June 14, 1979

How come Marfa has so many TV Channels now? Thanks to a few forward thinking, progressive people Marfa has one of the most modern and complete Cable TV systems anywhere around offering the viewers a selection of nine channels.

How is all this accomplished? “A lot of expensive equipment, a lot of maintenance and a lot of engineering,” F. K. Beanland, president of the Marfa TV Cable said. Cable TV first came to Marfa when the struggling young company set up shop in 1957, offering viewers three channels, NBC from Midland, CBS from Odessa and NBC from El Paso.

The first tower was located on the Hippo Ranch north of Marfa with cable coming into town from that site. An ice storm came along and the antenna was destroyed along with a lot of the Iong spans of cable. The engineers looked around for another site where reception would be better and settled on the present location near Highway 90 northwest of Marfa on the Greenwood Estate. Repeater stations were erected at different locations around the county wherever the engineers could get a clear signal. There are four of the stations now, all beaming their signal into the main tower northwest of Marfa.

The repeater station located at Capote on the Brite Ranch sends in signals from KTSM, El Paso and the Public Broadcasting System. The one on the Lance Sears Ranch between Marfa and Fort Davis brings in ABC Monahans and CBS Odessa. The one on the Dan Ponder Ranch at Twin Mountain brings in NBC Midland while the one on the San Esteban Ranch south of Marfa brings in CBS Odessa. Where do the rest of them come from? There is a white dish looking object located near the main tower, the kind we have seen used in programs about outer space. And that’s just the function of this dish, it receives signals from outer space. There is a satellite roa-ming around up there in space that receives and sends 24 different signals. This receiver at Marfa now picks up four of those signals, WTCG, Atlanta, Georgia, WGN, Chicago, Illinois, Home Box Office and C- SPAN that gives us coverage of the VS. Congress.

The ROET (Receive Only Earth Terminal) is beamed at a satellite 22,000 miles above the equator and receives the signal from that distance, sends the signals through a cable into a bank of amplifiers and modulators located in a little house near the main tower. From there the signal goes to the main cable and into your own home. Each channel has a separate set of receivers and modulators. Marfa TV Cable Co. is spending some $50,000 on the satellite system to bring in these four channels. Receivers for the other channels are located on the main tower. The total investment with all this equipment plus the cables and amplifiers all over town has been considerable, but Marfa has a modern and well equipped system. There are at present 965 customers on the cable at a low cost to the customer of $8 per month. The HBO channel is an extra charge of $7 per month. 

Less than one-third of the present customers subscribe to H.B.O. Why all this extra expense? “We want to offer our customers the best viewing and give them a choice that will be acceptable to all. We don’t charge extra for the PBS, most places do,” Beanland said. Henry Coffield, former mayor of Marfa, was the instigator of TV in Marfa, according to Beanland. “He furnished us with a lot of financial backing to get the struggling company started and was a backer all his life,” Beanland said.

All this sounds good and very simple, but there is a lot of engineering and maintenance that goes into getting good TV reception. Jake Brisbin is the technician for the system and was the installer of the satellite system and has been instrumental in re-building the system with the new design and equipment. Mike Nunez is teaming the system with Brisbin teaching the technical end. He has some years experience. Just recently he and his brother Robert Lee painted the en-tire tower northwest of Marfa. “This is a requirement of the Federal Aviation Agency. We must maintain lights on the towers and keep them painted international red and white for clear visibility from airplanes,” Beanland said.

Among the shareholders in the company are Bill Shurley, Dr. Ben Gearhart, Mrs. Russ Thornsburg, E. K. Beanland, John Newell, Mrs. Joe Bunton, Mrs. Frank Coffield, Forrest Hope, Bill Sohl, Paul Keith and Jake Brisbin. “We are going to continue with our efforts to bring the people of Marfa the best TV anywhere around and the lowest possible dollar figure,” Beanland said.