Radio World

Radio engineer Gary Blau has died.

According to his friend and colleague Hal Kneller, Blau died Sunday morning at a hospice facility in Sebring, Fla. after a three-year fight with cancer.

In 1999 Blau became director of engineering for Jefferson Pilot stations in Miami, which later were sold to Lincoln Financial and subsequently to Entercom.

He led the engineering for WMXJ, WLYF, WSFS and WAXY until last year when he was obliged to retire because of his health.

“Even during his retirement, while going for treatments, he kept his HAM station W3AM active until as recently as last Sunday Aug. 23,” Kneller wrote to Radio World in an email.

Before Miami Blau worked in Phoenix, New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles in both radio and television engineering. During his early years in the business, he was a partner in the ownership of an FM station in Pennsylvania.

He was a regular on the amateur radio “Broadcast Net” and the SBE Net. In addition to his hobby of amateur radio and his career in broadcast engineering, Blau enjoyed building things from scratch, designing circuits and even making his own printed circuit boards, Kneller said.

He is survived by his wife Diana.

Radio World welcomes anecdotes about Gary Blau as well as photos of him to share on this page; email radioworld@futurenet.com.

A post on Blau’s W3AM website about how to find AM on the amateur radio bands provides a sample of his personality and his sense of humor:

“While I use SSB, NBFM and other low-fi modes, I have a particularly warm fondness for the superior sound quality and relaxed and courteous operating style that is unique to AM (Angel Music),” he wrote.

“The organic experience of using vintage equipment with those curious glass objects inside that get so darned hot and smell so, well, electronic, flows naturally into the ultimate tranquility and zen-like oneness with the ether you’ll feel when operating AM. So come on, pour yourself a highball, fire up that old Viking, and become a vessel empty of yourself!

“And, the chicks really dig it.”

The post Gary Blau, Silent Key appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters announced the launch of the Broadcast Resource Hub, a repository for tools, resources and information on relevant issues impacting local radio and television stations.

The site is operated in partnership with the NAB Leadership Foundation, an affiliated operation of the NAB, that provides professional training, technology apprenticeship programs and other leadership insights to broadcasters.

For radio broadcasters, the site offers several portals to help broadcast stations as they navigate unique challenges — from reporting while in a dangerous situation to covering stories that involve sensitive topics.

[Read: NAB Foundation Launches Diversity Resource]

For radio broadcasters, for example, the Election Toolkit portal within the hub gives stations guidance on how to best engage Americans voters during the 2020 electoral process. The toolkit offers guidelines on how to train staff to better distinguish between accurate and inaccurate information online, offers a list of resources like polling place finders and suggestions for encouraging the youth vote, and includes free broadcast-ready radio spots in both Spanish and English.

Other courses and toolkits include a portal on cyber awareness, a toolkit on reporting during the coronavirus pandemic, and a resource called the Spot Center that offers free broadcast-quality public service announcements for radio.

“NAB has created a variety of new and evergreen resources to assist radio and television broadcasters in various aspects of their businesses from education and training to advocacy and innovation,” said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith.

Another portal within the hub highlights key regulatory issues, including a current the NAB’s lobbying efforts asking Congress to provide relief to broadcast stations struggling to survive the COVID-19 crisis.

Also available through the Broadcast Resource Hub is the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resource, a website launched in August by the Leadership Foundation that features resources to help media companies and industry professionals create and sustain a diverse and inclusive workplace.

The post NAB Opens New Broadcast Resource Hub appeared first on Radio World.

The author is teacher, coach, CEO and founder of Jacket Radio.

KEMP, Texas — Jacket Radio is Kemp Independent School District’s official radio station. Kemp is a small rural town about 45 minutes southeast of Dallas.

I’ve been a history teacher and coach at the school for many years. About three years ago, I came up with the idea to start a radio program for our students. When I proposed the plan to the school’s principal, he loved it and we got the project off the ground in no time. We named it Jacket Radio and began streaming through business management courses. From day one our students ran the station and led the classes.

The goal through this initiative was to provide the kids with a real-life business setting where they would work in the station’s different departments (marketing, programming, engineering, etc.) and learn how to collaborate with each other.

Trustworthy

The station was almost immediately successful, but with a tight budget and little experience in this domain, it was a challenge for us to meet audience expectation. All the attention meant we had to keep growing in order to maintain relevancy. That’s not an easy task when you’re learning as you go. But we managed to add to our program offerings and began covering some of the sporting events for our high school and junior high teams.

As luck would have it, that year our teams started to do really well and made it to the football semifinals and the basketball regional finals — a big deal for rural Texas. That’s when others, not only students, began tuning in. I mean we were pulling in some 40,000 listeners per game. That’s huge for a tiny town like us.

We also started the Jacket Radio Podcast Network and introduced the Jacket Radio app so listeners can tune in through the app or directly online. As we grew it became clear that we needed to invest in dependable transport technology, and that’s where Barix came into play.

Since we weren’t well versed in the world of radio and audio, when shopping for a solution we were adamant about doing our research well. The more we studied how to move audio  efficiently and reliably, the more the signs pointed us to Barix.

Today we have a live 24/7 broadcast with a mix of music, prerecorded segments and school sports, in addition to our podcasts. We use the Barix Instreamer encoder to help us ensure we deliver quality content in (AAC format) to our app and online.

Simple and Effective

Before transitioning to the Instreamer, we used a laptop computer with an Icecast or Shoutcast program to send the audio to http://radio.co from the remote sports events. When covering away games, we never knew what the opponent’s facility would offer, for example whether it had internet or a room to set up equipment. There have even been times we’ve had to broadcast from the bleachers — a real hassle with more complicated equipment.

The Barix Instreamer has changed that for us. Getting our remote sports broadcasts and events to air is now very simple. All we have to do is plug it in and power it up, and it connects to http://radio.co without further technical requirements. What’s more, it frees up the laptop for other projects.

Barix was responsive from our first contact. They configured the box for us, and with the help of their partner radio.co, we were provided a video tutorial and the Instreamer worked seamlessly from the start.

