Radio World

This article originally appeared on the Fluke website and is used with permission. The company has posted online courses and other resources at www.fluke.com/en-us/learn.

Anyone who makes their living by working with electricity quickly develops a healthy respect for anything with even a remote chance of being “live.” Yet the pressures of the getting a job done on time or getting a mission-critical piece of equipment back online can result in carelessness and uncharacteristic mistakes by even the most seasoned electrician.

This list was developed as a quick reminder of what not to do when taking electrical measurements. Paying attention to three specific categories when thinking about the most common mistakes made when making electrical measurements, personal protective equipment, tools, and culture of safety.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Having the right equipment to keep you save comes first.

1: Leave your safety glasses in your shirt pocket.

Take them out. Put them on. It’s important. The same goes for taking the time to put on insulated gloves and flame-resistant clothing. All of these steps fall under wearing proper PPE. Follow the table method to figure out what level of gear you need on, as detailed by NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace.

2: Work on a live circuit.

De-energize the circuit whenever possible. If the situation requires you to work on a live circuit, use properly rated tools paired with the correct PPE for the environment. Make sure you wear safety glasses or a face shield and insulated gloves, remove watches or other jewelry, stand on an insulated mat and wear flame-resistant clothing, not regular work clothes. 

Tools

Once you’re geared up and you’re appropriately protected, it’s just as important to make sure the tool in your hand is the right one for this situation, and the test tool and its accessories are safe to use.

3: Replace the original fuse with a cheaper one.

If your digital multimeter meets today’s safety standards, that fuse is a special safety sand fuse designed to pop before an overload hits your hand. When you change your meter fuse, be sure to replace it with an authorized fuse.

4: Use the wrong test tool for the job.

It’s important to match your digital multimeter to the work ahead. Make sure your test tool holds the correct CAT rating for each job you do, even if it means switching DMMs throughout the day.

5: Grab the cheapest meter on the rack.

You can upgrade later, right? Maybe not, if you end up a victim of a safety accident because that cheap test tool didn’t actually contain the safety features it advertised. Look for independent laboratory testing marks on your test tools to ensure they have been proven to handle what they’re advertised at.

6: Neglect your leads.

Test leads are an important component of digital multimeter safety, they are an extension of your test tool. Make sure your leads match the CAT level of your job as well as the tool. Look for test leads with double insulation, shrouded input connectors, finger guards, and a non-slip surface.

7: Hang onto your old test tool forever.

Today’s test tools contain safety features that were unheard of, even a few years ago. Even if your old test tool is still working, many of the new features, both safety and test features, can be well worth the cost of an equipment upgrade.

Culture of Safety

How your company thinks about and learns about safety influences how individuals conduct their work, what the culture of safety around them looks like. Mistakes are made when you’re pushed to work too quickly or new employees aren’t properly trained.

8: Use a bit of wire or metal to get around the fuse all together.

That may seem like a quick fix if you’re caught without an extra fuse, but that fuse could be all that ends up between you and a spike headed your way.

9: Fail to use proper lockout/tagout procedures.

Remember to follow the correct steps to remove power from an electrical circuit or panel, and to lock out and tag the panel or circuit, so that no one can re-energize it while work is in progress. Lockout/tagout procedures are detailed as part of NFPA 70E. 

10: Keep both hands on the test.

Saved a big one for last on this list: Do not keep both hands on the test. When working with live circuits, remember the old electrician’s trick to keep one hand in your pocket. That lessens the chance of a closed circuit across your chest and through your heart. Hang or rest the meter if possible. Try to avoid holding it with your hands to minimize personal exposure to the effects of transients.

[Related: Read the ebook “Mission-Critical: Maintaining Your Transmitter Site”]

The post 10 Dumb Things Smart People Do When Testing Electricity appeared first on Radio World.

East Valley Institute of Technology student Annaliese Stickle sitting at the board; behind, left to right, student and Drury finalist Finn Taylor, senior Jonas Pearson, Pulse Operations Manager Brian Mobley, student and Drury finalist Amber Solomon, Faculty Advisor Dave Juday and student Moriah Paynes.

A high school radio station has been honored with four national awards — including Best High School Radio Station — for their efforts in news reporting, promotion and coverage of key social issues.

