We Are Still Around

I know many of you may have wondered what happened to this blog. We have had so many things happening at KTWR that we just lost track of keeping up with this. We hope to make our entries more regular again.

There is some exciting news that is worth sharing. KTWR will resume regular DRM broadcasts next week. The schedule will be as follows, starting the week of 5 August through at least the next seven weeks and probably through the end of the A19 broadcast season:

 Day                        Freq                       Time                                      Region                             Power

Monday               11580kHz             1215-1245UTC                   South Asia                           90kW

Tuesday               11995kHz             1026-1056UTC                   ANZ/South Pacific              50kW

Wednesday        11995kHz             1026-1056UTC                    China                                    50kW

Thursday             11995kHz             1026-1056UTC                    Japan/Korea                       50kW

Each week will have different broadcast parameters that will affect decode rates and audio quality.

Set-up	Profile	P-Level	QAM		Sample Rate	audio bitrate	SBR	Mono/ Stereo	Target Environment
			SDC	MSC					Ionosphere Hops	Range	Noise
Aug 5-8	A	1	4	16	24000	18360	No	Mono	Single	Short	Low
Aug 12-15	B	2	16	64	24000	19980	No	Mono	Single	Short	Low
Aug 19-22	C	3	16	64	24000	19980	No	Mono	Multi	Medium	Low
Aug 26-30	C	1	16	64	24000	16440	No	Mono	Multi	Long	Medium
Sep 2-5	D	3	16	64	12000	13980	No	Mono	Multi	Long	High
Sep 9-12	C	0	16	64	12000	13700	No	Mono	Multi	Long	High
Sep 16-19	B	0	4	16	12000	11560	No	Mono	Single	Medium	Medium

 
We are asking listeners to report as often as possible during this season. This will help us determine the best compromises to make in setting up broadcasts to various regions. Some of you will be able to hear all four broadcasts each week. Others may only hear one each week. That is due to the antenna patterns we will be using. Reports may be sent to ktwrdrm@twr.org or using the embedded form below.

We would love to hear about your hardware / software / antenna and if you tried to test a new smartphone / tablet App to decode DRM (Android based, we hear Apple is on the way)

If you have DRM Logging capability (DR111,  DREAM Logs, etc...) We would appreciate receiving this data!

To capture DRM Data with DREAM DRM Decoding software:

           - Open the “Evaluation Dialog” Window

             - Click the “Log to file” box

    Two logs (DreamLog.txt and DreamLogLong.csv) will be written to the root folder of the DREAM software.

                                  Please upload your Data log files HERE

We have created a special form for DRM broadcast reception reports:

Working Vacation

When most people go on vacation, their intention is to get a break from work. Of course, there are some people, such as the world political leaders, who must do some work while on "vacation". Then there are those who actually choose to work while vacationing. Nathaniel falls into this last group. He took two weeks off from his job in Arkansas to visit Guam. He lived here for much of his childhood.

Nathaniel has formal training in welding, but had not been able to use that training in the jobs he has held. In his current job, he is a forklift driver. So while he has been able to do some site-seeing and visit friends and family, he also put in some time to build a pair of gates for one of the solar array fences. Using his welding skills is helping KTWR with a needed task and is helping him maintain his proficiency.

Have you ever thought about doing something like this? KTWR does have small projects like this that come up frequently. Welding and forklift driving are both skills that can be used here. There are many other skills such as painting, concrete work, electronics repair, etc. that really come in handy at the station. The Lord has prepared all of us in the body of believers with abilities that can be used in His service. Maybe you can use yours on a working vacation in the tropics. If it seems that the Lord is leading you this way, please contact KTWR's station manager, Grant Hodgins, at ghodgins@twr.org.

Diving in the Deep End

While it has been a long time since we posted anything on this blog, it's not like we have been doing nothing at KTWR. We continue to work to make the station more effective and efficient. Sometimes projects must be put aside in order to do some high-priority repair work.

The photo to the right shows us working on the RF driver for TX6. It had been having intermittent trouble for several weeks. When it finally had a fault that would stay, we were able to track down the faulty circuit board. TX6 is much happier now.

