As Christmas approaches, we remember the greatest gift ever given, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ we may spend eternity with God in Heaven if we only accept this truth. This is the reason the ministry of Christian Family Radio exists. All through the year, we broadcast the good news of the Gospel in word and song, with teaching and programming for the entire family, to reach the lost and help the Christian to grow in their walk with Christ. Thank you so much for your part in this ministry. Your prayers and financial support are vital to our ongoing mission. And, we feel very privileged to keep you in our prayers.

Dr. John Paisley, Station Manager, Christian Family Radio

Thank you so much for your participation and commitment to Christian Family Radio during our 2023 Sharathon, “Old-Fashioned Radio” going beyond our goal with $106,041 committed. We really appreciate Don and Mike Cline hosting this year’s Sharathon.  Those of you that made commitments during the Sharathon will receive a letter showing our records of your commitment soon.  If you were not able to make a commitment during the Sharathon, we still appreciate your support and prayers for Christian Family Radio.  Again, from the depths of our hearts, we are so grateful to all of you that listen to, support and pray for this ministry. 

Dr. John Paisley, Station Manager, Christian Family Radio

Our thanks to all who participated in our 2023 Sharathon, “Old-Fashioned Radio”.  We were able to raise $106,041, exceeding our goal of $100,000, toward our annual operating budget of $126,000 during the Sharathon and are humbled by the sacrificial sacrifice of our listeners!

A special thanks to our co-hosts, Don and Mike Cline and special guest Chuck Harding.  We really appreciate their  many hours of planning and having at least one of them on-air for the entire Sharathon.

You can read more about the Sharathon here

The new GatesAir transmitter at KOLU started broadcasting on Tuesday, December 7 at around 5pm!  Our staff, with help from movers and electrician Richard Craig, were able to complete the upgrade in two days.  We are so thankful for your prayers and generosity that have enabled us to purchase and install this much-needed upgrade. We consider it a great privilege to broadcast the vital Gospel and bring good, conservative teaching and informative programming to our region and beyond.  Thank you again for all you do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have good news, KOLU’s new transmitter will be installed this week!  Starting Monday afternoon, December 6, we will be switching to our lower-powered backup transmitter to give us time to disconnect the old transmitter and prepare for installation Tuesday.  We hope to have the new transmitter working no later than Wednesday, December 8.

While we on air at lower power, our 3 translators in Yakima, the Lower Valley and La Grande should operate normally, with perhaps a bit more noise, but with normal coverage.   Listeners to 90.1 in our “fringe areas” farther from the transmitter may experience a noisy signal or lose it entirely.  During this time, you can listen online at kolu.com or from one of several smartphone applications.

We really appreciate your understanding and thank you for your prayers and financial support that have made this new transmitter possible.  May the Lord richly bless you this Christmas season!

Our thanks to all who participated in our 2021 Sharathon, “50 Faithful Years”.  We were able to rase $92,420 toward our annual operating budget of $115,000 during the Sharathon and are humbled by the sacrificial sacrifice of our listeners!

A special thanks to our co-hosts, Don and Mike Cline.  We really appreciate their  many hours of planning and having at least one of them on-air for the entire Sharathon.

You can read more about the Sharathon here

We are really looking forward to replacing our main transmitter at KOLU.  Many hours were spent in early spring working on the “driver” tube in the transmitter.  The old driver had been running well for around a year, but it was obvious it was “wearing out” as the output was falling due to lowering “emissions”, and it could no longer keep the transmitter running at full power.

Not to worry, we had 2 rebuilt tubes ready to place in the transmitter and bring it back to full power.  So, a trip was scheduled, and we carefully followed our replacement procedure with the rebuilt tube, set the transmitter to the initial burn-in settings at full power, and returned to the studio.  As I was entering a meeting, my cell-phone relayed a transmitter alarm that said transmitter power was very low.

Returning to the site, I noted that the output of the transmitter was low, but I could switch to lower power operation and the transmitter would be fine at that power level, so I continued to burn in the tube in case it needed more time.  After several days of this burn in, returning to the site I tried restoring full power, but stayed and watched the power decrease over a period of about an hour until it was less than the low power setting.

Okay…time to try the second rebuilt tube.  That one was placed in the transmitter and exhibited exactly the same symptoms.

