Radio World

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai issued a statement on the centennial Monday of the famous KDKA broadcast.

This is the text:

“Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our nation’s first widely recognized commercial radio broadcast that took place on November 2, 1920. The broadcast, which aired in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on KDKA, Westinghouse Electric’s newly established station, relayed the results of the 1920 presidential election and set the stage for a long line of radio broadcasts that have shaped the story of America.

As the earliest electronic mass communications medium, radio has allowed us to listen in on some of the most momentous occasions in American history, from President Roosevelt’s famous ‘fireside chats’ to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.  It has entertained us, from The War of the Worlds to The Jack Benny Program to American Top 40 with Casey Kasem to The Steve Harvey Morning Show.  And radio still keeps millions of Americans company on long drives, enthralls us with coverage of our favorite sports teams, and when disaster strikes, is one of the most valuable resources for life-saving information.

Radio has given us a way to come together in times of strife and times of triumph.

On behalf of myself and the FCC’s dedicated staff, it is my honor to join all Americans in recognizing this milestone. Congratulations to radio broadcasters on a century of excellence. We look forward to the stories that radio will continue to tell!

The post Chairman Pai’s Birthday Message to Radio appeared first on Radio World.

The DTS Connected Radio platform that Xperi has been working on for some time is coming to market now and will be part of the sophisticated MBUX multimedia car platform, the company announced.

The Daimler MB User Experience, or “MBUX,” is featured in the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class line.

DTS Connected Radio is a hybrid radio system that combines reception of broadcast signals with IP-delivered metadata; the company says it is now available in 48 countries. Hybrid systems provide a transition for a listener from broadcast to internet as a car drives out of range of a station OTA signal.

[Related: “Hybrid Radio Picks Up Momentum”]

The company also said its content comes from 48,000 radio stations and millions of tracks, albums and artist bios. DTS believes it has the world’s largest database of broadcast metadata.

It stated in the press release: “DTS Connected Radio features big beautiful art, comprehensive artist and album information and imagery, songs, playlists, content recommendations, lyrics, local events, podcasts, and more, enriching broadcasts from thousands of radio stations around the world.”

Xperi General Manager of Automotive Jeff Jury described the relationship as “partnering with Daimler to help make what they call the ‘Third Place’ — a refuge between home and workspace — more delightful.”

In a Radio World interview in July, Jury was asked what was notable about the MBUX system.

“First, Daimler [the parent of Mercedes] is not just handing over the dash to Apple or Google,” he said at the time. “They are innovating for their customers. This is a great outcome for the radio industry because it means not all entertainment needs to be behind a car play or android for auto wall.

“Second, the main screen has radio as a separate icon (and apps as a separate icon). This shows that radio is compelling, and importantly, a standalone infotainment source for Daimler buyers. Again, good for the radio industry because radio is a main option, not one of many apps in the dash.”

DTS highlights research that says radio remains a “must have” dashboard feature and reaches more adults 25–54 than other audio sources. Jury said those consumers want radio “to be as rich and engaging as other media platforms and experiences, particularly a mobile experience.”

DTS promotes its platform to carmakers as a global one, compatible with analog AM/FM and global digital radio formats including DAB, DAB+ and its own HD Radio technology. It said the platform enables OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to create better user interfaces without consuming a lot of data and computer resources in the vehicle.

Xperi is also the parent of DTS AutoSense, which monitors drivers and occupants; and HD Radio.

[Related: “Jeff Jury Highlights Further Personalization of the Dash”]

The post DTS Joins the MBUX Multimedia Platform appeared first on Radio World.

From our Who’s Buying What page: Family Life Radio station KFLR(FM) in Phoenix, Ariz., took delivery this fall of a new Nautel GV30N-D FM transmitter.

Shown is Michael Bove, chief engineer for Family Life Radio in Tucson and Phoenix, with their new box, which supports the station’s addition of HD Radio with –12/–14 HD injection.

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

Effective radiated power is 100 kW. Its TPO is 21.566 kW, of which HD Radio is 1.066.

The station broadcasts with an ERI medium-power half-wave-spaced four-bay directional antenna mounted to a top pole on Tower 12 South Mountain Phoenix.

Radio World invites both users and suppliers to tell us about recently installed new or notable equipment. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post A Nautel Transmitter for KFLR appeared first on Radio World.

Chuck Weber, proprietor of Weber Climbing Services in Elizabethtown, Ind., is often asked for an opinion about a tower company or to recommend one. He answers that a company is only as good as its climbers.

