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From our Who’s Buying What page: WKVB(FM) in Worcester, Mass., is engaged in a diplexing arrangement with WXLO(FM) via the latter’s MaxxCasting system, made by GeoBroadcast Solutions.

Noncommercial WKVB is owned by Educational Media Foundation and is part of its K-LOVE network. WXLO is a Cumulus station.

GBS said WKVB “substantially improved its signal and expanded its audience to reach the Boston-market” with this arrangement.

MaxxCasting uses radio and cellular technology in combination, and involves the use of a cluster of directionalized synchronized boosters. Equipment was provided by Doug Tharp at SCMS. Other contributors included Bert Goldman of Goldman Engineering Management and Shively, which provided directional antennas for the network.

Joe Miller is VP of signal development at Educational Media Foundation.

[Read more coverage of “Who’s Buying What.”]

“The coverage boost represents the first diplex deployment of a MaxxCasting system with HD Radio, and opens the way for future multicasting of several stations using a 4-node single-frequency network,” GBS said in an announcement.

It quoted GBS CTO Bill Hieatt saying, “The ability to include more than one station in a MaxxCasting system provides multiple broadcasters the ability to improve their signals and increase their listeners through one booster source.”

He said the application also supports the “revenue split” business model that the company has proposed for its separate ZoneCasting project involving geotargeting.

Send news for Who’s Buying What to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post K-Love Station in Mass. Adds Maxxcasting appeared first on Radio World.

It’s no surprise under the circumstances, but now it’s official: The Society of Broadcast Engineers will hold its national meeting as an online-only event this year. It also announced that there will be no associated equipment expo or technical sessions.

An image from the SBE website

The 56th SBE National Meeting had been scheduled for late September near Syracuse, N.Y. But it’s just the latest in the string of annual industry events that have fallen victim to the pandemic.

Other September/October traditions that have gone virtual include the Radio Show, originally intended for Nashville, and the IBC2020 convention in Amsterdam.

SBE stated: “The event was to be held in conjunction with the SBE 22 Broadcast & Technology Expo, a regional exposition and educational event that restarted in 2019 after a short hiatus.” Chapter 22 serves central New York.

“The in-person expo has been cancelled following restrictions imposed by the state of New York to reduce infections because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Because of current conditions, travel for exhibitors and attendees would also have been difficult.”

The following are now planned virtually for Sept. 22 and 23:

-The SBE Annual Membership Meeting will be combined with the SBE awards ceremony; these will be online at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Sept. 23, and will include the induction of officers and directors.

-The SBE Board of Directors will meet on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

-SBE Fellows will gather for a virtual reunion on Sept. 23; he time will be announced later.

The society said details on how to watch and participate in these events will be published on its website.

The post SBE Takes Its National Meeting Online appeared first on Radio World.

An image from the website of the League of Women Voters

New PSAs encouraging Americans to register and vote launched today.

The National Association of Broadcasters and the League of Women Voters announced a voter education campaign that runs through Nov. 3.

It features public service announcements that radio and TV stations can obtain from NAB’s 2020 Election Toolkit.

“The PSAs encourage citizens to participate in democracy by registering to vote, learning about issues and political candidates, and casting their ballots on or by Election Day,” they stated in an announcement.

Listen or view the PSAs here found here. The PSAs direct voters to VOTE411.org, a site run by the League as “a nonpartisan resource for general and state-specific election information.”

NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith, a former U.S. senator, encouraged stations to air the PSAs.

NAB has an Election Toolkit for stations. Click on the image to access.

“The right to vote and a free press are intrinsically linked pillars of American democracy. As ‘first informers,’ local radio and TV stations understand the indispensable role they play in helping citizens exercise their right to vote.”

Jeanette Senecal, senior director of mission impact for the League of Women Voters, said that accessible information about voting is particularly important during the pandemic.

Other resources are also available at the NAB’s 2020 Election Toolkit.

The post NAB Partners on Voting Campaign appeared first on Radio World.

School exterior in an image from the station website. It installed a four-bay directional Shively antenna in 2018.

The operations of WMSS(FM) in the Pennsylvania borough of Middletown near Harrisburg were affected by the coronavirus, like those of most U.S. stations. But WMSS also happens to be a high school radio station, which provides a further twist.

We asked General Manager John Wilsbach how things were going and to give us a brief history of the station.

Radio World: How has COVID-19 changed how the station operates?

John Wilsbach: Students were dismissed from school Friday, March 13, and we haven’t seen them since. The school would not allow any students on the campus.

We immediately went to our summer hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Since most commercial stations went to “at-home” broadcasting, I did all of my announcing from WMSS while handling the full operations of the station, with the engineer and faculty advisor filling in from time to time. The station was giving regular updates on the COVID news, local food bank info, public affairs medical programming, and live town halls with Congressman Scott Perry.

RW: Tell us about WMSS.

Wilsbach: It is a high school FM radio station at 91.1 FM. It’s normally on the air daily from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m., unless high school sports programming extends the broadcast day past that. We are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the summer.

Covering sports for WMSS

The station is licensed to the Middletown Area School District; we serve the Middletown area, with communities like Hershey, Hummelstown, Highspire, Steelton, Elizabethtown and Harrisburg nearby. The station is 5.5 kW directional.

We are located in the middle school, which is a five-minute walk from the high school. The station uses a Radio Systems Millenium Digital 18-channel console with Livewire in the main studio and a 12-channel console in the production studio.

Our transmitter is a QEI Quantum M series transmitter; we use an Omnia FM3 processor with an Optimod 8100A as a backup. Our mod monitor is an Inovonics 531.

