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Sam Matheny

Sam Matheny is chief technology officer and executive vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters.

Radio World: What impact is the coronavirus national emergency having on station operations?

Sam Matheny: Radio and TV stations are implementing special policies to address coronavirus. These vary per station or group, but include remote work orders and extra cleaning.

We understand a small number of stations are having issues accessing their main studio due to the virus and quarantine areas. In these cases, we are working with FEMA and state or local emergency management authorities to aid them in getting the access they need. In some instances secondary studios are being considered or have been activated.

RW: Are there specific impacts in technical infrastructure and programming operations we should know about?

Matheny: Given broadcasters’ critical role in keeping the public informed, staying on the air is their top priority.

Some broadcasters have been forced to move to alternate studio sites as employees in main studio locations have tested positive for COVID-19. They are able to make use of broadcast auxiliary spectrum for a limited time, and many stations have equipment available to ensure continuity of operations from alternate studio sites, as well as to report accurate and timely information from state and local officials. Many radio stations have existing disaster plans that they routinely review and drill. Such plans are important resources and can help inform broadcasters’ response to the operational challenges posed by COVID-19.

Additionally, DHS just today [Monday] issued NCC Watch Access and Fuel letters to support any recovery/restoration activity that may be impacted due to COVID-19 nationwide.

RW: What impact is the emergency having on radio engineers and technical staff, professionally or personally? 

Matheny: Clearly everyone is impacted by the novel coronavirus and radio engineers are not exempt. There is a heightened sense of preparedness and a great deal of planning taking place.

This morning, we received the following information from an NAB Radio Technology Committee member: “All air travel cancelled. Work from home infrastructure being implemented. Work spaces being separated. Building outside air being maximized which will elevate energy consumption. Remote audio and video recording/reporting apps being added to increased number of smart phones. Stocking food, water and sterilization wipes at station. Contacting local hazmat mitigation companies for 24/7 numbers. Holding market-wide conference calls to determine back-up studio links.”

PILOT, an NAB innovation initiative, has been impacted too. We had to cancel an FM-band HD Radio field test that was scheduled to start today, March 16. This field test, months in the making, involves Xperi and radio engineers from a number of NAB-member groups.

[Gary Kline shares what he’s hearing about COVID-19’s impact on the broadcast community.]

RW: Engineers are often asked to be the ones who step in when other staffers have to step out. Are there any best practices that NAB hopes that engineers and their employers will adopt?

Matheny: Radio and television engineers are often the unsung heroes during more traditional emergencies such as hurricanes, tornadoes or wildfires. They play a vital role in keeping stations on the air and operational and we expect they will play that role with the current situation.

RW: What else should we know?

Matheny: We at NAB have created Coronavirus Response Toolkit for all stations to use. It includes operational resources that stations can download and integrate into their planning. It also includes PSA’s that can be used to educate audiences about the virus and response.

Also, as Brock Long, former FEMA administrator, says in this recent Op-ed, radio has a special place in emergency communications and keeping people informed. This is a job that stations — and station engineers — take very seriously.  The spread of this virus presents unique challenges, but we are confident radio stations will continue to play a vital role in informing and educating the public, while also keeping them entertained and connected in a time of social distancing. And all of this is made possible by the hard-working engineers that will keep the stations operational.

The post Coronavirus: We Talk With NAB’s Sam Matheny appeared first on Radio World.

Worried about a future without radio in the car dash? Former FEMA administrator Brock Long feels the same way.

He wrote a commentary for the Detroit News imploring the car manufacturing community to understand “the importance of radio” in the context of disaster readiness and response. 

In the article, Long, who is now executive chairman for Hagerty Consulting, compares car radios to life jackets and writes that “[t]aking them out puts consumers at risk, plain and simple.” Additionally, Long points out that “these broadcasts are the only method the government has to reach every point in the country.”

Why? First, Long says that in-car listening adds a level of redundancy to our alerting system because cars are not connected to the electric grid, and more than 95% of U.S. households own a car, which means the vast majority of the country can receive information in this way. Also, the Federal Emergency Management Administration has spent $100 million to ensure radio stations have adequate backup infrastructure, including generators. 

FEMA continues to put its money behind radio, adding more stations and backup facilities at great expense in order to strengthen the National Public Warning System. Aside from those monetary investments, radio’s manpower is critical; Long cites several instances of broadcasters taking their duties as first informers and responders seriously. However, Long points out that these efforts are diminished when carmakers remove radio from new vehicles. 

