Wednesday, December 5, 1973 - Arrived transmitter site at 8:00 AM. Paul Schoch
arrived
shortly after with 4 Coast Guardsmen. Four others arrived from Glad Tidings Church.
Waited until after 10:00 AM. Called North American Van Lines and finally located
driver with transmitter in Sunnyvale. Transmitter arrived at site at about 11:00
AM. Unloaded visual, aural and driver cabinets & moved then into building without
incident. Both klystron magnets, which I did not expect in the shipment, were on
the truck. One of them was dropped on its side in unloading. After moving it into
the building it was inverted and determined that some of the coils were out of alignment.
Magnet was reloaded on van and I escorted it back to Varian plant in Palo Alto. Left
it there for evaluation and repair. Returned to transmitter site, tidied up building
and took plane back to LA.
[Steve Pair was present during the unloading of the magnet assemblies. When the one tipped over in the truck I believe he described it making a sound like a howitzer going off. It nearly laid the hair back on his head. On the right is a photo of a magnet assembly which stands about 5 feet high.
Steve Pair: As I recall, we all stopped working and went out to view the transmitter equipment on the Moving Van. Once we realized it was going to take the driver and his guys a while to untie and get the equipment ready for offloading, we all returned to work. I was in the control cabinet of the aural transmitter (which was close to the door) wiring up the control circuits when this happened. The reason it was sooooooo LOUD was that the truck was backed up to a very large roll up door that opened up into the large transmitter room. The room was all parallel walls, ceilings & floor of solid concrete and so that very loud sound of the magnet assembly tipping over simply entered what could only be described as the perfect sound amplifier (and trust me it didn’t need any amplification). Not only was the decibel level above the threshold of pain but the sound pressure level was tremendous! It virtually rattled our guts.]
Monday, December 10, 1973 - Arrived in Palo Alto 3:45 PM with Joe [Snelson] and Steve
[Pair] in my truck and delivered KHOF magnet and failed VA 891A klystron transmitter
tube to Varian plant. Checked into motel in Redwood City [Howard Johnson Motor Lodge
that we called “Ho-Jo.” KHOF-FM had trade script from advertising time that was used
to cover lodging] and proceeded to Mt. San Bruno transmitter site. Garage building
was cold & damp. Attempted to close up heat exchanger vents to warm up building.
Unloaded tools and equipment and called it a day.
[KHOF-TV used a different model of klystron tube and magnet assembly for a high power amplifier. Since we made frequent trips to San Francisco in constructing KVOF, it was convenient to drop the tubes off directly at Varian which was on the way. This saved considerable time and shipping costs. Bernie mentioned above about the garage being cold and damp. I remember hauling a small electric space heater with me on one trip that I obtained using Blue Chip trading stamps. While it wasn’t a large heater it certainly took the chill off.]
Tuesday, December 11, 1973 - Arrived transmitter site about 9:00 AM after picking up some duct tape to help seal up building. Rained heavily all the way from Redwood City. Clearing by the time we got to top of mountain. After taping cardboard and plywood over vent openings we proceeded to move transmitter cabinets into place and level them. Then proceeded with installation of transformer and chokes. Installed collector temperature meters, Conrac and Tektronix monitors and vacuum relays. Checked with Mr. Landis of P.G. & E. [Pacific Gas and Electric] to confirm installation of power on December 14. At his suggestion, went to P.G. & E. office in Daly City to verify power service. Lunch at 3:00 in Daly City. Returned to transmitter, installed power resistors, made temporary hookup of cabinet lights on extension cord from KNBR power. Uncrated (very carefully) other klystron magnet (1600#).
Wednesday, December 12, 1973 - 9:00 AM dropped Joe & Steve at transmitter site to work on XMTR [transmitter] interconnect wiring. Took nitrogen cylinder to Alert Welding Supply in Hunter’s Point, opened account and picked up replacement cylinder. Proceeded to Zack Electronics in S.F. [San Francisco], bought wire and terminals and made preliminary arrangements for opening account. Returned to XMTR site. Connected new nitrogen cylinder to transmitter line (5-6#). Finished preliminary XMTR wiring. Left at 2:40 PM for LA stopping at Varian in Palo Alto to pick up replacement VA-891A klystron for KHOF-TV.