Chuck shared some thoughts to help you get more value out of your next tower re-lamp job.

Ask the climbers to do a visual inspection and perform simple repairs on the way up and during their rest stops. It is an opportunity to gather some information that might save you thousands of dollars, so a little prep work may pay off big.

Some repairs, of course, will be limited by the climber’s knowledge and experience, but most will be commonsense.

A little small talk and a free lunch will make that initial conversation easier. You might also put together a small tool bag for the climber to take up. You can find a canvas bag and carabiner clip at a surplus or outdoor supply store.

In Chuck’s personal re-lamp tool bag, you’ll find a two-way radio as well as a cellphone. Never underestimate the importance of a means of quick and easy vocal contact, even if it’s just asking for AC power to check all the bulbs on the way down the tower.

The cellphone is not only a backup to the radio but it provides a camera to take photos of things that need attention and to document work done.

Also put a roll of quality electrical tape in the bag. Choose multi-use tape. It’s the “duct tape for the tower world,” and worth its weight in gold; it may mean the difference between doing a simple repair now and enduring a expensive failure later.

The electrical tape can provide temporary repairs for situations like the one here where an AC cable became separated from a radome heater.

Another “must-have” is a tube of Aquaseal urethane repair adhesive and sealant.

Use it to fix a poor or missing STL connector weather seal, or squeeze it into a poorly fit wire entry in a junction box. Like the electrical tape, the sealant can save you from early failures on many fronts.

In your bag, also include a coiled length of #14 solid conductor THHN wire, three to five feet of it. Rarely has Chuck been on a tower for a re-lamp and not found a section of coax hanging loose. The wire can be cut to length to create “copper tie wraps” that will last virtually forever.

Be sure to include a multi-tool/screwdriver combo, like the ones made by SOG, to tighten cable clamps or remove the base of a broken bulb from its fixture.

Finally, Chuck suggests that you supply extra bulbs to take up, at least one beacon and one side-lamp. Even new bulbs may fail when powered up; a few are bad out of the box.

You want the re-lamp to be done — with all new bulbs, not leaving an old bulb left in place because a new one failed. Having extras is cheap insurance, and any left over can be shelved for future use.

Thanks, Chuck, for helping us get our money’s worth out of the next re-lamp!

Basics Training

Frequent contributor Dan Slentz has been surfing the web again; he writes about a neat site called “Interesting Engineering” at www.interestingengineering.com.

The site offers an “Ultimate Electrical Engineering Master Class Bundle” that comprises five courses with more than 250 in-depth lessons. It promises to provide a solid understanding of electrical engineering tools and practices. The courses teach simple and complex circuits, as well as repair of household appliances; there’s even a course dedicated to the planning, installation and maintenance of solar power sources.

At this writing, the course is offered for $25

Dan adds that he did not have formal education in electronics; his training has come through the “school of hard knocks,” a Radio Shack 100-in-1 project kit, his antique Knight Kit “lab,” and attending programs such as the Sony school for U-Matic tape decks, Christie projection school and the Harris RF school.

He also has learned from reading sources like Radio World, TV Technology, the late Broadcast Engineering magazine and the super new online material provided by the Society of Broadcast Engineers.

By the way, Dan still uses a cardboard three-wheel Radio Shack resistor value guide, because all he remembers of the resistor colors is “But Violet Goes Willingly.”

If you sign up for those courses or can recommend any others, share your experience by emailing me at johnpbisset@gmail.com.

John Bisset has spent over 50 years in the broadcasting industry. 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. Workbench submissions are encouraged, qualify for SBE Recertification, and can be emailed to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

The post Get More Out of Your Tower Re-Lamp appeared first on Radio World.

The author operates J.R. Richardson Electronics, a contract engineering firm in Westminster, Md.

The first time I saw a USB device with an antenna connection, I said there was no way to have a complete spectrum analyzer on that device; when I saw what it would do, I was hooked.

When you look at the Broadcast Electronics Avatar Test Receiver, you get the same first impression. However, when you load the software, hook up an antenna and plug the USB cable into the computer, a new world opens up.

The Avatar allows you to analyze not only your signal but all the signals on the FM radio band. Here is the list:

1. RF spectrum and waterfall displays of your signal;
2. Multiplex spectrum display;
3. Modulation power (how “loud” the station is);
4. RDS — see all the transmitted information;
5. Instantaneous deviation;
6. Deviation history;
7. Deviation histogram;
8. Audio spectrum: L & R, plus peak and average;
9. Stereo Lissajous display — see the relative phase and amplitude of the L&R;
10. Stereo quality;
11. Audio S/N (even without cutting modulation).

