This Week in Radio Tech HD: Recent Episodes
guysfromqueens
“TWiRT” is your go to show if you want to get behind the scenes on what makes broadcasting possible. The show addresses common issues as well as explaining past experiences from a wide array of hosts who each come from a different background in radio technology. This show is a must for any tech geek or for anyone who is interested in what goes on behind the boards and wires.
TWiRT is on location at a Nashville radio station - Jazzy 88, WFSK-FM. Rick Durham is a provider of managed IT services in Middle Tennessee. He’s also the engineer for WFSK-FM. WFSK is preparing for their annual fundraising event, where they broadcast live from the parking lot and take drive through donations while interviewing numerous Nashville dignitaries and music artists. We also spend a few minutes with Sharon Kay, WFSK’s General Manager, and Xuam (X-Man) Lawson, WFSK’s Program Director. We discuss some engineering and how WFSK is keeping up with an Audio over IP audio plant. We also discuss the engineer’s role in keeping the jazz playing and the public affairs programming on the air, too.
Lee Melton is one of those semi-crazy radio guys that we know and love. And many of us wanted to BE that guy! Lee’s career started at KFI, Los Angeles, and he’s been at about 25 radio stations, even building a couple in Southeast Texas. Some have called him “The Kind of Radio Trade-Outs” while many others called him a friendly and fun voice on the radio. Lee’s radio recollections inspire plenty of banter with Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack. And Chris reveals his encounter with Paul McCartney! It's an hour of radio stories and fun, with a little engineering talk sprinkled in.
Sometimes we originate a TWiRT episode from a newly-built radio studio. Today, however, we’re visiting beautiful studios that are under construction. Bill Jackson works with K-Love, a nationwide Christian radio group. He’s in charge of the design and build-out of a couple dozen radio studios, podcast rooms, edit, and news booths. Bill is absolutely maximizing Audio over IP technology throughout. Let’s take a “cook’s tour” of a couple large studios, plus look at a data closet and the broadcast portion of the restricted-access data center.
The Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) was created around 1989 to aid the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in making sure all broadcast operations are in compliance and to help stations understand the rules in a one-on-one setting. In the beginning, the ABIP inspectors were retired FCC engineers. As the program began to expand around the country, other engineers were recruited and trained by regional FCC inspectors. ABIP inspectors have long used a basic Self Inspection Checklist that became woefully out of date. Tom Ray, working with other committee members at the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) has rewritten and greatly expanded these checklists for AM, FM, and TV stations. ABIP inspections are an excellent tool for broadcasters to assure compliance with FCC Rules, and do so in a friendly, non-adversarial encounter.
The rise of AI-generated lyrics and music is giving engineers something to chuckle about. But could this “easy creativity” inspire other engineering solutions? Kirk drew a comparison with photographer Jeremy Cowart and his use of an LED wall to produce 60 different portraits in 60 seconds. Anthony Kuzub, an engineer at CBC in Canada, pointed out the AI that’s involved with lighting a new studio, matching accent lights to the video monitor feeds. Matt Aaron is programming a fully-AI streaming station that’s playing “Broadcast Engineers Gangster Rap”. Are these just passing curiosities? Or are they signals of technologies and techniques to come for broadcasting and content creation?
Most every piece of equipment we use, or software we depend on began with an idea and a dream - a dream to help ourselves and others do their jobs better, faster, easier. Or perhaps to provide a service, or improve an existing one. Paul Stewart started Summit Technology Group with this motivation in mind as well. Paul and his company provide software and services with new features, conveniences, and efficiencies. Exactly what many broadcast engineers are looking for. Chris Tarr and I are talking with Paul about the software and services he’s bringing to broadcasters.
The CCBE conference encompasses two days of professional broadcast engineering career development. This includes carefully-chosen paper presentations, an expo hall, and an awards dinner and ceremony honoring leaders in the broadcast engineering profession. We got to meet with and converse with leaders in the Central Canadian Broadcast Engineers group, plus Canadian engineers and leading equipment manufacturers.
Have you wondered what goes on at the Network Operations Center of a satellite distribution network? We sure have, and our good friend, Marcos O’Rourke, joins us to talk about it. Marcos is now the Engineering Manager at Linkup Communications. We’ve followed Linkup’s rising star in the satellite communications business and watched as this company has grown to serve a lot of the broadcast industry. Marcos gives a brief history of the NOC in Denver, Colorado, and shares pictures of their operations and IT center.
It’s Radio Convention season and we’re bringing some of the Alabama Broadcasters Convention to you. Live from the Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort, we’re meeting with engineers and radio equipment reps as this ABA Convention draws to a close. One of our highlights is visiting with Steven Westbrook from the Alabama Historical Radio Society. We also get cameo appearances from Bob Mayben, Jeff Welton, and Jim Armstrong. Join us for some fun conversation while we learn a few things about both new and old technologies and some personalities that shaped - and are now shaping - radio tech.
A Google search on “SCOTUS and Chevron Deference” returns a lot of breathless headlines, prefacing pearl-clutching stories of near-calamitous changes in the way Federal agencies can carry out their missions. Indeed, one dissenting Supreme Court justice wrote that this ruling, “will cause a massive shock to the legal system.” The ruling will eventually affect some broadcast Rules from the Federal Communications Commission, but communications attorney, David Oxenford, predicts less dramatic effects on broadcast Rules and station operations. To clarify the Chevron decision and it’s likely effects on broadcasters, we interviewed Oxenford for this episode. We also get commentary from Larry Fuss, President and CEO of several multi-station radio broadcasting companies, and co-host, Chris Tarr. Join us for an informative episode of TWiRT as we discuss broadcast Rules in light of the SCOTUS decision on Chevron Deference.
As we are all very aware, being a technical person or layman, the recent CrowdStrike outage caused disruptions on a myriad of computer systems worldwide, affecting multiple industry sectors and millions of people in some way, shape, or form. Approximately 8.5 million devices were affected, leading to outages in various sectors, including airlines, healthcare, and financial institutions. Some broadcasters were affected, but it seems most radio broadcasters were spared. Why is that? What crippled many very large industries had relatively little impact on radio station operations. Three experts join this TWiRT episode: Shaun Dolan, Kyle Walker, and David Smedley. Together we’ll uncover how Crowdstrike affected some broadcasters, and we’ll learn about some best practices for IT security.
Radio’s beloved John Bisset is back! Author of the “Workbench” column is Radio World magazine, John is bringing us the best ideas from engineers since his last appearance on TWiRT, over six months ago. John’s Workbench columns are found at this aggregation page at https://www.radioworld.com/tag/workbench. Plus, Chris Tarr just drove 2,800 miles to buy a LOT of broadcast equipment.
Larry Janus is no stranger to broadcast engineering, but his passion is excellent design of vacuum tube based audio circuits, and then controlling their functions using modern control electronics via WiFi. This passion leads to a clever integration of a tube-based mic pre-amp, fully remote controlled using a phone app over WiFi. This arrangement gives rise to some interesting and convenient possibilities for stage-placed mic pre-amps with remote control. Larry Janus joins us from his well-equipped home lab in Florida.
Low Power FM radio is intended to be a community service. It’s for giving the opportunity for diverse thoughts and voices to spread over a community. However, it’s perfectly OK to have some radio fun in the process! Andy Denoncour, Frank Licata, and Grady Moates each played key roles in getting a new station - WGGG-LP - signed-on and serving the village of Ossipee, New Hampshire. The host and guests all agree that there’s a thrilling excitement to turning the radio transmitter ON for the first time, hearing your audio programming, and taking a drive to check out the coverage!
U.S. Broadcasters are required to provide emergency alerts to their audiences, but many radio stations use IP-based signal distribution — something incompatible with old-style EAS boxes. What is needed is a simple way to interface the real-world over-the-air reception of EAS events, filter and process the messages, and — if necessary — incorporate the alerts into the modern audio-over-IP (AoIP) air chain. Doing this right involves some innovation, but once done well, there are several distinct benefits. Bill Robertson from Digital Alert Systems joins Kirk Harnack to explain how this award-winning implementation works, and why it makes EAS better and more effective.
