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It’s sobering to think that these great reliable air chain components can now be considered “legacy” products.

Cris Alexander is tech editor of RW Engineering Extra.

As I began editing the latest issue of RWEE, I couldn’t help taking another trip down memory lane, this time over the last 40+ years of FM air chain architecture.

Such reminiscences seem to come more often these days, and the words “Back in the day …” frequently elicit an eye roll from my daughter, who is CE of Crawford’s Denver cluster (though I think she secretly likes hearing about the “old stuff”).

So… let the eye rolls begin.

FM as stepchild

Back in the day… the FM stations at which I worked early on used simple air chain topography. The program bus of the on-air console fed, through a patch panel, a couple of pairs of CBS Laboratories audio processors: the Audimax and Volumax.

These were, if I recall correctly, discrete processors for left and right, although I think stereo versions were available at some point. If there was any kind of control linking between the mono pairs, I have long forgotten.

Those processors in turn, also through a patch panel, fed the Collins 310 exciter, which used a stereo generator card to create the multiplex signal.

Not a lot of radios could receive and decode the multiplex signal in those days. In fact, not a lot of radios could receive FM in those days!

FM was the stepchild, the “also-ran” to which not many paid a lot of attention. Which explains how I was able to land a job at a couple of FM stations before I even graduated high school.

I had an FM converter in my car for quite a while, which used an AM modulator to spit out a signal on the high end of the AM band where I could listen to the FM signal. It was mono, but I was way ahead of most folks just by being able to tune into those elevator music FM stations.

At some point, I bought and installed a car radio that had an integral FM tuner and a little red stereo light. I was amazed at the big stereo image when I first tuned into our FM station and that red light illuminated. That simple Audimax/Volumax air chain sounded pretty good!

Our little (but 100 kW!) FM station in the Texas Panhandle was a pretty low-budget operation, but when Orban came out with the Optimod 8000 in the 1970s, the owner sprang for one.

Installing it took some doing; the Collins exciter had to be reconfigured without the internal stereo generator, and I found out in a hurry that the multiplex cable between the composite output of the Optimod and the composite input of the exciter had to be pretty short if I wanted to have a good, wide stereo image.

Once I got the baseband and pilot levels adjusted to make the Belar FM and stereo monitors happy, I gave the station a listen in the car, and … wow!! That was my first exposure to multiband processing, and the on-air sound was amazing.

New methods

As time went on and I moved to the big city, I was exposed to other air chain topology.

I can’t recall working at any other stations that had collocated studios and transmitter site, so all used some kind of studio-to-transmitter link (STL). Many used equalized phone lines, but some used Marti discrete 950 MHz links.

Both those arrangements had their challenges. The phone lines would sometimes get noisy or hum, especially after a good rain, and the 950 MHz links were occasionally prone to noise and interference.

Audio processors were located at the transmitter site. By the late 1970s, all but one that I regularly dealt with used multiband processors. The sound was good, but not as good as that collocated Amarillo FM with its Optimod 8000.

And then I was hired as the chief (and only) engineer for a Dallas top 40 radio station. My transition into that job occurred at the same time as the station was transitioning to a new transmitter site and tower on the Cedar Hill antenna farm.

The studio was on a multistory building just east of downtown, and a 950 MHz Moseley composite STL was used to get the audio to the transmitter site. That was my first exposure to a composite STL, and I thought it very strange that the new Optimod 8100 processor was in the rack at the studio!

There was a loudness war underway in that very competitive market in those days, and we pretty much ran all knobs all the way to the right. But we needed more to stay ahead of — or even on a par with — our chief competition across town. The issue was overshoots in that composite STL; we had to keep the average modulation down to keep the peak modulation below 100%. The FCC had a field office in town, and they did pay attention to local broadcasters in those days.

Our parent company was New York-based, and it had connections, one of which was a brilliant engineer named Eric Small.

A mysterious “black box” of Mr. Small’s creation was placed in the air chain downstream of the STL receiver at the transmitter site, and that took care of the overshoots — we could run the modulation way up and stay out of trouble with the newfangled composite clipper in line. I knew it was working because I could see the pilot level dancing with modulation peaks.

Ethernet paths

That composite STL air chain architecture persisted for much of my career, until the digital age. We used various digital adapters on our composite links, including the Moseley DSP6000s, to good effect, and audio processors kept getting better.

In the early 1990s, a guy named Frank Foti came to Detroit with a weird-looking box that he called the Omnia. He installed it in the air chain of our FM station there, and … wow! Over the next 25 years, Frank’s processors kept getting better and we kept buying them.

Then came true all-digital STLs that offered transparent transmission paths between studio and transmitter. HD Radio appeared in the early 2000s, and the Tomorrow Radio Project made multicast channels on FM HD stations possible, requiring additional audio paths between studio and transmitter.

It was then that my company made the move to Part 101 bidirectional point-to-point microwave links, putting studios and transmitter sites on the same networks.

Air chains, for us, became Ethernet paths involving AoIP, NICs and switches, a far cry from those analog Audimax/Volumax patch-panel stereo generator chains of old.

Now we have even more options, one of which is multiplex over IP. In the latest issue of RW Engineering Extra, Tony Peterle of Worldcast Systems introduces us to MPXoIP technology.