Understanding radio’s role is crucial to “the success of future governmental disaster relief efforts,” Long says.

Read Brock Long’s Detroit News commentary here. This article came on the heels of an optional Tesla update that would remove AM/FM capability from some vehicle models in favor of video streaming.

The post Removing Car Radios “Puts Consumers at Risk,” Former FEMA Head Says appeared first on Radio World.

Gary Kline

Technical consultant Gary Kline, who also contributes regularly to Radio World, travels a great deal both domestically and abroad; he is in frequent contact with many radio industry organizations. We asked him what he’s been hearing over the past several days about the impact of COVID-19 around the U.S. radio industry.

RW: Based on what you hear from clients or others, what impact is the coronavirus national emergency having on U.S. radio station operations? 

Gary Kline: For most stations, it hasn’t yet caused serious disruptions to programming or reliability of distribution (RF, streaming, on-demand, etc.). There has been, and there will continue to be, financial implications both on the revenue and expense side.

I’m already hearing of reduced capital expenditures – not surprising at a time like this. There have been some reports in the trades about folks being asked to work from home including broadcasting from home. I think we may see more of this work from outside the studios as more staff (or the people they’ve had contact with) test positive for the virus.

I think it is safe to say as time goes on there will be more changes. These changes in operations may touch upon all departments including engineering, sales, finance, traffic, promotions, management, etc.

RW: Are there specific impacts in technical infrastructure and programming operations we need to think about?

Kline: I think the biggest impact happening right now is the need to work or broadcast from home. Not unlike so many other businesses asking their employees to stay home, radio operators are doing the same with their non-essential staff.

The good news is that for many stations, remote access has been in place in one form or another. Traffic can operate remotely using VPN or other specialized remote access software. The same goes for music scheduling and even the automation/playout system. Many stations have been utilizing some form of remote voice tracking for years.

The good news is that for many stations, remote access has been in place in one form or another.

Therefore, the basic elements of operating a radio cluster are routine for most stations. For those that don’t have one piece in place, it’s not too hard to call your vendor for your traffic, CRM or playout system and ask for their remote access package. You may also need some help from your engineer or IT department/contractor to adjust the firewall and security settings to make everything work.

That being said: I think what we are seeing now though is a much greater emphasis on these remote systems and, in some cases, not enough capacity or hardware to accommodate ALL the stations in a building at one time.

For example, if you have four or five or even six stations with live or live-assist morning shows in your building, is there enough remote technology to handle all those at once? Is there enough gear in someone’s living room to handle things like putting phone callers on the air without a board op back at the studio? Are the facilities ready for total remote control of the console etc.? Can you produce spots remotely and insert them into the log? Can you trigger EAS remotely? Do you own enough IP codecs or apps to simultaneously feed each studio?

RW: What impact is the emergency having on engineers and technical staff, either professionally or personally? 

Kline: Most of the engineers I have spoken with have been busy making plans for the remote operation of station business systems in addition to complete remote broadcasting for every one of their stations in a cluster. This is so that if the building needs to be emptied due to a prolonged cleaning and/or company required work-at-home policies, things continue to run. Most facilities had something in place to do these things already, but not always for every station simultaneously. In some cases, the equipment existed but was not configured for exactly the purpose of total remote broadcasting. So, engineers now find themselves re-configuring systems and designing more elaborate command and control procedures for use externally.

RW: Engineers are often asked to be the ones who step in when other staffers have to step out. We’ve heard from at least one engineer who has been told that if further quarantines come into play, he’ll be the one living and sleeping at the studios. Are there any special best practices that engineers and their employers will adopt?

Kline: I think most engineers will tell you that they’ve been through various emergencies, crisis situations, weather related disasters, and as such are doing what they always do in challenging situations, they excel under pressure and rise to the occasion. This is what we do, we keep stations on the air no matter what. We adapt and we innovate. That’s the impact this has on an engineer. On a personal note, I am sure that we are all concerned about contracting the virus, ensuring our families and family are safe as well as our colleagues. Right now, it is all hands-on deck in getting ready for the worst case – prolonged remote station operation.

Most engineers will tell you that they’ve been through various emergencies, crisis situations, weather related disasters, and as such are doing what they always do in challenging situations, they excel under pressure and rise to the occasion

RW: What else should we know?

