Radio World

Performance royalties are back in the spotlight on Capitol Hill.

The House Judiciary Committee held a virtual hearing about the proposed American Music Fairness Act.

NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt said that four years ago, the same committee asked the broadcast and music industries to work together to develop a proposal on the terrestrial performance royalty issue. He said NAB “worked for more than 18 months and offered numerous proposals to our industry partners behind closed doors that aimed to achieve that goal. … When our concepts were rebuffed, we came back to the table with new ideas time and time again.”

LeGeyt said, “Unfortunately, the music industry was unwilling to do its part in these negotiations. … [A]s a result, we find ourselves in this hearing room today debating a performance fee proposal that is strikingly similar to its predecessors.”

[Related: Hybrid Radio and the Royalties Question]

He reiterated arguments that broadcasters have made before: that a new royalty on local radio is “financially untenable for broadcasters of all sizes and unjustified as a matter of policy,” that there is a lot of support among legislators for competing legislation called the Local Radio Freedom Act, and that artists themselves frequently acknowledge the importance of radio in their success.

Among those weighing in on the other side was singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan.

She described herself as “a very big fan of radio and its place in music.” But she told the legislators, “Each of the songs that are precious and meaningful to you was a labor of love for the songwriters, the artists, the musicians and producers that brought it to life. … But when their music is played on the radio, artists don’t get paid, only the songwriters do. The radio stations benefit from the advertising dollars. But the artists that breathed life into a song, the featured artists, the singers, producers and studio musicians, are left out.”

Estefan said this can be particularly problematic for older artists whose songs still get airplay.

“It simply doesn’t make sense that artists are not being paid when their music is played on one specific platform: AM/FM radio. Why hasn’t this been rectified sooner? … Every industrialized country except the United States provides a performance right. … Artists respect broadcast companies; all we are asking is for them to respect us back.”

And in a filed statement, Michael Huppe, president/CEO of SoundExchange, said the lack of performance rights to artists or labels “is one of the most egregious injustices that exists today in the U.S. music industry.”

He said the proposed legislation grants royalties to music creators “while protecting small broadcasters by limiting their annual payments for playing music to $500, less than $1.40 a day. And qualified public, college and noncommercial stations would pay only $100.”

Hopppe specifically criticized iHeartMedia for declining to appear. “If iHeart seeks to continue denying music creators fundamental respect, they should have the decency to do it to their faces and explain their justification.”

You can watch the full three-hour hearing online.

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

The post Radio and Performers Are Back, Arguing Over Royalties appeared first on Radio World.

Just before Austin Powers and Dolly Parton (or their close facsimiles) walk on stage to entertain attendees of the upcoming NATE UNITE conference, a more sobering discussion will be part of the educational sessions on tap during the convention.

On day two of the four-day conference at the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, the NATE Unite 2022 show will bring together a series of sessions, courses and exhibits on safety and communication for those in the tower and wireless communications infrastructure, construction, service and maintenance industries.

[Related: NATE Unite 2022 Features FCC’s Carr, DISH’s Ergen]

This year, three tracks of educational sessions will be featured at the conference including an Administrative/Business track, Technical/Engineering track and Health and Safety track.

Sessions this year will take a close look at safety measures in several sessions including “Climbing Safety: Beyond the ABCs,” that will delve into those safety topics that are sometimes skipped during a typical tower climbing safety course. Led by the safety equipment company Ergodyne, the session will highlight a series of strategies and solutions that can be used to build a comprehensive safety planning program.

A second safety session — titled “Capstan Hoist Applications and Safety” — will bring together a product specialist, equipment demonstrator and an engineer to discuss the common uses of capstan hoists in the telecom industry with a focus on safety strategies like rope selection, fleet angle and rigging techniques.

While one educational session will discuss include proper communication between safety groups and communications firms, another will give an update on NATE’s new Climber/Rescuer Training Standards (CRTS), which were updated and released in January 2022. Staffed by a group of technicians, consultants and members of the tower industries, the panel will look at the newly revamped CRTS document, which evolved from the former NATE Course Training Plan/Course Training Standards (CTP/CTS) document. The session will give an overview of the changes in this new standards document and how these changes might impact future trainings.