KPNG(FM) Pulse Radio is a 5,000-watt public radio station on FM 88.7 that showcases the talents of students enrolled at the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT), a career and college prep school in Mesa, Ariz. The awards are part of the annual John Drury High School Radio Awards — named after TV news anchor John Drury — to recognize excellence in high school radio broadcasting in 17 areas including categories like best newscast, best sports talk program and best website.

Pulse Sports crew at a high school game. Left to right – East Valley Institute of Technology alum Jimmy Watters, students Finn Taylor, Braden Lilly and Moriah Paynes, alum Derek Montgomery, student Parker Gurash and staff engineer Amanda Krainski.

As part of the 2020–21 awards, Pulse Radio students within the Radio/Audio Production program at EVIT were honored with Best High School Radio Station, Broadcaster of the Year, Best Public Affairs Program and Best Station Promo.

[Read: Drury Awards Celebrate High School Radio]

“Words can’t describe how proud I am of our EVIT Radio students,” said Dave Juday, a radio/audio production instructor at EVIT and faculty advisor at the station. “Regarding the last school year, I’ve said multiple times that not only did our students survive in-person learning during a pandemic, but they also found a way to thrive. These awards are a testament to our students’ hard work and the dedication they have to see our program and radio station succeed.”

One of the newest categories — Broadcaster of the Year — was given to recent graduate Donoven Ong, who was also named Student of the Year by the school’s Radio/Audio Production department. Ong is currently a freshman at Northern Arizona University, where he has already launched his college radio career at KJACK Radio.

Radio students Annaliese Stickle (left) and Finn Taylor in one of the production rooms.

Recent graduate Essie Bianco was honored for Best Public Affairs Program for her Public Pulse show about mental health. The program focused on mental health of students and staff as they dealt with off-campus virtual learning and a return to in-person instruction in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Best Station Promo was awarded to senior Justin Brooks for his Halloween promo production.

This is the third year that EVIT students have competed in the John Drury High School Radio Awards and overall received 21 nominations — the most of any high school — in 11 categories. The honors continue a streak for the station: In 2019–2020, EVIT students were recognized for Best Public Affairs Show, Best PSA and Best Radio Drama. The previous year, EVIT earned awards for Best Promo and Best Station Advisor.

 

The post Arizona High School Station Named Best in the Nation appeared first on Radio World.

San Francisco contract engineer Bill Ruck awards Frank Hertel a gold star for his unique approach to a noise-reducing mic project as we described in August and shown here. Bill noted that a similar system was part of the Grateful Dead’s “Wall of Sound.”

Bill adds that Frank connected his Pin 1 (ground) to the shell of the XLR connector, and says there are two camps in this regard. He has learned not to connect Pin 1 to the shell on his cables because it can induce all sorts of ground issues when interfacing to unfamiliar equipment. He says you never know what “The Other Guy” has done with his ground.

This is especially true with video. Remember that video is unbalanced and that the video folks tend to have a lot of crap on their ground systems. You could hear sync with analog NTSC; but today, SD just puts wideband noise everywhere.

Because of that potential for picking up noise, Bill made what Dan Healy, the Grateful Dead front-of-house mixer, called “the mother of all isolation boxes.”

It is a heavy steel box with four Western Electric 111C coils wired 1:1. The male and female connectors on the top were mounted in acrylic and therefore are insulated from each other.

Only Pins 2 and 3 are connected to the 111Cs. No matter how mangled the cables are, they can’t cause problems to the front-of-house or recording truck.

“Back in my broke misguided youth,” Bill continues, “I used to borrow mic cables for events. I learned the hard way to spend the night before the event testing and rebuilding them.” Nowadays Bill has several thousand feet of cables, all made properly, mostly with Canare L-4E6S.

Like most of us, Bill has seen Pins 2 and 3 reversed as well as the common error of reversing Pins 1 and 2. That can really cause havoc.

From all his cable experience, Bill has learned that even with Pin 1 floating, you can still have issues if the XLR shell is connected to Pin 1.

As a workaround, Bill constructed several 6-inch green cables that have Pin 1 floating at the female end and Pins 2 and 3 through. Pin 1 (the cable shield) is connected only at the male end. That way, no matter what Pin 1 and the shell are connected to, the ground is broken. This breaks up ground loops.

In Frank’s noise-cancelling mic application, tying Pin 1 to the shell shouldn’t make much of a difference, since microphones also tie Pin 1 to the mic body.

Splendid isolation

If you don’t have Western Electric transformers, you can pick up easy-to-wire isolation transformer boards from Newman-Kees RF Measurements & Engineering, as shown here

This Audio Hum and Lightning Isolator board from Newman-Kees uses high-quality transformers to isolate lines.

