Milestone reached!

A milestone is a scheduled event signifying the completion of a major deliverable.  It is a flag in the work plan to signify a portion of work has been completed.

Today we reached a milestone event in the Guam Transmitter Upgrade Project.

The building and transmitter hall modifications were completed (major deliverable) to the point where we were able to bring the new transmitters from their storage containers located near the antenna field into the transmitter building.

The physical move of the 14,000lb (each) transmitter required the assistance of a crane and flatbed.  This is a high risk event because of the potential danger posed to equipment and personnel.   Any mishap could stop or change the project timeline.

  Pulling TX6 out of its 10 month container home.

Placing TX6 on Flat bed

We are happy to report the move was successful!  Thank you for joining us in prayer to keep rain away and maintain personnel and equipment safety.

 Tonight the transmitters are temporarily staged in the shop and transmitter hall and will be rolled in to their permanent operational location in the transmitter hall in the next few days

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This milestone event was a major accomplishment as it marks the start of “phase 3” of the project where we will be connecting and testing the transmitters.






 Update: 20 April 2011

The Transmitters were rolled into place on Tuesday April 19th.

Here are a few more pictures:

Look Out Below

You had better be aware of what is going on over your head as you walk through the transmitter room these days. The ceiling tiles are gone and the beams are soon to follow, you never know what could fall on you (spiders?).

This week, years of accumulated metal from various projects and equipment was disposed of as part of the on-going remodeling plan. It had been stored in a room overhead the transmitter room. Now that whole storage room floor is going to be ripped out, it will bring the ceiling height from 8 feet to nearly 17 feet. Guess you can't accuse us of not being up-to-date with the latest home decor . . . cathedral ceilings and wide-open spaces! And just so it looks nice, the roof and beams that are now exposed, have been painted bright, white. Bringing lighting up to the "new" ceiling was another task completed this week as the men took down the old lights and put them into their new aerial spots.

The new air-conditioners and ducts are all in and have been tested, with the transmitters now being cooled by these huge, but friendly giants.

TX 1 hasn't been feeling too well this week as its power supply is not producing enough voltage for broadcasting, so it has been off-air for three nights. Doug Gregson and Mike Sabin have been working diligently to get it back up. Pray for them to find out what the problem is, but, at least at this point they know what the problem isn't, so that's progress right?

Getting All Our Ducts in a Row

Since our last blog about the installation of the air-conditioners for the new transmitters, we've seen great progress. Now, I, CamKathy (Kathy Gregowske) have returned from Cambodia to once again add my non-techie views to this blog.

As Paul and I pulled up to the transmitter building after being away for several weeks, the first thing we noticed were the huge air-cons sitting on their platforms, but getting a quick tour showed that there was still much to be done. But these guys work quickly (weather permitting), and now most of the exterior work has been done to put the air-conditioning ducts in place including getting most of the power lines connected (see photo of Eli Sabin). The holes in the exterior wall where the ducts were put in, have been blocked up, so if you look at the wall from the inside you will see five (the sixth is out of sight) spots for the ducts. Each transmitter (the two new ones, and TX 1,2) will have both an intake and outtake duct. The intake duct will bring in the cold air from the air-conditioner while the outake duct will suck out the hot air produced by the transmitters themselves. Thus we have six ducts standing in a row!

A New Tool for the IT Room

As if we don't have enough doodads, gadgets, computers and monitors in our IT room, we have now added a DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) Content Server. Recently received from the Elkhart Engineering site, this computer will give us the ability to add digital programming along with our analog broadcasts. This means that a listener with a digital receiver can experience an FM quality broadcast while listening to shortwave. What I found interesting is that it also allows the capability to add text to a broadcast. Imagine, being able to send a quick note about programming or a Bible verse. Economically it can also mean a 25% reduction in power needed to broadcast. Testing of the system is scheduled for this fall on Transmitter 5 (currently in use), and TX 6 (not as yet installed). I am sure that everyone here will be on a learning curve as they work with the system, so please be praying for them as they put the Content Server into action.

Forecast Calls for Mud

It is tough to believe that we are supposed to be in dry season now. Installation of the three large air conditioners has progressed more slowly than expected due to the heavy rain. We were getting vehicles and boots stuck in the mud. Heavy traffic and 7" of rain in two weeks really made a mess.

With the mounting frames completed, we were able to stage the 1300lb cooling units with our backhoe. However, the frames are too tall for the backhoe to lift the units into their final positions.

This is where networking came in handy. Some friends of some friends helped us out by using a 60' boom truck to set the air conditioners in place. Having friends with the right equipment really makes a difference. The Lord has provided in many ways for this project.

Other Duties as Assigned

We have been getting quite a bit of help with the installation of three new air conditioners at KTWR. Helpers come from many different backgrounds and have a wide variety of talents. We often work in the realm of "other duties as assigned" that is covered in our job descriptions. Even TWR President and CEO, Lauren Libby, put in some time welding on a frame that will hold one of the 1,300lb cooling units. He had just arrived on Guam the previous night. This is an interesting way to combat jetlag.

The last two air conditioners will be picked up this week. Two of the frames should be ready for paint within a day or so. Assembly of the third frame has not yet begun. Once at least one of the air conditioners is mounted, we can begin ductwork and wiring.

Getting one or more of these units operating is an important milestone for us. That will allow much of the major building modification work to proceed. We cannot install the Thomson transmitters without the building remodeling being partially complete. Please pray for us to make good progress in these tasks.

Help Wanted! enquire above

We have requested help from our supporting churches for the demolition and wall building next month February 14^th to March 7^th.  If one man could be sent from each church for two weeks, we would have more than enough help to complete the task on schedule.  Pray with us that God would supply the help we need.

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest...to send out workers into his harvest field" Matthew.9:37-38.

Due to the manpower shortage, the team building the Air conditioner framework is also running the transmitter night shift from 5:30pm to 2:00am.  Please pray for the team as they work long hours… pray for safety, and alertness as they travel and perform critical tasks.