Agana, Guam [Shelley Nolan Freesland/ANN Staff] Four years of renovation will be celebrated Feb. 26 when Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, visits the Adventist World Radio (AWR) studio and broadcasting station in Gua
Agana, Guam [Shelley Nolan Freesland/ANN Staff] Four years of renovation will be celebrated Feb. 26 when Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, visits the Adventist World Radio (AWR) studio and broadcasting station in Guam to rededicate the renewed facility.
Millions of radio listeners in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and many other countries throughout the Asia/Pacific region are able to hear of God’s love for the first time through programs that originate in the Guam studio, which was first opened in 1987.
Guam’s frequent typhoons, as well as the need to reduce transmitter maintenance problems caused by dust and dirt, led to the renovations. AWR embarked on a multi-phase modernization project in 2000 that continued through 2004. This project increased the property’s value by nearly U.S. $5 million, without incurring any debt. Funding for the replacement of existing equipment and facilities, as well as future improvements, was arranged from each year’s operating gifts in anticipation of such a need.
“To deliver messages of hope to hard-to-reach listeners, we need to provide the most reliable broadcast service possible. In this case, reliability means every minute that we transmit is precious,” says Brook Powers, site manager for AWR in Guam.
Among efforts undertaken by renovators was increasing the reliability of broadcast operations. This included everything from installing more reliable transmitters to adding an apartment for an engineer who could respond quickly to problems.
“We now have the ability to keep all four antennas on the air spreading the gospel every day,” says AWR Guam maintenance director Gordon Garner. “When a problem arises with a transmitter, the programming can be transferred to a different transmitter. This makes it possible to maximize the broadcast time.”
In addition, transmitters were stabilized on one platform to make maintenance easier, and automatic measurements of system data were implemented to enable better and faster troubleshooting.
Even ground erosion control was a factor in the project. Gravel and water control systems were added to the antenna fields so preventative maintenance can occur anytime of the year, even immediately after a typhoon, when nearly 20 inches of rain can be dropped within 24 hours.
Adventist World Radio’s mission is to broadcast the Adventist hope in Christ to the hardest-to-reach people groups of the world in their own languages. AWR has its headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, and maintains a Web site, www.awr.org.