Jacket Radio’s audio quality has improved enormously. There is no choppy signal to worry about with drop-ins and dropouts. Instead we now have this flexible yet dependable and simple setup where we plug the Instreamer into the laptop, and use a mixer and mics. We usually have three people in a booth, and recently experimented using a sideline reporter with the remote mic and monitor.

The Instreamer gives us more freedom. Now that we’re up to speed using it for sports, and because we are so community-involved, we’d like to also start broadcasting from street fairs and festivals.

Our in-depth research paid off from an investment perspective. There are other units out there with various price tags, but when we factored in quality vs. cost, Barix won hands down. The Barix Instreamer is not only affordable but it’s dependable, which ultimately is key for the long-term success of Jacket Radio.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

For information, contact Will Schmidt at Barix at 1-866-815-0866. For international information, contact Reto Brader in Germany at 41-43-433-22-11 or visit www.barix.com.

The post User Report: Barix Brings Jacket Radio to Texas Community appeared first on Radio World.

The author is membership program director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. NFCB commentaries are featured regularly at www.radioworld.com.

The Center for Community Media at the Craig Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York recently issued an extensive study on the role of Spanish-language media. Even if your organization is not serving the monolingual-Spanish or Spanish-dominant listener, what researchers noted may give your radio station clues as to potential service opportunities.

The new report is available here. It’s in Spanish, but if you’re limited to English as your own language, never fear. Tools such as Google Translate will help you navigate any barriers you encounter — at least as far as any machine translation can at this stage.

Community Broadcaster: Correct the Record

Journalists who led the investigation into how Spanish-language media is reporting the news tracked thousands of stories since 2016, following Donald Trump’s election. What were the biggest trends they observed? What was left out? Did politics enter the fray? Their findings may surprise you.

What was most striking was that conventional wisdom might tell you Spanish-language media would become either more dogged in their approach around, or would simply more closely follow, the matters polls suggest are on everyone’s minds, including immigration, policing and Congress. You might think the early-term press room clash between Pres. Trump and prominent Univision journalist Jorge Ramos was a precursor to regular reporting on how new policies are impacting various communities. One might also reasonably assume the detention center issue that engulfed media for a time would inform a lot of journalism.

Your guesses would be incorrect, though.

The Center for Community Media researchers found news as a whole declined significantly over the last four years. That is, journalism focused on national issues, the White House and more disappeared. Instead, Spanish-language outlets — like more English-language media, frankly — pivoted to covering celebrities and social media.

There are many complicated reasons for this editorial decision. For English-language radio stations hoping to appeal to new audiences, however, these results point to potential directions.

One path suggests your station could follow what’s happening now and inject popular themes into your programming. You might also consider how your organization can fill gaps in an audience’s media diet.

Clearly, though, English-language media finding Spanish-language audiences is far more involved than “build it and they will come.” There is trust to be fostered. Community outreach, meeting with leaders, and hiring and volunteer opportunities that reflect the community you wish to attract are all part of the formula. Your radio station would also have to plan, in concert with area stakeholders, what issues are more relevant. Audience surveys of how they consume media and what’s interesting may also be illuminating.

While those passionate about the role of journalism may find the new report alarming, community media advocates might see this as a chance to expand, to serve our communities, and to fulfill our purpose of education for all the people.

The post Community Broadcaster: Tuned Out appeared first on Radio World.

Electronics Research Inc. posted this cool photo on LinkedIn. It shows part of a new master FM antenna that will be installed on the TV Hill Tower in Baltimore.

“The final configuration will include two levels of three-panel elements, each for WIYY, WLIF, WJZ-FM, and WWMX,” the company wrote. The FM channel combiner system is also designed and built by ERI.

The new system was purchased by Hearst and Entercom, and will replace an existing master.

ERI’s Bill Harland said the project is related to the FCC repack, which is driving modifications to towers around the United States and has had a domino effect on many radio stations.

The post Prepping a New Master Antenna for Charm City appeared first on Radio World.

There is at least one small upside to COVID-19, which is that we have more time to catch up on things around the station or workshop. Empty studios give the engineer free reign for both cleaning and maintenance. Funny how there’s still so much to do!

Professional Engineer (P. E.) Buc Fitch has come up with a great cable test kit for the entry-level engineer, intern or assistant to build. It’s fun for more seasoned engineers too. After all, why should the new guy or gal have all the fun?

Buc’s “kit” is, as he puts it, is an “uber-simple XLR-3 cable tester.” Its purpose is to test XLR-connectorized cables for proper wiring and polarity. We’ve simplified the circuit description; hand the rest of this article to your intern and let them figure it out.

First, let’s talk about XLR polarity. It’s important!

A few years ago, I was visiting a customer who was having problems wiring up a mic cable. The internet said Pin 1 was hot! The internet is a great tool only when it’s used properly. Standard mic wiring, at least in the United States, is Pin 2 hot or +, Pin 3 i negative or – , and Pin 1 is ground. As with any tool, it must be used properly. So double-check what you read on the internet by visiting several sites or asking a fellow broadcast engineer.

Buc’s cable tester will avoid this wiring problem, permitting you to verify all your XLR cables. You may be surprised to see how some cables, especially in your remote kit, are wired!

This project can be assembled with junk box parts; nothing is really critical. Buc’s schematic sketch shows power via battery or wall wart, your choice.

In the center of the schematic are the chassis-mounted XLR male and female connectors. One thing to remind the intern is that the pins flip or “reverse” from one connector (female) to the other connector (male). Be sure to check the pin numbers on each connector before soldering.

The three pushbutton switches are simple N.O. (normally open) chassis mount switches. The LEDs are not critical; Buc chose red, green and blue. LED current is limited by either the 100 ohm or 47 ohm half-watt resistors, depending on the power supply used.

As for the power supply, the simplest is shown to the left: two AA batteries mounted in a simple two-battery holder.

AA batteries provide 1.5 VDC each, and since they are wired in series, the total voltage is _____?