Kline: All the things that need to be done to prepare technically…. Do them now. Right now. Because if tomorrow you must clear out your facility, you may not be ready to operate it from a different (or multiple) locations. It can happen overnight so don’t delay. If you need extra gear, borrow or purchase it right now. If you need to bring extra engineering help in to re-configure your facility, add remote software, program your router, do it now. Do not wait. If you use contract engineering, remember they may be busy helping many other owners so call them today. Some of the preparations may require technical folks visit the homes of staff including air staff – this may not be possible at some point so get on it now. Make sure everyone knows what their role is and make sure you have understudies for key roles. Have a backup engineer and IT person on call – even if it is a contractor.

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We don’t want to think about these things – but if your engineer tests positive, what will you do? What will you do if your transmitter goes down or automation system crashes and your engineer is quarantined for a month or more? There are people out there that can help you produce a technical plan to ensure business operations continue if you need the help. There are many different systems which must operate in harmony to fully operate a facility from the outside – do a dry run this week. For smaller operations with a handful of employees, it only takes one or two positive tests to create a major kink in your local operations.

The Kline Consulting website is https://klineconsulting.com/about-us/.

The post “This Is What We Do. We Keep Stations on the Air No Matter What” appeared first on Radio World.

Getty Images/Yaroslav Mikheev

Paper towels and fresh bread are not the only things in demand right now. Add microphone windscreens and remote codecs to the list, at least for U.S. radio stations dealing with the new reality of COVID-19 prevention.

Radio groups are setting up teleworking arrangements, canceling events and turning away prizewinners from their lobbies.

Demand has increased for equipment that supports remote audio operation, according to companies that make codecs including Comrex and Tieline. Similarly, equipment distributor SCMS reports, “We have shipped tons of windscreens but also many portable studio kits to major groups using the Rode Rodecaster,” according to President Bob Cauthen. “I think they are all preparing for the worst but hoping for the best!”

Radio World is gathering comments from a sampling of radio broadcasters and vendors to ask about the impact on operations. We welcome your own news at radioworld@futurenet.com.

Organizations have been posting updates about their continuity plans. Michael Beach, vice president of NPR Distribution, posted late last week about operation of the Public Radio Satellite System. He said PRSS will continue operations uninterrupted. “It’s our mandate to serve you so you can serve your communities, who need you more than ever,” Beach wrote to radio affiliates. That includes its Network Operations Center in Washington and its Help Desk.

“However, to reduce potential exposures to the virus, NPR is encouraging telework for employees who are in non-essential on-site roles,” he wrote. “As a result, much of the Distribution staff will be working remotely today through the end of March.” Some NPR Distribution staff were working remotely, others continue to be on in Washington. Staff are not to travel for business, events or appearances.

Beasley Media Group issued an announcement quoting Chief Executive Officer Caroline Beasley saying “The challenges we face are extraordinary, but the moment is not unique.” Most Beasley full-time employees are being asked to telework. “While some full-time employees will be needed in the office, they will be expected to follow CDC guidelines in an effort to maintain a safe and clean work environment.” Beasley instituted a “no work-related travel” policy and won’t allow listeners to pick up contest prize awards.

Adams Radio Group on Friday mandated that all personnel who can work from home do so immediately. Adams Radio CEO Ron Stone said, “Sales, programming, administrators and engineers will all be following this guidance as implemented by local management. … Further, we have also expanded restrictions on visitors to our buildings. We will be utilizing electronic means for all meetings with clients. Distribution of prizes, etc. to winners of contests will be discontinued until person-to-person interaction is safe again.”

The Alabama Broadcasters Association has delayed its schedule of Alternative Broadcast Inspections, or ABIPs. “As soon as conditions improved you will be contacted about a new inspection date.” The Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers cancelled its planned monthly meeting in Arlington, Va., that had been planned for this Friday.

Of course, many in the radio tech community are commenting via social media about the impact.

“Seeing a lot of broadcast organizations shutting down because of ‘the Fear,’” one posted to the Broadcasting group on Facebook. “Who’s running these facilities while everyone else is on Corona-cation? Engineers, that’s who. The guys you want to cut, the guys who you call when you are off the air.” Another replied, “And also the people setting up all those Zoom, Slack, VPN etc. accounts.”

A third wrote, “Should further community quarantine come into play, my GM has already told me I would be living at the studios. … An air mattress/sleeping bag in the quiet mechanical room sounds like a vacation at this point.”

The post U.S. Radio Operations Adjust to Coronavirus appeared first on Radio World.

