On Tuesday September 3, Adventist World Radio welcomed a group of international and local guests to a rededication ceremony at our Guam shortwave station to mark the completion of a major expansion for the station. The modification of existing antenna systems and the installation of a large new curtain antenna has increased the transmission capability of station KSDA by approximately 25% and this is comparable to adding a whole new station to the AWR operation. This upgrade enables AWR to improve its broadcasts to numerous countries in Asia in several ways, thus enabling:-
* The choice of more suitable frequencies in order to reach target audiences.
* The capability of scheduling simultaneous broadcasts to multiple countries, thus reaching listeners during their peak listening times.
* The availability of more options to move our scheduling according to propagation conditions.
The theme at the dedication ceremony was “From this tiny island ... to the world.” During the afternoon ceremony, the Honorable Eddie Baza Calvo, governor of Guam, stated: “As I look at where Guam is located and I see the map of Adventist World Radio and where it reaches, you’re looking at nearly 3 billion people. It is about spreading the good news. I congratulate you all and give thanks for all you’re doing. Adventist World Radio is a voice and a message for eternity.”
The official opening ceremony was held on the antenna field, at the base directly under the newest tower, and this enabled attendees to experience close up the massive size of this equipment. Phase one of the expansion, which took place last year, involved the relocation of one of the existing towers in order to accommodate the replacement of a low-frequency antenna with a higher-frequency antenna. The second and final phase consisted in the erection of a new tower together with the installation of a new, high-frequency curtain antenna.
This final phase was even more labor-intensive, as it required staff to:-
* Move countless tons of soil
* Fill in a steep ravine
* Bury 4-foot-diameter run-off culverts for erosion prevention
* Pour more than 800 tons of concrete
* Erect a 229-foot tower.
The average size of the station’s curtain antennas is 236 by 260 feet, which is approximately the size of two football fields. During the construction of the antenna systems, some broadcasts were transferred to commercial shortwave stations in Sri Lanka and Europe for several months, so that listeners could still receive an uninterrupted program service.
The president of Adventist World Radio, Dr. Dowell Chow, stated: “This project was completed in the record time of only two years. Enormous appreciation goes to our staff on Guam, as well as to others who were heavily involved in the entire project.” As Chief Engineer Brook Powers stated: “The weather was a huge factor, as all construction work had to be completed during Guam’s six-month-long dry seasons.” The president of the Adventist denomination, Elder Ted Wilson, also paid tribute when he stated: “AWR Guam and AWR itself are not only in the information business, we are in the inspiration business.” Currently, Adventist World Radio is on the air worldwide in nearly 100 languages, with programming produced in 75 different production studios. The shortwave station on Guam KSDA, is itself on the air with nearly 300 hours of programming each week in 34 languages, from its technical system of 5 shortwave transmitters and 5 curtain antennas.
(AWR Wavescan/NWS 241 via Adrian Peterson)
photo/AWR Guam