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Pacific Microwave Joint Venture (PMJV) was a common carrier microwave business,
licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The system served various cable systems and television broadcasters
in northern California and southwestern Oregon.
Provided point-to-point television and sub-carrier relay services.
We don't repair "Microwave Ovens".
Company Information and History
The company began operations in the fall of 1958 in a small building in Grants Pass, Oregon. It was established
under the joint partnership of William B. Smullin and Edward A. Malone, to provide multiple television program services from
the Portland, Oregon area to the small cable systems in southern Oregon. Around 1959, Mr. Smullin separated the microwave
business from the cable company by launching Pacific Telatronics, Inc. (PTI). Mr. Edward A. Malone
became its president until his retirement in 1982. In 1963, the company moved to Medford, Oregon.. Over the next 30
years, PTI's service area grew, as did its reputation as a high quality microwave video service. Soon after its
establishment, it expanded its system to bring in the San Francisco bay area channels to its customers. A couple of
ram-rods I know, by the names of Richard Wright and Ed Thompson, contributed to building much of the system during the early
1960's through the 1970's.
At its peak, PTI's main trunk and branch line routes covered over 850 line-of-sight miles and provided video
service to over a dozen related and unrelated cable systems in western Oregon and northern California. During the late
70's and early 80's, PTI employed a staff of approximately 7 engineers and technicians, and a secretary.
Following a series of ownership changes from 1982 through 1990, PTI acquired its new
name of Pacific Microwave Joint Venture (PMJV) on Jan. 1, 1990 after coming under the joint ownership
of Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI) and Falcon Holding Group, Inc.,
and came under operational control of Western Tele-Communications, Inc. (WTCI). In 1999, TCI
was bought out by AT&T, and became AT&T Broadband. At the end of
2000, WTCI dissolved and PMJV then came under the new joint venture of
Charter Communications and Falcon Cable Systems Company. Beginning June of 2008, PMJV's only remaining technical administrator
& technician retired; thereby transfering the responsibility over to Charter Communications, the parent company, which will
ultimately dissolve and terminate the microwave business by the end of 2008 after nearly 50 years of operation.
My
Previous Employment and Responsibilities
My previous position with PMJV was Technical Manager. I joined this
company during it's prime, in 1978 after my retirement from the U.S. Navy. I retired from the company on June 6th, 2008
after nearly 30 years and turned responsibility over to it's parent company - Charter Communications, which will in turn terminate
the microwave business by the end of 2008.
During recent years, the system had downsized considerably, reducing
the amount of service and its employee's. We did installation and maintenance work on microwave radio equipment,
operating in the common carrier band of 6 GHz. Most of the microwave sites were located on various mountain tops throughout
northern California and southwestern Oregon. We had also provided support maintenance of a video microwave system in
central Oregon, serving the towns of Burns and Lakeview with the Portland & Bend television channels. We had maintained
approximately 17 sites. Our tasks have included construction, development, preventative maintenance, system
performance testing, and video system analysis; and during winter months, snow cat operations were necessary to access
mountain top sites.
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| Gary with 1959 Kristi Snow Cat |
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| On Soda Mountain, southwest Oregon |
Catching some cool fresh air....
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What a view!
One thing about this job, seldom the same routine everyday. Great
views from the mountain tops, lots of fresh air, and often challenging work.....
(A job with frustrations? Hard to believe, huh?)
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