As I enter my 45th year in the business, I can’t wait to see what comes next. How about RF over IP? Put the transmitter at the studio and send 40 kW of RF down a twisted pair … okay, we probably can’t do that ever. But it would sure be cool if we could!

You can reach the author at rweetech@gmail.com. Cris Alexander, CPBE, AMD, DRB, is director of engineering at Crawford Broadcasting.

The post Air Chains Then and Now appeared first on Radio World.

The worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is now in the past. Plans are in the works for the 2021 NAB Show in Las Vegas. One group of CFOs and other key financial leaders in broadcast media have successfully navigated through stormy seas and are positioned for sunny days ahead.

In recognition of their efforts, the readers of RBR+TVBR have once again spoken, with nominations for the Broadcast Best Finance Leaders of 2021. It’s a ranked Top 15 list, as it was in 2020, and honors industry professionals who have demonstrated leadership prowess, fiscal skill, and the acknowledged respect of their peers.

Who’s at No. 1?

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Tony Coles is president of the Black Information Network, a radio news and information service from iHeartMedia. He is also division president for Metro Markets for iHeartMedia. And like so many in radio he’s made many stops on both coasts and both sides of the microphone.

He was interviewed by Suzanne Gougherty, director of MMTC Media and Telecom Brokers at the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council. MMTC commentaries appear regularly in Radio World, which welcomes other points of view on industry issues.

Suzanne Gougherty: Do you think that BIN is setting a tone on mainstream FM music stations to a targeted audience to deliver access to news and information?
Tony Coles: We are at an interesting moment in time. Audio is hotter than ever, and we are seeing spoken word content being consumed more than ever. In addition to our 24/7 all-news format, the Black Information Network offers a short-form news product that is heard on a number of FM stations. Additionally, BIN supplies news and information over 100 iHeartMedia music stations — the majority on FM. I don’t know if that is setting the tone, but we are excited to fill a void for news and information that people are seeking.

On a broader basis, BIN seeks to address the concern that, especially with the recent and unfortunate narrative around “fake news,” there is a growing lack of trust within the Black population in mainstream news. BIN focuses on issues that are especially important to Black America — Black culture, education (HBCUs), Black wealth, social justice, faith and religion, and especially in the wake of a pandemic that disproportionately impacted communities of color, Black health — and reports on these matters with Black voices, using Black reporters, producers and influencers, to tell the stories — positive and negative — that might otherwise fall outside the traditional news cycle.

[Read: Looking to Radio for a Bounce-Back]

Gougherty: There were so many challenges in 2020—– pandemic which encompassed everything we do—– yet you and your team were able to launch a new product. Tell us how you pulled that off?
Coles: The need for an all-news/information network like BIN to tell the stories and offer the perspectives that are most relevant to Black Americans is not new. This has been a passion of mine for some time, and with the full support of iHeart’s senior leadership we started to build the plan foundation and begin recruitment before the pandemic shut us and everyone else down. When that happened, it impacted our timeline, for sure, but I firmly believe we are better as a result of changing strategy. Working from home caused us to discover not only reporters in places we weren’t looking, but the diversity of a staff in markets of all sizes and time zones makes for more robust reporting. Having the support and full backing of the resources and assets of a company like iHeart, which has been so laser-focused on modernizing and innovating the audio space generally, is also invaluable.

Gougherty: What were some of the behind the scene discussions like to get a full team in place? What kind of broadcast professionals were you seeking to hire? Were some hired from within?
Coles: Hiring an entire staff in a virtual environment has its own set of unique challenges, but we have been fortunate to find an incredible team. Because of our national platform, it was important for us to have a staff that reflects the complexity and diversity of Black America. Our team ranges from former New York TV reporters to anchors in rural Alabama. It was incredibly gratifying — and exciting — as some of the most well-respected Black voices out there — Tanita Myers, Ed Gordon, Roland Martin, and so many others — agreed to join us as we built this team. But we not only have seasoned veterans we are very intentionally creating opportunities for the next generation of Black media, including some who are just starting their careers. And while we were able to tap into the strong resources of our parent company, we have put a lot of effort into hiring a significant number of new reporters and anchors. In fact, the vast majority of the Black Information Network team members are Black. Top to bottom; young and old. This is hugely important to what makes the Black Information Network so special, and hopefully, so impactful to our listeners and communities.

Gougherty: Have you ever worked in a broadcast newsroom?
Coles: I was fortunate enough to start my career working at a full-service AM station and helping to produce the late news for the local NBC affiliate. Over the years, I was a news anchor at a number of stations. Thankfully, our newsroom is much more sophisticated, and our anchors are much better than I was. Still, having that background has given me a deeper respect and appreciation for the work our team is doing, and a particular passion for the role of Black journalism in reporting the news and telling the stories that need to be told at the local, national and international levels. BIN’s unique business model is actually quite relevant here, as well. Unlike traditional radio stations and audio networks, BIN is not chasing advertisers to fill inventory spot ads. Instead, we several Founding Partners have invested upfront to support BIN’s mission. This allows us to be laser-focused on the stories, the news, and the information we are committed to covering from a Black perspective.