Our students use Prophet NexGen and GSelector on air. We still have a Denon CD player and a Tascam cassette/CD player in the main studio.  Our EAS equipment is Sage. For our remote sports games, we have Tieline. And yes, there is still a turntable in the production studio.

[Read the 2019 story “High School Radio Week Arriving”]

RW: How did WMMS get started?

Wilsbach: In 1977, junior high teachers John Cooper and Jeff Johnston read an article in the teachers’ lunch room about a high school that had a radio station. It was obviously very uncommon back in the ’70s. The more they joked about it, the more they became serious about inquiring.

Archival photo

LPB was located in the Exton area, about 70 miles away, and assisted with information. Local engineer Walter Konetsco and radio consultant Ed Perry in Massachusetts were also instrumental with the start-up. The station was awarded an FM license and has been on the air since Oct. 2, 1978.

RW: What role do students play?

Wilsbach: Students can join in grades 7–12. They must first take an exam of radio rules that include some old but relevant questions from the Third Class License Exam and some current operational questions.

The station is mostly automated during school hours. Although the GM is present most of the time, students check the operation and transmitter readings. Regular two-hour shifts run from 3 to 9 p.m. Students are responsible for gathering local public affairs information for airing, news and weather, and for completing their weekly time and projects that go toward their grade. The radio program has a curriculum for students in grades 9 to 12.

RW: And what role do teachers, administrators or professional staff play?

Wilsbach: I’m the general manager, I’m a 1983 graduate of the program and also a commercial broadcaster in the Harrisburg area. I am responsible for the station operation, administration, underwriting and training of personnel.

Brian Keyser is a teacher at the high school and is a 1991 graduate of the program; he is responsible for the curriculum side for the students grades 9–12 and also the training of students. Tim Starliper is the chief engineer and a 1986 graduate of the program, he is responsible for the technical and I-T functions. We’ve also had a couple other graduates who stay involved and assist the station when needed.

View from production to air studio

RW: What special considerations are involved for a radio station at a school?

Wilsbach: Any school district trying to do a radio station must be fully committed. It cannot be an electronic sandbox. The students are involved all year.

In this day of tight school district budgets, they need to know it’s not cheap. Especially the initial investment and yearly operational costs.

Most schools that can’t handle a 365-day program would be better served with an internet-only radio station where rules, costs and personnel issues aren’t as tough to deal with.

RW: What else should we know?

Wilsbach: Our station airs numerous high school football and basketball, local college sports, church services, nationally syndicated non-commercial programs, and locally produced public affairs programs. We also have news from Radio Pennsylvania.

The commercial stations in our area have always been helpful. They know these are their future employees. Schools starting a new FM or internet station should contact all of the local stations for input and equipment donations.

[Read more about the station’s history.]

The post High School Station Stays on the Air, Minus Its Students appeared first on Radio World.

Ferncast will be a new name to many. It is a Germany-based codec developer founded by a name that might be familiar to some, Detlef Wiese, the founder of Mayah Communications. Weise provides information on the company and inaugural products.

Radio World: What is fernBerrie?

Detlef Wiese: The fernBerrie is the smallest professional audio codec with front panel controls in the market and it supports all industry standards. This includes RTP and SIP transmission with any codec algorithm. It is powerful enough to handle all conventional bitrates.

RW: Who owns the company, and who designs its products?

Wiese: The two owners of Ferncast GmbH are Detlef Wiese, CEO and Hauke Krüger, CTO. The products are designed by Hauke Krüger’s developers team.

RW: Tell us about the new codec.

Wiese:The fernBerie combines small size with high performance. It is a real milestone in professional audio transmission.

RW: What sets this apart from other codecs in the market?

Wiese: The fernberrie is the most affordable two+-channel solution in an exceptionally small package.

RW: Who is using the codec ?

Wiese: The fernBerrie offers a good combination of features capable of handling various applications such as radio stations, studios, voice-over.

Radios stations will find the fernBerrie Radio version ideal for OTT streaming. Studios can use the FernBerrie Studio for exchanging audio production. Voice over artists can deliver their voice to studios with fernBerrie Voice.

RW: What else should we know ?

Wiese: The fernBerrie is powered by aixtream software, which offers many features and an intuitive UI. Aixtream is a scalable and customizable along with being constantly improved by our developer team to ensure the highest quality audio transmission performance.

[By Detlef Wiese: “RT to Close by End of 2020”]

 

The post New Codec Kid on the Block appeared first on Radio World.

The author is engineering director for Hubbard Radio St. Louis.

As the engineering director for Hubbard Radio St. Louis, I handle demands for five different stations. When COVID-19 hit in March, we were caught somewhat by surprise. We received very short notice that the offices would be closed, and so we had to scramble to get everything in place to enable our staff to work from home.

We’d already put a little bit of thought into it because we had drawn up disaster recovery plans years ago, and we could adapt them for this particular emergency. So we had some ideas, but still had to improvise somewhat.

Right away, we needed to set up 23 hosts and producers with equipment so that they could begin broadcasting from home. We were fortunate in that we already had a number of Comrex Access, Opal and BRIC-Link units. Because we had that equipment available, we were able to get people operating from home on fairly short notice.

We built kits, and because of isolation, we had to drop them off at the homes of our staff, and train them over the phone. But we didn’t have enough portable units for everybody.

For those who didn’t get Access or BRIC-Link units, we began using FieldTap immediately. FieldTap is a free mobile app for iOS and Android that allows users to connect to Comrex IP audio codecs from their mobile devices. Our people could begin using it right away — all they had to do was download it onto their phone. Many of our staff have been using FieldTap to communicate with the studio, and to go live.

We originally began using FieldTap when it first came out. In our experience, FieldTap has been very simple for our staff to use without much help from engineering. All they have to do is enter an IP address, press the “connect” button, and they’re live.

