different
frequencies. Schedules are made up, ministry partners load programs into the
database, and our program traffic controllers build the program playlists. The
transmitters have to be retuned to broadcast on the new frequencies, and we
have to continue to communicate with the FCC to acquire approval for certain
allocations as we realize the need to tweak certain things. Now that the season
change has officially occurred, our staff will follow up with the progress of
the broadcasts and fix any issues with the transmitters, computers, and
playlists. Please pray for the broadcasts during this new season, that the
transition will happen smoothly and that people will hear the good news of
Jesus Christ and be encouraged by messages of truth and hope!
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| Allen, a content manager, working on some recordings for the new season |
In this busy season, we have been blessed with some extra
help from volunteers. Jerry and Pam Fitzwater arrived on Guam on March 2nd
and will be here until the end of April. They are from Indiana where they
attend the sending church of the Dills, one of our staff families. Jerry and
Pam first learned about TWR through the Dills as they were raising support to
move to Guam, and as the Fitzwater’s looked more into the ministry, they came
across opportunities to serve short-term. One thing led to another, and pretty
soon the Lord had supplied them with the funds and the opportunity to take
leave from their jobs in Indiana for two months. Since they have arrived, Jerry
has helped with various projects around the site. He will also help with the
first stages of the solar panel project. Pam has also been able to help with
various tasks around the site, and as a nurse, she has gone through the proper
channels to train our staff in CPR so that we may be certified on Guam. This
will happen sometime in the next month. We are grateful for Jerry and Pam, for
their servants’ hearts and the help they have brought to us during this
eventful time.
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| Jerry, dark blue shirt, helping unload the solar panels |
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| Pam pulling some stubborn weeds in front of the site |