Gougherty: Coming up soon is the first anniversary of BIN, what was the biggest challenge that you faced in year one and how did you overcome it?
Coles: Launching a network like BIN during a pandemic that disproportionally impacted the Black community and in the middle one of the most pivotal times in the social justice movement was even harder than it sounds. Not being able to physically be in the same room with the team — ever — was personally and professionally challenging.

Thankfully, we have an amazing team of engineers, incredible technology, and lots of coffee. Lots of coffee. Additionally, while BIN is the first of its kind 24/7 news and information network, true to our local broadcasting heart, we are committed to serving local communities, especially where there is a large Black population either in total numbers or just as a percentage of that community. That means that while we are in major urban centers such as New York, Atlanta and Washington, we are also in smaller, more rural communities such as Jackson, Miss., Macon, Ga. and Greenville, S.C. And a lot of places in between.

So yes, one of the big challenges, during a pandemic or otherwise, was identifying, and if necessary, acquiring, and then standing up, radio stations to build out our local footprint. I’m very proud to say that since our launch in June 2020, we’ve more than doubled the number of local BIN stations delivering our content 24/7. These stations carry not only the network programming, but also local stories, including from on-the-ground BIN reporters.

Gougherty: There are many issues that impact the Black communities, tell us some of the leading stories your team has covered in year one? What do they feel is their biggest accomplishment?
Coles: Our first year was filled with so many big stories that it is hard to even begin to list them. Obviously, the Black Lives Matter protests from last summer and our ongoing coverage of the impact of COVID-19 on the Black community top the list. Beyond that, I think our team would say so many of the stories that we brought to light when other news outlets either didn’t tell them, wouldn’t tell them, or told them from a biased perspective. From terribly disturbing stories such as the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Mich., to uplifting stories such as the election of the first Black woman Vice President, to highlighting the work Black leaders in business are doing to create generational wealth in the community — we have been and continue to be a part of it all. This is the stuff I tell my kids about.

Gougherty: How did your BIN team cover the Chauvin trial and verdict? 
Coles: One of our first network affiliates was KQQL(HD2) BIN 93.3 in Minneapolis. They carried live coverage of the trial from gavel to gavel. As a result, they were able to supply the network with great content and perspective, which was the engine for both our network reporting and a nightly trial recap that aired across the network. When the verdict came in, we aired it live across the network and within minutes we offered special reports to over 150 radio stations across the country.

[Read: Keeping Sports Hot in the Age of Coronavirus]

Gougherty: What is your day-to-day workload entail?
Coles: In addition to running the network, I am also a division president for 21 iHeartMedia markets. Fortunately, I am blessed to have great leaders in the markets, and an incredible leadership team at BIN. Most days are spent working to grow the network, interacting with our clients, and working with the local market leadership teams in my division to help them get results for our clients, improve the listening experience for our audiences, and grow and develop our teams.

Gougherty: When you envisioned BIN, were you thinking deeply about social responsibility, diversity and inclusion as a delivery vehicle to diverse audience?  
Coles: BIN was conceived long before the events of last summer, so our perspective on social responsibility had a different context. That said, we always wanted the network to be the voice of the unheard. We wanted our actions to lift up Black voices and create jobs and opportunities in the Black community, and for our reporting to create and amplify change.

Gougherty: What do you feel are the misconceptions about radio versus the big streaming companies?  
Coles: We have said it for years and will continue to say it: Radio is about companionship. Listeners turn to radio to be their friend and companion. Streaming services are wonderful places for your music collection, but when you want to be entertained, informed, and engaged, only radio can offer that deep and lasting connection.

Gougherty: As a black radio executive please share your thoughts about the cultural divide in the country and how that’s expressed itself in radio?
Coles: My great grandfather was a slave. My grandfather witnessed his murder at the hands of someone who felt slavery shouldn’t have ended. The KKK burned the first home my parents ever owned. My story isn’t unique, but it is a reminder of just how much darkness and division is rooted in our not so distant history. The cultural divide in our country runs deep and it won’t be resolved soon, but I am encouraged by so many of the things we have seen and heard over the past 12 months. While I am incredibly proud of the work the Black Information Network has done, I am equally proud of the conversations talent across the industry have sparked. We cannot resolve anything that we are not willing to discuss. Radio has always been at the center of conversations, and I am so proud that in this moment, we are once again the voice of change.

 

The post Coles Takes a Bold Step appeared first on Radio World.

Frank Hertel’s project: three individually dimmable LED lights. (Frank is the master of recycling; the wooden mounting pedestals are the panels from a decommissioned ATI console!)

Thanks for your comments on the super-bright tri-panel LED light “bulb” described in the last column.

Workbench contributor Frank Hertel of Newman-Kees RF Measurements and Engineering described another approach to lighting your shop or workbench with LED bulbs — and this one is dimmable.

The dimmer selector means you won’t blind yourself with overly bright light unless you need to.

What started it

Frank needed to replace spot and floodlights on his tractor, and found the LED fixtures shown in the first two photos on the internet.

A wide-beam rectangular LED light, with a sharp cutoff on the edges. A small round LED floodlight.

