KFWB is one of those rare stations, found mostly in the West, which operates with 5 kW non-directional day and night. A construction permit for a highly-directional 50 kW facility was issued in the 1990s but later abandoned as inferior to the 5-kW ND facility. (Because of the FCC's “ratcheting” rules, any modification to KFWB's facilities would have to reduce interference received from KFWB by other stations on 980 by at least 10%.) Here chief engineer Paul Sakrison poses next to KFWB's main transmitter, a new Harris; the backup transmitter (opposite wall, not shown) is an older Harris MW-5.
Copyright 2006, Garrett Wollman. All rights reserved. Photograph taken 2006-04-21.