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Dear Editor,

I just got to read the Sept. 25 issue and would like to add a comment on the article “Seeking Enlightenment on Lightning Protection?” by Jeff Welton as it pertains to fiber optic lightning immunity.

I live and work in Iowa where, like most flat states, if you stick a 10 penny nail in the ground, it will probably take a direct lightning hit in the next storm.

Four years ago, my telephone provider switched from copper pair and DSL to homes and businesses to direct fiber. This was a great thing for my internet, when went from 5 meg down and 1 meg up to 100 meg both ways. And all was well until the next summer.

A fairly active thunderstorm came through and there was a strike near the end of our driveway about 1/4 mile from our home. I knew it was close because there are two light fixtures out there, and the bulbs were both blown and melted into their sockets.

Well, after the strike, we had no phone and no internet; also the television, Apple TV box and two computers wouldn’t turn on. It wiped the phone company’s fiber-to-copper modem mounted on the outside of the house, wiped the router, both computers, the Apple box and the input board on the television where the HDMI cable from the Apple box was plugged in.

After the phone company fixed their problems and I got the TV fixed by Apple (and fixed the television myself and threw out the computers), we were back to normal.

I thought maybe it had hit the lights and come back through the AC line, or hit my ham tower,. I checked all the grounds and let it go, figuring the fiber is glass, it couldn’t possibly come through there.

A year later almost to the day, same exact thing. This time it didn’t damage the outside lights — just the modem, router,  Apple TV, television and another computer.

Now I was suspicious. I told the telephone repairman, “It seems like we never had trouble when we had copper pairs; but now since you guys went to fiber,  we are having lightning damage to anything connected to the fiber.”

Well, the guy was on the ball. He said, “You know, the fiber is in a copper shield to protect it from crushing; maybe it’s coming in on the copper shield.”

The shield was bonded to the modem, which had the usual four-foot ground rod driven. Next day, they sent a crew that terminated the copper shielded cable outside and ran just a piece of fiber, one strand into the house and moved their modem to the basement.

Now there is a length of 15 feet of pure glass between the incoming cable and the modem. Since that was done two years ago, we have had no trouble, though the storms are as potent as ever.

Watch out for buried fiber, it can be destructive. It’s not all glass.

Ron Schacht
Kensett, Iowa

The post IT’S NOT ALL GLASS appeared first on Radio World.

Skyview Networks is highlighting a new audio distribution data center in Phoenix, Ariz. The facility, which opened this spring, is a satellite uplink farm and private cloud server system that Skyview says is notable for its broadcast reliability.

The company, founded in 1995, started with a focus on satellite distribution for pro sports and has evolved into a large audio distribution and inventory management provider. The facility processes and distributes ABC Audio, CBS Audio, Local Radio Networks, Alpha Media and professional and collegiate sports organizations; Skyview says it now has capacity to quadruple for new client acquisition.

“With this new primary facility, Skyview Networks’ capability and capacity more than doubles for its national news and lifestyle networks, and play-by-play sports,” it said in an announcement.

HEAVY USER WORKLOAD

According to a factsheet, the Skyview Networks Audio Distribution Data Center has 10 Megawatts of generating capacity and 100 GBps of Tier 1 Network ethernet to multiple cross-connects in North America, Asia, Europe and South America. It uses 2N+1 redundancy on its power, networking, cooling, uplink, automation and inventory management systems; and it has 300 TB of storage capability (Skyview says this is equivalent to 1.3 times the size of the print collections in the Library of Congress).

It also has 3 TB of RAM, enough to store its entire library of commercials, “equivalent to four years of audio,” but is using only half.

“Since Skyview Networks’ applications and systems support both internal and external users, it averages a 6,000+ user workload daily between its ABC, CBS and sports programming.”

It said the plant qualifies as a “Tier IV” facility, meaning multiple redundant capacity components, dual powered equipment, multiple uplinks and fault-tolerant components including uplinks, computers, storage, chillers, HVAC systems and servers.

Vice President of IT Christopher Horvat said, “The storage environment supports many workloads, including traditional core infrastructure virtual machines — Domain Controllers, management apps, etc. — application servers that include database and web servers, and the main VMs that transcode audio in real time or automate the broadcast networks of ABC, CBS and sports programs. This in full consists of over 5,000 radio stations.”

Horvat said the company aims for “sub-second” business continuity.