Before installing them on the tractor, he tested them on the workbench. Frank was impressed with how much light both fixtures provided, exceeding the brightness of his more expensive 120V LED shop lamps.

However Frank felt there might be cases where the brightness was too much for the work at hand, so he decided to build a dimmer circuit.

In selecting a method of dimming the LED fixtures, Frank first considered the simplest method: varying the DC voltage. This will work, but because of the “avalanche” turn-on point — it’s not a smooth ramp-up or down — varying the DC voltage makes for a sloppy dimming control.

Enter the 555

Frank decided on the ever-so-handy 555 Timer IC, which was configured as an adjustable duty cycle square wave generator.

Seen in the accompanying schematic, the 555 square wave generator drives an MPF102 FET, which in turn drives a D718 power transistor that provides a “pulsed” 12V variable duty cycle driving the LED lamp fixture.

Frank’s LED dimming circuit is based on a 555 Timer chip.

The fixture is only pulsed long enough with the 12 volts to establish the desired brightness level. This method overrides the “avalanche” “on-off” effect that is noticed when a variable voltage is used to attempt control of the fixture’s brightness.

Stated another way, the LED fixture’s brightness can be viewed in relation to the length of time the 12V pulse is present. Therefore, the duty cycle of the 555 IC’s square wave is the determining factor for the LED fixture’s brightness. Pretty slick!

He used a widely available and inexpensive D718 power transistor that is rated for 8A at 120V. With a properly sized 15VDC supply and heatsink for the D718, you could power several LED fixtures with just one dimmer. Alternately, the circuit is small enough that you could mount several dimmers in one chassis, for individual control.

Frank realizes you can buy a pre-made dimmer but asked, “What fun is that?”

Besides, this dimmer circuit can handle a lot of current and is small enough that multiple dimmer circuits can be mounted inside one chassis.

After outfitting his tractor, Frank mounted three fixtures on wood pedestals so he could focus the light on what needed illuminating. Frank adds that if pointed at a white ceiling, the fixtures provide ample room illumination.

The completed project provides for three individually dimmed LED fixtures. You’ll note in the photo that Frank chose silicone jacketed wire to connect the fixtures to the dimmer. This wire is super-flexible, albeit expensive. The silicone helps avoid tangles. The 22 gauge wire had an almost immeasurable voltage drop over the 30 foot length that Frank chose.

Frank chose ultra-flexible silicone wire. Similar to “Zip” cord, it resists tangling.

Parts are listed at the end of this article. Keep in mind that when selecting the working voltage of the capacitors, good engineering practice dictates choosing a capacitor rated at twice the supply voltage. Since we’re talking about 15VDC in this circuit, choose capacitors rated at either 30 or 50 Working Volts DC (WVDC).

PS: If you’ve made it this far, you are definitely an engineer who likes to build and tinker. San Diego’s Marc Mann reminded me of a site that will occupy your interest for hours with the variety of parts for sale. It’s Marlin P. Jones and Associates at www.mpja.com. Their online catalog is fascinating, and the site features bargains and closeouts. You can sign up there for an email flier or access their online catalog.

John Bisset, CPBE, has spent more than 50 years in broadcasting and is in his 31st year writing Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance. He is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award. Shed a little light by sharing share your own Workbench submissions, which qualify for SBE recertification. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.

 

Dimmer Project Parts List

1 each 20K Pot (linear) (B20K or 20KB)

1 each 1k 1/4W Resistor

1 each 6.8k 1/4W Resistor

2 each 0.01MFD Capacitors

1 each 1MFD Electrolytic Capacitor

1 each 1MFD non-polarized Capacitor

1 each 100MFD Electrolytic Capacitor

2 each 1N4006 Diodes (non critical)

1 each MPF102 F.E.T.

1 each D718 NPN Power Transistor

1 each Heatsink for above transistor

1 each 15VDC Power Supply, sized for LED fixture demands

1 each Enclosure of your choice

1 each Knob for pot

1 each perf board and hookup wire

 

The post Workbench: Build an LED Fixture Dimmer Circuit   appeared first on Radio World.

We continue our Microphone Month coverage by checking in with Anabella Poland, general manager of WMSC(FM).

The Montclair State University station in New Jersey keeps its microphone cage stocked with various models for specific purposes.

In the studio, it’s the reliable EV RE20. “They do a great job for broadcast radio even though they are not condenser microphones,” Poland said.

“For remote work most of my students primarily have Blue Snowball mics. They are fairly priced and do a decent job.”

They might pull out a Blue Bluebird for live performance recording applications such as over a drumset. For red carpet events the station uses Shure SM58 mics with its two Yellowtec iXM and one Zoom recorders.

At home Poland, shown, uses a Marantz Professional MPM-1000U. She said it “delivers high-quality audio recording directly into the computer as it is a USB microphone, and sometimes you just need that quick access for live shows and streaming.”

Read more of our Microphone Month coverage.

 

The post Our Favorite Mics: Anabella Poland, WMSC(FM) appeared first on Radio World.

From our Who’s Buying What page: El Dorado Broadcasters chose RadioFX Inc. as its mobile app partner.