Thursday, December 13, 1973 - Informed by Herb Landis of P.G. & E. that riser on building would have to be re-braced and service re-inspected.
T
uesday, December 18, 1973 - Arrived S.F. at 8:45 AM from LAX. Weather clear & cool.
Picked up Hertz car & proceeded to San Mateo City building inspector’s office in
Redwood City. Was told that permit would not be required for re-inspection so proceeded
to Brisbane to try to locate inspector. Left word for inspector at Brisbane City
Hall. Picked up length of ¾” pipe and U-bolts at Brisbane Hardware and proceeded
to XMTR site. Closed up remaining K-O [Knock Out] holes in 10x10 service gutter.
Built and installed braces on 3” conduit riser for service into building. 2:30 PM
went to Brisbane for snacks and tar to patch roof where braces mounted. Inspector
did not arrive. Called his office & found out he had gone home sick. Cancelled PSA
[Pacific Southwest Airlines] reservation & reserved room at Ho-Jo Redwood City. Left
for RWC [Redwood City] at 5:30 PM.
Wednesday, December19, 1973 - 8:30 AM Talked to building inspector in Redwood City and he promised to inspect at 10:00 AM. Phoned Herb Landis at P.G. & E. & he said they would be up in afternoon to connect power. Arrived XMTR at 9:40 AM. Inspector arrived on time and tagged meter OK for service. No problems. P.G. & E. arrived at noon and connected drop from pole to building. They couldn’t turn on service until Thursday but did remove padlock from main breaker. Left at 2:25 PM and caught 3:00 PM plane for LA.
[
Note that Bernie stated he left the transmitter at 2:25 PM and caught a 3:00 PM
flight. The airport was close to the bottom of San Bruno Mountain. Just try making
a flight in that time frame today with airport security measures in place. This author
recalls going through SFO security with his tool box, shown at the right, loaded
with tools including an ice pick and multi-blade knife. Security officers weren’t
bothered a bit as they saw hundreds of these each day by field technicians catching
a plane and heading to a client needing service.]
Wednesday, December 26, 1973 - Received a call from Emery Air Freight that they had a shipment for me at SF. Told them to hold it for pick up.
Sunday, December 30, 1973 - Received call from KNBR engineer saying that there was a leak in the transmitter building roof & considerable water under transmitter, on workbench etc.
Monday, December 31, 1973 - Caught 7:10 AM flight from Burbank to SF. Only about 20 people on plane. Picked up Hertz car and stopped by Emery Air Freight to pick up 75–50 ohm coaxial transformer. Stopped by Brisbane Hardware for cleanup equipment and roof tar. Arrived XMTR about 9:00 AM Workbench very wet. All tools wet and wrapping on coaxial components left on work bench were soaked. Checked roof, plugged riser braces and re-tarred joints. Turned on power and switched lights over from KNBR circuits. Dried off tools and equipment from work bench. KNBR engineer, Dick Baxter, had moved most of the stuff off of bench which helped a lot. Went to lunch in Daly City. Talked to Jack Kendall at HiTran [pronounced Hi-Tran] about getting a flatbed truck to haul power supplies. Contacted Bean Co. in Redwood City about getting a crane or forklift to unload power supplies when they arrive. Took inventory of coaxial fittings & measured transmission line location to lay out diplexer installation. Returned LA.
Sunday, January 20, 1974 - Flew into San Jose from Burbank. Arrived 10:45 PM. Picked up Hertz car and drove to Ho-Jo Redwood City.
Monday, January 21, 1974 - Verified truck and crane dispatch to San Bruno MT. Arrived transmitter site 8:45 AM just as truck with power supplies got there. Crane from J. H. Bean Co. arrived at 9:15 AM. Power supplies (9,500# each) unloaded and spotted on pad by 10:30 AM. Took pictures, measured for conduit hook-up, etc. & caught 1:15 PM plane from SFO to Burbank. [Photo of one of the power supplies on the right]
Monday, January 28, 1974 - Drove Ford pickup to SF via Turlock. Arrived XMTR 10:00 AM. Installed boost XFMR [transformer] on electric heater. Hauled load of trash to dump. Brazed flange on 6-1/8” outer tube for coaxial 75–50 ohm XFMR. Set up admittance meter to check antenna impedance but had to postpone due to RF field from 5 megawatt channel 20 next door.