For the wall wart supply, the approximately 6 VDC wall wart plugs into a jack on the side of the chassis box, and feeds a 5 VDC three-pin regulator. Its output connects to a 1N4004 diode in parallel with an optional 2.1V Zener diode. Again, watch the polarity!

A nice feature that Buc added to this box is the 3.6 Volt NiCad battery, which is rechargeable and permits operation without the unit being connected to an AC power source. The NiCad will be charged when the wall wart is plugged in.

By the way, the longer horizontal line on the battery symbol is the “positive” side of the battery.

Construction is not critical and any small chassis box will work. Buc’s finished product is shown in Fig. 2. If you build one of these, send in a high-resolution picture to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

(Two 1.5V batteries connected in series gives you 3 Volts, did you get it right?)

Stick These Somewhere

Eventually many of us will return to our radio stations and offices. New York Printing Solutions is providing a variety of large-format printed floor stickers and wall decals that you can use to remind employees about social distancing, wearing masks and other customized messages.

These are full-color vinyl indoor/outdoor, scuff-resistant decals. They are removable and leave no residue. They can be customized with your station logo.

You know that I like to see engineers work with other department heads; well, here’s an idea: Print a bunch of these up with your station logo and distribute to advertisers that serve the general public.

The company prints everything from business cards to foam-core posters, and finding the COVID-19 stickers took a little navigation. Visit www.nyprintingsolutions.com/floorstickers/.

Honey, Where’s the Shower Curtain?

I’ve had several email discussions with Todd Callahan at KUT Radio in Austin, Texas. Todd was looking for some kind of cover to protect his AoIP surfaces from both dust and dirt, as well as cleaning compounds that may be used to disinfect studios.

A natural choice is a custom-made furniture slip-cover.  A great idea, but when he started pricing them … whoa, expensive!

Here’s a better choice: A clear plastic shower curtain can be trimmed to fit pretty much any size console or surface. The edges can be held in place with strips of ScotchBlue Original Multi-Surface Painters Tape. The tape will keep the edges secure for up to two weeks and can be removed without leaving residue.

John Bisset has spent over 50 years in the broadcasting industry and is still learning. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance. He holds CPBE certification with the Society of Broadcast Engineers and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award. Email tips to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

The post Workbench: Build This XLR Cable Tester appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters sees the efforts of cable and internet company association ACA Connects in asking for a stay and reconsideration the FCC’s C-Band lump sum payments plans as strictly a ploy to garner more money for its members. It is urging the FCC to reject all requests for review of the final cost catalog levied by ACAC.

The FCC is preparing to conduct the C-Band auction, which will open up the lower 280 MHz of the C-Band spectrum for wireless and 5G development, while moving the current occupants of that spectrum to the upper 200 MHz of the band. Those being relocated have different options for reimbursement, including a lump sum payment determined on average cost of all estimates.

[Read: Takeaways From the NAB’s C-Band Webinar]

ACAC, whose members include cable operators that would be impacted by the C-Band auction, has been fighting the FCC’s final cost catalog and lump sum payment amount because it did not include IRDs (integrated receivers/decoders) into the calculation, which it says would help with a transition to the more efficient fiber delivery. ACAC has been petitioning the FCC to review the cost catalog calculations again and recently made a court filing to stay the current lump sum deadline of Sept. 14.

NAB opposes these actions by ACAC, claiming the group is “seeking handouts” and that the association’s primary focus is to increase its memberships’ wealth at the expense of other parties and the overall goal of repurposing the spectrum.

According to NAB, the public notice determining the lump sum payment does include IRDs, but for satellite operators not the individual MVPDs that ACAC is petitioning for; NAB says this is the right determination. NAB also denies the ACAC accusation that the process of calculating the lump sum was flawed. NAB does not believe any of ACAC’s arguments hold water.

Rather, NAB views these actions by ACAC as “the latest step in ACA’s  ongoing quest to transform a spectrum reallocation process into a cash cow that will funnel funds from winning flexible use license bidders to ACA’s members.”

“Broadcasters, programmers, satellite operators and other stakeholders are about to undertake a complex transition that must be concluded in an ambitious timeframe,” the NAB wrote. “The commission’s focus should remain on ensuring that this process unfolds in an orderly and efficient manner that preserves content distribution and protects American viewers and listeners — not on maximizing payments to ACA’s members. We urge the commission to reject the Application for Review.”

The FCC is currently planning to conduct the C-Band auction on Dec. 8.

The post NAB: ACAC Seeking “Handouts” With C-Band Lump Sum Demands appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC is openly giving radio broadcasters a chance to reboot their online political file efforts and address timeliness issues for candidate and issue advertising rate uploads. The commission for now appears to be ending investigations into those online public files and holding off fining broadcasters that need to catch up.

The most recent developments stem from an investigation the commission launched in early 2019 following a complaint against Entercom and its Buffalo, N.Y., cluster from a political candidate and whether she was charged the lowest unit rate possible during the 2018 election cycle.

[Read: Yet More Settlements in Political File “Derelictions”]

During that investigation several other major radio groups self-reported political file issues to the FCC with hopes of reaching an agreement on compliance. The National Association of Broadcasters helped broker an agreement earlier this summer that resulted in signed consent decrees with a half-dozen major radio groups that close FCC investigations and ensures compliance, but do not levy fines, said Robert Baker, an FCC attorney who appeared on a recent webcast hosted by the New York State Broadcasters Association.

“These consent decrees will require the broadcasters to submit compliance plans for the remainder of this year and through the end of 2021,” Baker said. Along with Entercom the group of six includes Alpha Media, Beasley Media, Cumulus Media, iHeartMedia and Salem Media Group. The broadcasters admit they were tardy in updating their online political files with relevant materials, according to the FCC. In all, the six groups own nearly 1,900 radio stations.

“It is crucial that stations maintain political files that are complete and up to date because the information in them directly affects, among other things, the statutory rights of opposing candidates to request equal opportunities,” according the consent decrees.

The FCC has recently been more focused in online political file compliance, observers say, most likely because of the current election cycle and the resulting political advertising being placed.