“To achieve those results, we maintain warm standby systems end-to-end as a 2N environment, which is why Skyview Networks has two HPE 3PAR systems and 12 blades instead of one 3PAR and six blades. The goal is to have enough capacity that if Skyview Networks’ systems fail on one side, all systems can keep running without an issue. For corruption prevention, the team maintains daily backups of all VM/Hyper-V environment and 15-minute backups of the database environment to allow for an instant restore in case the base data is lost to corruption.”

Horvat also highlighted its monitoring and protection capabilities. “I believe this is the future in software-defined cloud systems and flexible, efficient scalability for client growth,” he stated in an announcement. “As our momentum continues to accelerate in the audio space, we are well-prepared for continued expansion.”

Flexential, a hybrid IT solutions provider, is Skyview’s vendor partner for the colocation services in which Skyview’s uplink facility resides. Horvat said Flexential had the infrastructure (e.g. the ability, look angle, conduit and electrical) at its Phoenix data center to allow Skyview Networks to create its own private cloud using the high availability resources that they manage on Skyview’s behalf, such as power, WAN/BGP Networking and cooling. The transmitter farm in the photos is connected to Skyview’s cage on the colocation floor for management and signal multiplexing/modulation and powered by the redundant power infrastructure at Flexential.

Skyview has been seeking a higher profile lately and drawing attention to several of its initiatives. For example, Skyview and Amplifi Media have a partnership offering custom audio solutions for agencies and clients that want to curate branded audio content. Separately it signed a partnership with Local Radio Networks under which Skyview becomes the network sales partner and satellite distribution provider for JackFM’s Adult Variety format.

Fox Sports announced a partnership with the company for USC football and men’s basketball broadcasts, looking to increase the Trojans’ broadcast footprint beyond the West Coast.  And Skyview Networks sponsors an annual “audio upfront” event for agencies and media buyers in New York.

RW seeks candidates for technical facility profiles. Email us at radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Skyview Networks Debuts Primary Uplink appeared first on Radio World.

A group of EEO rule supporters are standing against a tide of comments from broadcast groups to reiterate that the FCC’s equal employment opportunity rules prevent discrimination, promote competition, advance minority ownership and should remain a matter of the highest priority.

The filing is led by the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and is supported by 37 individual groups that make up the EEO supporters list including the Black College Communication Association, League of United Latin American Citizens and the National Asian American Coalition.

[Read: Additional EEO Rules Are Unjustified and Unnecessary, According to NAB]

The group lays out five key proposals that are aimed at helping the commission fulfill the goal of alleviating discrimination in the electronic mass media industry. Among those proposals are the suggestion that EEO data be gathered for research on industry trends and EEO program effectiveness; EEO data be requested from licensees found to have failed to engage in required recruitment efforts; stations submit certifications as proof that job postings occurred before hiring decisions were made; additional audits be undertaken in case of probable-cause violations; and the commission open an inquiry into the pattern of consistently low representation of minorities in radio news.

According to the group, existing EEO regulations are helping to ensure that all qualified persons, including minorities and women, can learn of and compete on an equal footing for job openings.

“Talent and creativity are what makes broadcasting and multichannel video competitive with other media industries,” the group said in its filing. “The diversity of the employee pool is an especially critical input in these industries, which require an ever-growing stream of creative people on the line staff and in management. In a business such as media, whose product is the distribution of the fruits of talent, it is unsound economic policy to exclude or drive out anyone on a basis other than merit.”

The rules also help advance minority ownership, the group said in its first filing in September. “Any weakening of EEO enforcement … would convert radio deregulation into a cynical ‘bait and switch’ — a broken treaty with the American people. We must never overlook the important role played by the EEO rules in facilitating minority ownership by providing an entry pathway and opportunity for hands-on training for tomorrow’s broadcast owners,” the group said.

In a second comment filed in November, the EEO supporters said that EEO regulation is not only necessary but also justified from a cost-benefit standpoint.

“The costs of enforcement and compliance to the FCC and regulatees, respectively, are minimal, and the benefits are enormous,” the group said. “That cost here consists of the additional effort, beyond those costs that attend standard personnel administration, required to ensure that all job openings are timely posted online and are emailed to a list of community groups. Thanks to online recruitment, that cost is virtually zero.”

Responding to comments from the National Association of Broadcasters, the EEO Supporters said the NAB is conspicuously absent from making any suggestions on what the commission can do to combat cronyism or other forms of discrimination.

“Looking back at the nation’s history, and particularly at the history of broadcasting pre-1968, it cannot be said that federal nonintervention, or federal looking-the-other-way, or federal cutbacks in civil rights enforcement, or civil rights ‘self-regulation,’ ever were effective strategies in combating race and gender discrimination,” the group said.

