Round Up: ”Getting Turned On”
“Getting Turned On”
⚡ December 23, 2025 ⚡
Radio can seem magical, but it’s really very much rooted in science. It’s all about electricity and magnetism and radio waves. KWMR produces the programming that is sent out in radio waves to all of you and we have just added a new transmitter to the quiver!
Yesterday we went up and turned on the Tomales Booster transmitter which is now broadcasting 90.5 FM into the town of Tomales, a hamlet in West Marin that has had a pretty weak signal due to the rolling hills and beautiful topography in our region.
It was such a nice day last Wednesday, December 17. The morning rain came in on a south wind, which made for an almost balmy breeze. The Scottish Highland Cattle greeted us as we drove up Highway 1 into town. Some mostly black beef cattle accompanied us as we went up to check out the transmitter site. KWMR is co-located with the Marin Emergency Radio Authority (MERA) at their new site north of town. This new site finally allowed KWMR to make this dream come true.
KWMR now has 4 FM transmitters:
⚡ 90.5 Point Reyes Station. Co-located with MERA on Mt. Vision.
⚡ 89.9 in Bolinas. Co-located with MERA at Stewart Point.
⚡ 92.3 Lagunitas (San Geronimo Valley) located on the top of Mt. Barnabe on the Fire Lookout.
⚡ And now boosting 90.5 FM back into Tomales. Co-located with MERA.
We also stream at www.kwmr.org and have a mobile app for IOS and Android platforms.
The Tomales Booster project was funded by KWMR and with grants from the West Marin Fund and the County of Marin. A special thanks to Marin County Fire as well.
As you can see in Jordan Bowen’s video reel, it really does seem like magic when the signal comes in loud and clear at a location where reception was fuzzy at best:
We hope that you will join us in celebrating this new signal by attending the Holiday Play on December 27th in Tomales. There are two showings. One at 2PM and one at 6PM. The KWMBaR will be hopping with some festive offerings and the stellar cast, directed by KWMR’s own Board Member Sharron Drake will be ready to entertain you in the historic Tomales Town Hall. Get TICKETS. Tomales is only about a 25 minute drive from Point Reyes Station.
Huge thanks to Richard Dillman for leading the charge and to James Mohri for his assistance on the project. And to Adam McLaughlin from AGM General for his excellent work as our contractor.
I also need to thank Richard and James for scooting up to the Bolinas translator to find out why 89.9 FM is off the air. KWMR is working with our internet provider and apparently there is a fix to something that is weather-beaten that will be fixed early next week. Hang in there and stream KWMR to get your signal going. We are sorry about this! More on this below.
KWMR is in the End of Year Appeal and we hope that you will make a contribution to support what we do.
Happy Holidays from all of us at KWMR! We will keep making waves!
Thank you for your support!
Amanda Eichstaedt
KWMR Station Manager, Executive Director & Development
Round UP for Change at Palace Market until December 31!
Your loose change benefits KWMR!