El Dorado owns 10 radio stations in Victor Valley, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz., and has launched a mobile app platform for all of its station brands. Apps are available in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store both under individual brands and aggregated under the El Dorado Broadcasters banner.

The announcement was made by Mark Mitchell, VP of programming, who said listeners will be able to access station streams, while the stations will be able to do in-app contesting, audience polling and a chat function with on-air staff.

In the announcement, EVP/GM Chris Fleming was quoted: “Mobile is of primary importance as it is ubiquitous. Of almost equal importance is having the interface with Android Auto and Apple Car Play, making our brands part of the in dash experience.”

Submit news to Who’s Buying What at radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post RadioFX Provides Apps to El Dorado appeared first on Radio World.

An FM station is facing a $3,000 forfeiture for allegedly failing to file a license renewal application on time.

The Audio Division of the Media Bureau issued the forfeiture to Jones Communications, licensee of WVFG(FM) in Uniontown, Ala. Federal Communications Commission rules say that license renewal applications must be filed by the first day of the fourth full calendar month prior to the expiration of the license. In WVFG’s case, that means that the renewal application should have been filed by Dec. 2, 2019, since the station’s license expired on April 1, 2020. The FCC said that the application was not filed until Feb. 10, 2020 and the licensee provided no explanation for the delay.

[Read: Four Stations Receive Forfeitures for Same Alleged Violation: Late Filings]

The bureau reached out to Jones in February with an initial notice and gave the licensee 30 days to pay the full amount or file a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture. As of June 11, the bureau said the licensee has neither paid the proposed forfeiture or filed a written statement in response to the notice.

In assessing forfeitures, the FCC looks at the Communications Act of 1934 to determine the nature, circumstances and gravity of the violation. As a result, the commission said that the licensee owed $3,000.

 

The post FCC Says FM Station Willfully Violated Rules appeared first on Radio World.

In a world … full … of microphones …

When I type that sentence I hear famed voice-over guy Don LaFontaine saying the words with his golden tones.

Although the world seems full of mics — and new ones coming all the time in the age of the podcast — not all mics are created equal. One size rarely fits all.

With podcasts flourishing and home studios proliferating, a lot of new mics are marketed as “voice mics” or as intended for “podcasting and broadcasting.” Some are very good, others may disappoint radio people who have come to expect certain quality.

[Related: “Today’s Microphones Offer a Buffet of Choices”]

In recent decades radio, or at least commercial U.S. radio, has tended to gravitate to a few very good models for studio work. For instance, the Electro-Voice RE20 (and its siblings the RE27ND and RE320) are common, as is the Shure SM7 and its variants, Sennheiser MD421-II, Heil Sound PR40 and a few others. You sometimes see Neumanns in radio studios and production rooms as well.

For voice work, it’s not uncommon to see a shotgun mic like Sennheiser’s MKH 416 being used, despite the original intention of that style for capturing distant sound. A user must know what they’re doing to use it for proximity voiceover situations.

Recently, decent USB microphones have hit the streets, and some are variations of mics we know and like, such as the USB version of the Shure SM7, called the MV7.

I’ve used a few other USB mics along the way for traveling (when a last-minute voice job comes in), and they work well in a pinch. Examples are Samson mics like the Satellite, the numerous Blue mic models and Audio-Technica’s 2020 USB.

Though it’s not common, a few manufacturers have combined USB and XLR connections into one microphone such as Audio-Technica’s ATR-2100 handheld.

The Audio-Technica ATR2100 is a dual USB/XLR microphone.

As I’ve explored these mics for my own voiceover work, I tend to go back to two mics depending on the job: the EV RE320 and the Sennheiser MKE 600 shotgun, which is more affordable than its cousin the MKH 416.

These are not USB, they have standard XLR connections. If you are married to XLR favorites, carry a XLR/USB adapter with you.

One important consideration is that USB connections are not nearly as durable or “repairable” as an XLR connection.

A different approach is to use a utility XLR-input mixer with a USB port, such as a Mackie ProFX, to get audio into your computer. The biggest advantage of this over an adapter or cable is the ability to take multiple mics (or outboard equipment) into the computer over one connection. The disadvantage is that this system is far less portable if your idea is to make the system portable and/or very simple to connect.

Rode Podcaster Pro

If you have the budget, there are excellent feature-packed dedicated mixers designed to be USB interfaces. A notable example is the Rode Podcaster Pro with multiple XLR inputs, mic processing, built-in recorder, quick-player pad and multiple headset jacks.

Not to be forgotten are the desktop audio interfaces for getting XLR-sourced audio into a computer. As with microphones, there has been a wave of desktop digital audio converters at all sorts of price and feature points on the retail market. An examination of those would be an article in of itself.

Making Choices

As always, it’s advisable to demo a mic before buying. To narrow prospects, the internet can provide a wealth of information and helpful videos.

The website Podcastage, for example, has a video in which the host compares no fewer than 14 dynamic broadcast mics from EV, Shure, Rode, Audio-Technica, MXL, Golden Age, Heil, Neumann, Aston, Telefunken and ART.

It’s comprehensive (though the way he stacks the mics in his arms at the beginning made me cringe).

