An antenna is just an antenna, right? Can you actually make it better after over two decades of proven performance? And, after all, why would you want to change it anyway?
We all know lots of things have changed in recent years. For one, it costs more to ship goods to various places. Another big change for us? You can no longer purchase the largest suitcases needed for hand-carrying antennas on aircraft. Both of these factors directly impact our service to worldwide radio ministries.
That large suitcase was the old standby used to carry equipment to any number of places. It was the only suitcase in which we could fit our 4-bay antenna. When they were no longer available, our engineers needed to put their heads together and make some necessary mechanical changes. This required some extra parts to be able to assemble them easily after shipment. It’s still the same antenna electrically. It performs the same when mounted on the tower and hooked up to a transmitter. It even looks exactly the same when assembled. The critical difference is that it can be broken down into smaller parts for transporting.
There is a big benefit to having our own engineering and manufacturing teams. Instead of contacting a vendor with the problem, our engineers can go back to the drawing board and configure a redesign. Our machinists can then manufacture specialized parts for our solutions. This ability frees us to design, create and test different versions of equipment for different needs as well as fulfill unique requests.
We can’t control what changes out there, but we can adapt as needed and provide the same quality services for ministries around the world. That includes reliable antennas for the broadcast of the gospel.
Written by Paul Simone, September 2021