Currently, we have six of our on-air staff and 10 of our producers using FieldTap with the IK Multimedia iRig smartphone interface nearly every day. We have begun bringing our on-air staff back into the office, but our producers are all still at home, and FieldTap lets them stay in touch.

Our producers don’t only work off-air — they’re also periodically on-air as part of their shows. FieldTap lets them monitor the audio, but also jump in as part of the program if they need to. They’re getting excellent quality when using FieldTap over a cellular network.

We’re planning to continue using FieldTap with iRigs after all of our staff have returned to the office. Our staff has become addicted to it, and many of our field reporters have been surprised by how much they like using it. They’ve found it to be easy to use and reliable — even when cell service is shoddy.

Because FieldTap is free, the barrier to entry is very low. Our program directors have embraced it because the audio quality is high, and our talent has embraced it because it’s so simple. It’s really saved us during this whole crisis.

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 Comrex.

The post User Report: FieldTap Keeps Hubbard Radio St. Louis on Air appeared first on Radio World.

The author is co-owner and VP of Viper Communications Inc.

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. — I am co-owner of six radio stations in the Lake Ozark region of Central Missouri, which include talk, country, soft rock and classic rock formats. I worked for CBS/KMOX in St. Louis for 21 years until I left corporate radio for station ownership in 2001. We have the Number 1 and 2 stations in this three-county area of Miller, Camden and Pulaski counties.

From when we first felt the impacts of COVID-19 we have managed to stay on the air with no major issues, however we did have to initiate “broadcasting from home” for many of our contributors and guests on the talk station.

We have always performed a lot of remotes using our Tieline Merlin codec and the Report-IT Enterprise app, as well as some other Tieline remote codecs. This is a challenging region and we encounter extreme conditions from which to broadcast. There are lots of hills and very few cell sites. We are a resort community and are situated on a huge lake called the Lake of the Ozarks. Maybe you’ve seen the Netflix series “Ozark” that is partly filmed here.

[Read other recent Radio World user reports.]

We have often done remotes from waterfront restaurants and bars using Report-IT. Until we got a Via + codec with SmartStream PLUS it was a challenge. This new technology uses the Wi-Fi of the establishment and the cellular service resulting in dramatic cutting down of dropped or skipping audio

We use Report-IT in various ways. For news reports, we often record audio files in the field using Report-IT and then use the FTP upload feature in the app to transfer recordings directly to our server at the station. It’s so much easier than messing around trying to pull files from a phone. The audio is waiting back at the station to be edited right away by another reporter. We also have news reporter John Rogger in Florida who regularly uses Report-IT for live hits and co-hosting in some of the talk shows.

During the COVID-19 ordeal we were well prepared and have used Report-IT a lot for our news/talk station KRMS(AM) 1150 kHz. Our host has always been located in the studio, however we have several guests who appear weekly that weren’t able to come in.

This station covers a range of different topics, from financial to boat repairs, and Report-IT has been very handy and our go-to solution.  I simply created user accounts for each guest and all they had to do was download the free app onto their smartphone, log-in and then connect. Even a non-radio boat mechanic who hosts a show could do it. This has been extremely easy to deploy and allows them to go live from wherever they have their phone.

The sound quality is great too, even at low bitrates. Many users plug in an external mic and headphones using a very affordable adapter cable I found online and this makes it sound like they are actually in the studio!

With the Report-IT app we always configure it to use SmartStream Plus. So this means the cellphone being used can stream over both Wi-Fi and cellular simultaneously where it’s available. When we have lots of tourists in town the cell sites can get overloaded, so the importance of redundant streaming cannot be underestimated. This has been rock solid in most situations and provides the redundancy we require in such a challenging location.

At the studio we have a fiber connection and run the Merlin codec with two LAN connections with separate IP addresses from the same ISP. This has proven to be the most reliable configuration in conjunction with configuring the unit to use SmartStream PLUS redundant streaming.

At the time of writing we seem to have been able to manage COVID-19 infections quite well and cases are low here. However, with the tourist season nearly upon us, we will have to remain vigilant. Whatever happens, we are well prepared and can react immediately and ramp up Report-IT deployments if and when required due to any lockdown procedures if necessary.

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

For information, contact Dawn Shewmaker at Tieline USA in Indiana at 1-317-845-8000 or visit www.tieline.com.

 

The post Report-IT Eases Remote Contribution appeared first on Radio World.

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

Diversity, equity and inclusion discussions are again in the spotlight for noncommercial radio, largely because more cases of abuse are coming to light. These incidents, and the persistent puzzle of how they went on so long, push for leaders and aspiring leaders of media organizations to get much more real about course correction and change.

The latest revelations have been troubling. Regarded as a top-tier public media organization by many, WAMU has reportedly avoided addressing a series of serious problems for years. The same was alleged at WNYC, WBUR and elsewhere. However, as Andrew Ramsammy remarked during a July panel I moderated on equity in community and public media, the days of leadership being unaccountable are done. Many are being ousted or are racing to the door, knowing their failures will follow them into their next jobs.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Devices for Democracy]

Yet the departure of problematic staff and leaders does not fully address the big question: how do we fail to act when we see something, and how can we change work culture to prioritize reporting and accountability? It is a provocative subject station managers and boards of directors will have to find ways to compassionately answer.

In her book “Willful Blindness,” Margaret Heffernan points out that a mix of factors come into play when we each witness actions that we believe are contrary to what we expect of and believe from trusted figures and organizations. Sometimes, the author notes, we find it is easier for our identities and ideals to feel that we do not know there is a bad situation afoot. At other points, people make excuses for scandals out of our love for individuals, ideas, institutions and notions of progress. Heffernan calls this humans’ skill for diffusing and displacing responsibility. Still elsewhere, we convince ourselves or the futility of protest, the self-interests we risk in speaking up, and the ease in quietly accepting circumstances as they are. In addition, our preference for the familiar informs some willingness to look the other way on issues like diversity.