Tim Berry is already thinking about this fall’s sports broadcasts on the Vol Network. With over 60 radio affiliates and many thousands of listeners depending on high quality, live play-by-play, it’s Tim’s responsibility to make sure these broadcasts get from the stadiums and arenas to the Vol Network headquarters and beyond. Effective planning is essential! And this planning discipline works for other broadcast engineering tasks, like transmitter replacements. Chris Tarr adds his own experience and expertise to our discussion.
Marc Haycook is a problem solver! He needed to add a VO studio to his home, but new construction or expansion isn’t allowed there. He needed a studio that could be moved around for access and maintenance, but not on wheels. He needed access to phones, Internet, electricity, but had to keep neighborhood and household noise out - completely out. And he even had to silence the A-10 Warthogs and other aircraft that fly over at inopportune times. The solution? Well, that’s what this episode - number 700 - of This Week in Radio Tech is all about. Voice-over artist, Marc Haycook, joins us for a fascinating look at his home-built, home studio, with the cleanest audio anywhere. Plus, we take out first phone call ever on TWiRT!
Before his new Nautel GV40 FM transmitter arrived, Mike knew there was a major problem to solve. Big transmitters. Small room. No space for the old transmitter to get out of its own way. Then Mike had an idea. Crazy idea? Many ideas are - at first. Let’s follow along with Mike Kernen, Market Chief Engineer at Crawford Broadcasting Detroit, and find out how he solved this vexing problem. Chris Tarr joins us with another instructive story on moving transmitters into impossible spaces.
Some of us grew up in radio and have spent our whole careers in the business. Others, like Chuck Helstein, started in radio, but has been in IT security and IT financial technology. Now, Chuck brings IT knowledge and discipline back to radio since purchasing KAZM AM/FM in Sedona, Arizona. Chuck joins us to talk about some novel ideas for making great, local radio while cutting expenses dramatically using clever IT services and technology.
Audio over IP (AoIP) has been used in broadcast facilities for about 20 years now. A few broadcast facilities have swapped one brand or standard of AoIP equipment for another during that period. Some broadcasters have swapped equipment twice! Whether the reasons for changing equipment are technical, political, old age, or support issues, we’d like to know about the challenges - or the easy aspects - of changing AoIP brands and standards. Matt Levin is a broadcast engineer in Ohio. His consulting and studio construction work take him to different facilities to make upgrades. Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack discuss with Matt about using different AoIP systems, using console profiles effectively, and about FM audio processing running on PCs and servers.
Audio over IP (AoIP) has been used in broadcast facilities for about 20 years now. A few broadcast facilities have swapped one brand or standard of AoIP equipment for another during that period. Some broadcasters have swapped equipment twice! Whether the reasons for changing equipment are technical, political, old age, or support issues, we’d like to know about the challenges - or the easy aspects - of changing AoIP brands and standards. Matt Levin is a broadcast engineer in Ohio. His consulting and studio construction work take him to different facilities to make upgrades. Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack discuss with Matt about using different AoIP systems, using console profiles effectively, and about FM audio processing running on PCs and servers.
Dan Case just retired from full-time broadcast engineering - and some key projects are fresh on his mind. Dan started his radio career in Erie, Pennsylvania, and quickly moved up with more responsibility and some engineering management. Dan believes in fixing audio problems right at their source and never trying to fix bad audio with more audio processing. And Dan’s passion is developing customer local solutions where they’re needed. From a custom telephone hybrid in the early 1970s, to building a solid, reliable AM station pattern controller. He coined the term “Revenue Insurance” as a way to validate and justify capex expenditures designed to keep revenue flowing in the midst of other failures or disasters. This is an informative interview with with both technical advice and business acumen shared for your benefit.
Dan Case just retired from full-time broadcast engineering - and some key projects are fresh on his mind. Dan started his radio career in Erie, Pennsylvania, and quickly moved up with more responsibility and some engineering management. Dan believes in fixing audio problems right at their source and never trying to fix bad audio with more audio processing. And Dan’s passion is developing customer local solutions where they’re needed. From a custom telephone hybrid in the early 1970s, to building a solid, reliable AM station pattern controller. He coined the term “Revenue Insurance” as a way to validate and justify capex expenditures designed to keep revenue flowing in the midst of other failures or disasters. This is an informative interview with with both technical advice and business acumen shared for your benefit.
Boasting 17 signals in 4 radio markets - in New York and Pennsylvania - Radigan Media represents the kind of local radio that’s not only serving its local communities, but doing so with newer technologies. Dave Radigan wears many hats in his growing network of stations, including Chief Engineer. He’s implemented Audio over IP (linear Livewire) between studio and transmitter site, partly because he needed a bi-directional link with no audio compromises - and contact closures. And, Dave has recently opened the door to the “flexible studio”. Using AoIP audio routing tech he’s providing his staff with convenient options for live talk shows, voice-tracking, and production from the same studio, as needed. Let’s check out Dave’s reasoning about implementing the latest tech, when it makes sense to do so.
Many radio engineers love to visit other radio stations. We get ideas to perhaps implement in our own stations. Or sometimes we may get a sense of satisfaction thinking that we’ve done a superlative job in our own facilities - compared to others. Today we’re honored to visit the studios of 100.1 FM in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. OMG! What a drop-dead gorgeous studio! Rafael Recio is the Chief Engineer at 100.1 FM. He shows-off this beautiful and effective working studio, which is home to live shows in morning and afternoon drive every day. Rafael worked with the station’s Program Director, Harold, to design and build this world-class radio studio + control room.
Chris Tarr just finished a long-anticipated FM transmitter move. Big implications attended this move all the way across a metro area. The new site needed a directional FM antenna, and they decided that a new transmitter made more sense than moving the old one. Chris covers a lot of ground when contemplating any transmitter site move. Kirk Harnack touches on a few pointers for IP radio microwave links, including not trusting the existing infrastructure too much!
What’s happening at NAB 2024 in Las Vegas? No way can anyone bring you ALL of the highlights, but we’re bringing seven outstanding engineers and corporate leaders to you on this episode of TWiRT! Our broadcast studio is the Bionic Table at Broadcast Bionics in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Thanks to Broadcast Bionics for the bandwidth and studio space.
The Public Radio Engineering Conference (PREC) seems to get better and better each year. Attendees were frequently held in wrapped attention by captivating and informative presentations about audio and RF technologies and techniques. Our guests on TWiRT each took a few minutes away from the conference sessions to give us their impressions of the technologies being discussed and what’s ahead for Public Radio Engineers.
Search the web and you’ll find hundreds of articles videos - and thousands of opinions - on the best mics to use for radio and podcasting. One of our sponsors is Angry Audio, makers of two novel mic processors to improve and control the sound of two popular microphone families. Our longtime friend and colleague, Cornelius Gould, designed the audio processing algorithms behind these specific mic processors. “Corny” joins us to talk about this rather unique approach to mic processor design and implementation. Plus Tom Ray pops in to discuss microphone choices with Chris Tarr. Plenty of opinions and some solid advice!
Can you imagine installing 60 broadcast transmitters over the past 8 years? Robert Combs, Corporate Director of Engineering at Cumulus Media has been doing exactly that. Transmitters of all sizes and from several major manufacturers. The most recent transmitter replacement is at WZYP-FM in Huntsville, Alabama. Market Engineer, Dominic Mitchum, is taking care of much of the local work and logistics, alongside Robert’s work. The project also includes replacing the RF coaxial transfer switch, main coax, and even the main and backup FM antennas. Robert and Dominic give us a very informative video tour and discussion of this project on Capshaw Mountain. Plus, Chris Tarr relates his own recent transmitter installation experiences and has developed some advice on purchasing used transmitters.