The Avatar’s ability to look at all of those parameters on a computer gives the technician the look-see at what is happening. Much of the work that we perform involves questions like “Am I over-modulating,” “Is someone interfering with the signal,” “What is my RDS sending out” and “Do I have good stereo separation?”

The RF spectrum shows where your signal is in the FM band, and your spectral occupancy. The MPX spectrum gives you a look at your L+R, L–R pilot, RDS and any SCAs you may have. Modulation power shows a relative indication of how loud you are and of course the RDS analysis shows what is being transmitted.

Something I really like is that the device looks for the stereo pilot and if it is not there, it shows the mono signal on the stereo quality signal.

Practical considerations

My Avatar is set up with an external antenna in my office, so that I can monitor several of the stations that I contract for. You have to be careful about multipath, which can cause apparent overmodulation to be displayed. For clean measurements, use the RF pickup tap on your transmitter.

I will be arranging a remote pickup site for my unit at one of my backup sites. I would consider two antennas, one omni and the other with a high-gain directional antenna on a rotor. I could then log in with a remote desktop connection and get a good reading.

The Avatar works well on a desktop computer or on my portable laptop in the truck. For this location, I have a whip antenna with a magnetic base, which would give you the same signal as if you were listening on the truck radio.

Using the Avatar for new installations, I’d suggest you do a screen grab and have a reference for future use. I have suggested the Avatar to a group that has a station in Key West, Fla., while their home office is in Valdosta, Ga. With remote access via PCAnywhere, LogMeIn or VNC they can monitor the station constantly .

The Avatar RF spectrum display shows the HD sidebands but does not decode them. Audio is analog. The unit also has an input for the AM frequency band, and can display the spectrum on that band, but the software currently does not support AM station analysis.

You are able to switch between 10 presets that you can program. You are also able to label the tabs with the call letters of the station.

The unit is very small and is powered by the USB cable, it fits easily in your toolbox.

Would I buy another Broadcast Electronics Avatar? At the price of $1,495 it is well worth it.

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 about this product, contact Frank Grundstein at 1-610-353-1970 or for Latin America sales Daniel Bizet at 1-217-592-4225 or visit http://www.bdcast.com.

The post User Report: BE Avatar Reveals Just About Everything appeared first on Radio World.

Have you recently stopped to think about how much energy your radio broadcasts use?

That was the question the BBC has attempted to answer about both its radio and TV energy consumption in a  recently published research report, “The Energy Footprint of BBC Radio Services: Now and in the Future.” The report, which explores the energy footprint of BBC radio services, was initiated to try and understand and improve the environmental impact of BBC services.

The study considered energy use across all available platforms — AM, FM, DAB, digital television and internet streaming — to discover which ones had the largest footprints. The BBC also compared energy use at various stages in the radio chain, including playout, encoding, distribution and audience consumption of content.

“This highlighted the key energy hotspots in the BBC radio system and where best to focus our efforts if we want to reduce our energy footprint,” the BBC said in its announcement.

The research was meant to discover how much electricity is currently used by BBC radio services, the comparative energy use per platform, how this use may change over time and which parts of the system are consuming the most energy.

The BBC found that the total energy required to prepare, distribute and consume radio in its 2018 baseline test was estimated to be 325 GWh, equivalent to 0.1% of U.K. electricity use that year. Of all five platforms, FM was found to have the biggest footprint overall at 100 GWh (31%) and AM the lowest at 25 GWh (8%), with IP (79 GWh; 24%), DAB (65 GWh; 20%) and DTV (56 GWh; 17%) falling in-between.

Not all radio platforms are consumed equally, however. The research found that listening hours on FM and DAB were up to 11 times higher than on AM and DTV. The BBC also calculated the electricity consumption per device hour to find the energy intensity of each platform. This painted a slightly different picture where DTV had the largest footprint at 81 watt hour per device-hour, followed by AM (29 watt-hour/device-hour), IP (23 watt-hour/device-hour), FM (13 watt-hour/device-hour) and lastly DAB which had the smallest at 9 watt-hour/device-hour.

Overall, the BBC found that consumption had the biggest footprint, quite a bit larger than preparation and distribution. Consumer devices used around 73% of the total energy in 2018 compared to 27% for distribution, with preparation using less than 0.1% overall.

“Despite similar findings in our television research, we were again surprised by this result as the transmitter networks for radio services collectively use more power than that for digital terrestrial television,” the BBC said in its report. “However, with the tens of millions of consumer devices which can access radio across the U.K., even low-power audio devices add up.”