Most tellingly, we all assume we’d act differently if we saw injustice, experienced abuse, or heard of incidents; research, however, indicates virtually no one responds as she or he expects. From marital infidelity to church scandals to the Enron collapse, the author remarks that people in almost every case knew of profound lapses and said nothing. In official cases, incidents may have been reported and concerns also raised, yet ignored by official channels.

Such experiences are as old as humankind. How can community and public media create a stronger, more culturecentric environment?

It is critical that management be accountable. It is of further importance to constantly educate volunteers, staff, board and managers. Bystanders — those who witness problems and do nothing — and those who explain away or stay blissfully ignorant of corruption are not uncommon. The challenge may be helping people appreciate that uncomfortable matters are, in fact, a danger to everyone and the ideals we hold dear. And, undoubtedly, a stronger accountability and training ethos must be built for boards, managers and, especially, human resources and volunteer directors at any size station.

The post Community Broadcaster: Why Look Away? appeared first on Radio World.

This article continues a discussion of AM DA maintenance; here’s a link to the first part.

In our earlier exciting episode, we promised a real-life story. There are many, but here is my favorite:

Years ago I was doing contract engineering work for KKCQ(AM) in Fosston, Minn., about 140 miles from home. It was nondirectional day, with a three-tower directional antenna system at night.

I just happened to be there one morning doing maintenance in the studio/transmitter building when the 5 kW AM transmitter shut down. I was pushing the plate-on button when a man walked in and said we should go out to the parking lot.

There it was: His potato chip delivery truck had snagged a guy line and pulled the center tower down onto the parking lot and beyond.

Trucks like that are large because potato chips take up a lot of space while weighing next to nothing. The downed tower was just 197 feet so there wasn’t a resounding crash when it fell. Astoundingly, no one was hurt, no vehicles were hit and there was little other damage.

The first order of business was to call the power company to have guy lines carefully lifted from overhead power lines. You guessed it, that now-horizontal tower was the non-directional day tower for the station.

Needless to say, the station was off the air. What to do about putting the station back on?

Well, two of the three towers were still standing. I used some #8 electrical wire to make changes in the phasor cabinet, sending all power into the north tower. The tube-type transmitter ran nicely at 1,000 watts even with some VSWR. More power was not going to happen that day because the antenna coupling network was designed to put no more than 1,000 watts into that tower.

On the positive side, I was the “hero of the day” because the station was returned to the air just in time for Paul Harvey’s noon news and commentary broadcast.

D VS. ND

In the final analysis, KKCQ ownership looked at losing a tower as a blessing.

The 2,500-watt night directional pattern, pointing north, served very few listeners while putting noticeable nulls in populated areas of town, just to the west.

They elected to go non-directional day and night. The station returned to 5 kW on the north tower during the day with 90 watts at night. That 90 watts is sufficient for the community and the directional nulls are gone.

They sold the phasor and antenna monitor. With that money, and insurance compensation, they had a good start to building an FM station. They’ve not looked back and have lived happily ever since.

KKCQ ran a Gates BC-250GY AM transmitter at 90 watts during night hours, which was becoming expensive to maintain. Replacing it with a Broadcast Electronics AM-5A transmitter was a wonderful choice. That 5,000 watt transmitter will run with good sounding/clean audio at the 90 watt night power level. The design is perfect for that kind of drastic power cutback. Most transmitter designs can’t give good audio performance at less than 10% of rated power output.

Another station I worked at uses that same model BE transmitter for 5 KW day and 30 watts at night. It also sounds great at both power levels with no interruption in audio as it slides between power levels.

RF Contactors
Minnesota is known for actual winter temperatures that dip to 40 below zero at times. Lowest overnight temperatures usually coincide with sunrise, a worst-case scenario. That’s when directional AM stations switch from night to day patterns.

Most contactors/RF relays have solenoids (AC magnets) to pull a contact bar. They get sluggish under cold weather conditions, as you can imagine. Some stations use 100-watt incandescent lamps or electric heaters to keep tower shacks warm in winter.

If you do this, it is best to put any heat source below an RF contactor so the heat will rise into the contactor. Do it in a safe way so a fire is unlikely to start. RF contactors are wear items and will need repair from time to time.

The stations I worked on usually had a spare contactor on the shelf because failure is inevitable. When replacing a contactor, I would take the failed one to the shop for repair. I would then put them in plastic bags and back in stock, at the transmitter site, for the next incident.

Tips & Tricks

Use 3M Scotch Brite to clean tarnished RF contacts. Tarn-X liquid is normally used in the home to clean silverware, but works equally well on silver-plated contacts.

Fig. 1: Silicone spray can be used on RF contacts.

My experience is that pure silicon lubricant spray works well to keep things moving. It makes sliding contacts slippery and adds some measure of protection against future corrosion. My sources for that are Ace Hardware and stores that sell Gunk brand products.

Yes, the contactor shown above needs cleaning of its contacts before lubrication and going into service.

Voltage Can Be Low

Towers in an AM directional array are often hundreds of feet from the transmitter building. That means power to the solenoid coils might be less than the rated 208 to 240 VAC.

About 212 volts is considered normal for 208 three-phase power nowadays, but it is still less than a full 240 volts. At four amperes of solenoid current, the voltage at a tower could drop to as little as 190 volts, hardly enough to make a contactor switch reliably.

One cure is to use larger-diameter wire to feed the towers. Another is to install a low voltage transformer, wired as a “boost.”