Over 50 years ago, Mike Dorrough introduced the Discriminate Audio Processor - the DAP 310. Broadcasters that cared about audio quality started buying and installing DAP310s to improve the audio quality of their stations. Five decades later these old audio processors are still in demand - as are services to supply parts and repairs. Randy Swaffer and Mike Phillips are two DAP310 enthusiasts - and they know all about repairing and aligning these classic units. Jordan Tuck also joins us to talk about refurbishing other broadcast gear, including a Continental Electronics FM transmitter and an A-6000 audio console.
Most broadcasters either own towers or lease antenna space on them. But only the tallest towers are outfitted with elevators to bring workers and light tools up to desired working levels without spending half the day getting tired from climbing. Jim Tiner is CEO at Tower Elevators Systems. His company has built many towers - short, medium, and tall - and many of the tallest ones also have a custom-designed elevator system. This elevator technology is often applicable to other tall structures, such as bridge towers, smokestacks, and even the Statue of Liberty. Jim Tiner presents his company’s fascinating story and tells us about unique elevator designs.
Most of us in radio have heard Fresh Air, hosted by Terry Gross on National Public Radio. Joyce Lieberman was the first technical director behind this well-produced national interview program. But Joyce’s engineering and production career started several years earlier, getting a kick-start when some other engineers called in sick. At the onset of Joyce's radio work, she recorded Terry Gross and her guests when Fresh Air was a local Philadelphia three-hour program. Her attention to audio purity and detail prepared Joyce for other audio engineering achievements, including working with a team at WHYY and NPR to restore and digitally archive the episodes of Fresh Air, plus provide guidance to other archival efforts. Chris Tarr adds his expert insights as well to this interview with Joyce Lieberman.
Are you one of hundreds of broadcast engineers who have attended the Alabama Broadcasters Association (ABA) Engineering Academy? Larry Wilkins and Frank Giardina are completing the 2024 Radio Engineering Academy with attendees ranging from “new” broadcast engineers to some seasoned pros looking to update their knowledge. We’re live from the ABA Headquarters near Birmingham, AL, with Larry Wilkins, ABA President Sharon Tinsley, and a few of this year’s attendees.
Current technology education and career advancement are both available at the SBE Ennes Workshops, offered at the NAB Show in Las Vegas. The dates are April 12 & 13, just prior to the NAB Show Expo Halls opening. We’re talking with David Bialik and Fred Willard, who have assembled what appears to be the most useful and beneficial set of programs in two technology tracks. There’s an RF101 Bootcamp track. And the subject of this TWiRT show - the Media Over IP track. Watch the show and click on the link to SBE’s full description of these technology tracks. This is a very worthwhile 2-day workshop for any level of broadcast engineer!
Chris Tarr and Shane Toven are discussing a critical topic - especially for broadcast engineers. It’s our work/life balance with emphasis on “life”. How’s your mental health? No, really, how is it? Why is it key to “put on your oxygen mask before helping others”? Why is it OK, and even smart, to let things fail sometimes? Should engineers always strive to “be the hero”? And what’s your value - financially and otherwise? Finally, do you know that some engineers would rather fight than be helpful? Perhaps we’ve each done that, but let’s identify it and not make it a habit. Join us for this episode of TWiRT - it may be more important than any technical discussion.
People who know Alex Hartman realize that he tends to be way ahead of the pack. Alex is typically just beyond the cutting edge of technology implementation. That often makes his comments hard to understand. But when you get to know Alex and understand his ideas and concerns, they usually do make very good sense. He’s also good at “breaking things”, revealing weak points in design. Today we’re discussing people, skills, and the uncertain future of talent sourcing. Alex has some real concerns and ideas about this. In his position at Wisconsin Public Media, Alex is hands-on with basic audio tech, but also data centers and managing fleets of equipment, computing, and sometimes people.
The LPFM (Low Power FM station) filing window is almost here. Hundreds of organizations are expected to apply for new licenses to serve their local communities. LPFM is a curiosity to many, and a very serious undertaking to many others. Michelle Bradley is an LPFM expert, amateur radio operator, software developer, and a real advocate for FCC Rules and legislation designed to support community-level radio broadcasting. Our conversation is fascinating and informative! We’re delighted to have LPFM radio advocates like Michelle, whose technical knowledge informs her regulatory advocacy work.
The LPFM (Low Power FM station) filing window is almost here. Hundreds of organizations are expected to apply for new licenses to serve their local communities. LPFM is a curiosity to many, and a very serious undertaking to many others. Michelle Bradley is an LPFM expert, amateur radio operator, software developer, and a real advocate for FCC Rules and legislation designed to support community-level radio broadcasting. Our conversation is fascinating and informative! We’re delighted to have LPFM radio advocates like Michelle, whose technical knowledge informs her regulatory advocacy work.
How did YOU get started in broadcasting? We each have a story. Rob Grayson’s older brother, Walt, received an AM transmitter kit for Christmas in the 1960’s, and that got both Walt and Rob started on careers in radio and TV. Rob even took his 3rd Class FCC license test with Bob Pittman, who went on to be CEO at iHeart. So many twists, turns, and stories to tell, both from the engineering and the operations and programming sides of radio.
We often ask and worry about the next generation of broadcast engineers. Andy Gladding leverages his ties to Hofstra University in New York to encourage students to prepare for careers in broadcasting, including broadcast engineering. And he’s helped a number of Hofstra students move into broadcast careers. Chris Tarr, a popular SBE Mentor, and Andy discuss finding and encouraging our next broadcast IT and engineering professionals.
It’s been 10 years (wow!) since the FCC opened an official filing window for new LPFM radio stations. The FCC’s press release states: The Media Bureau (Bureau) announces a filing window for applications for low power FM (LPFM) new station construction permits. The filing window will open at 12:01 am EDT on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, and close at 6:00 pm EST on November 8, 2023. The window is available for LPFM proposals in the entire FM band (channels 201-300). Our guest is Dave Doherty, a broadcast engineering consultant who has assisted many applicants in getting their own radio stations. Dave joins us to describe not only the FCC’s application requirements and process, plus a channel search tool at the FCC’s web site, but also to show us the value of using mapping techniques to further identify LPFM placement opportunities.
Despite the hot weather, we know that summer will be fading into fall for us in the northern hemisphere. Josh Jones with Maxx Konnext Group joins us to talk about a production room he’s just finishing up. Chris Tarr is on the show, live from Magnum Media’s data center, and Kirk shares photos and thoughts on a new FM station that’s built with everything at the transmitter site, including the on-air phone system and the audio console. What are your thoughts on Kirk's "main studio" build?
Interoperability - what does that mean? After this 1-hour conversation with Robbie Green and Chris Tarr, I would say it means “controlling or checking on one device by using another device or system”. Scaled up intelligently, it implies having control and understanding of complex systems from a single location, or doing so automatically. So, rather than separately checking on an automation system, an audio processor, an audio router, a satellite receiver, a transmitter, or a security system, these individual systems can connect meaningfully to a central monitoring and control (M
FreePBX is an open source SIP PBX software application used in many thousands of businesses, including broadcast facilities. Tony Lewis is the entrepreneur behind this amazing software, and he joins Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack to discuss the benefits and uses of VoIP telephony. Tony recently founded ClearlyIP.com, a provider of SIP telephony services and equipment, with expertise in high-volume inbound calling, needed by so many broadcasters.
Frank Martin is a thoughtful and insightful broadcast engineer with decades of radio and TV experience. And, he’s sharing some compelling ideas with us on this episode of TWiRT. Based in Los Angeles, California. Frank provides service, integration and support for TV, AM, or FM transmitters and studios. Today we’re discussing a new LPFM filing window (Nov 1 - 8, 2023), ATSC 3.0 television, “Franken FM” stations, C-QUAM AM stereo, and whether market size and career satisfaction are related. Plus, Frank has some final thoughts inspired by The 10 Principles of Burning Man.
