Reid and I traveled to beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming yesterday. Our mission was to install a filter to alleviate some interference issues and to activate a new STL link from the hospital downtown up to the transmitter site. This link will allow us to move our satellite dish from the mountain down into town where it will be less succeptible to snow. These projects had been waiting for a number of months and it was time to get them done before winter set in.

This morning we hopped in the truck and headed for the KUWJ transmitter site on top of Snow King mountain. Fortunately there was no snow yet but the morning did start out rather cloudy and foggy. As we neared the top of the mountain we started to climb above the clouds that were blanketing town. It was a marvelous sight. I had never actually seen anything quite like it before (except perhaps from an airplane).

Up above the clouds

Reid and I started to unload the truck and did some prep work for installing the new filter. Once we had all of the prep work done we headed back down the mountain for some lunch and a visit to the hospital where our new satellite receiver and STL were located. The equipment is actually installed in an office. We hope to move it to a mechanical room closer to the antennas where it will be out of everyone’s way.

Satellite receiver and STL transmitter with stuffed animal standing guard

After we had finished inspecting the antennas at the hospital we went back up the mountain. Reid started to look at what it was going to take to get the STL link running properly. New cable was the first item on the list…

Reid starts to pull new cable up the tower for the STL antenna

Unfortunately, we discovered that the STL antenna does not have a good line of sight to the hospital from its current location on the tower. It will need to be moved higher on this tower or to an adjacent tower.

Our STL antenna…

…looking straight at these trees. D’OH!

Despite the issues with the STL, the day was not a total loss…We did get the filter installed after taking the station off the air briefly to complete the plumbing we had prepared earlier in the day. This should prevent our transmitter from accepting or generating any signals that are not on our frequency.

Reid stands in front of the transmitter and newly installed filter

At the end of the day after all was said and done I enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous sunset. These moments are by far the best part of my job.

Sunset from Snow King

The lights of Jackson Hole at night