No photographs are available of the reconvening of the NAB Show in 1946, but this surviving 1947 exhibits floor shot shows what things looked like at its second post-war meeting in September in Atlantic City, N.J.
Courtesy: James O’Neal

While the March 12 cancellation of this year’s NAB Show was not unexpected in light of the global Coronavirus pandemic status, broadcasting and content production communities have become so accustomed to making their annual April trek to Las Vegas the interruption seems almost unimaginable.

However, cancellation of this major trade show is not without precedent. The show, which convened for the first time in 1923 (slightly less than three years after the radio  broadcasting era began), managed to continue unscathed during the 1930s “Great Depression” years, and even continued well after the United States entered World War II.

(In examining the history of the NAB Show at that point in its existence, there was little regularity in its meeting dates [as early as February and as late as November], and its locale meandered quite a bit also, convening in such locales as Cincinnati, San Francisco, St. Louis, Cleveland and Chicago.)

By 1944, wartime contingencies were taking their toll on most industries, including broadcasting, as the manufacturing focus was on items needed for the war effort. Other markets were definitely “second fiddle.”

Engineers who formerly designed transmitters and studio gear found themselves working on radar and military communications—if they hadn’t already been drafted into military service. Electronic components such as vacuum tubes and transformers became increasingly difficult to obtain as manufacturers redirected their outputs for defense purposes. Even broadcast stations found themselves seriously understaffed in engineering and other departments due to the universal draft, which basically exempted individuals too old or deemed physically unfit for military service.

So, by the end of the third full year of U.S. involvement in the war, it’s easy to speculate that NAB Show attendance was declining, with more and more of those involved in broadcasting being drawn into the war effort in one way or another, and also the dearth of new technologies or products to exhibit.

NO MEETINGS OF MORE THAN 50 PERSONS!

The death blow to the show, however, came from the U.S. government in the form of a nationwide ban on meetings or other events that involved more than 50 persons from outside the community where the meeting or event was held.

This ban was intended to free up hotel rooms, along with seats on trains and buses that were badly needed for military and defense industry personnel. It was issued by the head of the Office of War Mobilization, James F. Byrnes, and as reported by Broadcasting (now Broadcasting & Cable) magazine in its Feb. 5, 1945, lead story, had become effective four days earlier. According to the story, the ban was not really unexpected, and had come during an NAB regional conference in Salt Lake City involving some 68 people. The NAB’s then president, J. Harold Ryan, responded immediately with this statement:

“In compliance with the expressed wishes of the Government to limit the amount of travel, and to avoid any conventions or meetings which would bring together from outside the city in which the meeting is scheduled more than 50 persons, the National Association of Broadcasters has cancelled its annual convention, which would normally be held in the late spring. The NAB convention usually has an attendance of more than 1,000.”

As explained in the article, the 1945 ban applied to all “trade shows, exhibits, conferences, assemblies and conventions, including those of industrial, commercial, labor, fraternal, social, professional, religious, civic, [and] governmental organizations.”

The final word on the ban came from Colonel J. Monroe Johnson, director of the government’s Office of Defense Transportation, and also chairman of the War Committee on Conventions.

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“The yardstick used to measure the essentiality of any meeting is how the winning of the two wars we are now fighting will be impeded if the meeting in question were held to an attendance of 50 or canceled outright.”

The NAB’s annual show did resume in full vigor in October of 1946 with an attendance of 2,000, and this time—in addition to AM radio broadcasting, which had been the staple of the show for many years—attendees began to hear a lot about their post-war futures in FM and television.

The post NAB Show Cancellation Not Unprecedented appeared first on Radio World.

On Friday March 13 Pakistan Broadcasting Corp. completed a five-day training course on digital radio migration.

The PBC organized the event at the Pakistan Broadcasting Academy in Islamabad for 30 engineering professionals. The broadcaster described the students as “torch bearers for implementation of the digitization project.”

Radio Pakistan’s Director of Engineering Kamran Saeed addressed attendees during the inaugural ceremony. He said PBC has “taken effective initiatives to digitize its transmission.”

In addition, he added that the government’s digital radio migration policy, which PBC board of directors has approved, recommends use of the Digital Radio Mondiale standard.

The technology, he pointed out, is suitable for Pakistan’s topology and also because it offers “audio quality and energy efficiency.”

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Saeed said the the digitization plan would cost an estimated Rs4,129.882 million and take place over the next five to seven years.

The post Pakistan Begins Digitization Process appeared first on Radio World.