[Read: Big Radio Companies Settle With FCC on Online Political Files]

The FCC’s consent decree with Entercom is blunt in its wording: “Entercom has now formally agreed to enter into the attached consent decree, pursuant to which Entercom admits that it repeatedly violated its political file obligations by not uploading required records in a timely manner. Entercom further agrees to implement a comprehensive compliance plan to ensure future compliance with its political file obligations and to submit periodic compliance reports to the bureau.”

“The goal of our efforts is to gain compliance. Simple as that,” Baker said during the webinar.

Similarly, the FCC has resolved online political files compliance issues with another 107 smaller radio licensees, again through consent decrees, that are meant to ensure future compliance. None of the smaller radio broadcasters will face monetary fines.

For instance, the FCC recently released a consent decree with radio licensee Carter Broadcasting, which owns WSBZ(FM) in Miramar, Fla. The FCC found the licensee failed to comply with political file requirements and suspended processing its license renewal application as a result. The consent decree stated: “Carter Broadcasting, Inc. agrees, among other things, to implement a comprehensive compliance plan to ensure future compliance with its political file obligations and to submit periodic compliance reports to the Media Bureau.”

Baker, the FCC attorney, encourages radio licensees that have been derelict in maintaining their online political file to reach out to the FCC for assistance if it is needed.

The commission says it first adopted rules requiring broadcast stations to maintain public files documenting requests for political advertising time more than 80 years ago. The FCC transitioned the public file from in-station to online for all radio licensees in 2018.

See more stories on Political Files here.

The post FCC Cuts Deal With Broadcasters Over Political Files appeared first on Radio World.

Nautel and Telos Alliance are collaborating on what they describe as a new approach to HD Radio time alignment.

They say the solution, demonstrated this week in a webinar, eliminates alignment issues “completely” by locking the FM and HD1 outputs from the audio processor through the rest of the HD Radio air chain into the transmitter.

Omnia Product Manager Geoff Steadman at Telos Alliance is quoted in the announcement saying that many vendors have engineered “complex solutions with add-on or built-in receivers that generate correction signals to attempt to minimize blending issues.” But he said such solutions can affect the signal by covering up delay drifts.

Nautel CTO Philipp Schmid said, “Our solution locks the FM and HD1 outputs at the audio processor, and keeps them locked as they pass through the remainder of the HD Radio air-chain right into the transmitter. No extra boxes, additional audio codecs, radio receivers or correction methods are needed, and the Nautel/Telos Alliance solution utilizes proven ‘Made for Radio’ standards including MPX, µMPX, and E2X.”

The solution, he said, allows a station’s HD Radio equipment to be “location-agnostic,” located either at the transmitter or the studio, without needing external time synch.

In the webinar, the companies showed Telos Alliance Omnia Enterprise 9s high-density audio processing software, Gen4 Importer/Exporter and Nautel technology running on a Nautel HD MultiCast+.

Nautel Head of Marketing John Whyte pointed out the open environment of the latter product and said the company plans to develop products based on these technologies. Nautel also announced support on HD MultiCast+ for the Telos Alliance Omnia Enterprise 9, which centralizes audio processing and virtualizes operation. It’s a tool for high-density server-based systems for customers with a large volume of signals to process.

The post Nautel, Telos Tout “New Approach” to Time Alignment appeared first on Radio World.

Two broadcast towers in Lake Charles, La., have been damaged as a result of Hurricane Laura, which made landfall in the early hours of Aug. 27.

There have been multiple reports of damages to the broadcast tower of KPLC-TV, the area’s NBC affiliate, with pictures showing portions of the tower having collapsed. Some reports are indicating there was damage to the STL (studio to transmitter link) and ENG, but that the main tower was OK.

In addition, a representative from the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters confirmed that the LPTV station KSWL-TV, a CBS affiliate, has reported that its tower fell on top of its building.

TV Technology reached out to both KPLC and KSWL to confirm details, but has not received word from either station at the time of publication.

LAB said that it is still gathering information on any other damages.

Reports indicate that wind speeds hit a high of 150 miles per hour when it first made landfall.

This is a developing story. Radio World’s sister publication TV Technology will update as events warrant.

The post Hurricane Laura Downs Two Towers in Louisiana appeared first on Radio World.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — I am the chief engineer for Interlochen Public Radio and the co-owner of Nemosity Enterprises LLC with my wife Tina Marie. At Nemosity Enterprises we focus on broadcast engineering contracting and consulting and I am responsible for 14 FM transmitter sites, studios and facilities across Northern Lower Michigan.

I began my career as a ground radio repairman in the United States Marine Corps and worked nearly 20 years in television news stations. Four years ago, I made the switch to radio and nothing has felt more like “coming home” than that career move.

New Installation

My latest project involved Blarney Stone Broadcasting, dramatically expanding the reach of rock and roll station WQON(FM) 100.3 MHz. Q100 is now a combination of WQON, WWMN(FM) 106.3 MHz and WYPV(FM) 94.5 MHz, with live studios in Traverse City and Grayling, Mich. The three FM transmitter sites cover most of the northwestern and central Lower Peninsula (LP) of Michigan.

I’ve worked with Tieline products since 2016 and they are some of the most intuitive, flexible and reliable products I’ve had the pleasure of using. The uptime, ease of operation, flexibility and reliability have been second to none. So when I heard about this new project, I knew Tieline codecs would be ideal as the backbone of this new radio group.

Jerry and Sheryl Coyne own Blarney Stone Broadcasting, and the audience ebbs and flows between 300,000 and 450,000 people, with numbers highest June through September. I presented two options to the director of programming and all-round station guru JJ Rowell. JJ has worked there for years and knows the day-to-day operations better than most. His input and direction was invaluable and he agreed that Tieline codecs would provide flexibility for years to come.