Fig. 2: Boost transformer circuit to raise contactor voltage

With a 24 volt transformer secondary winding wired in phase and in series with the incoming power, the 190 volts could rise to 214 volts at a tower. Dots on the schematic are for polarity of the windings.

Out of phase, the available voltage will be 24 volts less. You likely won’t use a 24 volt transformer for day and another for night at each tower. Instead, a single higher-current transformer could do the work for all towers, switching to both patterns.

Transformers of this nature need to be installed in a safe location. The most common place is inside a phasor cabinet which is interlock-protected. Fig. 3 is a transformer from my parts box that can supply 22 volts at 21 amperes. It weighs in at 26 pounds and is enough to help five RF contactors at four amperes each. This one also has more transformer taps for lower voltages.

Fig. 3: A 22 volt 21 ampere transformer.

A three-tower directional would likely need 4 amperes/contactor x 3 towers = 12 amperes of required transformer secondary current. RF contactors in the phasor would be getting the full normal voltage anyway so they don’t need a boost because they are at room temperature and there is less chance of them sticking.

Take Notes
Rarely did I go to a transmitter site without finding something that needed attention. I used a piece of paper, in a shirt pocket, to write a few words, jogging my memory to purchase or bring a repair part on the next visit.

Don’t let things slide. Keep sites clean and in good repair. Throw out failed parts and only retain usable ones.

Metering

Not all RF current meters are alike. Fig. 4 shows a thermocouple RF ammeter.

Fig. 4: Thermocouple ammeters are often used to measure RF current.

This one is classified as having an  “expanded scale” so it is FCC legal to read currents from 4 amperes to 20 amperes.

Less expensive “square law” thermocouple ammeters are only good to read down to one-third of full scale. That means a 20 ampere meter is only accurate above 6.66 amperes, as per FCC rules. Check meter specifications to be sure.

You’ll note the meter needle is not sitting exactly at zero. Best to tap on the side of the meter while adjusting the zero set screw on the front to achieve an exact zero when no current is flowing in it. Meter accuracy after that will depend on this easy first step.

Take readings with thermocouple meters during a pause in modulation. That is when the indicated current will be at its least. An FCC inspector will do that too.

Delta Electronics makes transformer coupled ammeters (TCAs) for measuring RF currents in AM antenna systems.

Fig. 5: A Delta TCA AM RF Ammeter.

These use a toroid to sample RF and then diodes to turn it into DC to drive a meter. Those are good down to one-fifth of full scale. Their mirrored scales help give better accuracy when you look at one, lining up the meter needle with the needle in the mirror behind.

Delta also has meters with digital readouts, giving an astounding 100:1 ratio between its highest and lowest current readings at 2% accuracy. AM pioneers never even dreamed of that!

For those who are unfamiliar with amplitude modulation, an AM station’s average power increases 50% when 100% modulated with audio. Traditional thermocouple RF ammeters will read that additional power, but Delta meters do not.

However, they will show carrier shift, which is the result of transmitter power dropping a few percent as the transmitter’s modulator draws down the supply voltage during high modulation conditions. It can also happen when the transmitter has a weak PA tube. Solid-state transmitters typically have little or no carrier shift.

Meters were once required at the base of each tower to read current. The readings could then be compared as a “ratio” to the reference tower. I say ratio because they all go up or down together as transmitter power changes. The FCC deleted that rule because antenna monitors do the same thing with a lot less hassle.

If the system you are working on has base current meters, I recommend you take readings for future reference. Compare them to the original proof of performance as a double check.

RF Protection

Fencing to keep people away from radio frequency radiation has been required for many years (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6: Make sure you have good fencing to keep unwanted visitors out.

Keep fences in good shape; it’s the right thing to do. It’s also a liability issue. You don’t want to be held responsible, in a court of law, when someone claims they were injured because a fence was inadequate.

Monitor Points

Friend and fellow RW contributor Buc Fitch penned an informative article on field intensity measurements about 15 years ago. That information will help guide anyone in getting reliable field intensity readings. The text is at https://www.radioworld.com/miscellaneous/field-intensity-measurement-methodology.

And, of course, I am not the last word on this subject. For serious changes or repairs to an AM directional, it is best to call a consultant.

In sum: Think the job through to save yourself time and trouble. It makes perfect sense. 

The author built four new AM directional systems, from the ground up, using only schematic diagrams and parts in his time as a broadcast engineer.

Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.

Mark Persons, WØMH, is an SBE  Certified Professional Broadcast Engineer and was SBE Engineer of the Year in 2018. Mark is retired after more than 40 years in business. His website is http://www.mwpersons.com.

The post More Best Practices for AM Directional Systems appeared first on Radio World.

In 1922, Jesse Koewing was one of the first announcers at WOR in Newark (later New York City). She identified herself on the air with just her initials “J. E. K.”  View additional photos in the image gallery at the end of this story. Credit: Author’s collection

 

This article is part of Radio World’s series “Radio at 100.” Read more articles in the series.

Before the dawn of broadcasting, women were frequently hired as wireless operators, and so it was not a surprise that women’s voices were heard as announcers and program hosts in the early days of broadcast radio.

Sybil Herrold was perhaps the world’s first disc jockey; she played Victrola records on her husband Charles Herrold’s experimental station, which broadcast in San Jose from 1912 to 1917.

In Boston, Eunice Randall’s voice was heard on a variety of programs over AMRAD station 1XE (which became WGI in 1922). In New York City, WOR audiences regularly heard Jesse Koewing, who was identified on the air only as “J.E.K.” while Betty Lutz was the popular “hostess” heard on WEAF.

At WAHG (now WCBS), 16-year-old Nancy Clancy was billed as the country’s youngest announcer.