“Aggressive, proactive federal leadership was manifestly required and still is today,” the group said.

The group said that the question that all parties — including the NAB — should be answering is: What can the commission do, right now, to finally and successfully finish the job of opening the doors of the nation’s most influential industries to all individuals?

These comments and others are being made as part of the FCC’s request for reply comments on the commission’s Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance and Enforcement Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Those comments are housed in the commissions’ ECFS database using Media Bureau Docket Number 19-177.

 

The post EEO Supporters Stand Firm on Benefits of FCC Employment Rules appeared first on Radio World.

Belgian commercial radio stations Qmusic and Joe began broadcasting from their new studios in May. The upgraded facilities, which represent an investment of €3 million, comprise new broadcast studios, production rooms, editorial offices and meeting places. Read about the upgrade and more in the November issue of Radio World International.

BEST OF SHOW 

Discover the award winners at this year’s IBC show

30TH ANNIVERSARY

To celebrate our 30th anniversary, we’re featuring a selection of historical pictures you have shared with us

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

RFmondial Launches Multiplexed DRM For FM Band

VRT Rolls Out Light Remote Radio Studio

Buyer’s Guide: Signal Monitoring, Remote Control, Test and EAS 

The post Inside the November issue of Radio World International appeared first on Radio World.

It’s part art, part science and a lot of mystery.

It’s Search Engine Optimization, commonly known as SEO. And no matter what anyone tells you, there isn’t a person on the planet who knows precisely how to manipulate it. Even former Google employees who specialized in SEO offer conflicting advice to clients.

What is a radio station wanting to improve their SEO to do? Let’s start by addressing a key concern: How to fund it.

Unless you have an employee with a background in SEO and time on their hands to work extensively with your website and YouTube channel (see my last two columns), you’re going to need a specialized agency.

FIND A PARTNER

I am not advocating a big expenditure for an SEO agency.

Many towns  — whether large or small  — have SEO consultants who would like exposure to a greater pool of potential clients for their SEO services. You guessed it, I am suggesting you seek a full or partial trade of radio advertising in exchange for help with your radio station’s digital properties.

You’ll want to trade for the value of a monthly retainer, plus a specified number of hours. Partner with an SEO agency (or ad agency that also does quality SEO) that has already licensed a keyword search tool such as Brightedge.

While there are free keyword search tools, I recommend you select a company large enough to actually have a license with a well-known entity. A legitimate keyword search tool will enable your new agency to prioritize the most relevant keywords for you; categorize keywords to maximize the performance of your content; look for opportunities for keywords that you can “own,” and provide insight into the competitive landscape.

Why is SEO so important? Entire books have been written to answer this question but they all have the same punchline: Organic search. That is, when a user types a query into Google or another search engine, you will achieve the best possible outcome for your website.

This is because the intent of the user determines the success of your metrics. And if someone easily finds what you offer, they will stay on your website or YouTube channel longer because you’re giving them what they want.

When users don’t get what they’re looking for, the opposite occurs, with the traffic “bouncing” off the site with no continued interaction. This is why bounce rates are always so much higher for search engine marketing, when users click on an ad or paid keyword result only to find something that doesn’t match their expectations.

Regarding YouTube, it is difficult to obtain great search ranking, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Maybe you’ve got a few unique in-studio music performances that will surface in search. Make sure they are tagged appropriately and that descriptions are unique, very specific, and totally accurate.

FIVE TIPS

There are several other basic but important ingredients in SEO that I’ve personally seen make a difference:

1) Getting more inbound links from authoritative websites to your website. He who gives also receives, so perhaps there are several large websites in your market with which you can create a linking agreement. Local newspaper websites, official local government sites (maybe you can get a link for aggregated school closings, or some other service you offer), local television websites, local sports team sites and any other sites that do well in your city. Tied to this idea is linking from your branded platforms like your YouTube channel and all of your other social channels.

2) Greater internal linking to your own content pieces. Although time-consuming this is easy and can be done gradually.

3) The depth of your website in terms of the number of pages matters, so don’t delete pages unless they can’t be updated. Over many years, sites grow substantially without your even realizing it.

4) Talk to your SEO company about building and submitting a site map. There is substantial disagreement about whether to submit a site map, or just wait for Google to crawl your site. Unless your SEO company is prepared to fix issues uncovered when constructing the site map, it’s probably not worth it to you. However, if your agency specializes in this, it could be effective.