According to BBC R&D, the research is the first of its kind to analyze radio energy use. The work piggybacks on the research the company released earlier this year about the environmental impact of BBC television.

The BBC attracts more than 30 million listeners in the U.K. per week through live stations, podcasts and on-demand content. Those radio services are being accessed on a range of consumer devices including smart speakers, smartphones and car audio.

The post BBC Quantifies How Much Energy Needed to Deliver and Listen to Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Here’s the latest pic from our “Engineers at Work” feature:

The National Association of Broadcasters and Xperi Corp. are working to test the performance of HD Radio’s MA3 mode in electric vehicles. As part of that effort, Russ Mundschenk of Xperi and Dave Kolesar of Hubbard’s WWFD(AM) took this selfie while driving around to help document the Core and Core+Enhanced coverage of the station. (Clearly, these guys are NRSC-5 RF Mask Compliant!)

The two were in a gasoline-powered control car, a Hubbard-owned 2015 Subaru Crosstrek.

WWFD is the all-digital AM station in Frederick, Md., that has been operating under experimental authority. The FCC this week opened the all-digital option to all AM stations in the United States.

Mundschenk and Kolesar also are the two most recent recipients of the Radio World Excellence in Engineering Award.

Radio World wants photos of yourself and your interesting radio facilities, projects and adventures. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post A Different Kind of Digital Radio Mask appeared first on Radio World.

In the Oct. 14 KDKA feature the question is twice asked — including in a Page 21 photo caption — “Did engineer Donald Little invent and fabricate the world’s first transducer for turning record groove modulations into a varying voltage?”

The answer is: Decidedly not. The honor for that advance goes to Gianni Bettini, an Italian army lieutenant who made his fortune in the U.S.A but died and remains back in Italy, having patented electrical recording in 1902.

[Read: Constructing the First “Real” Radio Station]

Bettini took a Berliner microphone, manufactured by Bell’s Western Electric Co. and of the type that went into all the world’s telephones for 100 years (which includes KDKA’s in 1920), pushed a needle through the center of its diaphragm and turned it into a phonograph pickup. Bell, Edison and even disc record “revolutionizer” (no pun intended) Emile Berliner missed it. Had any one of them paid attention we’d have had electrical recording two decades before Western Electric introduced it when they created motion picture sound in 1926 (or was it ’25?).

For Radio World readers it should be noted that the broadcasting business quickly adopted WECo’s 33 1/3 rpm 16-inch disc which inaugurated the quarter-century era of recorded-program dissemination on discs. Interestingly, the four networks — NBC (Red), NBC-Blue, CBS and Mutual (the least heralded yet with the most affiliated stations of all) — engaged my friend Harry Bryant’s Radio Recorders in Hollywood to create what came to be called “transcriptions” for delayed broadcast on the “coast” of shows coming in “live” from New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Detroit.

The post Filling Out a Gap in Radio Tech History appeared first on Radio World.

Nielsen PPM encoding is now built into the Optimod XPN-AM processor from Orban Labs, at no additional charge, according to the company.

Users who already have an Optimod XPN-AM can contact the company for information on a free upgrade.

Orban Labs issued a press release saying that stations that are now handling Nielsen PPM encoding via XPN-AM include KHTK in Sacramento, KSL in Salt Lake City, KKYX in San Antonio and WSB in Atlanta.

The announcement included endorsements from Bonneville’s Jason Ornellas, director of engineering for Sacramento, and Aaron Farnham, its DOE in Salt Lake City.

[Read: User Report: Orban XPN-AM Improves Coverage for Rural AMs]

“We are broadcasting HD Radio AM using MDCL that gives us additional power savings [at KSL],” Farnham told Orban, highlighting cost savings of having Nielsen encoding built in. “It gives you the ability to process and then encode so you don’t damage the quality of the encoding.”

The XPN-AM Audio Processor is based upon an AM-optimized version of Orban’s MX limiter technology. Orban highlights its ability to generate greater density with lower distortion, saying this can significantly reduce power consumption for users of transmitters equipped with Modulation Dependent Carrier Level. The processor is available in AM and AM/HD Radio versions.

The post Orban Ships XPN-AMs With Nielsen PPM Encoders appeared first on Radio World.

A Florida AM radio station plans to go all-digital soon, now that the Federal Communications Commission has allowed such transitions.