Sixteen-year-old Nancy Clancy was reportedly the youngest radio announcer in the country in 1924. Here she is shown in the studios of WAHG, the Alfred H. Grebe station in Richmond Hill, N.Y. WAHG grew to become today’s WCBS in New York City. Credit: Author’s collection

Additionally, women were frequently hired as “program managers,” responsible for booking the live entertainment that filled their stations’ airwaves, and they often came before the microphone to introduce the entertainers.

But, by the start of the network era in the mid-1920s, there came to be a prejudice against women’s voices on the radio.

“Flat” or “shrill”

Broadcasters complained that the tone quality of early receivers and speakers made women’s higher-pitched voices sound shrill and dissonant; but this prejudice remained even as higher-fidelity receivers became available in the early 1930s. The conventional wisdom was that “audiences don’t like or trust women as announcers” and “only male voices can speak with authority.”

An audience survey conducted by WJZ in 1926, with 5,000 respondents, determined that listeners of both sexes preferred the male voice by a margin of 100 to 1. In 1934, an article in the Journal of Social Psychology concluded that “the male voice is more natural, more persuasive and more likely to arouse interest over the air than the feminine voice.”

In 1935, Cantril and Gordon Allport published “The Psychology of Radio, and determined that 95% preferred hearing male voices over the radio.

This prejudice against female announcers was expressed by station managers of the day. In a letter to the editor in Radio Broadcasting Magazine, a station director wrote that “for announcing, a well-modulated male voice is the most pleasing to listen to. I have nothing against a woman’s announcing, but really do believe that unless a woman has the qualifications known as ‘showman’s instinct,’ it really does become monotonous.”

Another station executive from Pittsburgh wrote, “I would permit few women lecturers to appear [on the radio]. Their voices do not carry the appeal, and so whatever the effect desired, it is lost on the radio audience. Their voices are flat or they are shrill, and they are usually pitched far too high to be modulated correctly.”

As a result, by 1930 women’s voices had virtually disappeared from the airwaves, except for mid-afternoon programs aimed at the housewife and discussing such banal topics as cooking, fashion and beauty tips.

This was especially true in network radio, with rare exceptions.

In a notable experiment, NBC hired the vaudeville comedienne Elsie Janis in 1934 to be the network’s first female announcer, joining a staff of 26 men. But when listeners complained that a woman’s voice was inappropriate for serious announcing work, an NBC executive commented that they were “not quite sure what type of program her hoarse voice is best suited for, but it is certain she will read no more press news bulletins.”

Janis was relegated to announcing the weather and variety shows, and seems to have left NBC within a year.

Over at CBS, they paired radio actress Bernardine Flynn with Durward Kirby to host a daily newscast. But Kirby was assigned to read the “hard” news stories while Flynn reported only the “human interest” items.

Mary Margaret McBride broke the mold that kept women from serious announcing work on the networks. Her afternoon NBC interview program commanded an audience of millions, and she enjoyed a reported $52,000 annual salary in 1941. Here she is seen interviewing General Omar N. Bradley on the first anniversary of D-Day. Credit: Author’s collection

Perhaps the only woman to break the taboo on women reporting serious news stories during the network era was Mary Margaret McBride.

She began her radio career on WOR in New York in 1934, taking the air name Martha Deane and playing a grandmotherly-type woman who dispensed philosophy and common sense. In 1937, she moved over to the CBS network under her own name, and became recognized for her interviewing capabilities.

Her daily afternoon program included high-level politicians, generals and movie stars. She moved to NBC in 1941, where her daily audience numbered in the millions. She remained a regular feature on network radio until 1960, and then continued in syndication.

War years

World War II temporarily opened employment opportunities for women in radio, as the male staffs of the networks and local stations were siphoned off by the armed services.

Women assumed the roles of announcers and newscasters, studio engineers and sound effects specialists. In 1943, NBC hired 10 young “pagettes” to supplement its depleted staff of Radio City pages. Around the country, women were also hired as advertising sales persons, program directors, traffic managers, continuity directors and even station managers.

But sadly, just as occurred in manufacturing plants, when the men returned home after the war the jobs reverted to men who “had to support their families,” and the women were told to go home and be happy homemakers.

In the 1950s, as the radio industry adapted to the new competition from television, many radio announcers turned into disc jockeys, but the prejudice against female voices on the radio continued. The big-name deejays at local stations around the country were all men.

But there were a few exceptions. In 1955, Sam Phillips (of Sun Records fame) opened WHER in Memphis. Phillips enjoyed hearing women’s voices on the air, and he hired an all-female staff to run the station.

WHER operated from studios in a Holiday Inn motel, and this led to a spinoff program, sponsored by Holiday Inn. WHER personality Dottie Abbott, taking the air name Dolly Holiday, hosted an overnight program of easy listening music syndicated to stations around the country. Her soothing voice and soft music could be heard across the AM band after midnight almost anywhere in the country into the early ’70s.

Changing times

In the late 1960s, FM station WNEW in New York City experimented with an all-female format. Allison Steele won an audition against 800 other women and began working there as a disc jockey. She stayed on when the format was abandoned 18 months later, and gained popularity as “The Nightbird.” Her overnight show drew an estimated audience of 78,000, and she was chosen by Billboard Magazine in 1976 as the “FM Personality of the Year.”

WHER in Memphis was the first of several stations to adopt an “all-woman” format during the disc jockey era. In 1955, Sam Phillips (of Sun Records fame) opened the station; his wife Becky was one of the first DJs. WHER broadcast until 1973. Other stations that tried “all-girl” formats, as they were often called.

As the 1970s progressed, the barriers against hearing women on the air gradually faded away.