At that time I had three Genie Distribution codecs running two stereo pairs to two sites codecs we use for Interlochen Public Radio, and one Genie and three Bridge-IT XTRAs for Baraga Catholic Radio, which was subsequently sold to Relevant Radio out of Green Bay, Wis. The Blarney Stone Broadcasting project involved installation of a Genie Distribution and three Bridge-IT Pro codecs. The Genie connects using a 3x stereo program configuration.

The Genie at Interlochen has been so reliable in sending two stereo audio streams to the transmitter sites, the budget for putting in a redundant system could be spent on other equipment.

For the new Blarney Stone Broadcasting project, Tieline’s Report-IT mobile app is also important. With smartphone or tablet we can use this codec app to make it possible to broadcast high-quality audio for local sporting events anywhere we have a cellular internet connection with very minimal gear to haul around. The days of packing a carload of equipment to get live local sports on the air are over.

Reliable IP Streaming

Without IP technology joining the Blarney Stone stations would be all but impossible. If you want an IP-based codec system that is reliable and easy to set up and install, Tieline is that system. Installing a reliable, high-quality STL path over IP makes my job easier and less expensive than microwave path studies, licensing, installation and equipment costs. The quality is so good that we use the microwave STL as a Tieline backup at Interlochen Public Radio’s main broadcast site in Traverse City, Mich.

Opus Stereo at 256 kb is my preference for quality and sound; however bandwidth can be a challenge in some areas. Sometimes we dial Opus back to 96 kb if need be or select one of the many other codecs available to tailor each site’s connection. We prefer adaptive jitter buffer settings, which allow packet movement to ebb and flow depending on network load, and use fixed settings if required.

Verizon, AT&T, fiber, local wireless ISPs and Charter Spectrum Cable all play a part in data delivery. Cradlepoint broadband routers with dual SIMs for Verizon and AT&T are also used at some sites. Some have a fiber WAN connection for redundancy and reliability. The biggest challenge in our area is broadband connectivity at some remote transmitter locations. While the terrain makes a tower site attractive because of its height and location, it tends to make fiber installs very expensive, unless one of the main players, Verizon or AT&T are on that site already.

The Tieline codecs are rock-solid, one of the determining factors in choosing Tieline. It takes a major network failure to lose connectivity, and as soon as that network is restored, it comes right back and reconnects automagically.

The Toolbox web-GUI is ideal for configuring multiple peer-to-peer connections and provides the ability to adjust audio matrix routing. This makes adjustments and codec management simple and effective.

I believe the future of broadcasting is in streaming. Streaming content from an IP-based system can be more reliable than satellite distribution. This facilitates having multiple paths, providers and avenues to pull your content. With a satellite system it either works or it doesn’t. And when the Michigan winter rolls in and a foot or two of fresh snow covers your satellite dish, it doesn’t.

Remote control, remote operation and streaming delivery of content are the future. I believe everyone should plan for streaming taking over most content delivery to the station and listeners. I have a feeling Tieline will play a major role in that future, at least for me and my clients.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

For information, contact Dawn Shewmaker at Tieline in Indiana at 1-317-845-8000. For international contact Charlie Gawley at Tieline in Western Australia at 61-8-9413-2000 or visit www.tieline.com.

The post User Report: Genie Is Magic for Blarney Stone Broadcasting appeared first on Radio World.

GatesAir is coming out with two new Intraplex IP Links that it says “move the brand into new designs and applications.”

The two AoIP products were announced by Ted Lantz, vice president and general manager, radio and Intraplex products.

The IP Link 100e is an Intraplex plug-in card that receives FM and digital radio content within GatesAir Flexiva transmitters.

Lantz said the module also establishes a foundation to integrate audio processing and additional air chain applications later.

“The module is added to Flexiva FAX exciters to reliably receive and feed AES-67 and other audio over IP formats direct to the exciter,” the company said.

“The smaller, integrated form factor reduces the cost of using Intraplex audio over IP transport at the transmitter site since no separate hardware codec is required, and frees a 1RU equipment rack slot for auxiliary equipment,” it said.

The module includes Dynamic Stream Splicing software. It sends multiple identical streams over the same network or two separate paths; each stream borrows data from companion streams to avoid service interruptions from packet loss.

“The IP Link 100e also supports the SRT (secure reliable transport) protocol and provides failover service to Icecast or locally stored audio for optimal reliability. The module also provides storage for program content and full duplex capability, allowing engineers to monitor signals off-air.”

Also new is the IP Link 100c, a hardware codec for remote contribution and standard STL IP connections that is notable for its small half-rack package.

Applications include remotes, studio-to-studio links, STL service backup and delivery to Icecast streaming servers. It comes with a DC power supply.

The company will introduce them as part of the IBC Showcase virtual conference coming in September.

[Related: “SBS FM Stations See Efficiency With GatesAir”]

The post New Intraplex IP Links Include a Flexiva Plug-In appeared first on Radio World.

Nacho Sacchi is an bilingual announcer and voice talent in Argentina.

Four years ago I was pushed to become a freelance voice talent after almost 18 years on the same radio station. Things didn’t look good. With my wife and two kids, ages 6 and 8, we decided that it could never get worse (though we never saw 2020 coming).

What to do? The radio environment of the city in which we lived was terrible.

I started Googling … online resources for voice talents … voice agents … voice banks. All articles with information in some cases old and in other cases biased, speaking badly of the competition and good of their own products.

After evaluating the situation, I decided to invest money and time in online voice banks with paid services. I improved my home studio, updated my microphone and invested in hardware like a nice preamp and good noise isolation.

Voices.com, Voice123, Bodalgo and a few others were on my radar. I decided on Voices.com after reading negative and some positive comments. What influenced my decision was that at first glance they seemed the largest, the most serious and the one with the big clients.

It is true what they say: You have to invest time and effort. And so I did. I participated for several months in all searches that included what my voice had to offer: Latin American Neutral Spanish, Latin Accented English and much more.

It was four months without a result. But more than 70 auditions later, I had my first paying job in the international world of freelance voices. And a few months later, I had recovered the investment of joining the bank and was preparing to continue growing.

The Opportunity

Why do I tell you this? How can my story help others?