5) Finally, you gotta have patience! SEO is not for short-term thinkers who want results tomorrow. This can be a challenge for radio station managers who demand immediate ratings results on a near-monthly basis. SEO takes time to work. I’ve seen results in three months, better results in six months, substantial results in a year.

Fair warning: There are no guarantees with SEO, but like so many creative endeavors, those who are willing to experiment and take chances often win the game.

Mark Lapidus is a multi-platform media, content and marketing executive, and longtime Radio World contributor. Email mark.lapidus1@gmail.com.

The post Let’s Untangle the Knotty Mystery of SEO appeared first on Radio World.

In this latest series of articles on the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on EEO rules, the National Association of Broadcasters takes a stance that is shared by other broadcasters who have publicly commented in the ECFS database — that there is no evidence of discrimination in broadcasting that justifies additional regulation or that more EEO rules will actually increase employment diversity.

The NAB filed their reply comments as part of the FCC’s request for reply comments on the commission’s Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance and Enforcement Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

“Instead of imposing more top-down, unproductive obligations, the commission should focus its efforts on practical measures that will directly impact diversity,” the NAB said, such as increasing public awareness of EEO opportunities and industry education.

[Read: 50 Broadcast Groups to FCC: Remove Obsolete EEO Rules]

The NAB also took a stand against a proposal suggested by a group of EEO supporters that called for more frequent EEO audits. Rather, the NAB said, the FCC should minimize the unjustified burdens of EEO audits by eliminating audits for small broadcasters.

“The record does not contain a shred of evidence of discrimination in broadcasting,” the NAB said in their comment filing. The NAB said that the group relies on conjecture to argue that intentional discrimination is a widespread problem in broadcasting and that it demands additional regulation.

“Moreover, to our knowledge, the commission has conducted tens of thousands of reviews of broadcasters’ EEO programs since the rules became effective in 2003, without one finding of discrimination,” the NAB said.

As other broadcast groups have done in this proceeding, the NAB also raised the question of constitutionality. “The existing rules already push the boundaries of constitutionality. No previous version of the commission’s EEO rule has survived judicial scrutiny, and the current rules persist in part because they have never been challenged,” the NAB said.

“[I]mposing more rules, especially the collection of data about the racial and gender composition of a station’s workforce on Form 395-B, could threaten their sustainability,” the NAB said. Thus, the commission should be extremely wary of imposing additional EEO requirements.

Comments on the FCC’s EEO proposed rulemaking can be seen in the commissions’ ECFS database using Media Bureau Docket Number 19-177.

 

The post Additional EEO Rules Are Unjustified and Unnecessary, According to NAB appeared first on Radio World.

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, the C-Band Alliance reworked plans for splitting the coveted midband spectrum by offering 300 MHz of bandwidth to the cellular industry for 5G expansion into U.S. markets.

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, a new bill was introduced late last week that would force the FCC to conduct a public C-band auction in the major markets, with profits earmarked for rural broadband expansion, and not satellite operators.

[Read: C-Band Contention Ramps Up]

The proposed bill muddies the waters, since the C-Band Alliance was feeling fairly confident that, by reorganizing the midband spectrum one more time, they could deliver a solution that works for satellite operators and broadband.

Previously the CBA had offered 200 MHz to 5G, but the FCC has made it well known that more spectrum for 5G was required. The increase includes a 20 MHz guard band, leaving 5G with 280 MHz of usable space.

How Would The Proposed CBA Split Work?

I know what you’re thinking: How can a mere 200 MHz for C-Band’s incumbent users now be adequate, when earlier this year CBA’s “line in the sand” was 200 MHz for 5G/300 MHz for C-band users? According to the CBA, it’s a perfect storm scenario which includes:

• Migrating more non-CONUS clients to lower frequencies;
• A number of customers choosing not to renew their space segment contracts (the CBA noted the natural migration of customers to SD multiplexes, terrestrial, etc.);
• Efficiency gains at the uplink level via encoders and modulators.

Why Congress And Why Now?

Don’t doubt for a second that broadband (and their lobbyists) have been quite active on Capitol Hill.

This being said, at least a few members are concerned that their “vision” of a 5G America may be stymied by the FCC. In a joint statement, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J), Energy & Commerce Committee chairman, and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), chairman of the Communications & Technology Subcommittee, stated they believe legislation may be the only way to “reduce uncertainty and benefit Americans.’’

In a nutshell, the Clearing Broad Airwaves for New Deployment (C-BAND) Act:

• Requires the FCC to hold a public auction of C-band spectrum;
• Allow for no less than 200 megahertz and no more than 300 megahertz of C-band spectrum [with 20 MHz set aside for guard bands];
• Ensures that incumbent C-band users will be protected by mandating that they get as good or better service than before.

