// Slideshow 1997 //configure the below images and description to your own. g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS01.jpg", "Although PBN was born in 1986, it was in 1997 that we went from sending tapes to stations to broadcasting LIVE by satellite and on the Internet—back when Internet Radio Broadcasting was in its infancy. This is an early view looking from Pat’s desk in the studio, back toward Claudia’s desk where correspondences from around the world come in to her computer."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS02.jpg", "This was a typical pose for Mike and Pat when they were talking about PBN. Mike is standing about the very place he stood the first night he met with Claudia and Pat, telling them about PBN going back on satellite and the Internet. Pat is at his desk on the right saying, “It’s exciting to realize that we’re finally on the air again!” In the rear of the studio you can see the console from which Pat broadcasts “Praise Until Dawn.”"); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS03.jpg", "The studio is nothing fancy. Everything—desks and all—are in a very small room. But it gets the job done. In radio, all you need is room for a microphone and some computers. Precious listeners from around the world can hear PBN as we broadcast from this little studio. Pat is listening to Mike give an update on the status of the Network, it’s growth and possibilities."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS04.jpg", "An early 1997 shot lengthwise of the studio, showing Claudia and Pat at their desks. The studio console is just behind Pat. It is still amazing to us that PBN is reaching the world from this small studio. News and weather come in on our cable TV to the right."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS05.jpg", "Mike and Pat, looking over the setup of one of the computers. These were not staged photographs. As they worked, George, a friend of theirs, made his way around the room snapping pictures—not always getting them in their best!"); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS06.jpg", "Mike is busy on the phone. Mandy, Pat and Claudia’s oldest child, is in the studio giving her help. Mandy has helped Claudia many times at the computer and she passes e-mails up to Pat at the console during the “Praise Until Dawn” Broadcast."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS07.jpg", "Sandy McConnell is a long-time friend of Pat & Claudia’s. In the early years, here in 1997, he was the one that was instrumental in putting the computers together to get PBN on the Internet. Pat and Claudia and Sandy used to sit together in the office until the wee hours of the morning, working on web pages for PBN, and fixing computer problems. Every Wednesday night, Sandy would take Pat & Claudia out to eat at El Chico and talk over things that needed to be done for PBN."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS08.jpg", "Pat & Claudia’s children grew up with their Dad working in radio. They loved to be in the studio and help where they could. Here, Mindy, Pat and Claudia's youngest child, is at Claudia’s desk helping with paperwork—where there is always much to be done! Mindy was always good about making sure her Dad had popcorn and a drink while he was “On The Air.”"); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS09.jpg", "Here, Mike is in the studio of one of the first radio stations to carry PBN live by satellite—KJIW in Helena, Arkansas. Mike went to install one of our receivers for them so they could pull in our broadcast off the satellite."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS10.jpg", "Mike is on the phone to Pat, who is sending tones over the satellite to Mike. The tones are needed to adjust sound levels. Standing on the right was Pat Roberson, who at that time was the owner of KJIW. Pat Roberson to this day still plays a vital roll at PBN by providing our Toll Free phone line. Many a prayer request and praise report have come in on that telephone line."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS11.jpg", "George was there with Mike, taking pictures. Mike is still on the phone to Pat, who is back in the studio in Texas. “Pat, send me that tone again.” Digital satellite signals are very, very precise, and require minute adjustments. These adjustments are made by receiving a series of tones sent over the satellite. Pat & Mike were on the phone quite a while that night, getting the signal into KJIW “just right.”"); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS12.jpg", "Mike, still on the phone with Pat who was in the PBN studio in Arlington, Texas, is pleased with the results after many hours of work. Yet, there is still much more work to be done before “Praise Until Dawn’s” initial broadcast to the audience of KJIW in Helena, Arkansas. Mike is the best satellite engineer in the business!"); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS13.jpg", "Here, Mike is adjusting the level of PBN’s satellite signal into the “On Air” board. Pat Roberson and Mike are finally satisfied with the quality of the signal to KJIW. “Praise Until Dawn” will now be “On the Air” in Helena, Arkansas, where it can minister to the thousands within KJIW’s listening audience."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS14.jpg", "George caught a nighttime shot of a few of the many casinos and bars within the signal of KJIW. You never know who will be tuning into PBN’s broadcast. Please pray with us for lonely and hurting people as they tune in to PBN from around the world. The music closest to our Father’s Heart can give them the hope for which they are aimlessly looking."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS15.jpg", "Mike is at KGNZ in Abilene, Texas, to install a receiver for them so they can rebroadcast “Praise Until Dawn.” Pictured are Gary Hill (General Manager), Catherine (DJ), Jack Hill (owner) and Mike. Pat will never forget the night Mike “kidnapped” him (leaving the PBN studio for Claudia to run) and drove him a couple hours to within the range of KGNZ’s radio signal. In the deepest part of the night, Pat & Mike pulled off the road, stopped the car, stepped outside and gazed up into the pitch black West Texas sky… while listening to “Praise Until Dawn” broadcasting from KGNZ in Abilene! They stayed for an hour, gazing up at Orion and the Milky Way, as the Intimate Worship of PBN played from the car radio. What a blessed night!"); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS16.jpg", "Here, Mike is checking the tones and quality of the satellite signal from the PBN studio to the KGNZ radio studios. Pat is sending tones and programming from the PBN studio, over satellite to KGNZ."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS17.jpg", "Mike, on the phone to Pat, asks him to send another tone over the satellite so he can calibrate the levels. Adjustments to the equipment at KGNZ are being made by Catherine, and Gary Hill."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS18.jpg", "This is a picture of the KGNZ studios in Abilene, Texas. You can see the satellite dish which pulled in the signal from “Praise Until Dawn.” It is amazing to think about the steps needed to get the signal to this satellite dish.
  1. The signal went from the PBN studio in Arlington to the uplink site in Hurst, Texas.
  2. The signal went from the uplink site to GE 3, a satellite some 22,500 miles above the earth.
  3. The signal then went back down to earth from GE 3, returning another 22,500 miles.
  4. The signal was then caught by the satellite dish there at KGNZ in Arkansas and broadcast over the airwaves to their listeners… all within about 4 seconds. Amazing!
"); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS19.jpg", "Always something!!! Network growing pains—exciting at times and overwhelming at other times. There's always so much to do!! Pat is here thinking about and discussing another need and problem with Mike."); g_ImageTable[g_imax++] = new Array ("slideshow/97/BTS20.jpg", "Yes, Pat is as tired as he looks. The hours were long, but we all pressed on to touch more and more hearts with Jesus. We grab sleep when we can and begin again. In the early days, as pictured here, Pat & Claudia had to always be near the studio. All programming was broadcast by 4-hour tapes. They had to be changed each and every 4 hours, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! No vacations, no long outings, no long periods of sleep. If they weren’t there to change the tapes, the broadcast would simply stop. In those days, a gigabyte of computer memory was barely a dream. An 800 megabyte computer with a 150 MHz processor was a FAST machine… but still much too small and slow for streaming audio. MP3s were not yet available and CD burners were fast at 4X. Internet broadcasting was in its infancy."); //extend the above list as desired g_dwTimeOutSec=10; ////End configuration/////////////////////////////