The COVID-19 crisis has led many to rethink their careers or consider how to generate a new income. And that’s where we have to take advantage of the crisis and open ourselves to new work horizons.

The human voice will never be replaced by a machine. Although our assistant Google or Alexa will surprise us, they will never speak like a human being. What’s more, behind those attempts there are human voices.

So where is the opportunity?

The internet democratizes, puts us on equal footing — the voice talent who lives in Los Angeles, the one who lives in San Pedro Sula in Honduras or in Mar del Plata Argentina or in London!

In a digital audition, the internet eliminates factors that a voice talent can’t easily control, and thus allows them  to compete on their talent alone.

If the audio quality is good, all the different voices are on more of an equal footing.

So how do we distinguish ourselves?

We have to be the fastest and understand exactly what the customer is looking for. Understand the markets and listen to what is heard in each country.

How? Maybe spying on successful voice talent demos, listening to international radio stations, seeing patterns on big TV ads and trying to duplicate that … and also making the effort to read that “matrix” and seeing what the market might be lacking and empowering your uniqueness! Perhaps the next trend is your quirky sound?

So to fellow voice talents who might be discouraged, I say: Prepare your home studios, invest in your careers and move on. Inside your house, but always moving forward.

The author’s website is nachosacchi.com.ar.

The post Voice Talent: Invest in Your Career appeared first on Radio World.

Adobe will stop distributing and updating Flash Player at the end of this year. That plan was announced in 2017, and now the end of support is coming up.

This will have an impact on developers, businesses and consumers.

Bob Tarsio is president of Broadcast Devices Inc. He has been raising awareness of this change with his clients and answering questions about how it affects BDI products.

Radio World: Bring us up to date, what should radio stations know about Flash right now?

Bob Tarsio: Not only BDI-provided equipment but all Flash-enabled hardware and software will be impacted more or less by the end of Flash support. So I urge everyone to check with their respective providers for update information.

For BDI customers, all Flash-dependent products will continue to operate for their intended functions even after the Flash sunset. We want to stress this because some might think that everything stops working on 1-1-21 sort of a Y2K thing all over!

What will be impacted is the ability to use commonly available browsers to access your equipment.

This does not mean however that the equipment cannot be interrogated or controlled. That is because all BDI Flash-dependent products use SNMP, or Simple Network Management Protocol, for communication between SNMP-based software such as the BDI Stack Graphical User Interface, which is available for free download from our support page.

What customers will have difficulty with is accessing the web servers that are present in our Flash-based products for such things as initial setup including IP configuration information such as IP addresses, subnets, etc. In addition, the ability to change passwords or usernames.

All other communication is unaffected as SNMP is used to communicate with not only our BDI Stack program but third-party software and hardware such as the popular remote controls that support SNMP communications.

RW: Which of your products are affected? 

Tarsio: There are basically three product classes of BDI products that may be impacted: all of our popular DPS-100D series True RMS Power meters; some SWP series controllers and remote controls; and some SWP series antenna products.

In addition our ATB/GPM/DAB model base number digital/analog audio switchers can be affected. We made some as SWP base model number units and ATBGPM/DAB base model number units that had web access that did depend on Adobe Flash player for operation.

All new shipping equipment is already Flash-free.

To tell if your equipment is Flash-dependent, access your unit via a web browser, and if it asks to run Adobe Flash player, you have an impacted unit. If not you can either continue to use your product as usual or for older units these can be upgraded if the customer so desires.

By the way, the older units not relying on Flash only used the web browser interface for initial setup as well, but these will continue to function.

RW: What should users of your affected products do now? 

Tarsio: First, make sure all of your units can be accessed by a web browser to determine if that equipment is Flash-dependent as I described. Record your information now including username, passwords and IP setup information. Visit BDI’s website support page, where we have information about what customers can do to upgrade their equipment in and out of warranty. There is a document for each product class, and these discuss what customer options are.

What we can tell you is that no BDI equipment will be made obsolete by the Adobe Flash sunset. All impacted equipment will either continue to operate or is eligible for upgrade.

In the case of the DPS-100D series it’s like getting a new meter because the upgrade described on our web page is the new Generation II operating system, which makes some real improvements to even existing DPS-100D series power meters.

RW: What else should readers know? 

Tarsio: BDI provides what we believe to be good support for products in and out of warranty, sometimes for a lot longer than many have come to expect for electronics in general. This is ever more important to the broadcast community, which faces challenging economic times along with the rest of the country.

All BDI products are today Adobe Flash-free. Our offerings that have web servers utilize HTML5 browser interfaces, and we provide applications software for our current product lines, which include our new DPS-100D Generation II true RMS power meter, SWP-200 series motorized switch controllers, SWP-300 remote controls and SWP-206 Antenna monitor products. On the audio side the ATB/GPM/DAB digital/analog audio switchers and our AES-400 series audio switchers have an optional web interface that has always been Flash-free.

Contact us at BDI if you have questions or need guidance on next steps.

The post Broadcast Devices Preps for End of Flash Support appeared first on Radio World.

BW Broadcast’s DSPXmini Encore processor is the followup to the original DSPXmini.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

It is a four-band AM/FM processor available with standard stereo generator, peak limiting, presets and RMS leveling. Machine communications include HTML, FTP, SNMP, Telnet and RS232.

Added features include RDS encoding, remote control monitoring and the company’s Plan B backup audio scheme.

Info: www.bwbroadcast.com

The post BW Broadcast Re-Energizes DSPXmini appeared first on Radio World.

Broadcast plants are known to be large amounts of energy usage so prospective efficiency savings are important for financial performance. While there is no doubt that recent design innovations such as LDMOS and planar construction technology have made modern transmitters more efficient than their predecessors, the broadcast transmitter section still uses large amounts of energy.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

WorldCast feels it has a prospective solution or its Ecreso FM transmitters, SmartFM technology. It describes its patented SmartFM technology as a sophisticated AI-based algorithm that can enable broadcasters to reduce their energy costs by up to 40% without any compromise on the audio quality and coverage.