Of course, this eleventh hour grandstanding is concerning to satellite operators. If this bill passes, who picks up the tab for the new filters, repoints and — in some cases — antennas that broadcasters will need to operate with 5G sharing the spectrum? Who will finance the launch of several new satellites?

All of these expenses would be covered under the C-Band Alliance proposal, but are not even addressed by the proposed bill.

Dusting Off The Crystal Ball

Will the FCC accept the CBA proposal? We’d like to answer with a definitive “yes,” but with legislation pending, who really knows?

But what we do know is that the clock is ticking. The midband issue has been in limbo for two years, and both C-band operators and 5G advocates are hoping for a decision, and soon. If the bill fails to pass, all indications point to the FCC making their decision in December.

We believe the CBA will be a part of the transition in some fashion, since the alliance has been very vocal in their intent to implement the safe and efficient clearing and repurposing of C-band spectrum. It only makes sense that you should have the owner/operators of the orbital antennas involved, right?

Let’s hope the FCC commissioners agree.

 

The post CBA Revises Its Proposal to the FCC, Congress Says It Is Getting Involved appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC is seeking a full-court review of a three-judge panel decision vacating its broadcast media ownership deregulation decision.

The commission filed a petition for review Thursday (Nov. 7), arguing that the three-judge panel decision of appeals court imposed burdens beyond those allowed in the Administrative Procedures Act, second-guessed the FCC to the point that it undermined congressional intent, and breaks with higher-court and sister-court precedents.

[Read: Court Sends FCC Back to Drawing Board on Media Ownership]

In September, that panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated most of the FCC’s deregulatory order, saying the agency “did not adequately consider the effect its sweeping rule changes will have on ownership of broadcast media by women and racial minorities.”

The court was hearing an appeal by Prometheus et al. of the FCC’s fall 2017 decision under Chairman Ajit Pai to eliminate the newspaper-broadcast and the radio-TV cross-ownership rules; allow dual station ownership in markets with fewer than eight independent voices after that duopoly created an opportunity for ownership of two of the top four stations in a market on a case-by-case basis (the FCC was not calling it a waiver); and eliminate attribution of joint sales agreements as ownership; and created a diversity incubator program.” As well as create some diversity mechanisms to address the court’s long-standing concern.

Pai signaled back in September that the FCC would challenge the decision and made it clear what he thought of the court’s persistent remands of FCC deregulatory decisions.

“For more than 20 years, Congress has instructed the Federal Communications Commission to review its media ownership regulations and revise or repeal those rules that are no longer necessary,” said Pai at the time. “But for the last 15 years, a majority of the same Third Circuit panel has taken that authority for themselves, blocking any attempt to modernize these regulations to match the obvious realities of the modern media marketplace. It’s become quite clear that there is no evidence or reasoning — newspapers going out of business, broadcast radio struggling, broadcast TV facing stiffer competition than ever — that will persuade them to change their minds. We intend to seek further review of today’s decision …”

An FCC spokesperson was echoing that Nov. 7, saying “Over the last 15 years, while the media marketplace has changed dramatically, the same Third Circuit panel has repeatedly prevented the FCC from modernizing its ownership rules, including the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule that dates back to 1975. We hope that the full Third Circuit will agree to hear this case and finally allow the FCC to update these rules for the digital age.”

“It is extremely disappointing that the FCC would prefer to fight rather than do what would benefit everyone, which is to assess the impact of its actions on its goals of localism, diversity and competition,” said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, senior counselor at the Benton Institute and one of the attorneys who argued the case for those challenging the deregulation. “As a legal matter, this petition comes 15 years too late; the FCC’s challenge is really to what the same judges found in 2004, and if it had problems with the initial holding, it would have had to make this appeal at that time.”

 

The post FCC Challenges Court’s Broadcast Dereg Smackdown appeared first on Radio World.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers has announced the creation of a new chapter, Chapter 106 Panhandle, which will serve SBE members in the Florida Panhandle, as well as southern portions of Alabama and Georgia.

SBE’s Board of Directors approved the new chapter at the SBE National Meeting in October. This brings the total number of active chapters to 115 across the country.

[Read: SBE Sets 2019–2020 Committee Chairs]

Mark Johnson, CSRE, of LinkUp Communications will serve as chair for the chapter; Cumulus Media’s Alan Lane, CSRE, AMD, DRB, will be vice chair; and Ricky Carter of Alarado Media will serve as the secretary/treasurer.