They provide lightning isolation to 1200 Volts and can be strapped for various applications as shown in the schematic. Features include 600 Ohms in and out, primary and secondary center taps, board traces for attenuators and 1/8-inch mounting holes. Cost: $35.50. Email newman-kees-hertel-rf-eng@twc.com.

 

Hard to use?

Another opinion came from Oliver Berliner of SounDesign Engineers.

“Call me a killjoy for fearing that Frank Hertel’s clever ‘Outtaphaser,’ detailed in the Aug. 18 Workbench, may be as tricky to operate effectively as it was to create,” Oliver writes.

“That’s because the output levels of the two crowd mics must match, leaving the level of the guest’s voice to be regulated intentionally and/or inadvertently by the mics’ moving toward or away.”

Oliver said a way to overcome this limitation while still reaping the advantages of stereo theory is to mount twin mics on a dual-mic stand and use them for the crowd noise throughout the game, giving a third mic to the interviewer.

Cancel that cancellation

I followed up with Frank about these comments.

First, in preparing the article, I should not have used the phrase “noise cancelling,” rather “noise reducing.” Frank’s out-of-phase mic scheme reduces the background crowd noise but doesn’t cancel it completely.

Although Mr. Berliner’s suggestion of using three mics certainly will work, it’s more appropriate for a fixed position mic. Frank’s system is best used for a roaming reporter, who is not stationary.

Frank also pointed out that this technique is based on “ideal theory.” If an identical sound, at an identical level, is intercepted by both microphones; and if those microphones have identical frequency response and equal sensitivity, the resultant audio output would theoretically be zero. But since we are living in a real world, with a lot of physical variations, the best that can be claimed is that a goodly amount of background noise will be greatly reduced.

Try it out and let Workbench readers know what you experienced. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.

The post Workbench: Readers React to Frank Hertel’s “Outtaphaser” appeared first on Radio World.

The NAB Broadcast Engineering & Information Technology Conference couldn’t meet in person this month, but its presentations and proceedings will be available online.

The National Association of Broadcasters said it will make the conference available as video on demand in November, via a purchase option on its NABAmplify.com site.

“Along with access to the majority of presentations originally planned for the 2021 NAB Show via VOD, viewers will receive access to the full set of papers compiled in the Proceedings of the 75th BEIT Conference,” it said.

[Read Radio World’s feature on the 75th anniversary of the BEITC.]

NAB said topics this year include all-digital radio, cloud technologies for broadcast, hybrid radio, mitigating facility risks (physical and cyber), Next Gen TV technologies, OTT TV technologies, radio broadcasting technologies, SMPTE ST 2110 / IP-based facilities, TV enhancements and using drones for broadcast engineering.

Related: “Drones Become Part of Radio’s Toolkit”

The conference program committee includes technologists from NAB member organizations and other experts, with representatives from the Society of Broadcast Engineers, the Broadcast Technology Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-BTS), the North American Broadcasters Association, and the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers.

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Jon Tatooles, James Gordon, Matt Anderson

Field mixer, multitrack recorder and wireless equipment maker Sound Devices has been acquired by Audiotonix.

The England-based company has scooped up a number of well-known audio console manufacturing names over the last few years. That list would include Allen & Heath, Calrec, Solid State Logic, DiGiCo and audio equipment distributor Group One.

Founded in 1998 by Matt Anderson and Jon Tatooles, the company carved out a niche in the film and TV world with field mixers, wireless equipment and small, portable multitrack recorders. Both principals were still with the company at the acquisition. Tatooles will depart while Anderson will remain as CEO and chief engineer.

Audiotonix CEO James Gordon said, “The addition of Sound Devices and their fantastic team to our portfolio of premium audio brands is a proud moment for all involved. Their expertise and technical pedigree in film production, broadcasting and professional recording is a great fit.”

 

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In 2019, leaders from major radio groups discussed the state of the industry at the Radio Show. From left: Moderator Stephanie Ruhle of NBC News. Mary Berner, president and CEO, Cumulus Media; David Field, president and CEO, Entercom; Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO, iHeartMedia. Photo: Paul McLane.

There will be no more fall Radio Show conventions.

The National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau have announced that beginning in April, the fall Radio Show, which has been a staple of the U.S. commercial radio industry for decades, will be integrated into the NAB Show.