Developed after three years of research SmartFM optimizes power consumption leading to less energy used in transmission, cooler running temperatures for lower cooling bills, less wear and tear on the transmitters leading to lower maintenance bills and a longer lifespan.

Owners of recently purchased Ecreso transmitters already have the technology installed. It merely requires activation.

Info: www.worldcastsystems.com

The post WorldCast Pushes Transmitter Energy Efficiency appeared first on Radio World.

As we’ve been reporting, operators of registered C-Band earth stations in the United States are being asked by the FCC to decide how they want to be reimbursed for the expense of moving antenna facilities impacted by the spectrum repack.

The National Association of Broadcasters produced a webinar this week that provided more insights from several experts.

Earth station operators on the qualified list of antennas can choose from a more traditional a la carte menu of potential expenses and have their actual costs of a relocation covered, or select a possible lump-sum payment determined by the FCC that takes into consideration the average expected costs associated with the repack of the upper 200 MHz of the C-Band. The deadline for earth station operators to accept the lump-sum payment per registered and qualified antenna is Sept. 14.

Lump-Sum Discussion

The webinar focused much of its discussion on the lump-sum option and the consequences if owners of satellite receivers elect that form of reimbursement.

Matthew Pearl, assistant bureau chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission, said incumbents need to examine their individual circumstances to determine the best path forward when purchasing new antennas and other equipment.

“The lump-sum election option is a new option. Earth station owners are taking the transition into their own hands with that option. The lump-sum amount is based on the average relocation cost based on the type of earth stations they have,” Pearl said during the webinar.

The FCC said it determined the lump sum value based on what the average transition cost of an antenna type or class of earth station. The FCC recently updated cost estimates to increase the range of costs for certain categories of earth station equipment at the behest of NAB, which included bumping up the cost estimate for certain site and project costs for fixed services, including power utility coordination and soil boring.

Pearl said radio broadcasters that operate multiple stations in clusters are reminded that the lump-sum base payments are calculated per antenna rather than per earth station registration or site. Therefore a cluster of radio stations with more than one antenna registered per site could be eligible for reimbursement for multiple lump-sum payouts.

“It’s also important to note that operators will not be able to choose which of their earth stations will receive the lump-sum. It’s an all or nothing.  Meaning it would apply to all of their earth stations or they would have to select the reimbursement option,” Pearl said during the webinar.

If a radio broadcaster selects the lump-sum option they could use the money to transition “to fiber and disconnect from C-Band services and therefore be responsible for any new or additional equipment needed to do that,” Pearl said.

And while there is no specific FCC form earth station owners need to file to accept the lump-sum payment option, operators are encouraged to file at least one document in a “machine readable format” such as an Excel spreadsheet format. Owners of multiple earth stations can file them individually or in aggregate.

“Irrevocable”

“It’s important that all of the information described in the FCC’s Public Notice, including the information that the operator needs to provide and certifications, need to be done by Sept. 14. We strongly encourage operators provide accurate and complete technical information. It is possible incomplete filings could be dismissed with no amendments allowed. It’s not clear right now whether there will be any relief,” Pearl said.

“It’s also important to remember that the decision to elect the lump-sum is irrevocable,” Pearl said. “Anything that is unexpected that comes up later would not be reimbursed by the commission.”

Lump-sum payments to earth station owners would come after the auction for the lower 280 megahertz of the 500-megahertz segment of spectrum from 3.7 to 4.2 GHz, Pearl said. The FCC hopes to hold the auction for the C-Band spectrum being cleared in the repack beginning Dec. 8. C-Band spectrum will be made available for new services and could be redeployed as soon as September 2023, according to the FCC.

Mark Johnson, president of LinkUp Communications, said radio stations that receive programming via C-Band earth stations have a lot to consider in a short amount of time when deciding between the lump-sum option or participating in the coordinated transition process.

“Start with the financial. Obviously revenue is important for radio and TV at this time, but it isn’t as simple as putting a new filter on an antenna normally. It’s much more complex than that. Everyone should take time to examine their specific applications. The satellite companies have spent the past few years studying this situation and making evaluations,” Johnson said.

“Those satellite companies came up with these average costs for what needs to be done and your individual earth station reconfiguration costs could be less or could be more.”

And Johnson said there could be some additional risks involved for those who go with the lump-sum election.

“Keep in mind radio and TV are very different. Operators really need to take the next three weeks evaluating their risk tolerance and researching what their needs are. You can’t paint everyone with one brush. We have seen installing systems all over this country the variation is beyond most people’s imagination.

“For instance, if an earth station operator can’t just replace the filter or re-point their antenna, there could be a need for a new antenna. A new antenna installed … at the new location could be from $10k to $20k. The lump sum wouldn’t begin to touch that,” Johnson said during Monday’s webinar.

The C-Band webinar’s panel of experts also included representatives from satellite fleet operators SES and Intelsat, who outlined the level of detail that will be required for a successful spectrum repack. The webinar, hosted by Patrick McFadden, SVP and deputy counsel for NAB, is free online at the NAB’s website.

[Link: More coverage of the C-Band reimbursement story]

[Link: The FCC’s Cost Catalog]

The post Takeaways From the NAB’s C-Band Webinar appeared first on Radio World.

Public radio stations in the Golden State plan to unite for a one-day fundraising initiative. Organizers call it a first.

Thursday, Aug. 27,  the inaugural California Public Radio Day will try to build awareness of the service offered by nonprofits and to encourage listeners around the big state to support their local public stations.

The initiative is led by Southern California Public Radio and its flagship KPCC in Pasadena; participating stations will include KQED in San Francisco, KCRW in Santa Monica, KPBS in San Diego, KAZU in Monterey Bay, KZYX in Mendocino, KRCB in Santa Rosa, KCBX in San Luis Obispo, KVPR in Fresno, KCLU in Thousand Oaks and KCSN in Northridge.

