As we have mentioned, Martin Gibbs will be stepping down from his role as Chief Operator for Christian Family Radio in order to answers the Lord’s call in planning and construction of new church-operated radio stations across the nation.  However, he will continue in his support for the technical needs of this ministry.  We have been working to find a replacement that will be able to maintain day-to-day operations at Christian Family Radio and hope to have them on staff soon.  Please pray with us for this vital need and  thank you so much for all you do for this ministry.

As we enter another year of broadcasting for Christian Family Radio, we first want to thank you for your steadfast prayers and financial support that keeps us on the air.  Maintaining this ministry also takes dedicated staff that are committed to working behind the scenes on the transmitters, computers and other equipment vital to our operations. We are thankful for every one of our staff members.  Please pray with us as we will be seeing some changes in our staff this year.  We want to make sure that Christian Family Radio continues to provide the best quality programming to be a help and blessing to all our listeners.  Again, thank you for standing behind this ministry.

Certainly, 2023 was a year where our world was filled with uncertainty and violence as we see scriptural prophecies become very real, and we know that our Lord’s return is more imminent than ever.  At the same time, the one hope we all have is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which Christian Family Radio has been faithfully declaring for over 52 years.  We want to take this time to thank you, our listeners, for your faithfulness in tuning in, praying for and financially supporting this ministry.  From all of us to you, we pray blessings from the Lord for you in 2024.  Again, from the depths of our hearts, thank you so much for standing behind Christian Family Radio.

Dr. John Paisley, Station Manager, Christian Family Radio

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!