T
uesday, January 29, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:30 AM. Checked antenna impedance. No measurable
error at visual frequency, 50 ohm plus or minus zero reactance. Aural exciter will
not work. Installed case on 528 scope and AC plugs on scope and Conrac monitor in
XMTR. Met Paul Schoch in Daly City & spent a couple of hours looking for a suitable
office in S.F. Found one at 601 Taraval, $250 per month, 500 square feet. Night at
Ho-Jo RWC & home via Turlock and Fresno (CCA). [This photo, courtesy of Google Earth,
shows the southwest corner of 16th Avenue and Taraval (601 Taraval) the home of Wendy
Hair Design at the time this web page was published.]
Tuesday, February 19, 1974 - Received word that heat exchangers had arrived in SF. Was not notified as requested. Arranged for heat exchanger to be unloaded at E.H. Bean in RWC after many phone calls to straighten out situation with United Van Lines.
Thursday, February 21, 1974 - Arrived SFO at 8:00 AM. Called Bean to verify delivery of heat exchanger. Stopped at Nimitz Air Cargo to pick up air breakers [type of electrical circuit breakers]. Arrived XMTR at 9:30 AM. Bean arrived with heat exchangers and unloaded them with forklift. Set approximately in place. Packed up aural exciter and shipped to CCA for repair. Light rain.
Friday, Feb 22, 1974 - Arrived Ho-Jo RWC 12:00 midnight with Norm Bone via Ford pickup.
[Norm Bone was an electrician from Glendale we had worked with during the production studio construction. Steve Pair adds: Had completely forgot about Norm Bone. What a nice guy and I learned a lot from him. I can still picture him working with us in that “ice house” (referring to the cold transmitter room)]
Saturday, Feb 23, 1974 - Arrived XMTR at 8:30AM (clear and cool) & unloaded truck. Installed air breakers and 2” & 2-1/2” conduit to power supplies. Pulled and connected 250 MCM primary wiring to power supplies. Started installation of conduit from power panel to XMTR. Worked until 10:30 PM then to dinner and Ho-Jo.
Sunday, Feb 24, 1974 - Finished conduit installation to XMTR and pulled #6, #10 and #12 wire. Left for Glendale at 3:00 PM.
Wednesday, Feb 27, 1974 - Arrived SFO 8:10 AM with Steve Pair. Arrived XMTR at 8:45 AM after buying saw in Brisbane. Removed boots from intake ducts for heat exchanger. Pulled control wires to air breakers & Steve worked on connecting some. After lunch adapted boots to heat exchangers and spent rest of day moving heat exchangers into place & leveling them. Left for dinner & Ho-Jo at 9:00 PM (overcast and windy)
[Steve Pair: My first introduction to the art of fabricating Sheet Metal. I remember Bernie having me make measurements on the existing intake ducts so we could have new one manufactured that would fit the ones we received. Didn’t have the foggiest idea what I was doing until Bernie and I installed the new boots that adapted to the new heat exchanger. Ahhhhhhh, now it all makes sense :) ]
Thursday, Feb 28, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:45 AM. Bolted intake ducts on heat exchangers. Completed power wiring to XMTR cabinets. Checked out control circuits on driver [cabinet]. Completed control wiring to air breakers. Picked up and installed one duct extension on heat exchangers outlet. Ordered 2nd extension from Marshall Sheet Metal. Left for Burbank on PSA at 5:45 PM. (High winds and rain all day)
Tuesday, March 5, 1974 - Arrived XMTR approximately 8:30 PM with Joe, Steve and rented truck with master control console, video rack, film chain and accessories. Unloaded equipment, parked truck at XMTR and left for Ho-Jo in Hertz car.
Wed & Thu, March 6 & 7, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:45 AM. Assembled console, mounted monitors, switcher, audio board and test gear. Reinstalled aural exciter which was returned from CCA. Checked out OK. Picked up and installed other duct extension on heat exchanger. Completed 3 phase wiring to heat exchangers. Checked heat exchanger pumps and blowers. Joe and Steve got switcher and racks fired up and partly checked out. Left at 2:30 PM to drop off old channel 30 [from KHOF-TV] klystron at Varian in Palo Alto.