WMGG is owned by NIA Broadcasting; it’s a Class B station in Egypt Lake, Fla., near Tampa, airing a directional signal via a diplexed array. It has 2.8 kW power by day and 800 watts at night, and airs on 1470 kHz.

The company also owns several other AM, FM and TV properties.

President Neal Ardman told Radio World he is in the process of ordering a Nautel HD Radio transmitter to make the change.

“It is time,” he wrote in an email, adding that he is “not worried” about losing analog listening.

WMGG has an FM translator on 101.9 MHz. Both signals are part of “96.1 FM Caliente,” the radio home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Spanish-language network.

The post Florida AM Station Plans to Go All-Digital appeared first on Radio World.

Radio World’s new ebook explores trends in processing for radio, including the management of over-the-air and streamed signals.

Broadcasters now prepare and deliver content over numerous platforms, to listeners in numerous environments including far beyond their local markets.

What are the most important developments in the design of processors for radio’s needs? Have we reached a state of unchanging hypercompression for OTA signals? How will the concepts of the cloud, virtualization and software as a service affect the processing marketplace?

Find out through Q&As and commentaries from a dozen industry users, engineering leaders and manufacturers.

It’s free … and our new streamlined registration process makes it simpler for you to access this material!

Read it here.

The post Trends in Audio Processing for Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Entercom Communications and FanDuel recently announced a six-year partnership that designates FanDuel, the online sports and entertainment betting company, as the official sportsbook partner of Entercom.

According to the announcement, as Entercom’s official sportsbook, FanDuel will receive preferred and increased category access to all Entercom talent in every market where Entercom and FanDuel both operate. As part of the deal, listeners to Entercom’s sports broadcast stations will have access to FanDuel’s sports betting content, products, and risk and trading expertise. These new features will be integrated into Entercom sports audio platform.

[Read: Samuelsen Studio Dedicated at Entercom Detroit]

Entercom and FanDuel will also collaborate on in-depth integrations and co-produce new formats and content. “The partnership brings together America’s #1 sportsbook with the #1 sports audio company in the United States,” the companies said in a statement.

The goal of the strategic partnership is to unite two companies in a shared mission to entertain, engage and inform sports fans around all aspects of the game, the companies said. In addition to creating a new model between a sports gaming operator and sports media platform, Entercom also called it the largest advertisement commitment made in radio industry history.

“We are focused on delivering the best sports betting experience for our audiences in markets where legalized sports betting will be pervasive,” said David Field, president and CEO of Entercom. “The marketplace is growing exponentially and FanDuel is an ideal partner to take full advantage of the influence and reach of Entercom’s robust sports platforms to deliver an even better audio sports experience to our listeners.”

FanDuel CEO Matthew King said that in the two years that it has been doing business with Entercom, it became clear to FanDuel that Entercom’s authentic connection with sports fans is one of the best ways for it to engage FanDuel customers.

“We will work together to offer sports fans access to information wherever, whenever and however they consume content, providing them with the tools to learn and win,” he said.

The post Entercom and FanDuel Ink Partnership appeared first on Radio World.

The author of this commentary is chair of Digital Radio Mondiale.

As widely expected and now reported, the FCC has adopted rules to allow AM radio stations in the United States to broadcast an all-digital signal using the HD Radio in-band on-channel MA3 mode.

At the same time, as a small nod to those who either object or would like FCC to consider DRM as well, the commission noted the interest in “alternative technologies,” aka DRM.

All the arguments in favor of DRM — audio quality, coverage, flexibility, extra services, lack of interference or link to one single proprietary company and the extensive proven record — were not enough for the FCC. They considered that looking at other technologies was beyond the scope of the 11-month consultation.

Some might argue that this was more about endorsing one technology rather than examining in detail what can be done to save AM proper. A fuller DRM dossier was required with laboratory and field results, and this request seems reasonable.

There is one snag though: DRM for mediumwave has been tested and documented about two decades ago. It has been recommended by ITU in 2005 and all the tests carried out all over the world are available openly and freely for anyone to see.

Moreover, 35 stations, soon to be increased to 41, in India, are on the air every single day Their coverage is about 800 million people, and this is slightly more than the one and a half station proving the advantages of MA-3.

The DRM Consortium can monitor every second of these live transmissions every day and this can be checked by FCC whenever they want.

These are facts and not more assertions by DRM proponents. A U.S. lab and real test of DRM in the country, as mentioned by the FCC, would be useful but would not change the laws of physics. With FCC support and that of North American broadcasters and broadcasting bodies this could be easily achieved.