Keep in mind that asking someone which mic is best is a pretty subjective question. Voices, rooms, hardware and any processing vary so if you are tailoring the mic for one particular person or situation, that will have an impact on which one to choose.

[Read more of our Microphone Month coverage.]

>>>

Mic Sampler

Here’s a list of mics on the market for podcasting and radio work; by no means is this a complete list. Prices are MSRP. Important: Veteran shoppers know that most popular mic models are usually sold at a good discount from dealers, so shop around.

ART D7 — $269

Aston Stealth — $379

Audio-Technica AT2020 — $99

Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ — $149

Audio-Technica BP40 — $349

Blue BluebirdSL — $299

Blue Snowball iCE — $49.99

Blue Yeti — $129.99

Electro-Voice RE20 — $609

Electro-Voice RE27N/D — $700

Electro-Voice RE320 — $337

Golden Age Project D2 — $150

Heil Sound PR40 — $329

M-Audio Nova — $35

MXL V87 — $199.95

MXL 990 — $99.95

MXL BCD-1 — $149.95

Neumann BCM 705 — $849

Neumann TLM 103 — $1,349

Neumann U 87 Ai — $3,999

PreSonus PD-70 — $169.95

Rode PodMic — $150

Rode Procaster — $369

Rode NT1 Kit — $395

Samson Satellite — $148.99

SE Electronics V7 — $129

Sennheiser MD 421-II — $399.95

Sennheiser MD 441-U — $999

Shure SM58 — $124

Shure SM7B — $499

Shure MV7 USB — $311

Telefunken M82 — $459

Zoom ZDM-1 — $79.99

>>>

XLR to USB XLR-to-USB adapters from Polsen, Shure, Roland and Senai.

If you just can’t leave your XLR microphone behind try an XLR-to-USB adapter:

Polsen XLR-USB-48 XLR to SUB adapter — $51.95

Roland Black Series USB to XLR Cable — $35.99

Senal XU-1648 XLR to USB adapter — $123.95

Shure X2u XLR to USB adapter — $99

 

The post Pondering Microphone Choices in 2021 appeared first on Radio World.

I’m tired of thinking about hackers. I’m tired of maintaining a sophisticated stateful proxy firewall at home. This is almost surely on top of whatever threat mitigation is employed by my internet service provider Comcast.

Even basic firewalls (including the one on your computer) limit the connectivity to a handful of well-known ports and protocols for inbound traffic. That’s a lot of barbed wire fences to climb over.

My firewall (pfSense — free for non-com use, runs on Berkeley Linux) even blocks DNS resolution from URLs on several lists like www.spamhaus.org, feds.dshield.org and a list of lists at www.iblocklist.com. Makes loading exploit code harder. I presume most consolidated IT departments employ similar tools.

Still, stuff happens.

Easy pickings

The reason this keeps happening is that the rewards for successful hacking and the ease with which thousands of exposed attack surfaces can be scanned quickly makes it trivial to pick the low-hanging fruit of misconfiguration. If only 2% of victims pay the ransom, so what? It’s still a bonanza.

Users at home might pay a hundred bucks or so to restore their files. A hospital might be good for a hundred thousand. Meanwhile the software tools to make this mischief are available for sale or rent.

Literally, there’s malware software as a service. Bitcoin makes collecting ransom anonymous.

So, lacking any true bulletproof software solution, I’m now exploring the kinds of firewall hardware that no amount of probing can circumvent. I’ve arrived at a solution that I think gets the job done, at least as far as the truly malicious software offerings are concerned.

For online banking, where I do not enjoy the protection of the $50 limit on credit card fraud, it’s now a machine that is connected only when I am online. Literally, the first order of business is to enable the wired IP interface. It gets disabled when I’m done. Any old hunk of junk will do for this application.

This strategy relies on the presumption that network mapping is a prerequisite to successful attacks, and a machine they can’t see is unlikely to be vulnerable.

Elsewhere, whole machine backups made to a USB-connected drive pass through an external USB hub. One of my Raspberry Pi timers (described in an earlier column) connects and disconnects the USB hub power on a schedule.

Yes, exploring the machine that is backed up using this scheme will reveal a Windows backup schedule and the path to the actual backup but no access. Let ’em wonder how that can be.

K.I.S.S.

And so that’s where I’m headed for low-cost, low-tech solutions for the automation network at the radio station.

Like most places, we require internet connectivity to pull down paid content, news, weather and such. There’s no avoiding exposure. But I think a custom “jump box” will solve the problem.

It’ll be built as an FTP device, reaching out via scripting to harvest needed files, placing them in a quarantine, running them through anti-whatever, then dropping them into an “outbox” for pickup by the automation system’s loading tools.

Finally, once the key features are up and working, I’ll burn the entire boot partition to a DVD and boot from that. Reboot every 24 hours.

For script storage and the anti-whatever database, a thumb drive with an external write protect switch seems obvious; maybe something like this. You get the idea.

Think like a hacker. Create impenetrable physical barriers for him. Presume you’ll be infected and flush their effort before it is productive. Given the target-rich environment, I believe it’ll work like those alarm company stickers on your window. The bad guys will just move on.

Finally, I am no longer a fan of unified, company-wide systems for authentication like Active Directory.