The author is engineering manager for Southern Cross Austereo, Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Victoria — At SCA in Melbourne I lead a team of very talented engineers in one of the head-end markets that service the HIT, Triple M and PodcastOne networks around Australia.

The engineering team in Melbourne is part of the wider Technology Services division and is responsible for ensuring reliable broadcast of local and networked programs, design and layout of studios, IT equipment servicing, outside broadcasts, maintenance and testing.

Kate’s Remote Studio in Bologna, Italy.

The “Hughesy and Kate Show” has been on-air for 17 years and is one of the flagship national shows for the Hit Network. It is broadcast over 48 stations in metro and regional markets, with a reach of more than 2.6 million listeners. Based in Melbourne, since 2017 the program has consistently been one of the top rated shows in the drive time slot. The longevity of the show, the chemistry between Hughesy and Kate, and the quality of the content produced, makes it very important to the Hit Network.

BROADCASTING FROM ITALY

Co-host Kate Langbroek had always planned to have a year away in Italy with her family. Kate and her husband decided that if they were to make the move it would need to be in 2019. After making the decision, management at Southern Cross Austereo put forward the idea of Kate broadcasting remotely from Italy, rather than losing her from the show.

The Team Visiting Kate in Italy; Executive Producer Sacha French (rear), announcers Kate Langbroek and Dave Hughes, with Jack Lawrence, anchor of the show (front).

Initially we expected to be hiring a studio at a local radio station in Bologna. However, it soon became apparent that Italian stations operated very differently. There were very different standards to what we were used to, plus a huge language barrier between our team and their management. Therefore, we decided to set up a studio ourselves.

Whenever we approach outside broadcasts, particularly for large shows, reliability is at the forefront of our decision-making. For the Hughesy and Kate Show we needed to implement IP streaming technology that was compact and simple to use, with the flexibility of redundant IP streaming, remote access and uninterrupted power.

SCA owns versions of almost every Tieline codec available and in Melbourne we primarily use the Tieline Merlin and ViA codecs. After using the ViA for multiple projects in the lead up to the Italy project, we knew without any doubt that it was the right fit for the application.

Andrea Cole from our engineering team went to Italy to set up the studio in an office space. We hired an office space from an American-Italian documentary filmmaker. Room acoustics were a challenge, however Andrea worked with the owner to build acoustic panels and make the broadcast area more useable. We decided that Ethernet LAN connections would be the most reliable option, so our world-class networking team designed a solution allowing Hughesy and Kate to feel as if they were in the same room.

SOFTWARE-DEFINDED NETWORKING

To get the remote studio onto our WAN, we installed an SD-WAN appliance attached to the fiber-connected internet router. This allowed all the devices in the room to be visible on our network and accessible like a studio in our building. Once everything was set up, we could easily access the codec remotely. Software defined networking has come a long way in recent years, and we are using it more than ever to connect our facilities over long distances. In this case it proved an absolute winner.

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Our primary fiber connection was paired with a Netgear Nighthawk LTE modem using the TIM network in Italy to provide SmartStream Plus redundant streaming over Ethernet to the ViA.

Our studios can combine multiple return mixes with talkback and IFB functionality on a single mono audio source. Each day the team would do a combined segment with the “Carrie & Tommy Show.” One day we had Kate in Italy, Dave Hughes in Maroochydore, Carrie at her home studio and Tommy in Darwin.

Four locations, four ViA codecs, and all sounding like they were in the same room. Days like this are pretty normal for our drive shows. We love the challenge and without the ViA or Merlin, we couldn’t deliver such flexibility.

We used the Toolbox web-GUI for 90% of our configuration, which gives us great control. We can remotely adjust Kate’s send/return mix, mic and headphone levels. With the ViA’s built in audio processing we can deliver a clear-sounding broadcast-quality line paired with a Neumann KMS 105 microphone, which is the same mic we use in our studios. In my opinion no other mic matches its sound and with the ViA it ensured Kate’s audio quality matched that of our studio.

The show has been on air seamlessly for nearly a year now. From the start Kate felt at home with the setup and was extremely happy with the result. She would continuously praise the reliability of the technology. Dave Hughes back in Melbourne said it was: “Incredible! The technology worked better than when we’re in different studios around Australia.”

In terms of the codec itself, there were no issues. The ViA is portable, simple to use, robust, flexible (with its multiple ways of connecting), sounds great, and has everything built into it that you need to make OBs reliable. We have used them in cars, busses, bikes, boats, beaches, bars. Doesn’t matter where you are, it does the job.