[Steve adds, “Didn’t we install this MC Console in a room 1-floor up from the transmitter? As I recall, MC was down the hallway from the main front doors and on the left??” He is correct. The transmitter room was a former garage while Master Control was in a former radio announce booth in the main building.]
Tuesday, March 26, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:45 AM (PSA) with Steve. Finished control wiring on heat exchangers. Damaged contacts on K-22 time delay Agastats [manufacturer of the time delay relay] due to mis-phasing between aural and visual power feeds. Checked and corrected all power phasing in XMTR. Ran RF, video and remote control cables between control console and transmitter. Started to check out modulated amplifier in driver. Plate voltage failed after a few minutes operation. Found half of 1N2071 diodes shorted. Made up and installed cable for video, pulses, audio and remote control between master control and VTR room by removing ceiling tile and routing through attic. Also installed camera cable for film chain and ¾” flex for power through attic. Cut and fitted some 1-1/2” copper tubing for cooling system. Left for Burbank at 6:00 PM.
Wednesday, April 3, 1974 - Arrived XMTR at 10:00 AM in Ford pickup. Replaced contacts in K-22 Agastats. Also replaced K-14 relay in aural amplifier. Anchored master control console to floor. Bolted down film chain control console. Picked up supplies at Brisbane and 1N2071 diodes at Zack’s. Installed power outlets in consoles. Installed conduit to ceiling and had Joe and Steve come up after AMPEX school and pull wire in attic.
[Joe and Steve were attending the AMPEX school in Redwood city on the new VR-1200C, 2” Quadruplex, videotape recorders recently delivered to the production studio. Steve: Had completely forgot that we were going to AMPEX School during this install. Those were some long days too. We would get to the Hotel around 10pm, eat and then study for what was going to be covered the next day in class. Glad we were young and dumb…..couldn’t do that now :)]
Thursday, April 4, 1974 - Arrived XMTR at 8:30AM. Completed power wiring in master control and VTR room and replaced ceiling tile. At 2:30 PM drove to KVOF office at 601 Taraval St. and with Paul Schoch unloaded 70 videotapes (Dr. Peirce) and 2 tape cabinets. Set cabinets in place and sorted tapes. Returned to XMTR. Replaced diodes in driver modulated amplifier plate supply and after testing, fed visual driver into antenna with multiburst [a TV test pattern] modulation and had Joe and Steve check signal in Redwood City, 25 miles away. Good signal for 2 Watts into antenna! First time channel 38 on air since April, 1971. Joe and Steve came up to XMTR and we checked out and set levels on proc amp [processing amplifier] and experimented with adjustments of Datatek. Retuned KHOF-TV sideband analyzer for channel 38 and swept modulated amplifier. Looks good! A little high frequency roll-off. Back to Ho-Jo RWC 10:30 PM.
Friday, April 5, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:45 AM. Wind, rain and fog this AM. Loaded trash (cardboard, packing cases, etc.) into truck. Cleaned up control and VTR rooms and transmitter room. Hauled trash to dump in Colma in rain. Nearly got truck stuck in mud at dump. Got wet unloading trash. Back at XMTR 1:00 PM. Bolted Telemation multiplexer to floor in VTR room. Interviewed David Graham for job as C.E. [Chief Engineer]. Favorably impressed. Left for Turlock 4:00 PM.
Wednesday, April 10, 1974 - Arrived SFO 5:15 PM. Joe and Steve met me after AMPEX school. Proceeded to XMTR. Joe labeled video patch bay and connected multiplexer remote control. Steve helped Joe and worked on audio cabling. I fired up driver to check out aural modulation monitor. Problem with monitor. Left at 10:00 PM for dinner and Ho-Jo.
Thursday, April 11, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 9:00 AM. Fired up driver to work on aural modulation monitor. Suspected aural exciter off frequency. Fed combined drivers into sideband analyzer and noted aural carrier approximately 2 MHz above visual carrier instead of 4.5 MHz. Called Bernie Gelman at CCA and got some info on aural exciter (we have no schematics or instruction book for this item). Located aural frequency adjustment and tweaked to lock-in with visual exciter. Still a problem with Belar monitor. Requires a lot of RF drive and operation is erratic. Located ground loop in AC wiring (Neutrals in driver cabinet not tied down). Worked some more on monitor. Still erratic. Left driver running and headed at 4:00 PM for Redwood City to pick up Joe and Steve and eat dinner. Arrived back at XMTR at 6:30 PM. Visual driver modulated amplifier plate voltage down to 100 Volts (should be 600 Volts +) Second diode string shorted (1N2071). Joe and Steve connected remote control to Athena 16mm [film projector] and slide projector and ran video cables to film chain. I finally got started on plumbing for XMTR cooling and made good progress. Left for RWC at 10:30PM.