The FAA compliance rules for your tower’s obstruction lighting continue to be updated as evidenced by a November 2020 FAA circular. Bear Poth, President
Dan McQuillin, Managing Director at Broadcast Bionics, joins us to explain the philosophy behind Virtual Rack, and further explain how backup and failover is implemented with similar ease.
Kirk Yano is a multiple Grammy-winning recording engineer with well over 30 Platinum and Gold records. He has won three Grammys including a Grammy for the last album that Miles Davis recorded. He has worked with Public Enemy, Mariah Carey, Miles Davis, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Placido Domingo and Phoebe Snow, and has toured as a musician with Snow, Savoy Brown, Scott Holt and Texas Scratch.
Kirk was the recording engineer for “Fight the Power’ by Public Enemy which Billboard magazine still lists as one of the most influential recordings. He was also the engineer on Mariah Carey’s Christmas Album and her Jewel Box album and he worked on History by Michael Jackson.
We'll hear about Kirk Yano's first visit to Nashville and his early association with Steve Church and Frank Foti. And even how Steve Church sometimes stayed at the "Yano Arms Hostel" (my name for it) in NYC in Steve's early phone hybrid days. Plus we'll hear about WMMS remotes that Kirk worked on with Frank in the late 1970's.
Finally, we'll understand part of the reason that music started to get really processed in the early 2000's, and how Kirk worked to mitigate the craziness in the music industry, or at least turn it into something musical and useful. Also, what about the production transition from multitrack tape and mixing consoles to digital DAW production?
When Chuck Kelly recommends a new technique or technology, it’s important to pay attention. TX-Control is a networked and cloud-based monitoring, alarm, analysis, and control system designed for broadcast equipment. In Europe TX-Control is monitoring over 1,500 transmitter sites, providing custom reports on trends, outages, automatic remediation, and more. It leverages SNMP, a monitoring and control protocol which is built-in to more and more broadcast equipment. Chuck is joined by Aimé Diattà to help us understand this technology and service that’s watching over critical broadcast infrastructure.
Charles Kinney and David Bialik are here to hash out the apparent demise of the AM Radio Band. As bad as some say? Worse? Or still quite viable and important? Have the FCC or the NAB been helpful, or harmful to AM Radio? Is there legislation that would help the AM Radio service? Are there technical improvements that haven’t been implemented yet? Both David and Charles have extensive experience in engineering for large AM stations, and they’re both avid listeners. Salient comments and some good ideas are just ahead, on TWiRT!
Audio-over-IP now a 20-year-old technology, and we’re witnessed many dozens of AoIP networked devices brought to the broadcast marketplace. Now, Pippin Technical Service, a Canadian broadcast equipment supplier and engineering firm, is adding AoIP network devices to its PTS Gear product line. Designed in-house, the PTS Gear lineup includes PTSBeacon, an warning light that gets its signaling directly from virtual GPIO signals on a packet network. PTSAurora is another device driven by the virtual GPIO signals found on Livewire networks. Both devices are PoE powered, meaning they work with just one Ethernet connection for signaling, control, power, and configuration. We broadcast engineers welcome this kind of innovation for making our studios easier to build and more functional for on-air talent.
A pleasant surprise today as our scheduled guest, Shane Toven, joins us from “Gilbert Lodge”, home of Mark Persons! We’re talking about the Emergency Alert System and how broadcasters might move forward with better techniques and technologies to get live-saving information to their listeners. Shane works with EMF (K-LOVE and Air1) while co-host, Chris Tarr, serves on the Wisconsin State EAS committee. Host, Kirk Harnack, expresses some annoyances with the current EAS system and Chris is the usual voice of reason.
Three radio station owners walk into a bar. They also happen to be owner-engineers of a terrific radio station on a tropical island. We’re talking about Hal Kneller, Joe Fiorini, and Kirk Harnack at Star 94.3, KHKU-FM, in Lihu’e, Hawai’i. We were all here for a broadcasters’ conference, plus some light maintenance at the Star 94.3 studios. While Hal has been a guest on TWiRT, this is Joe’s first appearance. What interesting engineering backgrounds from both of these guys! We talk about AM radios in automobiles, a question of 50 ohms, and some ideas on backing up everything.
We've ALL used broadcast automation/playout systems, but have you met the BRAINS behind their designs and software? Today we're meeting Alan Freeman, author of several Radio and TV automation systems including Digital DJ, AXS, EZ DJ Pro, Virtual Cart Machine, and Voice Tracking on Scott Studios automation systems. Plus, Alan helped design audio and relay cards for PCs, making integration possible between these PC-based audio systems and hardware of the day. From controlling satellite-delivered music formats, to mega-CD-changers, to music on hard driver, Alan has written software and user interfaces for them.
Many broadcast and audio engineers have terrific ideas. Indeed, there’s hardly a shortage of ideas. “Wouldn’t it be great if someone built this?” Or, “Why doesn’t anyone make that?” Then there are people who build things–usually with a good idea, but sometimes not. Mike Dosch’s passion and unique skill are identifying the best ideas for audio devices, then designing and building them with solid technology and knife-edge precision. His company, Angry Audio, embodies this ethic and activity, and we broadcast engineers get to use and enjoy the results. In this episode, Mike and Chris Tarr discuss audio processing designed around Cornelius Gould’s “Chameleon” algorithms. Then Mike shares some new ideas in mic processing and elegant analog audio mixing.
Like many of us broadcast engineers, Bob Burnham built an audio mixer and started broadcasting from his parents’ basement. Indeed, if it weren’t for basements, garages, and kitchen tables we’d likely still be in the technology Dark Ages! Bob’s engineering experience ranges from a 10-tower AM directional station, through a few other AM directionals, FM stations, on-air work, and building studios at a broadcasting school. Plus, Bob founded BRC Broadcast Services, which offers Old Time Radio shows for nostalgic enjoyment - even if you’ve never heard these great shows before.
TWiRT is live from NAB 2023! :You can join us virtually in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center for news, stories, and impressions of this year's biggest broadcast expo, the 100th anniversary of NAB shows! We're broadcasting from the show-floor studio of MaxxRadio from Josh Bohn's MaxxKonnect Group. A debt of gratitude to Josh Bohn, President/CEO of MaxxKonnect and to Isis M. Jones for her camera work; she's extraordinarily overqualified!Note: Apologies for the bad audio for the first 15 minutes or so of the show. It was my fault. I had one of the remote camera’s microphones also enabled and did not know it. We did some post-production cleanup and improved the audio quite a lot. Thanks to SunKast, our show producer, for a big assist.
The Public Radio Engineering Conference (PREC) is on! Two full days of technical sessions and reconnecting with broadcast engineers from Florida to Alaska. Tech presentations included sessions on Recovering from Hurricane Ian, Virtualizing most of Minnesota Public Radio, Understanding Loudness by Understanding LUFS, Using AI for FM Pattern Studies, and the benefits of captioning radio programming. We pulled a few presenters away and got their thoughts on broadcast engineering projects and challenges today.
Quite a few radio engineers first met Paul Jellison just outside his house on 21 acres, right next to a 747 foot Blaw-Knox diamond-shaped tower. Paul lived in the house on the WLW transmitter site for a dozen years, raised his children there, and proudly gave transmitter tours to many curious broadcasters. From 4-POTS-line remote broadcasts, to the first ISDN connections in Central Florida, to new STL and remote monitoring solutions, Paul loves to use innovative technology to make radio sound better and be more reliable.