There has been discussion now that we use so many ViAs in the field as to whether we even need to build studios anymore! I’m sure that would never eventuate, but we often laugh about where the future is headed with such great technology becoming available.

For information, contact Charlie Gawley at Tieline in Australia at +61-8-9413-2000 or visit www.tieline.com.

The post Tieline Drives Ratings for Southern Cross Austereo appeared first on Radio World.

Steinberg has introduced its new UR24C, the latest model in its line of UR-C USB 3.0 interfaces.

The interface itself sports two balanced Neutrik combo inputs, D-PRE microphone preamps, two TRS main outputs, four RCA line outputs, MIDI in and out, and USB Type-C (USB 3.1 Gen 1 SuperSpeed) connectivity, making it compatible with PCs, Macs and iOS devices. It features 32-bit/192 kHz audio resolution, MIDI and numerous DSP effects that can reportedly be used when monitoring audio without latency.

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Onboard DSP effects, e.g. REV-X reverb, Channel Strip and Guitar Amp Classics, are accessed by the unit’s dspMixFx mixer. Those looking for more effects can pore through the software bundle that comes with the UR24C; the bundle includes Cubase AI music production software; Basic FX Suite, consisting of effects and sound processing tools; native versions of the DSP effects (both VST 3 and AU compatible); and the Cubasis LE music production app for the iPad.

Intended for use by musicians, producers and DJs, the UR24C provides switchable monitor modes for headphones: DAW mode is used for producing music with a DAW, where the signal from Output 1 or Output 2 is chosen as the headphone source while allowing the user to adjust the balance of the signals from the DAW and from the UR24C’s inputs. Meanwhile, DJ mode is expected to be used for performances with DJ software and backing tracks, where the signal is split so the mono master sound is output to the right side of the headphones and the mono cue sound to the left, also letting the user adjust the balance of both signals.

Steinberg’s Senior Marketing Manager Stefan Schreiber commented: “With its build quality, first-class components and 32-bit/192 kHz resolution, the whole UR-C range of interfaces sets a very high standard. The UR24C includes all these competitive advantages, but also comes with a unique and flexible concept of monitoring that works both in the studio and on stage.”

Currently shipping and available, the UR24C runs $319.

Info: www.steinberg.net

 

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Lectrosonics has introduced its new MTCR — Miniature Time Code Recorder. Small enough to be hidden in garments, the MTCR can be placed on a subject to capture audio, synchronized with timecode, when using a wireless mic is not practical.

The MTCR, sized at 2.3 × 2.1 x 0.7 inches and weighing 2.5 oz., with battery, records in 24-bit/48 kHz digital onto a microSD card (HC type, Class 10) in the industry-standard BWAV (Broadcast Wave File) format. The unit can be jammed to external time code via the standard 5-pin Lemo connector. A headphone output jack allows for monitoring the signal input or listening to previously recorded files, but cannot be used to send live audio to another device while recording.

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The input connector is a TA5M jack that accepts any mic or line level signal and provides bias voltage to power electret lavaliere microphones. The input connection and wiring are compatible with microphones prewired for use with Lectrosonics wireless transmitters with servo bias type inputs.

Setup and adjustment are made through an interface provided by the keypad and LCD. The housing is manufactured from aluminum alloy, then hard anodized. The MTCR runs for more than six hours on a single lithium AAA battery.

The MTCR, shipping now with an MSRP of $990, comes with an M152/5P low-noise omnidirectional lavalier microphone, microSD memory card, belt clip, and AAA lithium battery.

Info: www.lectrosonics.com

 

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Audio Division announces new procedures for the public to follow while staff teleworks

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Cassette tapes sales are back in fashion, with sales reportedly at their highest in more than 15 years, with annual growth outpacing even vinyl’s resurgence. To celebrate, tape manufacturer RecordingTheMasters is launching a Kickstarter campaign for a new portable cassette player, Mystik.

As all analog music formats continue to rise in popularity, cassette tapes now outpace all other formats — including vinyl — in consumer-market growth, more than quadrupling since 2011. Artists including Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Eminem, Jack White, Taylor Swift, Jay-Z and others have all released recent albums on cassette. This year’s recent Cassette Store Day saw RecordingTheMasters partner with New York-based Dala Records for a limited-edition mixtape.

