 |
KOMOEast side of the late-40s vintage Art Deco KOMO 1000 radio transmitter building. This side looks towards the three 1/2-wave towers, 492 feet tall. |
 |
The north side of the
building. They have line-of-sight to their TV site on Queen Anne Hill. The microwave antennas receive programming for a satellite uplink site just to the north. |
 |
Jim Dalke of SBE Chapter
16 (in the light blue shirt) gives some
background on the site, with the new Nautel transmitter behind him. Tim Moore of KOMO is to his right The Continental 317 in the background was on the air. |
 |
One each RCA BTA-50F,
taking up one whole wall.
It's immaculate, and it works. |
 |
And this is just one of the two final cabinets. |
 |
Step right up, and then
through, past the rectifier room and through that back door to the transformer room. |
 |
No explanation necessary. |
 |
Just gorgeous. |
 |
My wife Patti points to the... |
 |
...particulars of the full-size schematic of the BTA-50F. |
 |
And after the RCA came the Continental. |
 |
And the Nautel takes the
physical place of this Continental 10 kW former backup, which is sitting in the shop. |
 |
The matching phasor. |
 |
I guess you don't have to lock the phasor door when you have this cool LED sign. |
 |
I love this way-station
between the transmitter building and the south tower.
I imagine you'd like to know how far along you are on the trek to the towers at night in the fog. |
 |
The base of the south tower. I like the insulator on the arm for the tower feed support. |
 |
KGNW & KJR820 KGNW and 950 KJR share three
towers that are 1/4-wave for 820 at 291 feet tall. |
 |
The center tower and its filters. |
 |
KJR transmitters. |
 |
KJR phasor. |
 |
KGNW transmitters and phasor. |
 |
KVIIf it weren't for the diesel fuel tank in the yard, you'd think this was just another house. If you look very closely at the railing, you'll see KVI spelled out. |
 |
The building is VERY solid, all concrete. |
 |
The KVI transmitters. |
 |
It is QUITE a ways
between the transmitter building/house and the tower, which is at the water's edge. |
 |
Kind of unique for any broadcast station. |
 |
Can't get much more picturesque than this. |
 |
Gotta love a 432-foot self-supporter on a beach. 1/4-wave at 570. |
 |
Old-school, with lattice legs. |
 |
KTTH & KPTKThe 770 KTTH and 1090 KPTK transmitter building. The stations share three towers, 113
degrees or 1/3-wave at 770, |
 |
CBS-Seattle Director of
Engineering Tom McGinley explains the recent modifications to the KPTK phasors and the expansion of the day pattern. He's standing in front of their main transmitter. |
 |
The KPTK backup
transmitter.
(On the fourth of five transmitter site tours, cookies were passed out and eaten). |
 |
One of the KPTK phasors, in vintage Andrew cabinets. |
 |
The othe vintage KPTK phasor, looking very Raytheon-like. |
 |
The KTTH transmitters. The station is 50 kW day, 5 kW night. |
 |
KIROI love the art deco letters. The trees hide the massive building. |
 |
A picture of the
sprawling, water-cooled, WWII-vintage KIRO transmitter.
Note the north-facing windows, the
art deco frame around the transmitter, |
 |
Today, some of the frame
remains in the center of the room.
The new phasor is to the right. Note how deep the original transmitter was, and now there's a diffuser on the skylight. |
 |
In another vintage
picture, the changing of the security guard which protected the site.
The windows have been replaced by concrete block. |
 |
Gives you an idea of just
how big this building is.
Then there's the basement! |
 |
The main transmitter is on the east side of the room... |
 |
...and the former main and current backup Continental transmitters are on the west side. |
 |
That's THE desk. |
 |
Tom Pierson (center), Director of Engineering for Bonneville Radio-Seattle, dug out one of the original water-cooled tubes. |
 |
The base of the west
tower. Both towers are electrically 134 degrees or about 3/8-wave -. that's 516 feet. |
 |
THE PICNIC, FINALLYBig ol' low-end-of-the-band AM sites have plenty of property for a picnic. |
 |
Nothing like sitting under a tree in the shadow of a couple towers. |