KHOI transmitter shelter on a lot east of Ames with our engineer, Paul Nelson, waiting out the winter until installation time
Our deadline for getting KHOI on the air is August 18 2012. That means that within exactly one half year, we must literally be on the air - you will be hearing the sound of community radio when you turn on the radio and go to 89.1FM!
First, we are addressing the most fundamental equipment for getting on the air: our Radio Transmitter at the base of our transmitting tower (just east of I-35 near Story City).
In preparation, thanks to generous support from Story County Community Foundation, we have bought a shelter hut that will house and protect the transmitter. Members of the KHOI road-tripped to Kalona, IA (near Iowa City) and brought the shelter to Ames.
Special thanks to Weldon Abarr, who is providing the trailer and Cory O'Neel, who is providing the truck for this.
Special thanks to the Story County Community Foundation for their funding gift.
The shelter is second-hand, in keeping with KHOI's commitment to being cost-effective. Crane Rental & Rigging in Ames will store it until spring, when the hut will be installed at our tower site.
For those of you who like this sort of thing:
The shelter is a Kentec metal building, designed to provide protection and climate control for telecommunications equipment. It measures 6 ft wide, 11 ft long, 7.5 ft high, is equipped with 200 amp single phase load center and is fully wired with lighting, fire detection, two 2-ton capacity heating/air conditioning units and provision for a backup generator. It was built in 2006, was in service in the cellular telephone industry (Centennial Wireless) until the spring of 2011. The shelter is from Midwest Surplus, a dealer in telecommunications equipment.