Montanavision, Inc.
Client Since 1996.
Mountain Broadcasting, KBFN, Big Sky, 1996-2002
Orion Media, KBZM, Big Sky, 2003-Present
This station began as KBFN-FM on 104.5 MHz on 20-April-1998.
Lone Peak towers above everything in the neighborhood,
quite a feat, considering the world's largest high landmass,
the Beartooth Plateau, is only one hundred miles to the east.
Lone Peak is more than a landmark. At 11,166 feet above sea
level, it forms the backdrop for
Big Sky Ski and Summer Resort and is home of Montana's highest FM station--the highest FM station in the Northwest--KBZM-FM, the Eagle 104.7.
Even in June, Lone Peak is covered with snow and buffeted by strong winds.
Under the best of conditions, it is still a major undertaking to get to the summit.
With all the poles and ropes to keep skiers in-bounds and
the unpredictable winds, the chopper
pilot chose this small stretch of bare rock on the west side of the summit for his LZ, 07-June-2004.
In addition to ferrying personnel, the chopper brought up tools and materials for the project.
Bell Jet Ranger 206BIII and pilot Jeff Cook at the staging area in the resort parking lot.
Back at Gallatin Field, from right, Eagle 104.7 owner Jeff Balding, Central Copters pilot Jeff Cook, and ground crewman.
Harris Quest 1K transmitter has been operating at this harsh site since 1998 with very little trouble.
The new transmitter was delivered to the summit by chopper on 29-June-2004.
The new tower was manufactured by Magnum Towers
of Sacramento. The erector was Colton Tower Consultants of McAllister, Montana.
The lower tower sections were very heavy, so the chopper pilot could bring only one per trip, 02-July-2004.
The chopper brings the second tower section to the summit, 02-July-2004.
With all the tower sections in place, Colton's crew checks all the bolts for proper torque.
KBZM operated for a couple of weeks with this one-bay loaner antenna, until their custom-built antenna was ready.
The Harris Z5CD transmitter delivers 5.02 kiloWatts to the antenna during early testing.
Composite photo showing the antennas mounted on the tower. On the left is the four-bay, half-wave-spaced ERI main antenna. On the right is the two-bay Shively backup antenna. The STL receive dish is mounted just above the roof of the tram building.
Langohr Studio
Radio Park
KBZM Transmitter
KKQX Transmitter
KSCY Transmitter
The Eagle Web Site.
Montanavision Home Page.
This page updated 14-Mar-2016.