AFRTS Serves The Kodiak Community
With Limited Personnel And Funds
By Miriam J. Angell
A few weeks ago aboard the
Naval Station AFRTS-Kodiak, a
branch of the huge network of
Armed Forces Radio and Television
stations, spread North and South,
East and West over most of the
globe, was host to numbers of
guests at an open house. It was a
pleasant party; guests partook of
coffee and cookies, punch, cordial
ity, and as much information as
they desired. Some even watched
themselves on a TV monitor as
they were introduced live over the
circuit in the breaks between
scheduled programs. For those in
terested in seeing the plant from
which most of the radio heard, and
all the TV seen, in this vicinity or
iginates, there were guided tours
through the building, into control
and transmitting rooms, the lounge
on the second deck, and the record
room where are filed thousands of
recordings compiled since the sta
tion opened sometime prior to 1950.
It is not generally known how
much of setting up and operating
AFRTS was and is a do-it-yourself
project. At first, of course, there
was only radio, but in 1954, five
civilian employees of the base, all
members of the Supervisor’s Asso
ciation, put to the military the idea
of a television station. The formal
request was made to Washington,
D. C., and thirteen months later
was granted, provided a building
could be found and made ready for
such a station. Since there were no
Navy funds available for housing
the initial $55,000 in equipment,
volunteers got on the job and com
pletely renovated S-25, an aban
doned barracks no longer consid
ered habitable. Within six months
the station went on the air.
As presently operating, AFRTS
Kodiak transmits 24 hours a day
over radio and 50 hours a week
over TV. Excepting a few live disk
jockey shows and special an
nouncements, and the daily bulle
tin boards, the radio programs we
hear are rebroadcasts from the
AFRS station at Elmendorf Air
Force Base in Anchorage. Tele
vision programs are largely on film
shipped weekly to Kodiak from
Los Angeles, the headquarters of
the AFRTS network; the excep
tions here are a few live shows
featuring volunteers, who for one
reason or another, are willing to
prepare and produce good pro
grams.
Questions frequently asked are
why there are not more live pro
grams, both on radio and TV, and
conversely, why does the station
bother at all with live shows? It
is felt by those supervising the sta
tion that little, if any improvement
Kodiak’s AFRTS Projection Room
DODGE-LANCER
COMPACT WITH COMFORT
COME IN AND FEEL IT FOR SIZE
Automobile Parts Goodyear Tires
CLARK’S GARAGE
PHONE 486—5244
s
SUNDAY SPECIAL
Chocolate Roll.500 E,
Blackberry Pie..600 Ea
NAUGHTON'S BAKERY
Open Day & Nite
Phone 486—2600
could be gained by more live shows
on radio, as the quality of the net
work programming is generally
good; on television it is a matter
of professional pride to be able
to show live programs and the ones
shown are either fine entertain
ment or educational and informa
tive. With the shortage of person
nel and funds it is not possible to
do much more than is being done
in the field of live TV.
The words, funds and man
power, are the keys to many of
AFRTS’ problems. The sole fund
available to the station is a limited
house keeping and administrative
allotment; no money from Special
Services can be used for this ven
ture, though Special Services helps
from time to time as their supplies
and equipment allow. The Depart
ment of Defense does supply re
placement parts as needed, but
there is a limit to what they will
grant in aid and as TV viewers are
aware, waiting for parts is often
a strain on patience.
Excluding volunteer help, the
personnel manning the station
number eight, an Officer in
Charge, Chief in Charge, Station
Manager and Chief Technician, and
five men who operate the equip
ment, announce on radio and TV,
FO*
SEATTLE
TACOMA
PORTLAND
SERVICE
CALL
486-2231
Pacific Northern
■ airlines—- *
and who are saddled with dozens
of other duties necessary to keep
AFRTS-Kodiak on the air. When
(Continued on Page 8)
Announcing another. .
Ever Popular
Elks
Steak Night
for Elks and their ladies, Emblem
Club members and their escorts
Saturday, Feb. 11
Elks Club
SERVING FROM 7 TO 9:30 DANCING FROM 10 P. M.
Per person: $2.50 Sorry, no guests
Reservations accepted at 486—5222 or 486—2666 through Feb. 10.
THOMPSON TRANSFER
ERIC MUELLER, Prop.
CLEAN HEAT!
Both Standard Furnace Oil
and Standard Stove Oil
* i
are super-refined to burn clean.
CALL US TODAY FOR PROMPT SERVICE
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE WE HAVE
Automatic Keep-Filled Service
Home and Office /STARDARdN Standard Plant
486-2300 486-5115
Kodiak Wants New Industry
★
VOTE YES
COLD STORAGE PLANT
SALE
February 21st
★
“Let’s Make It a Bigger and Better City”