One interesting thing about this photo is that it shows two former KTWR chief engineers and the new chief engineer. Mike has been the TWR Asia broadcast operations director since July. Perry is leaving KTWR to take on a global engineering role within TWR. Steve is now the chief engineer. He has not been here long, but he has been learning quickly what it takes to keep this equipment running. He is basically in sink-or-swim mode now. Please keep him in your prayers.

Interns to the Rescue!

Last week, transmitter 5 (TX5) completely shut down during one of our evening broadcasts. Though two of our staff worked through the night shift to get it up and running again, they were unsuccessful. In the morning, it was the day shift’s responsibility to resume the work.

From top to bottom: Elayne, Abby, and Sarah

It was all engineering hands on deck, including our three interns Abby, Elayne, and Sarah. Elayne worked with engineers Mike and Dale to narrow down the problem, which led them to a bad cable in the machine. All three interns proceeded to make a new cable. Unfortunately the new cable did not fix the transmitter, so it was back to problem solving. Their search finally led them to some worn out parts in the voltage regulator for which we have no spares, but they were all able to make the regulator work again in spite of this (a testament to the resourcefulness of our staff here). New parts will be necessary for a long-term fix.

Transmitter 5 is our busiest transmitter. When it goes down, we can lose up to five hours of programming each night. We take this very seriously because we know many of our listeners depend on the programs for encouragement and growth in their understanding of God’s Word. We have had a few more issues with TX5 since then, which our engineers have been able to resolve after much time and effort. We pray that the Lord would continue to sustain our ministry and give our engineers eyes to find the source of technical problems as they arise and the mental and physical capacity to resolve those glitches. The interns were given the opportunity last week to prove their mettle, and we thank the Lord that He used the gifts He’s given them to help restore the machine back to working order so that more may hear of the greatness of our Lord.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his greatness is unsearchable.

Psalm 145:3

Taking on the Heat: a Solar Panels Update and the Arrival of Our Summer Interns

The KTWR staff has been laboring hard in the heat to install the new solar panels since the materials arrived in March, and much progress has been made. Volunteers Jerry and Pam Fitzwater were still on island then and were able to help with digging the postholes. After the holes were dug, the posts were set in place and the panels were mounted. Now our engineers are in the process of wiring the panels and tying them into the main power grid at the site.

Digging the postholes

One hole at a time: Jim M. using the auger while Jerry and Dale clear dirt out of the way and keep it from falling back into the hole

Dale and Dave setting a post in its hole while Phil and Mike prepare another post in the background

Jim A., Perry, Mike, and Jim M. pouring concrete to secure the posts

Since the Fitzwaters left us at the end of April, we’ve had some new help arrive on island—three summer interns! Abby, Elayne, and Sarah have joined KTWR for two months to gain some practical experience in their respective engineering fields and to grow in their understanding of missions. All three young ladies raised support to be here and have sacrificed making money and taking it easy during their summer breaks out of a desire to be faithful to the Lord and His calling in their lives.

Abby Acker just completed her sophomore year at John Brown University where she is majoring in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Intercultural Studies. In the picture above, Abby is pulling wiring through a conduit for the newly mounted panels.

Elayne Apol also just completed her sophomore year at Dordt College where she is a Mechanical Engineering major. Above, Elayne is using a heat gun (in the already hot weather) to straighten some of the wire conduits that stick out above ground.

Sarah Chen will be a senior this fall at the University of Michigan. She is majoring in Computer Engineering. Sarah is pictured above feeding wiring through a conduit for Abby while Dale further secures some panels to their mounts.

The work might not always be what they expected it to be as all of our staff members wear many hats around the site in order to keep our daily operations running smoothly. But it is clear that these interns came prepared to serve, and they have willingly taken on various tasks no matter how menial or complex. We are excited to see how the Lord grows them this summer and uses this time to teach them more about their fields of study, the ministry of TWR on Guam, and the mission He has given His followers to reach every tribe, tongue, and nation with the Good News of Jesus Christ our Savior.

From left to right: Elayne, Sarah, and Abby