“This change provides more opportunities in one location for radio professionals and elevates radio in the larger media ecosystem represented at NAB Show,” NAB stated.

“The integrated event in Las Vegas will feature signature awards, networking events and a comprehensive conference program, including popular sales and marketing sessions presented by the Radio Advertising Bureau.”

The organizations had already planned a temporary integration of sorts for this year’s show, when they planned to collocate the Radio Show with the rescheduled NAB Show. But both ultimately were canceled because of the ongoing health crisis.

It turns out that the final in-person fall Radio Show was in Dallas in 2019. A virtual version was held last year. The pre-pandemic schedule had called for the show to be in Nashville in 2020, New Orleans and 2021 and Nashville again in 2022. Cities that have hosted the event in the recent past also include Philadelphia, Orlando, Indianapolis, Chicago and Washington.

The Radio Show in recent years drew about 2,100 reported attendees. Its agenda traditionally emphasized radio management and sales content, though there was always a technical component and exhibit floor. In recent years the event has been held in hotel conference settings rather than larger convention venues.

Longtimers will also recall that in the 1990s the show was part of an umbrella event called the World Media Expo that also encompassed SBE and SMPTE conferences.

NAB also announced that the presentation of the 2021 NAB Marconi Radio Awards and the State of the Industry Address by NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith will take place virtually on Nov. 10.

This will be Smith’s final State of the Industry address; he steps down at the end of the year, to be succeeded by Curtis LeGeyt.

 

The post The Fall Radio Show Is No More appeared first on Radio World.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers will hold its annual membership meeting and awards program online on Monday (Oct. 18).

The meeting was to have been held at this month’s NAB Show, which ended up being cancelled. So the society will use its monthly SBE WEBxtra presentation for the purpose.

“The SBE Membership Meeting portion provides an update on SBE activities and programs from the past year with reports from the secretary, treasurer and several committee chairs,” SBE stated. “It also includes some final thoughts from SBE President Wayne Pecena, who is completing his second term in that role.”

Newly elected SBE officers and board members will be sworn in to begin their terms, including incoming President Andrea Cummis.

[Read Radio World’s interview with Andrea Cummis]

“Following the swearing in, Andrea will lead the awards presentation portion of the program, which will recognize the efforts of SBE chapters, members and sustaining member companies for their accomplishments and honors from the SBE Awards Program. Presentations include the Robert W. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year award to Chris Tobin and the Technology Award to Telos Alliance.”

SBE Certification Director Megan Clappe, who was recently named an SBE Fellow, will also be recognized.

The event takes place on the SBE YouTube channel on Monday at 3 p.m. Eastern/Noon Pacific.

 

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For an article in our latest Buyer’s Guide section, software supplier RCS asked its customer Brett Patram of Hubbard Radio in Cincinnati about his experience with its software.

RCS: Tell us a little bit about your position.

Brett Patram: I am the director of engineering for the Hubbard Radio Cincinnati market.

I originally came on to handle their local IT/network infrastructure needs. But I was also handling all the RF needs at the same time. My background is pretty heavy in both RF and IT. Eventually I took over as director of engineering, which made the most sense for everyone.

RCS: What products have you installed from RCS?

Patram: GSelector and Zetta primarily but now we are also using Revma to carry some of the point to multiple DR [disaster recovery] streams to our transmitter sites

RCS: Why did you choose to install Zetta and GSelector?

Patram: As a previous NexGen facility we were used to, let’s say, certain luxuries that NexGen offered. When it was time to review our automation choices we were a bit surprised to find that the other vendors were still playing catchup to NexGen. Zetta in comparison was years ahead, and was a mature product with years of development behind it.

The choice to also migrate from Selector to GSelector was one that made the most sense based on the full integration the two products shared with each other. We have a very particular staff that are passionate about the tools they use to program and run their stations. We saw several workflow improvements that they couldn’t do without the Zetta and GSelector integration existing.

RCS: You have added Zetta Disaster Recovery, can you elaborate on this feature and why is helpful for Hubbard?

Patram: Zetta Disaster Recovery was another draw to the overall offering. I needed a backup solution that was multifaceted.

It helps us in several ways. We are always sending a current backup snapshot of our database and audio assets into the cloud. We don’t have to be directly responsible to maintain this environment.