Friday, April 12, 1974 - Arrived at XMTR 9:00 AM after dropping Joe and Steve at AMPEX. Worked on plumbing until 11:15 AM then back to RWC to pick up Joe and Steve and drop them at airport. Back to XMTR and plumbing. Cleaned up and left for airport at 7:30 PM. BEAT.
Wednesday, April 17, 1974 - Arrived SFO 8:30 AM. Slow let-down through fog. Picked up our Nova at parking lot and arrived XMTR 9:00 AM. Worked on plumbing all day, except run to Zack’s to pick up diodes for driver H.V. supply. Left for Ho-Jo RWC at 7:00 PM.
[After making so many trips to San Francisco it was decided to leave a company car, a Chevy Nova, parked at SFO. It was cheaper to pay parking than renting a car for every trip.]
Thursday, April 18, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 7:50 AM to meet driver from Alhambra Water Co. Installed water cooler. Finished XMTR plumbing except for vertical runs containing orifice flanges. Picked up additional 40’ of 1-1/2” copper pipe and some fittings in Daly City. Paid 3.00 per foot for pipe. Replaced H.V. diodes in driver and checked out. Worked on Belar modulation monitor. Still have a problem. Left for SFO 5:50 PM.
Monday, April 29, 1974 - Arrived SFO 5:30 PM. Picked up Nova and stopped by Emery Air Freight. No orifice flanges as promised by CCA. Arrived XMTR 6:00 PM. Installed GV [Grass Valley Group] 950 sync generator module and color lock. Worked with switcher and video cabling until 8:30 PM. Turned on exciters and left them running to see if frequency would stabilize. Left for dinner and Ho-Jo RWC at 9:00 PM.
Tuesday, April 30, 1974 - Finally located orifice flanges at Amerford Air Freight after 3 calls to CCA. Arrived XMTR 8:45 AM. Installed orifice flanges and completed main plumbing. Modified visual orifice flange to save using a coupling. Aural exciter holding frequency stability OK. Finally got Belar modulation monitor working, not according to info from manufacturer. Needs considerable RF drive (or at least 20 on meter). Got film chain encoder (and bar generator) going by sorting out misconnected drive cables. Ordered nitrogen (Alert) to be delivered tomorrow. Talked to Ron Todd about TV production. Lost another string of diodes in visual driver H.V. supplies. Why? Left exciters and video rack cooking. Left for Ho-Jo RWC at 8:00 PM.
[Steve Pair: I recall that Belar monitor giving us fits. I think we all had a turn at trouble shooting it, but none of us would have ever believed it took as much RF drive as it did to operate…]
Wednesday, May 1, 1974 - Picked up 50’ of ¼” copper tubing and fittings at Redwood plumbing in RWC. Arrived XMTR about 8:30 AM. Connected flow meters with ¼” tubing. Changed 3/8” tubing fittings in XMTR and made up bypass hoses for ½” and 1-1/2” klystron fittings. Filled visual and aural cooling systems with tap water and flushed systems. Checked for leaks. One 1-1/2” threaded connection (CCA’s) leaked until tightened and 1-1/2” union I had to replace was not completely tight. Drained systems. Nitrogen delivered about 11:30 AM and put new tank on line. Had to chase about a dozen 9–10 year old kids off of building and tower. Replaced diodes in visual driver H.V. supply. Left for SFO at 3:30 Pm. Left sync generator and exciter cooking.
Tuesday, May 7, 1974 - Arrived SFO 6:00 PM, picked up Nova and to Ho-Jo RWC.
Wednesday, May 8, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:30. Installed 950 modules to drive film chain. Aural exciter was off frequency. Retuned phase locked loop. Adjusted Cohu encoder timing, burst width, etc. Lost another string of diodes in visual driver H.V. supply. Replaced with HEP 160 diodes (1000 PIV – 1 Amp) and lost another string. In checking, found Sola regulator wired backwards. Hope this is the answer. Replaced more diodes. OK so far. Left exciters cooking.