In conclusion we feel that, for now, FCC has taken a positive step and sent a good sign about mediumwave revitalization and not only in the U.S.

We know that confrontation has never helped any technology assert itself. Cooperation and fairness have. And DRM is ready to prove its advantages using the opportunity offered by the FCC in their statement.

The DRM consortium remains ready to assist bodies in the USA keen to adopt the system that is finding success in many other countries around the world. This will allow radio on the AM bands to thrive in the digital age using an open competitive system.

The post Who’s Afraid of DRM? appeared first on Radio World.

GeoBroadcast Solutions is welcoming news that the Federal Communications Commission is taking a close look at its geo-targeting proposal.

Commissioner Geoffrey Starks this week announced that Chairman Ajit Pai is circulating a draft of a notice of proposed rulemaking.

Bill Hieatt, CTO of GeoBroadcast Solutions, called this encouraging news.

“We look forward to working closely with the commission and other stakeholders during the upcoming comment period on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to provide any additional information or modeling on the effectiveness and implementation of this technology.”

The National Association of Broadcasters and Xperi have backed the idea of an NPRM. But four of the most prominent radio groups in the United States said earlier this year that more research is necessary before the FCC can seriously consider allowing zoned FM broadcasting.

GBS argues that radio is the only medium that lacks the ability to geo-target content. “This rule change would put radio on par with television, which now has that ability due to the 2017 FCC decision that allowed television broadcasters to use the Next Generation TV standard (also known as ATSC 3.0), one of the many features of which is geo-targeted programming.”

[Read more stories about the GBS ZoneCasting proposal.]

The post GBS Welcomes FCC Progress appeared first on Radio World.

The author is assistant director of integrated broadcast systems for WAMU 88.5.

WAMU is an NPR public news/talk station that services the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

I came here a little over three and a half years ago from an all-Axia plant in Atlanta. When I arrived, they already had Telos Alliance gear and legacy Pathfinder, which made my transition smooth.

Over time, as I settled into the organization and assessed its workflows, we began to look at its Pathfinder system, which was a bit out of date and needed some love. We put together a grand plan to build a whole new Axia network with Pathfinder Core PRO to freshen everything up, clean everything out and get all the systems nice and neat.

Just as we were about to begin our switchover and start making changes — in fact, only about a week before — the pandemic shutdowns began across the country. This, of course, blew all of our plans out of the water.

Ambitious remote operations

Our station decided very early on to transition to a full remote workflow, and having Pathfinder Core was a big part of reacting accordingly.

We run a national talk show for two hours every day of the week and a local talk show for an hour after that. During these shows, we run through codecs quickly, and in the studio, we had a dedicated person to get people on, connected and checked. We realized that our remote codec position needed some custom help.

For that we turned to Pathfinder Core to build what are called “panels.” A panel is a graphical and functional representation of equipment, signal flows and other functions such as monitoring and internal communication.

We built a panel that allows our codec manager to work remotely and test all 30 to 40 codecs we’ve got, doing line checks and making sure everyone is good to go before show time, and to troubleshoot issues. This was a large panel that I built, and it was a massive help to our operations.

We also built panels for our producers to remotely produce their shows, giving them a real-time feed of the show over a telephone hybrid and the ability to talk to the host, engineer or codec manager as they need to. The fact that Pathfinder Core allows you to do this with web panels makes distributing them to a ton of producers very easy.

We had 35 people “pitching” during our week of remote fundraising, and web panels allowed our pitch producers to speak to the pitchers to coordinate and cue their segments quickly. We turned our panels pages into a series of short links that make onboarding easier than before.

New way of thinking

The most powerful new feature in Pathfinder Core PRO is the relay combiner in Logic Flow events.

With the codec panel I built, we needed to update Logic Flows with new codec sources and destinations actively. When the codec manager opens a panel, they can choose their current codec, which gets written to the “Talk” button’s logic.

I could have accomplished this flow in the old system but with many more steps. When I started using the new system, it took me a little while to get used to the new way of thinking about Logic Flows, but once I got up and running, I was amazed at how much I enjoy using the system.

Right now, we are running a hybrid system of legacy Pathfinder and Pathfinder Core. Any new panels we need are built on Pathfinder Core, while the legacy system is still handling all of our studio switching and air chain events. We are getting close to the point where we will begin migrating over the rest of the systems, and I’m looking forward to having it all up to date.

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 Cam Eicher at The Telos Alliance in Ohio at 1-216-241-7225 or visit http://www.telosalliance.com.

