Summer 1980
KSGW - TV was operated as a satellite of Duhamel's KOTA - TV in Rapid City, South Dakota. This station had only a skeleton studio for the editing of local news stories. The news was fed via microwave to the studio in Rapid City, and then fed back to the KSGW transmitter at the proper time. The studio also contained an office for the one person in sales, and an office / shop for the one person in the engineering department.
Summer 1980
The KSGW - TV tower and vehicles in the gathering dusk.
The altitude here is at 8,000 feet above sea level on the east face of the
Bighorn Mountains.
The view is looking northeast towards the town of Sheridan, Wyoming, twelve
miles away.
August 1989
The KSGW - TV transmitter site in the sunshine.
A nice pleasant, secluded location.
February 1982
A frosty early morning.
My work truck with the Bombardier double track snowmobile loaded in the
bed.
Red Grade Road is the county road to near the transmitter site, but it is
closed to wheeled traffic all winter long. The double track snowmobile was
used from the foot of the mountain to the transmitter site, a five mile
ride one way.
The temperatures at the transmitter site would get as low as minus 50 degrees farenheit several nights during the winter. Believe me, that snowmobile was a really cold ride to and from work on many occasions.
The Bombardier double track snowmobile parked on a snow drift under the
yard light in front of the KSGW - TV transmitter building.
Snow shoes, scoop shovel, hand winch, and 75 feet of nylon rope were always
carried, along with two large flashlights, tools, and fire starting items.
Any serious maintenance on the television transmitter was always done during the wee hours.
The Bombardier double track snowmobile was high maintenance. This photo
shows a broken sprocket on the left side drive axle.
I was able to drive it down the mountain, and load it onto the pickup truck
in spite of the damaged axle.
Bogey wheel replacement time.
There were 32 of these smaller wheels and tires.
The seals would allow water to leak into the bearings causing their
failure.
February 1982
Above the top of the overcast.
Poverty Flats looking east from the last mile to the transmitter site.
In all my years of working on the mountain, this was the only time that the
county road was snow plowed. It was done for the month of November and
into December while construction crews worked on the spillway of a large
dam at higher elevation about 10 miles farther west.
January 1982
Looking south from near the transmitter site.
January 1982
The view from a few miles west of the KSGW - TV transmitter site, looking north into Montana.
January 1982
A view from the above location, looking south towards the higher elevations of the Bighorn Mountains. The cloudy horizon is above 13,000 feet above sea level.
January 1982
A late Christmas Dinner at the Little Goose campsite.
A can of Mountain Dew, a couple fruit pies, and a few 'grandma's chocolate
chip cookies' fills the bill.
A dream job for anyone who likes the outdoors - and snow.