The recent zerologon attack put a lot of AD users in the ditch. Essentially, one try in 256 would authenticate a password of all zeros. A glitch in the code, it seems.

These systems are robust until they aren’t and, unfortunately, can be bought and set up by anybody. De-compilers allow a view into the binaries, and any vulnerabilities will be found by bad guys.

Sadly, response from software vendors to even hacks they’ve been made aware of can be slow. Understandable, I suppose, since hundreds of supposed vulnerabilities are reported for every one that is actually viable. Everybody wants to be a hero. But sorting the real problem from all the chaff reported is time consuming.

Often, posting actual exploit code as a proof of concept is the only way to get a vendor’s attention. That’s what it took for the zerologon hack. And the bad guys have plenty of money to buy a version of every software product and every appliance out there, then reverse engineer it all. So it’s a losing battle.

On the other hand, a machine that is unplugged is a pretty tough hacking target. And a machine that boots fresh daily from read only media is going to be pretty challenging for a hacker, too.

Finally, when machines need updates, let ’em access the public internet for only the time required, then cut them off.

Turns out old ideas can apply to new environments. Want to prevent a mishap? Turn off the power, disengage, disconnect.

The author is chief engineer of Salem Communications’ Chicago cluster and president of the consultancy FM and Co.

The post Old Ideas for a New Threat Environment appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters has presented its 2021 Radio Engineering Achievement Award to David Hershberger. The veteran engineer retired as senior scientist with Continental Electronics in 2017.

NAB describes Hershberger as a “true renaissance broadcast engineer” with over four decades of experience.

Hershberger, a graduate of University of Illinois with a master’s in electrical engineering, joined the broadcast group at Harris Broadcast in 1975 designing and refining broadcast transmission products. In addition, he served in various engineering roles at Grass Valley Group and Axcera.

[Read: NAB Foundation Will Honor Lin-Manuel Miranda]

Hershberger focused primarily on exciters and modulators for FM transmitters, and low-level signal processing, and is credited with co-developing the world’s first digital FM exciter as an experimental prototype, according to a NAB press release announcing the award. He holds 21 U.S. patents.

“Among many people who have helped me along the way I want to thank Geoff Mendenhall (a former co-worker at Harris), who showed me how to turn ideas in products. And Dan Dickey (president of Continental Electronics) gave me the best advice of my career, and that was to learn math lab. I’m glad I did,” Hershberger said during today’s online awards presentation.

NAB engineering award winners are nominated by their peers for significant contributions for advancing the state of the art in broadcast engineering. Sam Matheny, executive vice president and chief technology officer of NAB, hosted the NAB Amplify streaming event, which also featured keynote conversation with Mike Chapman, a partner and Americas Media Lead at Kearney, a management consulting firm specializing in corporate and growth strategy and business transformation.

NAB presents two engineering achievement awards each year — one for achievements in radio and the other for television. Dave Folsom of Pearl TV was named recipient of the 2021 NAB Engineering Achievement Award for Television.

The NAB Service to Broadcast Engineering Award is presented periodically to individuals who have provided extraordinary service to the industry. Today NAB announced Grady Dreasler, corporate director of engineering and technology at Quincy Media, as recipient of its 2021 service award recipient.

In addition, the broadcaster association also presented its Digital Leadership Award during today’s Amplify presentation to Adam Wiener, executive VP and GM of CBS Local Digital Media.

 

The post Hershberger Honored With 2021 NAB Engineering Award appeared first on Radio World.

Want to take your coaching game to the next level?

This column from expert sales trainer Barrett Riddleberger is worth six minutes of your time.

Here, he provides a list of “proven” techniques that effective sales managers use to improve sales performance.

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When it comes to long-term investments, the company’s stock is still a big winner. Still, Urban One shares trading as “UONE” have been as up and down of late as a rollercoaster at Kings Dominion.

On heavier-than-average volume, Urban One stock was down sharply in midday trading on Friday — continuing a plunge that began on Tuesday (6/15). Why are shares down, following a sharp rise at the start of June?

Some are pointing to the registration of 2,928,906 Class A shares — a $58,373,097 offering for Urban One — made this week by the African American-centric media company and casino gaming operator.

The move allows Urban One to sell, from time to time, up to that amount of stock. There’s no guarantee that Urban One will execute a sale anytime soon. But, the mere possibility spooked those looking for a quick payout from a stock that shot up in value after months of tepid, uninspiring activity in the wake of social justice protests and a newly stated commitment from big companies to invest in Black-owned media with their advertising budgets.

That was exactly 12 months ago, when Urban One soared from prices in the $1.30 range to $36.30 as of June 15, 2020. By September 7, UONE was down to the mid-$3 range. For long-term investors, gains were threefold. For day traders, the pain was severe.

Then came mid-May. In the last month, UONE moved from $5.43 to $9.56 on May 20, only to dip to $7.35 on May 28. Then came a big burst of buying activity, as investors learned of Urban One’s coming casino operation in Richmond. Shares shot up to $18.57 by June 8 and climbed to $20.95 on Monday, June 14.

That finish was the best for UONE since that June 2020 rise-and-recede activity.