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With the rise in demand for analog music cassettes, RecordingTheMasters states its new compact analog cassette tape is the first newly produced cassette on the market to offer high-quality audio in analog format. The cassette tape is manufactured using legendary chemical formulas from AGFA and BASF at the Mulann facility in Normandy, France.

RecordingTheMasters’ new Mystik portable cassette player will feature a revamped electronic board designed with former Thomson/RCA audio engineers with an emphasis on audio playback, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and a rechargeable battery. It will also feature a built-in microphone for quick start recording, a 3.5 mm-1/8-inch line jack for higher fidelity recording, a 3.5 mm-1/8-inch headphone jack and a transparent window showing the spinning wheels of the listener’s favorite cassette tape.

Expected to retail at $110 when brought to market, the Mystik portable cassette player is now available to a limited number of early backers for $78, bundled with a blank FOX C-60 high-quality audio cassette tape, during the Kickstarter fundraising period.

Info: www.recordingthemasters.com

 

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Røde’s new NT-USB Mini is a compact USB microphone intended for recording directly to a computer or tablet; the new offering is intended for podcasters, musicians, streamers, gamers and others.

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Built around a condenser capsule with RF shielding, the NT-USB Mini — which is 89 mm wide and 141 mm high —sports a directional cardioid pickup pattern to reduce room sound and other extraneous noise. A built-in pop filter aids reducing plosives and the mic also comes with a magnetic desk stand that attaches to an integrated 360-degree swing mount within the mic.

Besides the NT-USB Mini’s USB output, it also has an internal headphone amplifier with precision level control and switchable zero-latency monitoring via a 3.5 mm-1/8-inch headphone output, all encased in steel and reinforced nylon resin construction, finished in matte black.

It ships with a USB cable.

Info: www.rode.com

 

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In response to concerns surrounding COVID-19, as well as recommendations from health organizations, radio groups and broadcast organizations have begun to cancel and postpone events. We will update this article as we learn about changes.

Please refer to our events calendar for information about other events, and email radioworld@futurenet.com if you have any announcements of your own.

March 13: Minnesota Public Radio has canceled all events March 14 through April 24. MPR says it will offer refunds and exchanges and will contact ticketholders about changes.

The Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters has cancelled its annual convention. The association says they will announce 2021 dates for the OAB Convention.

March 12: Spanish Broadcasting System Puerto Rico says it’s cancelled upcoming concerts and special events.

March 11: The National Association of Broadcasters called off its April NAB Show plans and announced it is considering its options. Colocated events, including the SBE Ennes workshop and the Association of Public Radio Engineer’s PREC 2020 have also been cancelled.

March 9: The 2020 edition of Radiodays Europe has been indefinitely postponed, according to an emailed statement from General Manager Peter Niegel.

Also, CABSAT has been rescheduled for Oct. 26–28.

 

 

 

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

Coronavirus, or COVID-19, has become a focal point of the nation. Travel, education, sports and public events have all been impacted by fears of the virus’ spread. And with the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic, one can guess this situation is prompting a great deal of caution.

What is a radio station to do in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak?

For many outlets, automation and federal policy changes on studios have meant business as usual continues. For many others that welcome and interact with the community, the spread of coronavirus has prompted deeper questions about safety, service and trust.

The National Federation of Community Broadcasters issued a directive this week on COVID-19 response for radio stations. We address some of the key decisions before community radio stations in particular. The biggest issues boil down to relevance, engagement and your internal base.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Four Top Fund Drive Fumbles]

What is a community radio station without trust? How can we say we are community oriented if we are not relevant to the lives of the listeners, donors and wider region to which we broadcast? As much as we at community radio stations may worry about our canceled events and hand sanitizer supplies, these questions are the major ones, because they speak to who we are and why we do this work.

While I have written many columns on this subject, the emergence of COVID-19 should push every community radio station to be in touch with and actively involved with local first responders. Every state, county and city has an emergency preparedness team, often composed of area leadership, police, firefighters and media. These teams want broadcasters at the table. In addition, they have the most accurate and up to date information available to share with audiences.

Being connected with your station’s state and county first responders will help you cut through the misinformation and outright falsehoods that circulate on social media and elsewhere. If you are a mixed-format, news, or music station, you’ll have to decide how you distribute information with your audience. If you don’t do a lot of news, perhaps this is a time to test fly, or maybe you will want to stick with public service announcements and website updates. The choices you make will be determined by your resources and availability of support to pull it off. Be realistic with what you can do, and don’t be afraid to rely on whatever emergency response infrastructure may be available to you locally.