Our logs are also being synced and played out in the cloud environment. This creates the ultimate backup audio solution for us. When we need it, it’s always available and it’s actually going to be what we programmed and scheduled — not some canned fill audio. At our transmitter sites and even in the studios the streamed feed of the Zetta Cloud DR instance is made available to switch into. Because all our logs and assets are backed up into this environment, all our spots would continue to play if we needed to use it for any length of time.

On top of that, being able to control these sequencers from a very familiar looking interface makes it that much easier in a true DR scenario to take control and “run” the station from that environment.

For info: Contact RCS at 1-914-428-4600 or visit www.rcsworks.com. 

The post User Q&A: WKRQ Chooses RCS appeared first on Radio World.

It’s time to file your station’s 2021 biennial ownership report.

Every odd-numbered year — we’re looking at you, 2021 — AM and FM radio stations and TV stations are required to file biennial ownership reports with the Federal Communications Commission. The filing window for 2021 opened on Oct. 1 and will run until Dec. 1. All reports must be submitted by that date.

[Read: FCC Could Recommence Race and Gender Reporting for Broadcasters]

In a public notice, the FCC reminded stations that reporting ownership information is a fundamental obligation of broadcast licensees. “The accurate and timely filing of such information is critical to ensuring that the commission and the public know who owns, operates and controls broadcast stations,” the commission said in a webinar about the filing window. Such ownership information is crucial to understanding the broadcast industry as a whole, the commission said, including tracking the diversity makeup of a station and identifying owners with an ownership stake in multiple stations.

“For several years now, promoting female and minority ownership has been an important goal of the commission,” said Bill Durdach, attorney/advisor for the Media Bureau, in a recent webinar about the filing requirement.  “Like any other goal, you can’t advance it if you don’t have accurate data to inform your decisions. This is why [these filings] are so important.”

There are a few important things stations should keep in mind. One, the filing should be a snapshot of what station ownership looked like on Oct. 1 of this year. Two, there are a different forms for commercial and noncommercial stations. Form 323 should be used by commercial stations; Form 323-E should be used by noncommercial stations. Third, AM and FM stations are required to submit an $85 fee.

Keep in mind that two main sets of data should be listed on the form. First, the report must list all stations and licenses to which the ownership report relates. Second, each report must provide key information on the entity and all individual owners, including details like call sign, FRN number, address and a listing of what role an owner has within the station, such as director, limited partner or stockholder.

The webinar created by the commission offers guidance and notes common filing errors that individuals should look out for — such as using an FRN number consistently and remembering to report what the station ownership looked like on Oct. 1, not after that date.

Necessary forms, instructions and other resources can be found on the FCC’s Media Ownership webpage. Stations can also reach out to the commission through a dedicated email address: form323@fcc.gov.

The post Window Open for Filing Biennial Ownership Report appeared first on Radio World.

Comrex is teasing a new product launch that it will announce Monday at an SBE chapter meeting that will also be conducted as an online webinar.

The company said the Zoom meeting webinar will be held in conjunction with the Society of Broadcast Engineers Chapter 15 and the Next Best Thing Media Tour.

Comrex added that people in the New York area are welcome to join in person for the New York SBE Chapter 15 Annual Picnic and NBT tour from 4 7 p.m. at New York Elks Lodge #1 in Lynbrook, N.Y.

 

The post Comrex, NBT and SBE15 Plan Monday Event appeared first on Radio World.

Henry “Hank” Mahler

Influential media engineer Hank Mahler has died.

Among his contributions to the broadcast industry, he was part of the team at the CBS Technology Center in Connecticut that designed and built the CBS Laboratories Audimax and CBS VoluMax, two audio processors that became widely used in radio and TV.

His passing, on Oct. 5 at the age of 84, has been noted by his colleague Bob Seidel, the former CBS vice president of engineering and advanced technology as well as former president of SMPTE.

Seidel distributed an obituary and appreciation, describing Henry Mahler as an icon.

According to Seidel, Mahler also helped develop the first audio loudness meter for measuring human perception of loudness. And he said many of the audio curves specified by the International Telecommunications Union approximate the original CBS Loudness Meter design from the early 1960s.

“Hank also received a patent for developing an audio meter capable of indicating 60 dB of audio range while the typical VU meter displays approximately a third of that range. Hank also worked on the CBS 360 Record / Player, which was a stereo self-contained solid state audio recorder.”

Mahler went on to be involved in numerous important TV, video and cinema technologies, including developing the famous TV color bars used for calibrating analog color systems. Our sister publication TV Tech has a writeup about his work.