[Read: Schmidt Grant Helps Fund Public Radio Regional Newsrooms]

“At a time when our country is divided over so many issues, working with our fellow stations for California Public Radio Day is an opportunity for public media to lead by example and demonstrate the power that unity can bring to our communities,” the stations said in a group statement, adding that the cohesive efforts of public radio stations “can go so much further than those divided.”

The broadcasters emphasized the role of California public stations as a source for “fact-based news and information” and for helping listeners discover their next favorite artists.

“Public radio is not beholden to stockholders or corporate interests; it is accountable to the people,” the stations wrote. “But without the support of our listeners, we could be at great risk. We hope Californians will join together with us to help boost this critical service and share their love for public radio.”

Listeners can follow on social media with the hashtags #IlovePublicMedia and #CaliforniaPublicRadioDay.

The post California Public Radio Day Aims at Public Awareness appeared first on Radio World.

Eric Wiler is senior vice president, technology and operations at Westwood One. This interview is part of Radio World’s current series about the C-Band migration process including radio station reimbursement.

Westwood One provides syndicated content to 250 million monthly listeners via an audio network of 8,000 affiliated radio stations and media partners. The company, owned by Cumulus Media, describes itself as the largest audio network in America.

Radio World: In the typical relationship between Westwood One and a radio station affiliate, who owns the dish and feedhorn?

Eric Wiler: Since satellite has been employed by the major networks, it has been the typical standard that the network provides the downlink receivers and the station installs the dish, feedhorn, LNB, cables and splitters.

RW: We’ve reported on the process set up by the FCC for reimbursing qualified radio stations for modifying C-Band satellite dishes as part of the midband repack. As a radio syndicator with many affiliates, how does Westwood One fit into this process; what role are you playing?

Wiler: We’ve provided recommendations to our affiliates, acting as a conduit for our satellite provider SES, to disseminate information to radio stations. These recommendations included regular communication asking the stations register their C-Band downlink antennas with the commission.

RW: What role are the satellite companies playing? I understand SES and Intelsat are the major players.

Wiler: SES and Intelsat have dedicated extensive resources to their programming providers such as Westwood One to ensure we maintain our ability to continue distribution with the same high level of reliability stations have come to expect with C-Band. They have played an extremely active role in the engineering of a “shared universe” between satellite and terrestrial utilization of the 3700-4200 MHz band.

RW: A key question confronting many radio stations is whether to take the “lump sum” that’s been established by the FCC process, which we’re told is about $9,000 or $17,000 for a typical radio station. How are you advising radio stations on this decision?

Wiler: Westwood One is a programming provider. While we provided the recommendation to follow the FCC guidelines to register all downlinks, the review and acceptance of the terms placed on the downlinks by the “lump sum” is something that should be carefully considered for each situation. As we cannot be clear on the individual dynamics of every business, the lump sum decision must be made by each owner individually.

[Related: “How the C-Band Repack Affects Public Radio”]

RW: If stations take the lump sum, what is their responsibility?

Wiler: My understanding of the public notice is that by accepting the cash distribution, you are agreeing to mitigate the impact of terrestrial utilization of the C-Band to your downlink, while certain video feeds are transitioning to fiber or terrestrial circuits. By electing to receive the lump sum you’re accepting the responsibility for undertaking the necessary transition actions in accordance with the satellite operators timelines. This could be as simple as adding a filter between the LNB and the feedhorn, but this is not a certainty. C-Band is extremely reliable thus the preference over internet or other public terrestrial backup systems.

RW: If stations do NOT take the lump sum, what is their responsibility?

Wiler: Westwood One’s satellite provider is SES. It will be responsible for the transition of your downlink. Their plan is to conduct pre-installation visual site surveys to assess the individual needs. This means when their installer shows up (provided by SES) they will have the additional equipment should something unexpected happened. This option may be best for stations with extremely limited technical resources.

RW: Hardware provider DAWNco told us they’ve been getting a lot of questions, and that one radio station reported being advised by a Westwood One representative “to do nothing” and that this station thus would be entitled to two free filters but would be leaving available money on the table. Is that an accurate summary of Westwood One’s advice?

Wiler: As I noted earlier, as a program provider Westwood One is not really the appropriate authority to provide the ultimate guidance in every situation. SES has indicated to us as their customer if the station doesn’t elect to receive the lump sum, they will provide filters and assistance in maintaining the downlink’s ability to receive programming. If the stations agree to take on the responsibility for technical mitigation, they may receive compensation. Obviously the “lump sum” is much greater than the cost of two filters, but may be less than the total mitigation expense.

RW: Are you hearing from many stations that missed the earlier registration process and thus are apparently locked out of reimbursement?

Wiler: Overall, we’ve heard from a few stations who didn’t register, but the overwhelming majority of stations complied with the initial request.

RW: What other questions have you been asked by affiliates, and how are you answering?

Wiler: The biggest question has been timing. Filters must be installed by December 2021 for the largest 46 PEAs (markets). The rest of the nation has until December 2023 to mitigate C-Band terrestrial signals.

RW: Anything else we should know?

Wiler: This is a highly complex issue with legal, technical and financial implications. There is a lot of information coming at stations as well as the networks and we’re all on the same side, to maintain the continuity of our programming. By using all available resources the answer for your individual station’s situation should be clear.

[Read more of Radio World’s coverage of this issue.]

The post How Westwood One Views the C-Band Migration appeared first on Radio World.

The Weather Channel and Skyview Networks announced an agreement intended to help the weather content provider expand its radio network sales and distribution.

Skyview is a technology, syndication and national network sales company. The announcement was made by Weather Channel President Tom O’Brien, Skyview Networks President/COO Steve Jones and Skyview EVP/GM Jeanne-Marie Condo.

O’Brien was quoted in the announcement saying that The Weather Channel radio network wants to expand its reach and brand awareness. The network is heard in approximately 100 U.S. markets.

Condo highlighted The Weather Channel’s “impressive reach and wide portfolio of formats, including A18-49 and strong female-skewing audiences” in radio.

Send business news and Who’s Buying What announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Skyview Signs Weather Channel to Sales Agreement appeared first on Radio World.