Sometimes broadcast engineers get to build new transmitter sites or facilities. Usually, however, we’re tasked with rebuilding existing sites or improving them. Chris Tarr is a sought-after engineer thanks to his experience and hard-earned wisdom in best practices as well as clever solutions. On this episode of TWiRT, Chris shares this wisdom and the reasoning behind it from several transmitter site projects. Plus, Kirk presents Chris (and our audience) with three scenarios for new studios and FM/HD transmitter sites, and awaits Chris’s judgment!
Scared of or skeptical about ChatGPT driving voice-tracked AI voices in radio? You're not alone. RadioGPT can talk. It can research. It can take your calls. And it could be coming to your market. Let's get some answers, together. Daniel Anstandig, CEO, and Craig Bowman, SVP, at Futuri Media are sharing insights on the technologies involved, and their vision for now and the future of Artificial Intelligence in broadcasting. Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack co-host this episode and play some examples of AI-generated radio content.
Andrea Cummis runs a television systems integration firm; and, she’s the current President of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Recognizing the value of new, younger engineers to our profession, Andrea is working, finding new ways to attract younger, technically-minded individuals to join the SBE. Meanwhile, Jeff Schick, CTO at Sprite Media, is working at the local chapter level to partner with college-level students who are interested in technical professions in media. Both strategy and application are working to bring new engineers into the broadcasting and media creation fields. We’re meeting with Andrea and Jeff on a trip to New York City and an evening with broadcast engineers in US market #1.
RadioDNS, DTS AutoStage, HD Multiplex, Broadcast Positioning System, and ATSC 3.0 - all topics for industry expert, David Layer. David is uniquely qualified to inform broadcasters and engineers about technology advances. He’s at the intersection of manufacturers, technology, regulatory impacts, and industry advocacy. On this episode, Layer describes his experiences with DTS Autostage technology and how listeners can maintain a seamless listening experience using this tech in several new car models.
Chris Tarr and Scott Fybush both had busy days! Chris is working with a tower crew, installing a 2-bay FM antenna in Madison, Wisconsin, for WSJY. Meanwhile, Scott just returned from WLYK, Saint Vincent, New York, where this Class A FM station is under new ownership. Scott’s installing new EAS gear and revamping the transmitter site where the automation system is co-located. Plus more AM transmitter sites are becoming worth more for the land than for the signal, and the station brokerage business is not doing badly. Stay tuned for Scott’s comedic announcement at the end of the show!
Keira Connolly got started in radio engineering the same way many of us did - through building our own transmitters and broadcasting to the “neighborhood”. Keira’s radio “neighborhood” may have involved some impressive FM power output levels, but certainly involved consulting broadcast facilities in both Ireland and South Africa. And now that broadcast infrastructure is moving into IT hosted systems, including virtual machines and, soon, containerized software, Keira is working with those technologies, too.
Those who know Troy Pennington would say he’s a true gentleman. Engineering for a world-record-setting FM radio station in Birmingham, Alabama, certainly kept the pressure on. The #1 station had to sound great and be reliable - as did all the stations in his employer’s Birmingham cluster. Later, in Nashville, Troy helped build out several world-class studios for national music and talk shows, plus kept the local transmitters on-air. Oh, and his peers elected Troy to be President of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. You can bet that Troy has some tales to tell - and he does just that with Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack.
It’s inevitable; the next generation of broadcast engineers will need to have IT skills in addition to audio and RF knowledge. Noah Chilliah is certainly in that next generation, and he’s using the IT skills he’s developed to build content and broadcasting infrastructure. TWiRT co-host, Chris Tarr, worked with Noah a few years ago in a mentor/mentee relationship, passing on valuable radio-centric information and skills.
Russ Laferty is the kind of broadcast engineer that more stations need. He’s from the rough mountains and “hollers” of Eastern Kentucky - Auxier, Kentucky - to be precise. But he also travels Tennessee, Arkansas, West Virginia and beyond to get broadcasters back on the air, always working to improve their equipment reliability and effectiveness. Today we caught up with Russ at the new transmitter site of WDTL-FM, licensed to Indianola, MS. It’s a second-hand prefab building at the base of a 1,000’ tower near Skene, Mississippi. An ice storm was forcing Russ to run the new Nautel transmitter at a lower power level.
Jack Scott's résumé includes the following: Author, Brand Ambassador, Consultant, Technologist , Broadcast Engineer, Pilot, Broadcast Journalist, VO Talent, Serial Entrepreneur, Wacky Radio Guy - and he's on TWiRT! Jack started in radio at age 12 when he exclaimed to the station owner, “Hey, I’m not famous yet!” Jack went on to be a station engineer, and then built several radio and TV stations before getting into the burgeoning home
George Whittam - I call him “Engineer to the Stars” - is back on TWiRT! This time he’s brought photos of home studio design and construction. George talks about some challenges in the layout and building of these home Voice-Over (VO) studios. We also get George’s opinion on headphones and microphones, and a look at what makes the Apollo audio interfaces so sophisticated; it’s a lot more than I had imagined. Kirk Harnack interviews George Whittam on this episode of TWiRT!
Ready to learn some surprising facts about audio processing? David Reaves - known by many for the Ariane audio processor - is guest! We're talking, of course, about the famous Ariane audio processor, but also the CBS Audimax and Volumax. Did you know the Audimax had a "memory module" that was key to its “intelligent” audio leveling action? Pretty slick for early 1960's design!
Frank Foti is well known within the broadcasting industry for his digital audio processing innovations. Those of us who know Frank personally know that he is a huge fan of 5.1 audio recordings, and that he has often lamented the scarcity of available material. But unlike the rest of us, Frank actually has the skills to do something about it. He’s been developing DejaVu for several years and says it’s finally ready. Frank explains how his artistic upmixing technologies led him to Abbey Road studios in London, and how this tech is now easily available on several platforms.
Armed with another treasure trove of broadcast engineering tips, tricks, and advice, John Bisset is here for our year-end episode! Plus, John is having a little contest (or is it “challenge”?) for your best transmitter site tips. One early entry to John advises, “Don’t knock on the transmitter door because that’s how we call the alligator!”
Cornelius Gould began nearly 40 years ago considering audio processing and its effect on how we perceive music and voice. His “Chameleon” audio processing algorithms began with analog circuits, but are now fully emulated and perfected in Digital Signal Processing (DSP). What makes audio more pleasing to our ears and brains? What might a psychoacoustic expert say about the treatment of audio so we hear and appreciate it more enjoyably? Chris Tarr joins Kirk Harnack to discuss these topics and questions on today’s TWiRT.
Like many of us broadcast engineers, Sascha Ludwig builds and maintains somewhat traditional broadcast studios while implementing server-based virtualized solutions as well. Sascha is based in Germany where the talent appreciates traditional hardware user interfaces. But he’s implementing more of today’s technology for these content creators. As a software developer, he maintains and update the OnAirScreen software package appearing in radio control rooms everywhere. Chris Tarr joins us for a good discussion and comparison of some German engineering and how we’re doing broadcast engineering in the US.
Hearing dialog on some TV shows and many movies broadcast on TV is a problem. Why is dialog often hard to hear? Radio doesn’t have this problem. And TV typically didn’t until we went digital with DTV and 5.1 audio. Ken Tankel is Kirk’s go-to TV audio specialist. Ken worked for years in radio major market radio, so he understands audio processing. But, TV audio is markedly different, with different goals, targets, and formats. But we’d still like to understand the dialog! Ken walks us through some similarities and differences in TV and radio audio, and describes TV’s audio problems with some possible solutions.
Some technical advice is timeless. Other tech advice changes with the times. Such is the case with FM transmitter sites. Now more than ever we broadcast engineers need to apply the right safeguards and approaches at today’s FM transmitter sites. Situated under tall lightning “attractors” - otherwise known as “towers” - FM transmitter sites need a mix of time-tested design care and contemporary precautions. Hal Kneller is a 40 year veteran of transmitter sites, and his Florida home provides plenty of experience with lightning protection, whether the equipment is old or new.