Seidel also provided a personal memory:

“Many a vendor dreaded having their equipment evaluated in the CBS Engineering Lab, because Hank would inevitably uncover issues that required them to ‘go back to the drawing board.’ However, in the end, when the equipment passed Hank’s muster and received the CBS Engineering Lab ‘Good Engineering Seal of Approval,’ it was a world-class product and was recognized by the industry as being top of the line in its category.

“If you wanted to stay on Hank’s good side, you would never interfere with his coffee breaks, which he would announce VERY loudly in his deep baritone voice, ‘COFFEE.’ The lunch time volleyball games at the CBS Laboratories in Stamford, Conn., turned Hank into a jovial, but fierce competitor. There were many CBS Lab colleagues that fell prey to Hank’s practical jokes, and they reciprocated by sending him a fake termination ‘pink slip.’ His office was plastered, not with his technological accomplishment, but with family photos, indicating what was important in his life,” Seidel wrote.

“Hank’s most endearing qualities were his humble nature, engaging smile and willingness to use his vast engineering knowledge to educate his fellow engineers. He will be missed by his immediate family and by his CBS Family who had the privilege of working with him for over 60 years.”

Danbury Memorial and Cremation also has posted an obituary.

 

The post Hank Mahler Dies, Was Innovator for CBS Technology Center appeared first on Radio World.

GatesAir has added native Livewire+ IP audio networking to its Intraplex Ascent cloud transport platform.

This means Intraplex Ascent can ingest and output multiple audio channels directly via IP without the need for conversion equipment, which the company said adds scale and efficiency for radio broadcasters that manage many digital audio channels between studios.

Future support is planned for WheatNet-IP.

Intraplex Ascent started shipping last year. The manufacturer describes it as a next-generation audio over IP platform built to transport broadcast and media content at scale, “leveraging common off-the-shelf hardware to reduce the costs of multichannel contribution and distribution between many locations.”

[Read Radio World’s ebook “What’s Next for Virtualization”]

It quoted VP of Engineering Keyur Parikh saying, “GatesAir has successfully deployed Ascent with a national radio broadcaster that is sending 32 audio channels between two major studio locations. They are directly connecting to the Livewire studios, providing encoding and reliable transport across public IP networks.”

The system’s Dynamic Stream Splicing software supports transport across redundant networks, and GatesAir says it optimizes stream integrity by protecting against jitter, packet losses and network failures. DSS software also supports duplication of SRT streams with video and audio over separate network paths, “leveraging a single stream-splicing buffer for hitless protection against errors and failures.”

“Intraplex Ascent is built to work natively with IP protocol, and IP-based transport is becoming ubiquitous within studio and STL connections,” said Parikh in the announcement. “Whether sending content over cable, DSL, fiber or microwave, everything converges to IP, and Ascent’s software-based solution then provides the engine for moving large volumes of media content for ATSC 1.0/3.0 television and FM radio networks. We are bringing the scalability of the cloud to move content between multiple sites at the same time.”

 

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Get an orange vest. Give the pickup truck a tuneup. And go top off your genset … For readers who live in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is coming!

Also: Business is booming at Technical Service Group. … Larry Langford is troubleshooting distortion on a client’s FM translator. … Tula has a nifty combo mic/recorder. … And the FCC is listening to the debate over allowing companies to own more stations in one market.

All that plus early Black sportscasters, the power of radio local news and letters from our readers.

Read it here.

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Radio and TV broadcasters in the state of Georgia are gathering to celebrate the engineers in their midst.

The Georgia Association of Broadcasters will honor three engineers at this year’s GABCON, the largest gathering of radio and TV broadcasters in the state, set to be held Oct. 22–23 in Atlanta.

This year the association will honor Carl “CJ” Jackson with Salem Media Group; retiree Robert LaFore, formerly with Audacy Atlanta; and will posthumously award iHeartMedia executive and EME Communications owner Clyde Scott with the 2021 Angelo Ditty–Frank McLemore Engineering Award.

The award will be presented at the 2021 convention, an in-person event that will also offer educational sessions, an exhibit hall and will honor broadcasters across the state as part of the 2021 GABBY Awards for broadcasting excellence.

 

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Manufacturer Broadcast Partners named Roland Schaller to a post where he’ll work to expand the company’s international sales.