CHIC in Toronto and KNIT in Abilene, Texas, both had all-female deejay staffs, although the newscasts continued to be voiced by men. An all-woman format was tried at WSDM in Chicago, where Yvonne Daniels sharpened her chops before moving on to the AM powerhouse WLS in 1973.

Also in Chicago, Connie Czersin debuted on WIND in 1974. Maxanne Sartori played progressive rock at KOL(FM) in Seattle before moving to Boston to take the afternoon slot at WBCN(FM).

Donna Halper, whose written work has appeared in the pages of Radio World, played the hits at WMMS in Cleveland, where she was credited with discovering the rock band Rush in 1974. Liz Kiley started her career at WLAV in Grand Rapids in 1976, and within three years had moved up the ranks to WABC in New York.

The many who came after them benefited from the work of the women named above, and dozens of others, in challenging radio’s glass ceilings.

View four more historical photos in the image gallery below.

John Schneider is a lifetime radio historian, the author of two books and dozens of articles on the subject, and a Fellow of the California Historical Radio Society. He wrote here in June about the centennial of KNX.

Image Gallery:

 

RESOURCES & MORE READING:

Women and Radio: Airing Differences, edited by Caroline Mitchell

Fireside Politics: Radio and Political Culture in the United States, 1920-1940, by Douglas B. Craig

“Remembering the Ladies—A Salute to the Women of Early Radio,” by Donna L. Halper, “Popular Communications,” January 1999

Broadcasting Magazine, July 1, 1934

“The Story of WHER, America’s Pioneering, First All-Woman Radio Station (1955),” www.openculture.com

“Dolly Holiday — A Dreamy Soothing Voice in the Night,” www.rumormillnews

“Mary Margaret McBride, American Journalist and Broadcaster,” by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Wikipedia: “History of Radio Disc Jockeys”

 

 

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The Telos Alliance has scheduled an audio over IP webinar for Aug. 6 that will focus on delivering audio to transmitters.

“Omnia MPX Node: Reliable FM MPX over IP, Real World Stories of New STL Possibilities,” features Frank Foti, Geoff Steadman and Kirk Harnack.

They will examine real-world cases of using the company’s MPX Node hardware and µMPX technology “to deliver their FM MPX (composite) signal reliably over a variety of IP links, including public internet.”

Topics to be discussed include µMPX technology, dual-path IP redundancy, forward error correction and multicast options. To learn more or register, go here.

 

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Transmitter maker Nautel has put together an eBook full of tips for buying and setting up a new transmitter.

“9 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Transmitter” is “geared toward general and engineering managers,” and “discusses details that could be overlooked during the decision-making process including space requirements, potential delivery issues, site preparation and more.”

Nautel marketing maven John Whyte said, “Failure to account for even small details can drive up your total cost of ownership. This eBook addresses what we consider to be the top nine issues involved with a new transmitter purchase and includes questions you should be asking yourself in the preparation process.”

The ebook is brand agnostic when it comes to whatever transmitter is being discussed. It’s a free eBook that can be found here.

The post Avoid These Mistakes, Says Nautel appeared first on Radio World.

Above is a look inside the new Radio Play Control Room 2 at the Stuttgart facilities of German public broadcaster SWR.

The image was distributed by Broadcast Solutions, the system integrator working with SWR. It said the broadcaster has been upgrading its Stuttgart location to simplify production and improve its control and studio rooms.

Radio Play Studio 5 is being equipped similar to Radio Play Control Room 2, which was updated earlier.

“The control room is 5.1-capable and includes an AVID S6 console system, ProTools and Sequoia as DAW systems, as well as several source feed and effect devices,” Broadcast Solutions said.

“Three studios were equipped with mobile terminal boxes, which offer numerous connection options even for larger setups. The furniture’s overall design supports flexible working methods. Besides the director’s table, which is custom made for the S6 console, there are two additional mobile working tables for editing and production. The mobile tables can be moved and thus arranged according to the requirements of the respective production.”

The company said that by having two similarly equipped rooms, engineers and technicians can work and train more efficiently.

“SWR expects a consistently high level of capacity utilization in the coming years.”

Radio World welcomes information for our Who’s Buying What column, including facility images and descriptions. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

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Larger radio companies in the United States are not the only ones that have run afoul of the Federal Communications Commission in its investigations of online political files.

The FCC Media Bureau has announced that it reached consent decrees with four more companies: Center Hill Broadcasting Corp., Cookeville Communications, North Shore Broadcasting Co. and W & V Broadcasting.

In each case the company filed applications for one or more station renewals but was unable to certify past compliance with the rules for political record keeping.

The FCC then put those applications on hold — a total of 19 stations across the four companies — so it could investigate.

Now, with these consent decrees, the investigations are ended.

[Related: “Big Radio Companies Settle With FCC on Political Files”]

Just as it did in announcing consent decrees with big “name brand” radio companies recently, the Media Bureau said the pandemic “has caused a dramatic reduction in advertising revenues which, in turn, has placed the radio broadcast industry … under significant financial stress.” It said disclosures by these four companies combined with the “exceptional circumstances” of a pandemic led it to the consent decrees rather than other action.

Each company agrees to appoint a compliance officer; develop a compliance plan, including a manual and training program; and submit reports to the commission’s Political Programming staff. The FCC now will release the “hold” on the pending license renewal applications.

The post More Radio Owners Agree to Public File Compliance Plans appeared first on Radio World.

SiriusXM 360L infotainment system interface

The impact of the pandemic can be seen in the latest financial numbers from SiriusXM, as with most U.S. media companies.

It said revenue for the most recent quarter was $1.9 billion, down 5% compared to the same period a year before, and net income was also down, though its adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was roughly unchanged.

