Used Tower for Radio Nuru

One of the requirements at Radio Nuru is a tower upon which the station antenna will be mounted. Over the past several months, Paul Zimmerman has been looking for a tower around the area of Macomia. While there were several, none were found to be stable enough to purchase.

Steel costs on South Africa have been constantly on the rise. New tower hardware was running about ZAR50-70k for a suitable tower. Then we still had to add costs of transport, importation and erection. The ultimate bill was going to be more than Paul’s budget could manage.

Anton Bouwer, a former manager of tower projects, has been volunteering with us to help sort out this issue. He contacted Telebuild who happened to have a used tower available. It is self supporting, which will make the installation much easier (a volunteer team could manage it). The tower is in good shape and can be readily disassembled. The best part is that the cost to purchase this used tower will be ZAR12k, about 20% of the cost of a new tower.

The owners of Telebuild have a heart to want to help others. It was a blessing meeting them and having the chance to interact about some of the issues we were facing with the project. They are now in the process of gathering all the parts of the tower together so that we can purchase it.

Please pray that we will be able to sort out the requirements to ship the tower to Macomia and also get the hardware through customs into Mozambique.

Posted by bobbartz Posted in: Ndengu, Power FM, Radio Nuru, Uncategorized 1 Comment » July 2008

Power FM Explores Interactive Programming

A message recently received from station manager Hannington Muyenje of Power FM in Kampala requesting assistance in specifying a system to allow reporters and programmers to broadcast remotely from various locations around the country. Hannington is considering using a Comrex BlueBox system that will use a standard telephone line or cellular telephone to provide a telephone quality audio connection to their studio at Kampala Pentecostal church.

I’ve provided some additional information for him to consider concerning the types of broadcasts he is planning. There are a variety of alternatives depending on the available networks in Kampala and the quality of the audio needed for the broadcasts.

Posted by bobbartz Posted in: Power FM 1 Comment » June 2008

TWR Finds Funds for Ndengu Project

TransWorld Radio (TWR) in Africa has once again demonstrated their commitment to the Yao FM project at Ndengu in Malawi. The operation has raised an additional US$1,000 to cover the cost of moving the existing transmitter hut at the project site from its present location 60 meters away from the tower to place at the base of the tower. There have been ongoing difficulties with maintaining the coaxial cable suspended above the grassland between the hut and the tower. Recently this length of coax was destroyed during an unexpected grass fire. Graham Kimber, Feba development engineer and on-site project manager at Ndengu, will be overseeing the construction of the new hut with his team of Malawian laborers. By re-using bricks from the existing structure, the cost of reconstruction will be manageable. Graham expects to be able to begin this work by the end of June 2008.

TWR is also exploring the possibility of supplying underground armoured electrical cable to extend electrical service to the new transmitter hut. This part of the project has been delayed for some time because of the uncertainty regarding the precise location of the hut. The local utility is also struggling to find a meter to permit the connection of local electricity to the site.

Posted by bobbartz Posted in: Africa Projects, Ndengu Comments Off June 2008

Radio Nuru Moves Forward

I’ve just received a message from Paul & Karen Zimmerman announcing that the governor of Cabo Del Gado province of Mozambique has approved the radio association for Radio Nuru. This has been a struggle over the past several months. The application was held up regarding a number of technicalities, not the least of which was the governor’s demanding schedule.

Now that the association has been approved, the license application can now proceed in Maputo. My understanding from Feba leadership is that this should be very quick.

Paul and Karen will appreciate ongoing prayer for the license. We need the frequency for the station shortly so that the equipment can be prepared for shipment. Paul is planning to travel to the US next month for family issues and wants to bring the equipment back with him when he returns.

More updates will follow.

Posted by bobbartz Posted in: Mozambique, Radio Nuru 1 Comment » June 2008