Antenna Repair

 As you all know, the transmitter site was hit by Typhoon Dolphin back in mid-May.  It is definitely past time to inform you all about how the repairs are going!  The week after the typhoon hit, we immediately went into recovery mode.  We contacted local churches to assemble crews of volunteers to come out and help with the repairs.  We also had our friend, Sterling, come out from the States to help with the antenna rigging.  It was encouraging and exciting to see so many people sacrifice time and energy to help with the difficult task of getting the antenna back up and running!

The first major task was to lower the broken antenna.  Sterling and Andrew climbed the antenna towers to attach clamps to the top support cable of the antenna.  They disconnected the broken antenna and reflector screen from the towers, and the team used a system of cables and pulleys to slowly lower the antenna safely to the ground.


Once the antenna reached the ground, our hearty crew of volunteers worked to separate the screen from the antenna (above).  The act of lowering everything down at once, while the safer option, caused the screen and the antenna to get tangled up.  It took a few hours of careful puzzle-solving to separate the two.

After we separated the antenna and the reflector screen, our crew went to work scouring the antenna dipoles and replacing any broken pieces (left).  Next, we patched the antenna dipoles back together and slowly raised the antenna back up, row by row (below).

A week after Typhoon Dolphin damaged our antenna, we were back up and running!  We are grateful for all the volunteers' help, thankful for no major injuries, and we praise God that the switch matrix allowed us to shift programming around in order to minimize the loss of air time!

Finished!

A Dolphin We Did Not Want to See

Many of you have heard about Typhoon Dolphin's arrival on Guam last Friday. Most of Guam lost power and some areas lost water service. Even telephone service has been problematic in many areas. The utility crews have been working hard to get things back to normal. We still do not have power at KTWR, so we have been running our generators.

Dolphin managed to mangle ANT1 during its visit. We are quite grateful that the antenna matrix allows us to use other antennas, so that all of the programs can continue to be aired. There was some minor damage to ANT2A, but we can still use it.

ANT1 must be rebuilt. This process requires several people, so we have been getting help from local volunteers. It will take over a week to lower the antenna, rebuild it, and raise it back up. Please pray for safety for the workers. The antenna field is definitely a hardhat area. Please also pray for endurance and wisdom for those involved in this project. It is very hard work and the weather is quite hot and sticky.

Security Fence is Up


After installing the first phase of our solar panel array in September 2014, the panels were left open and unprotected on a hillside on our property.  With so many different projects going on throughout the past few months, we haven't gotten around to installing a security fence.  Since the work on our other projects, such as the switch matrix, has slowed down after the broadcast season change, we took this opportunity to build the fence!

With the fence complete, phase one of our solar project has come to a close.  Currently, we are in the design and engineering stages of the second phase.  We are hoping to install the next phase in July before the rainy season gets underway.






Using a two-man auger to drill the holes for the fence posts.



Paul and Phil cutting the fence posts to 10-foot lengths.

The fence posts are in place!

 

Stretching out the chain link to attach to the end posts.





Voila!  The completed fence!

New Tractor Arrived

Yesterday, we received word that the tractor we purchased from the US had cleared customs here on Guam!  Jim and Phil headed up north with Matt, who generously allowed us to use his trailer, to retrieve the merchandise.  Over the past few months, we have experienced some serious transmission issues with our current tractor.  Our lawncare provider, Mark, has done an excellent job with the mowing, especially considering that the reverse does not work!  He has skillfully navigated the antenna field to make sure that the grass stays neat and trimmed.  This job is important, as it greatly reduces the hazard of a fire during dry season.  The new tractor will be a big help to the site, as we can always find creative uses for motor vehicles here at KTWR Guam!

Emergency Broadcast

Many of you may already know that KTWR has been increasing its activity related to emergency broadcasts. We did this with Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu.  The Vanuatu broadcasts will be ending tonight. Now that Nepal is facing the monumental task of recovering from its recent earthquakes, we will be broadcasting 1-hour programs to that area. Those broadcasts will start tonight, April 27th. We do not currently have any of the programming translated into Nepali nor Hindi, so we will start with English. We used the same process for the Philippines. A lot goes into getting these broadcasts on the air on such short notice.

The photo above shows the work of putting various audio files together into the 1-hour blocks that will be aired. The blocks include disaster relief counseling, teaching, and music breaks. For KTWR, this is the most difficult part of starting a new broadcast.

Another task that had to be done is getting the transmitter automation modified for the new program. We program a controller to tell the transmitters and antennas what to do and when to do it. If we did not do this, the broadcast shift operator would have to manually control the transmitters and the antennas. That would greatly increase the chances of errors that would affect what the listeners hear. In the case of this new broadcast, the changes were fairly easy to program.

The last task was to tune a channel in TX6 to the new frequency for the broadcast to Nepal. That only took 20-30 minutes to fine tune it and save the data to the preset memory. Each night, the transmitter will tune to the preset tuning parameters that were saved this morning. Generally, it will run the same way each time without the operator having to touch it.

As you can see, it takes several steps to start a new broadcast. We really want to see God's name glorified as we send these programs to a new audience that is in great need of His help. We are glad that the Lord has allowed us to be part of the process. Thank you for your prayers for our listeners and for us.

Switches Getting Busy

For the past several months, we have been only operating one antenna switch during the normal broadcast shifts. With the new broadcast season that starts March 29th, we will need to use more switches. This necessitated the completion of the control software needed to make the whole matrix work. While there are some tweaks to be done, we are basically at that point

The user interface is able show the operator which transmitter is connected to which antenna. The operator can also see if there is a bad switch. This system gives options for working around bad switches, which is quite unique for an antenna switch matrix. The same automation system that controls the transmitters and antenna also controls the switch matrix. This simplifies automation changes.

The antenna switch matrix will help us save money starting next season (beginning March 29th). It allows us to use our transmitters more efficiently in order to reduce power consumption. Being able to put any transmitter on any antenna adds quite a bit of flexibility.

All Transmitters Connected

 

KTWR now has all three of its transmitters and four of its antennas connected to the antenna switch matrix.  This is a major step toward being ready for additional broadcasts that we will be doing next season.  We now have the ability to move as many 100KW broadcasts as possible to our HC100 transmitter.  The bigger transmitters can now send higher power broadcasts to any of the coverage areas served by KTWR.

We still need to connect our other antennas, ANT3 and ANT5.  Those connections require relatively little effort compared to what has already been accomplished.  Another task that must be done to complete the project is to integrate the control software.  We are seeing good progress in that area.