“After spending the first half of his career in internet and telecommunications in technical and marketing roles, he moved to broadcasting in the field of satellite and terrestrial broadcast hardware and software, in presales and sales roles,” the company stated.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

The announcement was made by CEO Robert-Jan van der Hoeven. Broadcast Partners is based in the Netherlands. Schaller will split time between France and Germany.

“Roland is at ease in the business culture of most of Europe, combining a rigorous approach to the sales process in dealing with his customers and business partners,” Broadcast Partners wrote.

The company’s offerings include the SmartRadio “radio as a service” cloud-based system.

Send announcements for People News to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

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Orban announced the Optimod XPN-Enterprise ecosystem.

The company describes it as a customizable, Linux-based processing platform with capabilities for centralized contexts, particularly broadcast groups that run multiple stations or clusters and/or streaming services.

“It provides Orban’s proprietary OptiCloud processing for up to eight FM and eight HD/DAB+/Streaming processing channels in a 1 RU package and supports AES-67/SMPTE-2110 protocols using an enterprise-class SoftGear server and the appropriate Optimod XPN-Enterprise Nodes,” the company stated.

The XPN-Enterprise server is shipping, as is the XPN-Enterprise AES3 Input/Output Node. Orban said nodes to extend the available outputs and functionalities are coming including DMPX, Kantar and Nielsen watermarking and Orban uMPX.

“Broadcasters worldwide are realizing the benefits of moving operations to centralized — and ideally, virtualized — environments. Many of these customers have high-density needs, with many signals that need to be managed,” it quoted Orban President David Day in the announcement.

Content to be OptiCloud processed is brought to one location using AES3, AES-67, SMPTE-2110-30, Dante or Livewire+, and creates the necessary outputs (FM composite, DMPX, uMPX and DAB+HD) using the appropriate Orban XPN-Enterprise Nodes for distribution to each transmitter site, the company said.

The server also handles processed channels for streaming, sending those outputs to the appropriate streaming devices.

“Each signal coming into the Optimod XPN-Enterprise server can be individually processed, with Orban’s OptiCloud providing precision tailoring of each station’s broadcast or stream to meet the requirements of the audience and delivery method,” it continued.

Features include factory presets for various formats, and “Less-More” controls to simplify “dialing in” a desired sound by combining multiple processing parameters.

Day also highlighted the company’s “Last Mile” solutions including XPN-Enterprise input and output nodes and low-bandwidth solutions.

“This ‘Last Mile’ service is especially important for stations whose transmitter sites may be in locations with less-than-ideal internet access. We make it possible to manage our processing remotely and feed that signal to a site on lines as slow as 500 kbps, with high-quality results. And many nodes are ‘Power over Ethernet’ (PoE) capable, further simplifying installation.”

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Pierre Bouvard once again has combed through fresh data from Nielsen and put together a series of positive bullet points about trends in radio, intended to of help to radio salespeople and managers.

Bouvard is chief insights manager of Cumulus Media and Westwood One, which makes him one of the industry’s prominent pitch persons.

Looking at Google data, he said that through September and into October, COVID search volumes have sharply fallen, an indication that pandemic concerns have eased.

American travel miles also are up, which means people are spending more time in their cars.

Further, Bouvard says that marketers and ad agencies continue to “dramatically underestimate the number of Americans that are commuting to work each day.”

And he cites Nielsen data showing AM/FM radio listening recovery continuing in September with Portable People Meter listening up +4% over the prior year.

Below is the latest chart from his post showing month-to-month changes in Average Quarter Hour audience in PPM markets.

[Read the blog post: “Nielsen AM/FM Radio Audiences Grow as COVID Concerns Drop and Vehicular Traffic Surges”]

 

The post Bouvard: COVID Concerns Are Dropping appeared first on Radio World.

Getty Images Zhihong Zhuo

Jessica Rosenworcel is talking up 6G.

“If you think I’m too early on this one, think again. Much like in the early days of 5G, the scrum for 6G is already intensifying,” she said.

Rosenworcel, acting chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, spoke Tuesday to the wireless industry’s Americas Spectrum Management Conference. She devoted a good part of her online remarks to the topic “Paving the Way for 6G and Beyond.”

She cited plans or developments that look ahead to 6G in South Korea, Finland, Japan and China.

While no one knows exactly what 6G will entail, she said, “Let’s learn from what came before. Let’s acknowledge here and now that it is time to start thinking seriously about how we can better position ourselves for success with 6G.”