But, another rise-and-recede story is underway. At 1:40pm Eastern, UONE was priced at $10.81. This reflects a 48.5% share value slide for the week, should UONE close June 18’s trading session at that level.

Urban One’s “UONEK” shares are also down, but not as significantly, and were trading at $4.64 in midday trading Friday. On June 7, a $6.45 closing price was seen; UONEK was trading in the mid-$1 range through late April 2021.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. — With 100 watts from a small broadcast tower on city-owned property, Morro Bay, Calif.-based KEBF-FM serves this bucolic Central Coast community as low-power locally focused “The Rock.” It simulcasts on a 9-watt signal overlooking Paso Robles, famed for its vineyars.

It’s just one of many LPFMs that could benefit from a rule change brought forth by the FCC this week.

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He’s the President of Carroll County Broadcasting and of related entity Bunyard Northwest Properties.

Now, Jay Bunyard is adding an additional Arkansas radio property to his stable of stations.

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The Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), in partnership with the ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) and presented by Univision, will host a weeklong virtual summit next week that provides “a virtual stage for new voices and candid conversations, featuring video advertising industry professionals whose experiences can inspire real shifts in mindset and offer practical guidance.”

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One month ago, a licensee headed by Matthew Davidge and Julie Huang agreed to purchase a trio of yet-to-be-constructed low-power TV stations serving small communities in Illinois, New Mexico and North Dakota, respectively.

They’ve now struck a series of bigger deals with the entity that in May agreed to spin those three unbuilt LPTVs — HC2 Broadcasting.

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A former U.S. Surgeon General has agreed to join the medical reporting team of the CW Network affiliate serving Indianapolis owned by African American broadcast station owner DuJuan McCoy.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON TWITTER!

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Clyde Scott, a broadcast engineer and consultant, has died at age 70.

According to his obituary, he passed away Tuesday in Georgia.

Scott was the owner-operator of technical consulting firm EME Communications. “He was well-known throughout the southeastern United States for troubleshooting radio transmitter issues,” the obituary states. “He was sought after to research and file new applications and worked closely with the FCC attorneys in Washington, D.C.”

He also was active in amateur radio (W4CCS) and established the online station Bluegrassradio.org as well as low-power FM station WLOV, Colquitt Community Radio, in Moultrie, Ga.

His friend Robert Combs, director of engineering at Cumulus Media, told Radio World that Clyde Scott graduated from the University of Tennessee with an electrical engineering degree. His first job was as a transmitter site engineer at WSB(AM) in Atlanta.

“Besides working in radio, he worked at a Procter & Gamble plant in the engineering department on the third shift so he could work on radio stations during the day,” Combs said.

“Clyde was the go-to engineer in southern Georgia and northern Florida when you needed help with filing paperwork with the FCC or if you need some troubleshooting help that required heavy equipment. He was the guy with all the test gear that was always willing to help,” Combs said.

“He was an avid ham operator and had three towers, a long-wire and satellite dish in his back yard for his hobby. He also enjoyed rebuilding 1940-era John Deere tractors.”

Combs called him a mentor and friend to many engineers who began their careers in the Southeast.

“Clyde took me, an overnight DJ in Bainbridge, Ga., under his wing and helped me with my career every step for the last 32 years,” Combs recalled.

“The funniest story he ever told me was of the time he and some fellow college students ‘accidentally’ connected the ground system of a small Tennessee AM station to a railroad track one Sunday morning and had the citizens of that town thinking it was God’s voice talking to them through every appliance, radio and TV in their house.”

 

The post Clyde Scott Dies, Well-Known Engineer in Southeast appeared first on Radio World.

In late May, the head of sales for Fox Television Stations’ owned-and-operated station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, who added SVP/Market Manager duties in December 2014, packed her bags and relocated to the company’s Seattle-Tacoma operations.

Now, her successor has been chosen, and it is a promotion from within.

Marian Davey, the VP/News Director for KMSP-9 and MyNetwork TV sibling WFTC (KMSP-9.2), has risen to SVP/GM of the Twin Cities siblings.

Davey succeeds Sheila Oliver, who took the Seattle SVP/GM post, overseeing KCPQ-TV “Q13,” and “Joe TV” KZJO-TV.

Davey reports directly to FOX Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy, who called out Davey for “a stellar job in leading the KMSP-FOX 9 news team for the past eight years. Her past success and understanding of the market, coupled with her local news expertise and results-driven attitude, make her the natural choice to lead our Minneapolis duopolies.”

Marian Davey

Davey has been with the FOX-owned duopoly in Minneapolis for nearly 20 years. She ascended to her most recent role in August 2013, and previously served as Managing Editor and Assistant News Director for the stations. Prior to joining FOX, she spent fourteen years at WCCO-4 in Minneapolis, in various roles ranging from intern, to Producer, and Managing Editor at the CBS O&O.

“Getting the opportunity to lead these incredible stations, KMSP/WFTC is a dream come true,” Davey said. “I’m honored and excited to bring both stations continued growth and success.”

 

The parent company of FOX News Media, FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment and FOX Television Stations is moving forward with an authorization of incremental stock repurchases.

This could see FOX Corporation snap up hundreds of millions of its own Class A and Class B shares.

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