Group fighting to keep free television in Libby

Living from paycheck to paycheck is uncomfortable. One bad break and it’s a scramble to find money to cover an unexpected cost. That’s how the president of the Libby Video Club, Jim Nelson, feels about the organization’s current level of community support, which he said is barely enough to keep the club afloat.

“Over the years I’ve done everything except for turn people upside down to raise money for providing a public service,” Nelson said.

Money generated from the video club goes toward the operation and maintenance of a translator on Sheldon Mountain that, since the club upgraded in 2011, broadcasts 11 high-definition channels.

“I’m getting to the point where if people don’t start contributing, we may eventually be forced to shut it down,” Nelson said. “We need to have more help from Libby.”

On Feb. 19, 2009, broadcasters had to terminate their analog systems and transmit only digital television signals to comply with the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act. Because Libby uses a low-power translator they were able to put off the conversion for a couple of years, and with a $150,000 federal grant in 2011 The Libby Television Translator Group was able to upgrade their equipment.

“It’s all top notch stuff now,” said long-time translator technician Rick Klin. He worked on the translators when the signals were analog and there was a second translator on Indian Head Mountain.

“I used to go up there in the winter time, dig in, and just sleep on top of the refrigerator,” Klin said. The kitchen appliance was used as the storage container for transmission equipment.

All of the translator equipment now sits in an air-conditioned structure on Sheldon Mountain. The translator is responsible for the sole broadcast of several Montana-based channels in the Libby area. The group relays their stations to a local cable provider, with whom Nelson says they share a quality relationship.

Klin and Nelson both got involved with the translator group around 1992. Klin stopped working on the translators on a regular basis when things went digital and his knees started to ache, and Nelson has continued as president even though he’s lived in the Missoula area for about 10 years.

“It’s always been a passion and a hobby of mine,” Nelson said. “It’s just something I love doing and I want to leave it in good shape when I leave it.”

Nelson said without the federal grant for the digital upgrade they would have not been able to get the equipment to make the leap to present technology. Now that they have the equipment, Nelson said the community needs to help make sure the club is able to pay for  costs, fees, permits, operating costs and be able put aside a nest egg for future upgrades or breakdowns.

“I don’t like to only have couple hundred dollars in our account at any one point, it doesn’t give us much room to breathe,” Nelson said. “Last year only 49 people contributed to the system. That means a lot of people are using the signal and not contributing.”

Anyone who purchases an antenna can receive the signals sent by the translator; essentially it’s free. But club volunteer Clarence Johnson has a different perspective on the matter. “Nothing is free,” he said. “It’s an expense to keep the system going. Free lunch, where can you find that anymore?”

Johnson said the stations provided by the group are a good deal for people who can’t afford cable. “If it wasn’t for us, there would be a lot more people without TV,” he said.

One challenge for the club to find adequate support occurred when the area surrounding Libby changed house addresses for the benefit of emergency responders. The shift, however, cost Nelson his list of contributors to reach out to for support. Subsequent mass mailings cost more in postage than the group got from donations.

There has always been just enough community support for the group to continue running at minimum capacity. “I’m trying to change that. I’m going to dig in and run this thing like it should be run,” Nelson said.

With the club being only a 2 or 3 man operation for several years, Nelson said there was not a functioning board. He would like to get a few more devoted board members in the mix to add some structure. He would also like to purchase a new encoder car to add more stations to their menu. “The good thing about it is that we can just keep adding more channels,” Nelson said.

Klin said Nelson has done a good job as president of the club and Johnson said he was dedicated to the position. Nelson plans to continue to make improvements. He’s currently putting together an operating budget, something he hadn’t done in the past.

Johnson said sometime this summer the signal from Sheldon Mountain will go off when the translator equipment is moved into a shared facility with a phone company. He’s anticipating a few calls from people wondering what is going on. “They don’t miss it until it’s a black screen,” he said.