Pierre Lonewolf’s career journey that led him to Kotzebue, Alaska in the early 1980s. You can’t get much farther away from major population bases than northern Alaska. Kotzebue, population 3,283, sits on a sand spit of Alaska’s Arctic west coast just across the Chukchi and Bering Seas and several hundred miles from the Russian eastern frontier. It’s a scenic but scarcely populated place that features abundant wildlife like caribou and moose and bear. Pierre Lonewolf, CSRE, CNT, manages engineering services at KOTZ(AM) and KINU(FM) plus a network of FM translators and low-power FMs serving tiny villages. [Excerpted from an article by Randy Stine.] Pierre joins Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack for a lively discussion of radio engineering in this remote Alaskan village.
“Aggressive Neglect” sounds like a great name for an Alt Rock band, but it’s actually one of Dennis Sloatman’s pet peeves. Petrified hamburger leftovers in the wiring chases is another. But he would rather construct new, reliable, yet simple broadcast systems than complain about poor work that preceded him. From continuing education to SNMP-monitored systems to small, medium and very large markets, Dennis Sloatman is the thoughtful engineer who plans the work and then works the plan. Let’s get wiser in our broadcast engineering skills by spending an hour with the top-shelf broadcaster.
The auto industry has been offering after-market parts and assemblies for decades. Now we’re seeing more after-market system replacements in the broadcast industry. Mike Patton, a well-known contract engineer, is offering replacement assemblies for some popular AM and FM transmitters. These specific transmitter models are typically well-designed for long life, but now suffer from parts made of “non-obtainium”. Mike solves this with newly-designed replacement assemblies made from parts available now. Join Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack as we listen and watch Mike describe how these replacement systems are keeping hundreds of otherwise perfectly good transmitters on-the-air today.
Radio, TV, and SBE - this man has seen some things and knows some secrets! Isaiah Chavez joins Kirk Harnack on TWiRT. You don't want to miss his "sticky chair" introduction to radio, or his baptism by fire into Broadcast IT. Then there's the SBE Recruitment Ninja award he's about to receive! (OK, we made that up.) Isaiah’s broadcasting career sounds like many others, but with his own unique twists.
Radio, TV, and SBE - this man has seen some things and knows some secrets! Isaiah Chavez joins Kirk Harnack on TWiRT. You don't want to miss his "sticky chair" introduction to radio, or his baptism by fire into Broadcast IT. Then there's the SBE Recruitment Ninja award he's about to receive! (OK, we made that up.) Isaiah’s broadcasting career sounds like many others, but with his own unique twists.
I had a conference to attend - and speak at; Chris Tarr had a travel and transmitter story to tell. I had guests; Chris had frustrations. My boss supports me doing a weekly podcast; Chris’s boss supports his engineering initiatives. I drove from my home to this conference in Columbus; Chris drove from his home to get a transmitter in Colby. Bouncing back and forth between our respective “studios” we put on a pretty interesting and informative show this week. Chris and I hope you enjoy it!
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has once again updated lighting requirements for broadcast towers and other “hazards to aviation” via an Advisory Circular issued in November, 2020. Tower lighting manufacturers are responding with new, appropriate lighting kits and custom solutions, and LED lighting is playing a large role in these updates. David Shepeard is President of Drake Lighting, and an advocate for simplified LED lighting systems that are readily remotely monitored and even remotely controlled. David joins us along with Mark Walker and Ryan Harper to show us their modern and simplified lighting controllers and LED tower-mounted lights. Plus we find out about the infrared lighting requirements included with LED lighting systems.
How many radio remotes have you done from the “station van”? At the Wisconsin Broadcasters Clinic in Madison, WI, we’re broadcasting live from the Telos Alliance van. It was parked just outside the convention hall and seemed a perfect venue for a TWiRT episode. We get to hear from radio industry executives and top-notch broadcast engineers who are attending this terrific annual convention.
While Hurricane Ian was destroying bridges, homes, and infrastructure in Southwest Florida, broadcast engineers were keeping their stations on the air however they could. And in the aftermath they’re repairing flooded transmitter sites and restoring signals where some things went very wrong. Thoughtful planning kept several broadcasters on-the-air with critical weather and safety information. Hal Kneller and Kevin Trueblood were in the middle of the destruction as Hurricane Ian rampaged through. Hal and Kevin join Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack with photos and security camera footage of the destruction and aftermath.
We met Curtis Machek almost 300 TWiRT episodes and exactly six years ago! In 2016 he won awards for “Broadcast Logger”, a cloud-based audio recorder for radio stations. Since then he’s working with radio stations, auto dealers, and medical clinics to effectively engage their listeners, customers, and patients. Text Groove does this with opt-in text messaging that’s designed specifically to not annoy, but to engage the recipients, inviting them to listen, test drive, and stay healthy. We’re focusing on the radio stations’ use of this technology - how to misuse it, and of course, how to use it properly to build loyal audiences.
What does "The World's Tallest Remote Boy" know about radio remotes that WE don't know? Let's find out together! Charles Kinney with Cox Media Group, including the legendary WSB AM-FM in Atlanta, is our guest TODAY on TWiRT. We recount the way we handle remote audio and signalling for decades - before the Public Internet came along - and what techniques we’re using now to get audio from live, outside broadcasts back to our radio studios.
What does "The World's Tallest Remote Boy" know about radio remotes that WE don't know? Let's find out together! Charles Kinney with Cox Media Group, including the legendary WSB AM-FM in Atlanta, is our guest TODAY on TWiRT. We recount the way we handle remote audio and signalling for decades - before the Public Internet came along - and what techniques we’re using now to get audio from live, outside broadcasts back to our radio studios.
Most of us radio engineers have built custom computers. Nowadays, more engineers and broadcasters are outsourcing custom PC and Server construction to an expert like Van Clough. Van builds computer workstations and servers designed especially for broadcast infrastructure such as automation/playout systems. How much redundancy do you want? What factors go into choosing motherboards, RAM, data storage, cooling, and redundancy? Van will deliver the system you're looking for, designed to run for years. We'll find out with Integrity PROracks founder, Van Clough on today's TWiRT!
"In Minnesota we keep ourselves apart by one large Walleye." It's wisdom like this that keeps Mark Persons busy. Mentoring new engineers, authoring radio engineering articles, or winning awards for his service to broadcasters, Mark is always sharing some wise words. Today Mark also describes hunting down a source of broadband electrical noise that rendered the 75 meter amateur radio band unusable in his neighborhood, This tale leads to a discussion about the future of the AM broadcast band vis-a-vis the man-made noise levels we’re experiencing.
Fellow engineers, does the word "Programmatic" cause you to switch gears, pivot, and focus on something that seems more engineering-related? "Programmatic" has had that effect on me, for sure! Well I'm pulling my head out of the streaming "sand" and getting a lesson in Programmatic ad sales and how RADIO ENGINEERING makes the difference in Programmatic working well, or working poorly. Let's get this right together, as Jean-Luc Wasmer from Triton Digital explains to Kirk Harnack and Chris Tarr some key operational aspects of Programmatic ad insertion and the tech behind it.
Some days even “The Ninjaneer” gets a workout of his troubleshooting skills. August 7, 2022, began for Chris Tarr with several radio stations and FM translators off the air. Silent FM carriers. After a lightning storm and brief power outages, it appeared that power and transmitters were ON at two tower sites, but little else seemed to work, including any remote access. What fault or combination of faults could cause these particular symptoms? Especially with wireless and wired IP network gear that had been reliable for a long time? Chris was about to find out, but would he be prepared for what greeted him inside FM Site #1? Or FM Site #2?
The Texas Association of Broadcasters (TAB) is in full swing with strong attendance in Austin. The convention and trade show is August 3rd & 4th. By all accounts it looks that broadcast owners, managers, sales reps, programmers, and engineers are enthused their radio and TV business, but also about getting together face-to-face. The TAB actually met in-person last August (August, 2021) as well, with about 1,000 attendees. We met up with seven engineers and technology leaders here at the J. W. Marriott Hotel to get their take on our radio broadcasting industry and tech today.