At this point we reached our final option, which was to order a new tube at over twice the cost of the rebuilt ones, but new tubes seemed to work fine.  Another $2,000 spent…

Replacing the driver with the new tube, the burn-in process went back to normal and the transmitter has been working fine since then.  That is, until the final tube wears out, which should be in couple of months.

A new solid-state transmitter doesn’t use tubes and has much lower maintenance costs (and a warranty!).  Not only will it run cooler, use less electricity, and not require tubes, but it also positions us to where further upgrades could give us a “digital” signal, with more than one program stream that could be listened to on 90.1.  Stay tuned!

 

This year’s Sharathon “Little Is Much When God Is in It” featured how the Lord has taken the “little” things of small offerings and prayer in the ministry of Christian Family Radio and used those to make a tremendous difference in the lives of many.  God’s way of working in our lives often runs counter to our nature.

The Sharathon started October 22nd at 1 pm and ran through October 24th  at 10 pm.  Friday, we start at 1pm and Saturday at 10:30 am. Praise the Lord, we raised $110,618, covering most of our costs for the coming year and a record for any Sharathon! Our special thanks to Don and Mike Cline, who hosted the entire Sharathon, with engaging and interesting conversation for all three days.

Our operating budget this year is $120,000, which remains very low for a network that includes a 39,000 watt main station along with 3 translators, covering a potential audience of over 750,00 people.

Listeners had the opportunity to participate and learn more about this ministry. Saturday brought a hot dog cookout (in the gymnasium due to the cold weather) and many came to enjoy the food and fellowship.

Please accept our heartfelt “thank you” for your participation in the Sharathon and standing behind this ministry with your prayers and sacrificial giving.

At 4am today, I was awakened by a call from our station Manager John Paisley. KOLU’s transmitter was running, but there was no sound going over the air.

I checked the usual suspects in our automation system remotely from my home, and all was running fine but no sound. I also had a message that communication with our site was down. Time to head to the studio…

…at the studio, all equipment was working well, and I could see that the “backhaul” that communicated with KOLU’s equipment was working on the studio end, but there was nothing on the transmitter side. Time to visit the transmitter site…

…arriving at the site after a 40 minute drive, the transmitter was humming along well, but as I looked at the receiver that gets the signal from the studio, I noticed it was dark, not a good sign. Going behind the rack, I checked the recently installed “UPS” (uninterruptible power supply that provides power to important equipment), and all lights appeared to be on. While I considered what that meant, I moved the power cord from the receiver to bypass the UPS, and all of the sudden we were back on the air!

A closer look at the UPS revealed that it has a “GFI” (ground-fault interrupter) outlet installed on it that had tripped for an unknown reason. Resetting the GFI brought power back to all equipment.

Feeling that I didn’t want the same problem to take us off the air again, I temporarily bypassed the UPS (it only keeps the equipment running while the generator starts up during a power failure) and will look at ways to keep the GFI from causing this problem again. Hopefully, we’ll have a permanent solution soon.

Thanks for listening, and your prayers are always appreciated!

Christian Family Radio’s latest translator went on the air to the Grande Ronde Valley of northeast Oregon August 28. K229BN now serves the towns of La Grande, Summerville, Union, Cove, Island City, Imbler and Elgin on 93.7 with our Christ-honoring family friendly programming.

Nearly a year of planning was necessary to find a license that could be purchased, negotiating leases and access, and filing with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to transfer then relocate the translator to Mt. Harris, which provides coverage to the entire valley.

Early in the morning of August 27, an installation crew from Christian Family Radio met with our tower construction contractor in Imbler, then drove another 45 minutes to access the site at 5,000 feet of elevation. A pole mounting the broadcast antenna was installed along with a second pole on the side of the transmitter building for an antenna to receive the signal from KOLU’s main transmitter south of Kennewick.

Following a full day’s work, the transmitter and receiver were tested and configuration was made to control the equipment remotely. All equipment tested well. That evening, the license application was filed and the transmitter commissioned.

Reception reports confirm excellent signal coverage to the entire Grande Ronde Valley.

We are very thankful for the persistence and support of Summerville Baptist Church and Pastor Franklin Humber, and for all of you that support Christian Family Radio through your prayers and contributions. We are looking forward to hearing from new listeners and seeing many blessed through the latest expansion to our ministry.