The post User Report: Web Panels Make Virtual Studios a Breeze appeared first on Radio World.

It looks like the efforts of GeoBroadcast Solutions at the FCC are producing some movement.

According to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated a draft notice of proposed rulemaking to revise the FM booster rules to allow geo-targeting of content via FM booster stations.

Starks is emphasizing the potential benefit to small, women and minority broadcasters. He put out a statement this week saying the proposal would allow the practice on a limited basis.

“The use of geo-targeted content could provide a way for minority-owned stations to better serve their communities by offering hyper-localized content including alternative language news, weather, emergency alerts and advertising periodically during the broadcast day,” Starks wrote.

“For small businesses, this option could enable them to more cost-effectively advertise to a targeted audience while enabling minority-owned FM stations to increase advertising revenue.”

[Read what the chief technology officer of GBS has said about the idea in his commentary “ZoneCasting Would Level the Playing Field for Radio.”]

Starks noted the support of this idea from 21 civil rights advocacy organizations including MMTC, the National Urban League, the Hispanic Federation, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and the National Asian American Coalition.

“I am pleased to support this innovative proposal, which could offer a potential lifeline to small, women and minority broadcasters that are struggling to retain their listening audiences and earn advertising revenue at a time when consumers have multiple options for access to information, entertainment, education, and civic engagement.”

Some broadcasters have told the FCC that if it were to allow this practice, it should also allow translators to original content. 

The post GeoBroadcast Proposal Likely to Get a Look at FCC appeared first on Radio World.

Your latest issue of Radio World features a special report about remote control systems — how their designs and features have changed plus tips from the experts about maximizing this important component of your on-air infrastructure.

Also: Radio leaders look beyond the pandemic; John Bisset has tips for getting the best value out of your next tower re-lamping project; and we talk to the organizers of NRB 2021, which is slated to be held in person this winter.

Read it here.

Prefer to do your reading offline? No problem! Simply click on the digital edition, go to the left corner and choose the download button to get a PDF version.

The post Inside the Oct. 28 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

The author is with the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Although today’s listening experience tends to be dominated by streaming services, radio remains a critical foundation for disseminating sound. Radio has evolved over the past century to expand its reach and its offerings. The portable transistor radio may exist more as a relic than as an everyday item, but in its place are options like satellite radio and smartphone-enabled apps that will still play your favorite stations.

Historically, there was a major boom in demand for radio access following World War I and then during and after World War II. In addition to newspapers, radio played a leading role as a source of trusted information for the public. As radios became more common among households, more family-oriented programming also developed and became a popular form of entertainment.

[Visit Radio World’s Radio@100 Page for Related Articles]

In the 1950s, radio stations were competing with the emergence of television and began expanding their musical broadcasts to include varieties like rock ‘n’ roll. Disc jockeys, or DJs, became a go-to source for many young people, leading to the rise of new music and genres that reached listeners everywhere.

While many of us are accustomed to radio as a common fixture, it took the creativity of people like National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) Inductees Edwin Howard Armstrong and William Lear to help us reach this point.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the invention of the radio this November, we invite you to read more about the lives of these remarkable innovators.

Edwin Howard Armstrong — FM Radio

From a young age, Armstrong often tinkered with inventions and quickly developed a strong interest in studying circuits. By his third year of college at Columbia University, he had invented the regenerative circuit. During World War I, Armstrong served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps laboratories in Paris, where he invented the superheterodyne circuit to amplify weak, high-frequency electromagnetic waves.

By 1933, Armstrong had developed a solution to the problem of eliminating radio static. His new system varied radio wave frequency over a wide band of frequency rather than a narrow band. This wide-band frequency modulation (FM) improved radio signals and allowed for newly static-free broadcasting.

William Lear — Car Radio

William “Bill” Lear had a prolific invention career. Though he only completed formal education until the eighth grade, Lear went on to join the U.S. Navy at age 16, where he would learn radio electronics. Following World War I, he used his training to launch his own company that sold and repaired radios. With his company he developed the first practical automobile radio, which included a non-battery home radio receiver with a built-in speaker.

In 1924, he sold the rights to the radio so that it could be produced on a larger scale. Galvin Manufacturing Corp., later called Motorola Inc., purchased the rights and the car radio became the company’s first major product. Lear continued to invent throughout his life, most notably founding Learjet, which became the leading supplier of corporate jets in the 1960s.

Thanks to the radio innovations developed by Armstrong and Lear, people everywhere have gained better access to information and entertainment.