“The SBE members in the Florida Panhandle have been without a chapter for some time,” said Wayne Pecena, SBE president. “The efforts of Mark Johnson and others in the area to organize a chapter have paid off, and all the chapter leaders and organizers deserve the credit for their work in establishing the chapter to serve SBE members in the area.”

 

The post SBE Creates New Chapter In Florida Panhandle appeared first on Radio World.

Stephanie Donnell is an engineer with New Hampshire Public Radio, based in Concord, N.H., where she recently experienced an unusual problem with RFI noise appearing on the computer video screens in the studios.

The video for the affected monitors is source selected through an Avocent KVM (keyboard/video/mouse) system, shown in Fig. 1, with its central switch in the station’s technical operations center. With some toroids and snap-on ferrite beads applied to the Cat-6 cable feeding video into the Avocent converter boxes for the studio monitors, the noise was reduced to a manageable degree. However, this didn’t address the underlying source of the noise.

Fig. 1: The interference appeared to be related to the Avocent KVM.

Several theories were considered. Perhaps the noise was from cellular or wireless IP equipment shared on the rooftop directly above the studios. Another possibility was interference from one of the medical offices on the floor directly below the NHPR suite. Would rerouting the cable that fed the video monitors reduce the level of noise? A couple of attempts failed to produce any improvements.

Another thought was that the noise was somehow related to the AC power in the studios and offices. The noise problem had started following some kind of disturbance on the AC utilities across the entire city, as noted on the maintenance log. The log showed a momentary dip in the TPO of the 20 kW FM transmitter just a few miles away.

One thing that they initially tried was to isolate the entire facility from the local power grid by switching over to emergency generator power. In another test, they bypassed a fairly new central UPS, used to power several of offices. Neither of these resulted in any noticeable reduction in the noise.

In addition to the studio monitors, the noise showed up on a monitor that used one of the same KVM units in a recently vacated office. This proved to be helpful; Stephanie could work on the issue there, without worrying about disrupting operations in the studios that had the same issue.

Her troubleshooting began by trying to make sure the space was as electrically “quiet” as possible. She unplugged everything except the power to the video monitor and the KVM box; she unplugged a printer and a couple of small AC (switching) wall warts, which did not result in any changes. When she unplugged a slightly larger wall wart; the monitor screen suddenly became completely clear of the noise. When that wall wart was plugged back in, the noise returned. This larger AC power pack provided 12 volts DC for a desktop SAS intercom terminal in the office.

There were several of these intercoms around, including two in the studio where the problem was the worst. When they powered down one of the studio SAS intercoms, there was no change in the noise on the screens. But when the second SAS intercom was powered off, all of the monitor screens — not just in the studio but in all adjacent studios — became totally clear.

To determine that the actual RFI issue was due to the AC power pack, not something else with the SAS intercom terminals, Stephanie located a new power pack with identical voltage and current ratings. She connected it to the suspect SAS terminal in the studio. The results were the same as when the SAS was powered off. All of the computer monitors remained clear of noise.

Fig. 2: Very low ripple from the “good” power supply.

Digging a bit deeper, and having isolated the culprit, Stephanie decided to see what the noise level on the 12 volt output of the good and bad AC power packs looked like with the help of a scope. The “good” supply had around 40–50 mV of noise, as seen in Fig. 2. However the “bad” power pack had nearly 3 volts of some nasty looking noise, pictured in Fig. 3. Stephanie reasoned that much of that same noise was present on the Cat-6 cables going from the SAS terminals, back to the SAS mainframe, located adjacent to the TOC. The SAS cables also shared much of the same route as the Cat-6 cables connecting the different Avocent KVM boxes.

Fig.3: The AC ripple seen on the bad power supply.

Using a large bench vise she cracked open the bad AC power pack. It didn’t take long to find what she was checking for: a pair of electrolytic capacitors with bulging tops, seen in Fig. 4. This was a typical sign that they were “open” and no longer functioning as filters for the DC output.

Fig. 4: Bulging tops of the power supply electrolytics point to the problem.

It is interesting that this issue with the SAS intercoms had no noticeable effect on their operation but rather affected an an entirely different studio system. It also demonstrates that even capacitors in wall warts can be suspect.

Your contributions to Workbench help other engineers and qualify for SBE recertification credit. Send Workbench tips and high-resolution photos to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

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

The post A Very Odd Case of Studio RFI appeared first on Radio World.