A love and aptitude for broadcast engineering, combined with a passion for story-telling puts Marcos O’Rourke in a unique position. He’s single-handedly educating and entertaining our community of broadcast engineers and enthusiasts. O’Rourke’s YouTube channel, Socal Broadcast Engineer, has over two thousand subscribers and about 250 videos. While these numbers are modest in the YouTube creator community, they’re huge in our relatively small broadcast engineering base. Plus, O’Rourke’s efforts drew the attention of the Society of Broadcast Engineers this past year, which is honoring him as “Educator of the Year”. Marcos joins Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack to look at a few fascinating videos and get a behind the scenes look at how he records and edits them.
John Bisset is back with radio engineering tips, techniques, and trinkets to make our lives better and our jobs more complete. Need to level a heavy transmitter or break into a locked car? John says the Air Wedge Alignment Tool is what you need. An IR camera can show you which FET is dead. And John believes that a polite and informative sign has kept a transmitter site break-in-free for thirty years.
Chuck Condron once wrote some popular call screening software for Telos (and other) phone systems. Seems a particular talk show host just had to have some custom software to do his job well, so Chuck learned to code and wrote it. After many years with Clear Channel and iHeart, Chuck is now the Chief Engineer for Starnes Media Group and the nationwide Todd Starnes Show. Plus, he’s now responsible for a "challenging" AM transmitter site - KWAM - in the Mississippi River flood plain near Memphis.
Kirk Harnack says he’s getting burned-out on virtual SBE meetings. After experiencing the enthusiasm of the NAB Show and the Public Radio Engineering Conference this past April, Kirk wanted to restart in-person meetings of the Nashville SBE chapter. Many chapter members agreed and fifteen SBE members showed up for lunch and dinner meetings at Kirk’s Nashville home. Carl Campbell, Chapter Chair for Nashville, is delighted with the turnout! Shane Toven, also an SBE Board of Directors member, adds his own thoughts and experiences about restarting chapter meetings. And Chris Tarr reminds us that we’re not out of the woods yet as COVID cases do continue, and not everyone needs to be meeting in person again. It’s great episode with plenty of opinions and ideas!
Most radio stations are streaming their live audio these days, and many of those are sending metadata for title, artist, album art, and short messages. But in our non-linear, fragmented entertainment world, many listeners want to your show at a different time; or just hear the highlights; or simply replay the artist interview they heard yesterday., Today’s audio curation and publishing tools and platforms are the next innovation that’s already here. Jon Stephenson noticed this fragmented marketplace and brought several technologies together under one umbrella called SoundStack. Chris Tarr and Jon, along with Kirk Harnack, explore and discuss these audio publishing tools and take a look into Audio as a Service.
One of TWiRT’s original co-hosts, Tom Ray carved out an hour to join us on this episode. As a broadcast engineering consultant, Tom truly sees the good, the bad, and the ugly at broadcast facilities. And, he’s usually hired to correct the problems he finds. From HD Radio, to EAS systems, to AM towers to FM transmission lines, Tom really does get hands-on with most every technology applicable to radio stations. We invited viewers of our live video stream to post their questions for Tom to answer. Plus Kirk Harnack supplied a few questions for Tom that engineers and station owners have been asking lately.
Does your radio station have a water well on the property, or do you pay for water from your water company? Do you have a septic system out back, or do you pay for sewer service? What about trash pickup; do you burn or bury your own trash as we did decades ago, or do you pay for a trash pickup service? What if your tower lights were offered as a guaranteed service, and you never had an unexpected tower light repair bill again? Chuck Kelly joins Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack to explore this intriguing idea of “Tower Lights as a Service” on this episode of TWiRT.
When you look after nearly 50 transmitter sites you’re going to be upgrading them; it’l be a fairly constant part of your work. Chris Tarr’s recent work has been installing new AM and FM transmitters, and getting them connected to his company-wide remote control and monitoring system. Chris shares his wisdom about systems that really should be consistent from site to site, and which systems or equipment don’t need to be all the same. Oh, and we’ll find out what happened to that Broadcast Electronics FM 5B transmitter that we last saw on a forklift!
It's off-season for the NFL, but this is when broadcasting's remote engineers prep for the Fall season. Robert Carroll is the Game day Engineer
When leading broadcasters are “pushing the envelope”, Gary Kline is usually there to find out how and why. And wherever possible, Gary shares that business and technical knowledge with other engineers. We caught Gary just long enough between international broadcast conferences to tell us what’s going on with leading broadcasters in other parts of the world. He joins us from the Ryan Seacrest studios at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
It’s happening! WideOrbit is now demonstrating their radio automation, running in a Linux cloud computing instance, along with a virtual audio mixing console from Axia. Voice-tracking is easy to do, but going live is just as simple. Brad Young and Dub Irvin from WideOrbit are here with Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack, discussing and demonstrating this virtual infrastructure technology.
Doug Vernier, Consulting Engineer and founder of V-Soft, is talking to us about RF signal propagation and the incredible maps that reveal your coverage area in so many ways. We'll examine over a dozen real-world signal maps to compare FCC contours vs. Longley-Rice coverage. Plus Doug shows us the huge differences between your station’s “coverage area” with and without accounting for “interference areas”.
What a joy to see old friends and colleagues - and make a few new friends, too! The annual NAB Show had to take two years off due to the worldwide pandemic. And, due to the timing of the pandemic onset, it’s been three years since the last NAB Show in Las Vegas since 2019. Attendance was reported to be about half of 2019’s turnout, and the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) added a huge new section - the West Hall. Somehow, between customer meetings, SBE functions, and conference papers, we managed to corral thirteen guests on this episode of TWiRT! This is an hour well-spent, as you’ll meet some of the best and most clever people in broadcasting. Plus, Chris Tarr joins us from his home office in Mukwonago, Wisconsin.
It’s a conference full of smiling faces and hearty handshakes! The Public Radio Engineering Conference (PREC) is back for nearly 2 full days of technical sessions and reconnecting with broadcast engineering friends. Tech presentations included sessions on Audio over IP, RF network design for Single Frequency Networks, infrared inspections with aerial drones, maintaining FM & HD transmission systems, and using Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) for better IP-Audio over imperfect IP paths. We pulled a few attendees away from the action and got their thoughts on broadcast engineering projects and challenges today.
After building out many dozens of radio studios in the past few years, Dave Supplee has been upgrading older transmitters with new, solid state units. Transmitter replacements provide a rare opportunity to focus on the entire transmitter facility, including the building, foundation, walls, floor, electrical, and other fairly permanent fixtures. These foundational parts of a transmitter site often go without proper upkeep; “out of sight, out of mind.” But Dave says that replacing a transmitter affords just the right scenario for management to approve other much needed upgrades.
Les Kutasi is a business developer - and that’s a title he’s taken working at several broadcast equipment companies. When your customers are broadcast engineers you have to know your technology. Les understands broadcast antennas from yagis to log-periodics to multi-station TV master arrays and FM panel antennas. A popular speaker at SBE meetings, Les joins Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack for a humorous yet educational discussion on today’s antenna scene.
As many of us, Randy Gardner has done a little of everything in radio broadcasting. But also like many of us, he's happiest doing radio engineering - and especially "projects." Now Director of Engineering for JVC Broadcasting, Randy's got fascinating insights and some smart tips for us. Lots of eye candy engineering photos, too!
Now responsible for about 50 radio transmitters plus radio studios across Wisconsin, Chris Tarr builds up more radio engineering experience in a few months than most of us do in a couple years! Recently he’s worked through an AM tower falling down and putting several new FM translators on-air. Chris also discusses his methods for feeding program audio to his translators, and keeping tabs on them by remote control.