Last but surely not least, your station will have to take a thorough but measured approach to your obligations related to staff and volunteers. Proper care for staff and volunteers includes all the stuff we have heard about: having hygiene and cleaning protocols in place; educating volunteers about not coming in sick or if they’ve been exposed to sick people; and being able to respond if and when absences come up. However, stations will also have to contend with more complex matters like sick leave, remote delivery of programming and having a team in place to help your station address an emergency as needed. You may also have to shift culture. Community radio tends to attract people who want to help and to be there in a pinch, but safety is paramount.

For community radio stations that have eschewed automation systems, COVID-19 may impress upon you to have contingencies. The reality is people will get ill or feel unsafe to come in, and finding a live substitute DJ may prove challenging. While there are free and open source packages like Rivendell, at the moment they may be out of the question given their learning curve as well as the immediate need a station has. How you handle this at your station is a priority.

Despite the wave of universities closing up, most college and community radio stations are doing their best to stay open. If your station has not been seriously impacted by COVID-19, today is the day to act.

The post Community Broadcaster: COVID-19 Concerns appeared first on Radio World.

One in a series of articles reporting on what the radio industry is telling the FCC about all-digital on the AM band.

Hubbard Radio has been test driving all-digital AM broadcasting on its WWFD(AM) just outside Washington, D.C., since July 2018. According to the broadcaster, the ride has been mostly a smooth one.

The company told the FCC it is fully supportive of a proposal to permit AM licensees — on a voluntary individual basis  — to operate in an all-digital format 24/7.

Hubbard says the MA3 signal of WWFD, which operates in full-time all-digital under special temporary authority from the FCC, has proven to be much more robust than the hybrid mode of HD AM broadcasting, and with improved signal coverage. The company says it has received positive feedback from listeners about the fidelity and reliability of their all-digital signal.

“In Hubbard’s experience, the data conclusively confirm that all-digital MA3 operation provides an improved, consistently high-quality listener experience, in terms of audio fidelity and signal robustness,” according to the group’s filing.

[Hear directly from Hubbard’s Joel Oxley in the recent RW webinar “Digital Sunrise for AM.”]

The station, which broadcasts at 820 kHz and is licensed to Frederick, Md., has seen ratings gains since launching the all-digital signal, according to Hubbard.

“WWFD broadcasts an adult album alternative music format. The station had no ratings in its home market of Frederick, Md., for the five years it was an analog station with that format, but now that it is operating in MA3, the station is ranked by Nielsen in the market,” it wrote.

Hubbard is using the MA3 technology to transmit auxiliary data and metadata to listeners of WWFD, it says. “The secondary and tertiary carriers of WWFD can provide stereo audio information, data services such as station logo, album artwork, and other artist experience information, as well as multicast channels.”

[Read: NPR Supports All-Digital on AM, With Caveats]

In addition, earlier reliability issues with the secondary and tertiary carriers on WWFD have since been resolved, Hubbard said. The station fixed the issues by “installing a replacement transmitter, a Nautel NX5, with a pulse duration modulator that runs at a sufficiently high rate to pass the secondary and tertiary carriers, allowing the full MA3 waveform to be transmitted.”

Hubbard says their solutions to the issue will be documented in detail in a forthcoming technical paper.

WWFD in December tested an HD2 multicast channel, according to Hubbard, transmitting musical track data and a station logo image as well. Future versions of enhanced EAS alerting will use the secondary and tertiary carriers to supplement the data transmitted on the Primary IBOC Data Service Logical Channel (“PIDS”) carriers.

“Hubbard believes that these continued improvements in the MA3 delivery system will mitigate any concerns about secondary and tertiary carrier issues, and that these technologies will continue to be expanded to better serve listeners,” it stated.

[Related: NPR Supports All-Digital on AM, With Caveats]

Hubbard also believes all-digital AM technology will help WWFD compete in the dashboard of the connected car.

It commented: “Trends in vehicle entertainment system receiver designs are converging on ‘tuning by visual metadata,’ where listeners select an audio program by pressing a thumbnail image of the desired program. MA3 allows AM broadcasters to have both aural and visual parity with other broadcast services in the automobile dashboard.”

In conclusion, Hubbard told the FCC the MA3 mode of HD Radio provides “far more manageable solutions” to any unintended interference with neighboring analog AM stations in the band when compared to the MA1 mode. In fact, WWFD “has never received any interference complaints from co-channel or adjacent channel stations,” it reported.

 

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