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Digital Radio Mondiale was hoping that the Federal Communications Commission would consider allowing its technology as an all-digital option for AM stations in the United States, along with HD Radio. But the FCC disappointed it.

In its order allowing AM stations the option to turn off their analog and broadcast the MA-3 mode of HD Radio, the commission noted the interest in “alternative technologies.”

“Many commenters agree that all-digital AM broadcasting should be allowed but object to HD Radio as the sole authorized transmission technology,” it wrote.

“Specifically, commenters urge us to consider the Digital Radio Mondiale all-digital transmission technology on the grounds that it: (1) offers equal or better sound quality to HD Radio at lower bitrates; (2) can transmit metadata as well as emergency alerts, multicast subchannels, and a data channel; (3) is energy- and spectrum-efficient; (4) uses a superior audio codec; (5) is not susceptible to interference; (6) is not owned or controlled by a single company; and (7) has been used successfully in other countries and is the approved technology for shortwave broadcasting in the United States.”

But the FCC said the request was “beyond the scope of this proceeding.”

It said it needed to move expeditiously on this all-digital proposal; and that if parties believe that it should re-evaluate HD Radio and consider alternative technologies, “we would need to evaluate a fully developed proposal including data such as laboratory and field testing, similar to the petition for rulemaking that formed the basis of this proceeding.”

In the absence of data regarding DRM performance in the U.S. AM band, the FCC said it cannot evaluate its merits based just on assertions of its proponents.

“In the present proceeding, we authorize all-digital HD Radio operations now for the same reasons the commission authorized hybrid HD Radio operations in 2002: it is currently the only ‘feasible, near-term digital technology option’ before us and the adoption will ‘provide regulatory clarity and … compress the timeframe for finalizing the rules and policies that will affect the ultimate success of this service.”

However the commission said this does not foreclose future consideration of alternative transmission technologies.

[Related: “Takeaways From the AM Digital Order”]

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The author is chief engineer at Minnesota Public Radio.

Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media are headquartered in downtown St. Paul, Minn. within sight of the state capitol.

It operates 49 public radio stations and 42 translators serving listeners in eight states. MPR delivers three services for broadcast via satellite. The APM program portfolio reaches nearly 20 million listeners each week. Notable programs delivered live include BBC World service, “C24” and “Marketplace.”

During my 10 years with the company I have seen the Gentner/Burk GSC system migrated entirely to Burk ARC Plus Touch, ARC Plus SL and ARC Solo at 37 sites.

Flying on AutoPilot

The decision to continue with Burk for a complete remote control system update was not automatic but made sense. The GSC-to-ARC transition was aided by using the Plus-X GSC Adapter which made transition at many of our sites plug-and-play.

While most of our sites are transmitting facilities, we also have a Burk system installed at our Network Operation Center in St. Paul, which monitors codecs, satellite uplink and downlink, building temperatures and UPS status, and at the Public Radio Satellite Systems (PRSS) NOC in Washington, where our live streamed network contribution is nominally uplinked.

Our St. Paul NOC uses AutoPilot to watch over sites on multiple computers. This gives our NOC operator a machine to use while a member of the radio network team is on another machine remotely. Sites I need to see regularly are best viewed with AutoPilot from my PC. ARC units reliably report to multiple AutoPilot instances. Additionally, the Warp Engine Polling feature minimizes processor load and IP bandwidth on computers running AutoPilot. I am aware of the smartphone options that Burk has but so far have not added that to my device. While we have the relative luxury of a full-time NOC operator, I will probably avoid that.

Transmitter sites require a primary and backup remote control connection, so most sites still have a POTS line to provide a modem connection in the event of an IP failure. We have recently seen situations where the POTS line will not work reliably with the modem and there are a couple of sites that use the Burk RSI voice interface for backup. Burk works well at sites that use wireless internet as well.

I am a big fan of Custom Views in AutoPilot. One red spot on a screen will stand out even among hundreds of statuses and meters. I have created small custom views for specific purposes, like switching between two transmitters sites or keeping a close eye on equipment experiencing issues.

We are getting more versed at employing SNMP, which is taking over transmitter M and C. Our GatesAir FAX transmitters and Intraplex IP Link codecs get along well with Burk SNMP Plus. Our XDS/ATX-Networks satellite receivers display lock status and Eb/No using SNMP on multiple AutoPilot Custom Views.

In conclusion I can say we are pleased with Burk Technology products and are consistently imagining new ways to use this system.

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 about this product contact Matt Leland at Burk Technology in Massachusetts at 1-978-486-0086 or visit www.burk.com.

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