Whatever you think you know about FM boosters and Single Frequency Networks (SFNs) is probably based in 1980's tech. And it's wrong. Bert Goldman and Rich Redmond are talking to us about technologies that enhance FM broadcast radio coverage using Boosters and Single Frequency Networks (SFN), “cellular” and broadcast topologies, and geo targeting of audio and data. The technology to virtually eliminate reception interference zones has just become available in the last few years. Indeed, a couple of USA FM broadcasters are now reaching over 1 million more potential listeners than they were using a single transmitter site.
Tim Braddock is the kind of engineer with that unique combination of "Let's do it right - but let's have a blast while doing it!" From small town radio to America’s number 1 market, Tim’s radio engineering adventures are laid out for us to enjoy, laugh at, and learn from.
Patrick van den Hoek lives in Amsterdam, yet he owns and engineers his 13 radio stations in Spain. What’s more, Patrick has implemented several clever engineering techniques to solve audio and listener experience problems on these stations. See if Patrick’s engineering “hacks” might be useful for you and your radio stations!
Everyone is being affected by "supply chain" delays and difficulties these days. Broadcast engineers are waiting longer for equipment delivery - sometimes a lot longer. What's behind these delays? Didn't they get that container ship unstuck from the Suez Canal a long time ago? Some delays are being mitigated by equipment redesign - others by costly air freight. Scott Stiefel at Telos Alliance is seriously plugged in to supply chain management and the issues of the past 2 years. Indeed, he's one of our industry's leading experts on working through and around these challenges.
If you could choose someone to gather and publish the information that broadcast engineers need day-to-day or once in a blue moon, you’d choose Barry Mishkind. A broadcast engineer in his own right, Barry founded OldRadio.com - The Broadcast Archive - to help himself and other engineers quickly find otherwise hard-to-get information on the broadcasting industry and broadcast equipment. A quick look at OldRadio.com’s FAQ page gives one an idea of the vast information in this online resource. And, The Broadcasters’ Desktop Resource is another invaluable treasure trove of current broadcast technical news, how-to articles, and other resources for broadcast engineers. Barry’s in-person Tuesday lunch at NAB, and his Virtual Lunch Gathering on Thursdays provide a terrific time of teaching, learning, and camaraderie for both radio and TV engineers.
Pack 300 pounds of luggage, parts, and tools - Check. Set FM transmitters to 30 watts TPO - Check. Set STL data rate to 8 kbps - Check. Take the day off if the weather is nice because no one else will be working - Check. Bring the caribou and beluga recipe books - Check. Such is the to-do list for Pierre Boucher, broadcast technician for some of the most northern radio stations in Canada. Working in far Northern Quebec and Nunavut, Pierre keeps these vital communications resources on-the-air for the Inuit people and others living in these northern extremes. Pierre joins Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack on this intriguing episode of TWiRT.
Jeff Welton is a sought-after speaker at broadcast engineering conferences. As a regional sales director at Nautel, he visits hundreds of radio transmitter sites, noting areas for improvement prior to installing a new transmitter - or for providing a better operating environment for an existing transmitter. We talk with Jeff about troubleshooting techniques for today’s solid state transmitters. What about air handling now as opposed to older tube transmitter air cooling? And how is efficiency and reliability better or different now? Chris Tarr adds updated advice from his own hands-on work with a variety of transmitters, including several brands of solid state units.
We’ve seen and heard news reports about pandemic lockdown measures taken in Australia. Recently some measures have eased up, so Aussie radio engineer, Stephen Wilkinson, joins us live from Sydney. Stephen is the Technical Ops Manager at Hope Media, and he consults a number of other radio stations on their engineering and technical operations. How are his stations doing under stay-at-home orders, and what technical solutions has he implemented? Chris Tarr looks after over 30 radio stations in Wisconsin and describes his solutions as well.
We’re delighted to officially welcome Chris Tarr to TWiRT as our new weekly co-host along with the show’s founder, Kirk Harnack. As Group Director of Engineering for Magnum Media, Chris brings a daily hands-on radio engineering perspective to the show. We’re giving Chris the floor for this episode so you can get to know him and the kinds of projects he’s working on at Magnum Media. Since Chris Tobin’s passing, Kirk Harnack has been hosting TWiRT solo for the past year. Kirk recently invited an engineer familiar to many of us, Chris Tarr, to rejoin TWiRT as a regular co-host. To our delight, Chris Tarr has accepted the invitation and will be on TWiRT regularly! Chris Tarr also joins us on this episode to fill us in on highlights of his engineering work in 2021.
Sam Woo owns a media content and consulting company, Primetime Radio. He collaborated with former TWiRT co-host, the late Chris Tobin, on technical improvements and logistics for producing the “Let’s Go Devils Podcast” as well as corporate events and more. Sam joins us to talk about his collaborations with Chris Tobin, and to show us the “Menlo” that Chris Tobin often used for his appearances on TWiRT. Since Chris Tobin’s passing, Kirk Harnack has been hosting TWiRT solo for the past year. Kirk recently invited an engineer familiar to many of us, Chris Tarr, to rejoin TWiRT as a regular co-host. To our delight, Chris Tarr has accepted the invitation and will be on TWiRT regularly! Chris Tarr also joins us on this episode to fill us in on highlights of his engineering work in 2021.
A few AM station owners have turned their licenses back into the FCC, giving up on their AM radio business. Many other AM station owners, however, are looking for ways to profit from their AM transmitter site property, or to reduce transmission site costs. Co-locating with land mobile and cellular towers using an inexpensive slant-wire feed for the AM station may be a solution for some AM station owners. There are other financial mitigations as well. Benjamin Dawson and Stephen Lockwood from Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers join us to discuss the possibilities.
Is the Mayor of Verona, NJ, doing the engineering work at the top stations in New York City? Or, is the CTO at those top-rated stations moonlighting as a New Jersey township mayor? Either way, you’re right. Alex Roman leads a staff of engineers and IT pros at WQHT-FM and WBLS-FM in New York City. He says that “radio IT” is the same as “regular IT”, and we all need to work with that notion. Alex reveals other insights and techniques for broadcast engineering, remote workers, and lots of outside broadcasts on this episode of TWiRT.
A real pioneer in deploying digital audio sources, infrastructure, and transmission in the UK - and even worldwide, Quentin Howard is our guest on this fascinating episode of TWiRT. Already a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Quentin was further honored as a Fellow of the Radio Academy in November, 2021. We’re discussing the first uses of Compact Disc digital audio in the UK, as well as the UK’s first use of audio processing on FM broadcasts in the 1980s. DAB rollout and the subsequent DAB ratification and rollout are also among our topics. We round the show out with what may be the perfect radio format for many TWiRT fans - Boom Radio!
Vacations are important - for our well-being, sanity, restfulness, and more. But Shane Toven just can’t stop thinking and talking about broadcast engineering and the technologies that attend it! From the enormous cruise ship, “Majestic Princess,” Shane joins us via SES satellite link using their O3b Networks technology. So, what do you talk about with a man on vacation? Food? Ports of call? Tracking tags? Tower sites? Staying connected to work? Satellite data transport technology? Yes!
Many broadcast engineers have implemented "structured wiring" within their facilities. Some, like TWiRT host, Kirk Harnack, haven’t really jumped into the best practices yet. Ed Bukont, owner of E2 Technical Services, both consults and integrates facilities. His vast experience with structured wiring in broadcast plants makes for solid information that we engineers need to know. And, he's got Kirk convinced to "do it right" on his next project.
Necessity may be the "mother of invention", but Gordon Carter never thought necessity alone was good enough. As Chief Engineer at classical station, WFMT in Chicago, Gordon's broadcast audio systems had to sound impeccably great, yet withstand the rigors of 24/7/365 broadcasting in America's 3rd largest radio market, Chicago. Let’s learn together from Gordon’s pursuit of audio excellence in FM broadcasting.