Wednesday May 22, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:30 AM with Joe Snelson and Paul Hohman in
rented van with two RB-1000 VTR’s. Lee Berryhill, C.E. of KRON-TV, let us in KRON
side of building to facilitate unloading VTR’s and avoid moving them up front stairs.
Cleaned out large control room and moved VTR’s in. Called Varian to determine if
klystrons were ready for delivery. Drove truck to Palo Alto and picked up klystrons
and magnet repaired after damage in original unloading. Returned to XMTR and unloaded
klystrons and magnet. Tricky job with 1400# magnet and 1500# [rated] lift gate. Big
relief to see it on ground in one piece! Worked until 10:00 PM on installation of
VTR’s. Cooked driver all day. No diode problems. Had to readjust phase locked loop
on aural again. Left truck at XMTR and returned to Ho-Jo RWC in Nova. [A photo of
a RB-1000 VTR which is a solid state retrofit of the original AMPEX VR-1000 videotape
recorder.]
Thursday, May 22, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:00 AM. Checked out VTR’s. Look OK. Set film
projector on film chain and anchored in place. Power supply on IVC 120 film chain
camera had burned up some components during night. Aural frequency OK. Cooked driver
all day. No problems. Uncrated one klystron and discovered all tuning boxes are missing.
Called CCA and Varian. Neither will accept responsibility at this point. Here we
go again! Cleaned up and left with truck at 4
:00 PM.
Tuesday, June 4, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 5:30 PM with 322 S&S (Spindler and Sauppe) slide projector [Shown at right]. Tried mounting projector on film chain. Lens supplied puts projector in middle of wall for correct image! Made up connectors on video cables we could not finish on last trip. Finished AC wiring to VTR’s. Readjusted aural exciter frequency. Left for Ho-Jo RWC at 8:30 PM.
Wednesday, June 5, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 7:45 AM. Aural frequency OK. Mounted and connected 528 waveform monitor on VTR #1. Made up various coax cables that had been installed on temporary basis or were short connectors. Remounted receptacles for heater and convenience outlets in XMTR room. Buttoned up power panel. Connected door closer to XMTR room per request of insurance company. Ran visual driver all day. No problems. Cleaned up and sorted a lot of junk. Drove to Daly City for lunch and washed Nova. Left for SFO at 4:30 PM.
Wed & Thu, June 12 & 13, 1974 - Arrived at XMTR with Joe Snelson approximately noon. Installed 6” lens on S&S projector and checked it out. Installed new piston rings and valves in air compressor on VTR #1 and adjusted regulators. Joe finished coax wiring on video patch panels and racks and connected remote control on VTR #2 after debugging remote control on VTR #1. Connected audio cables to VTR’s. Left for SFO at 4:30 PM.
Monday, June 24, 1974, Glendale - Received call from truck driver with diplexer at
9:00 AM. Called E.H. Bean in RWC to meet us at XMTR with forklift and arrived SFO
with Joe Snelson about 12:15 PM. Unloaded diplexer from van without incident, but
too large to go in door. Removed aural cavities and tilted diplexer to get inside.
One coax dented. Should not have happened. Rigger’s fault. Spent several hours measuring
and finding location for diplexer. Finally moved workbench and located diplexer there.
Reassembled diplexer and cleaned up workbench. Left for Ho-Jo RWC 8:30 PM.
[We knew precious little about the size of the diplexer until it showed up at the door. Bernie had tried several times to get information with no success. On the right is a picture of Bernie and Joe working on the diplexer.]
Tuesday, June 25, 1974 - Arrived Varian Palo Alto before 8:00 AM and picked up tuning cavities for klystrons. Arrived XMTR about 9:00 AM. Figured out coax parts needed to connect diplexer and ordered from CCA. Spent most of the day dressing visual klystron. Drove to Montgomery Ward near Daly City to pick up hoist for klystron. Returned to XMTR and installed dressed visual klystron in magnet. Started to dress aural klystron. Many problems in reversing tuning mechanism. Left for RWC 11:15 PM. Too pooped to eat dinner.