She called for a “6G Solarium” modeled on a recent bipartisan government initiative called “Project Solarium” that resulted in 80 recommendations on how to overhaul the nation’s approach to cybersecurity.

“What we need now is new thinking, broader consensus and more early focus than we had for 5G,” Rosenworcel said. “We need a process for prioritizing and executing on spectrum objectives and for developing strategies to align the ends, way  and means for 6G.” She wants to see a similar effort that brings together government, business, the non-profit sector “and the rest of civil society and the public to chart a new course.”

Rosenworcel said that to help, the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council could be charged with “looking beyond 5G and conceptualizing 6G — to help set the stage for our leadership. By refocusing the TAC in this way, the FCC will be able to stay on top of new developments and ensure that the nation can turn the latest scientific research into viable communications technologies that will help power our future.”

Not to skip over 5G, in the first half of her remarks Rosenworcel discussed steps that she said would “reinvigorate the momentum toward 5G.”

She highlighted FCC efforts to provide more spectrum — including the granting of 5,600 licenses in the C-band — as well as her goals of expanding the reach of fiber facilities, diversifying technology that goes into 5G networks, building security and resiliency in supply chains, and participating more substantially in global technology standards-setting.

The post Rosenworcel Calls for 6G Initiative appeared first on Radio World.

Telos Alliance has introduced a streamlined version of its Axia Quasar AoIP surface.

The Quasar SR replaces the Axia Fusion in the company’s lineup. Telos also announced a major free system update for users of its original Quasar.

The new Quasar SR is part of the Livewire+ AES67 ecosystem. Telos said it uses the frame, power supply and master module of the original Quasar, but the fader modules are not motorized and there are fewer, larger and easier-to-reach buttons on each channel strip.

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

“All of these refinements make it easy for any operator to use the SR console, while introducing cost efficiencies that allow SR to be an exceptional value,” the company stated in the announcement.

The surface includes a heavy-duty 12.1-inch touchscreen user interface so an external monitor is not required, though one can be used if desired via the external video output.

Axia Quasar DSP user interface

The system includes Expert Source Profile controls for power users to set custom logic associated with each source. “The user can program GPIO control, mix-minus routing, talkback and other functions based upon console channel state,” Telos said. “Flexible Record Mode gives complete control of monitors, meters, headphone feeds, program bus assignments, and more.”

Show Profiles allow up to 4,000 console “snapshots” with different settings, layouts and defaults. Automatic mix-minus and automixing are available on all channels. Features include touch-sensitive encoders, faders and user buttons.

The new model also introduces a remote control option called Quasar Soft. “This solution lets broadcasters control the surface from any HTML5 browser. Included as part of the Quasar Soft license, Quasar Cast is a remote monitoring solution that lets users listen to what is happening in the studio and on the air while they operate the console remotely using Quasar Soft.”

In a related development, Telos announced availability of a Quasar V2.0 Major System Update, which converts an original Quasar console to Quasar XR. This is a free system update that adds scalability and modularity to the original console; it also adds Quasar Soft and Quasar Cast, integration with Telos Infinity IP Intercom and support for planned Quasar Accessory Modules. Telos said the update makes Quasar more flexible for applications like working from home.

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

Info: https://telosalliance.com

 

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Radio Maria, an international network of 77 Catholic radio stations, is now participating in DTS AutoStage.

Xperi says that given Radio Maria’s reach of roughly a half-billion listeners, this is its largest global radio integration to date.

[Related: “Cumulus Stations Support DTS AutoStage”]

DTS AutoStage is a hybrid radio platform that parent company Xperi Corp. is offering in 60 countries and hopes will be adopted by broadcasters and carmakers globally.

Hybrid radio systems combine over-the-air radio with IP delivered content. Xperi is working to make DTS AutoStage available widely in vehicles; it is available in the market so far in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Radio Maria began as a parish radio station in 1983 in Milan, Italy. It now has 77 stations and is also heard on FM-world, a streaming and aggregation platform for radio stations run by 22HBG, which facilitated the integration of Radio Maria with DTS AutoStage.

[Related: “Xperi Has Big Ambitions for DTS AutoStage”]

The announcement was made by Joe D’Angelo, Xperi senior vice president, business development, broadcast, and Vittorio Viccardi, president of World Family of Radio Maria.

DTS AutoStage is based on a large database of broadcast metadata that Xperi highlights for its “large and stunning” artwork, artist and album information, personalization and other functionality.

 

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