CEO Jim Meyer called its business “resilient” with “improving results and visibility into the remainder of the year.”

The audio company saw ad revenue fall 34% in the quarter, though it said it compensated for this through “substantial” expense savings.

“Despite the incredible economic stresses brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, our self-pay net subscriber additions grew by nearly 200,000 over the first quarter of the year, and we reported improved churn of just 1.6% per month with rising ARPU,” said Meyer.

[Read: Stitcher’s Flexible New Facility in Manhattan]

Among other recent actions, he said, “We opened up our SiriusXM service for free during a time when people needed news, information and entertainment and we saw millions of new listeners take advantage of it.”

Looking ahead, he noted the pending rollout of the company’s hybrid radio platform 360L in cars from Audi, BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, GMC brands and Volkswagen.

The company also has been in acquisition mode, and it pointed out that it has committed $428 million to acquire Simplecast and Stitcher and a minority investment in Soundcloud.

It says the Stitcher transaction announced this month will substantially advance its position in podcasting. Senior EVP and CFO David Frear said, “We are excited to offer advertisers an attractive path for audience-based buys, including to over 150 million North American listeners across our platforms.”

In the company’s Pandora business, ad revenue fell 31% to $211 million, and gross profit fell 55%. “Numerous categories of advertisers cancelled or paused orders during the second quarter in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, revenue declines moderated throughout the quarter.” Monthly Active Users and total ad supported listener hours for Pandora were down while average monthly listening hours per active ad-supported user increased compared to a year earlier.

SiriusXM has about 34.3 million total subscribers, of which 30.3 million are “self-pay” subscribers (the company also has paid promotional subscribers). Total Pandora subscribers at the end of the period were 6.3 million.

 

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An image from the NAB website about Next Gen TV or ATSC 3.0. More info at www.nab.org/innovation/nextgentv.asp

The author of this commentary is a veteran engineer and Radio World contributor. Opinions are his own.

I’ve been attending webinars about ATSC 3.0 with interest. Not just because of the potential impact for TV, but as a reflection to what radio is or isn’t doing with technology.

I’m not sure ATSC3 is the savior to OTA TV, but at least they are trying some things.

They’re pushing the notion that it could be “more internet-like,” which might be like saying “the horse and buggy wrapped itself with a car body so it looks like a car.”

ATSC3 does offer more channels and a better compression method, and that is a benefit.

I’ve been contributing ideas in these webinars and have had personal contact from one of the moderators, who reached out to discuss some ideas.

For instance, I do think ATSC could be much more “effective” if the technology included “store & forward,” meaning content is being uploaded to devices (TVs, etc.) by the transmitter delivering packets to individual’s personal devices based on MAC address.

This way, maybe commercials could actually be “custom tailored” to individuals. Maybe initially a viewer who is a vegetarian might not see a McDonalds spot about a Big Mac, but they only see one about the salads. Maybe someday the spot actually is customized to even reach out to the individual even saying “Dan, this weekend the Museum of Discovery and Science is hosting a history fair,” where the ad truly is for you.

ATSC3 has the potential to do this, but is that not technology that HD Radio could also have integrated?

Zoning & Personalization

If it’s simply about adding “more channels” (like HD), how much further do we fragment the audience? If the eight Albuquerque iHeart FMs add three sub channels in HD, do they really make 24 times the revenue — or instead of getting $24 per spot, do they now get $3?

ATSC3 also could allow “zoning” of spots, the same as a group of FM translator guys want to do. But is changing the spot on a transmitter the best way to do this; or would be using digital technology to “silently” upload content into players be a much better way to target the audience (not just within “zones,” but even for customer taste and preference)?

Since GPS tied to digital radio (like ATSC3) could actually play a spot based on a restaurant coming up in the next few miles, wouldn’t that make a lot more sense?

What if you are a “steak lover” driving down a busy road with 20 restaurants, and your food preference was known “to your radio,” and the “store & forward” of the audio spot in conjunction with GPS information meant that when the stop-set occurred, your radio played you a spot for Outback, Texas Roadhouse or Ruth’s Chris Steak House. …

Better yet, what if that car radio used Wi-Fi for additional metadata or positioning and could report back to the radio station when it played that spot and to whom it played it (including date and time)?

[Related: “Hybrid Radio Picks Up Momentum”]

Anyhow, maybe someday this will be the future. Right now, it seems that digital TV’s new ATSC3 is getting a lot of “tire kicks,” and the innovators seem to be hearing ideas and considering. Once again, we’ll require TV manufacturers to also incorporate the technology.

And radio is very fortunate that it does not have to deal with cable companies. The cable companies will want to compress the data and minimize the bandwidth, and they’ll want to rent the consumer a “box” (at a month charge) to benefit from any new ATSC3 innovation, and that may be the nail in that coffin!

Radio, unlike TV, doesn’t have “the middleman” kicking the crap out of us on every turn like the cable guys, and what we put out is what lands in the radio. So if our own digital innovation (even with tighter FM bandwidth) can come up with new ideas, we could see radio re-invented (or re-innovated).

I’d like to see an analog/digital radio with an IP-based back-haul to/from the station and with digital storage. If this could happen, each radio to every listener could be customized, and radio could still be the “content provider.”

What Only We Can Do

I do think certain large companies continue to destroy radio because the innovation of technology MUST include strong localism or radio WILL be wiped out for internet.

Where my MP3 can never beat radio is with local info. Tell me that “Third Street is closed because of a house fire” or “there’s a big pot hole in Walnut Avenue” or that there’s going to be a great “antique festival this weekend in downtown Strasburg”— those are things my MP3 cannot do.

To me, that is radio … and that brings us together to do what only WE can do!

Comment on this or any story. Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

 

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