Wed, June 26, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:30 AM. Modified aural tuning cavities and finished dressing aural klystron. Mike Miller and wife stopped by and got the tour. Installed aural klystron in magnet. Ordered 100 gallons distilled water from Alhambra. Moved coax and junk stored next to XMTR so we could install visual klystron in cabinet (already had put aural klystron in its cabinet). Installed coolant hoses on both klystrons. Pick up acetylene cylinder and 2” conduit straps in South SF. Started installation of 2” EMT conduit for H.V. wiring. Short one connector. Left for RWC 10:30 PM. [Tuning cavities attached to a klystron shown at right.]
Thursday, June 27, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:30 AM. Finished H.V. conduit. 100 gallons distilled water delivered. Picked up funnel and hose to fill coolant systems. Filled both systems and checked out for leaks. All OK, Left for SFO 5:00 PM
Tuesday, July 2, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 10:30 AM. Dale Harry and Dick Baxter from KNBR here changing locks. Made up filament bus connections. Connected collectors and grounds. Ran both XMTRS and checked out magnets, heaters and time delays. Set magnet and heater currents. Checked out air breakers. Checked driver outputs. Aural 6 Watts. Visual 4 Watts in black, 2 Watts on multiburst. Connected and checked out visual arc detectors. Connected aural output coupling control. Made preliminary lineup of output coax. Left for Ho-Jo RWC 7:45 PM.
Wednesday, July 3, 1974 - [Date but no notes]
Monday, July 15, 1974 - Left Glendale 3:30 PM in Ford pickup with Joe Snelson. Arrived Ho-Jo RWC 10:10 PM.
Tuesday, July 16, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:30 AM. Brazed flange on 6-18” coax while Joe worked on film chain camera. Worked on remote control wiring. Installed output coax on both klystrons. Trouble with audio Power Amplifier Op-Amp. Ordered transistors and 28 VDC supply from Zack’s. Ordered nitrogen from Alert.
Wed, July 17, 1974 - Arrived XMTR 8:30 AM. Nitrogen arrived about 9:00 AM.
Monday July 29, 1974 - Arrived Ho-Jo RWC 6:00 PM. After driving up with Paul Calentine. Picked up new aural exciter module at United Air Freight at SFO. Proceeded to XMTR after stopping for dinner at Hungry Hunter. Installed module and fired up transmitter. Everything looks pretty good. Paul C. went back to RWC to look at signal on-air. Lamp is burned out on slide projector and no spares. Had to improvise to televise ID slide. Used bars and audio ID’s. Larry Vosper has made up some ID carts and they sound great. Shut down XMTR about 10:30 PM and returned to RWC.
Tuesday, July 30, 1974 - Arrived XMTR about 10:00 AM after frustrating 2 hours trying to locate 15 KW water load that Bohonisky of AMPEX had brought out from CCA. Worked on remote control most of the day. All working OK. Connected diplexer blowers to aural amplifier and rerouted RF sample cable from diplexer to driver. Problem with aural power variation with no variation in drive. May be bad diode. Problem with film chain camera. Looks like encoder trouble. Picked up projector lamps at AAA in Colma. Made up new mod anode bus in visual amp. Left 7:30 PM.
CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL
KVOF-TV CHANNEL 38, SAN FRANCISCO
By Bernie Marston with comments by Joe Snelson and Steve Pair
Presented here is a journal of the construction of KVOF-TV, San Francisco, kept by Bernie Marston who was the Director of Engineering for the Faith Broadcasting Network. Bernie’s story about the construction of KVOF, published on the FBN website, was taken from this journal. The journal will fill in some details not mentioned in Bernie’s story. The commenter has added some photos along with his comments, shown italicized in brackets, to provide further clarification and details of the construction. Steve Pair also submitted his comments shown in blue.
We trust you will enjoy reading this account of construction in chronological order.
KVOF signs on-the-air!
Though not recorded in the journal the Proof of Performance measurements required by the FCC were made in early August. The measurements were made by Leroy Wallace who was a field engineer for CCA, the transmitter manufacturer. Pictured above is Bernie pressing the button to place KVOF-TV on-the-air as authorized by the FCC under Program Test Authority on August 4, 1974. This was a “red-letter-day” for FBN.
Location of KVOF-TV office
Location of KVOF-TV Tower. Transmitter building is to the right of the tower