The NATE Unite conference will also include networking receptions, an exhibit floor and a keynote luncheon where the aforementioned Austin and Dolly will entertain alongside Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.

The conference will span four days — Feb. 21 to 24 — and will be held at the 300,000-square-foot Caesars Forum conference center that opened across the street from Caesars Palace in October 2020.

The post Tower Safety at Forefront of NATE Unite appeared first on Radio World.

This story is from RW’s sister publication TVTech; given the interest among radio stations in this topic, we share it here.

This spectrum plot depicts the relative positions of digital television and analog FM radio signals within a 6-MHz TV broadcast channel. (Courtesy of Jampro)

It’s been more than a decade since the first so-called “Franken FM” radio stations took to the air—stations licensed as Ch. 6 TV operations, but using their 87.75 MHz audio carrier to create a standalone FM broadcast service receivable by most FM radios.

Frankens have long been a thorn in the side of legitimate FM operators, and during their existence, the FCC has heard plenty about them. However, as the commission has been pre-occupied with more pressing matters such as spectrum auctions and repacks, little, if any action has been directed at these “mongrel” FMs, with regulators perhaps hoping that they would vanish last year when all LPTVs were forced to either “go digital or go dark.”

However, just like the hydra in Greek mythology, cutting off the head proved not to be the answer in eradicating the beast — others soon grew back, or in the case of Franken FMs, some creative RF engineering work allowed LPTV Ch. 6 licensees to retain analog audio services despite their move to digital broadcasting.

The first of the “next-generation” Franken stations — KBKF-LD, a Venture Technologies property in San Jose, Calif. —  took to the air in the spring of 2021, with an FCC-issued STA to operate an ATSC 3.0 TV channel with a “tagalong” FM carrier. In applying for the STA, the station opined that such hybrid digital/analog fashion was covered by the ATSC A/322 standard, with its 3.0 signal “pulled in” to occupy 5.509 MHz of its 6-MHz berth and the rest given over to an FM carrier.

Reaction to ‘NextGen’ Frankens
Currently, there are at least half-dozen of these “second-generation” Frankens, and given the FCC’s apparent willingness to grant STAs coupled with the number of Ch. 6 TV authorizations, others may soon appear.

As such hybridized use of a U.S. DTV channel was not on the table when the NextGen TV standard was being drafted, the arrival of this new wave of Frankens has raised some eyebrows — and questions, just as when the first of the quasi-legal 87.75 FMs popped up back in analog Ch. 6 days.

Several individuals who have been closely involved with the ATSC 3.0 standard were polled for their opinions on this new wave.

[Related: San Diego TV Station Broadcasting Hybrid FM-ATSC 3.0 Signal on TV Channel 6]

“During development of ATSC 3.0, a number of use cases were discussed; many were documented,” said ATSC President Madeleine Noland. “I can’t recall this being one of them. ATSC 3.0 was designed to be flexible and to accommodate a wide variety of use cases and business plans. Beyond that, we cannot say whether this use case falls within the intent of ATSC 3.0, as authorized by the FCC for the U.S.”

Richard Chernock, a long-time contributor to the ATSC 3.0 initiative, stated that “the assumption going forward in the design of ATSC in the U.S. was to establish a full 6 MHz channel. Anything less would reduce 3.0’s capabilities. In my opinion, to use 3.0 for the Franken FMs is to actually lower spectral efficiency.”

However, Chernock added “using ATSC 3.0 technology to carry radio audio is a lot more efficient than to use FM. You could go into any big city with a lot of FMs and you could put them all into one 3.0 channel.”

Chernock said that he would have to do the math to get a precise figure of the number of discrete audio program streams that could be digitally transmitted within an ATSC 3.0 6-MHz channel, but he speculated that it could easily approach 1,000 given the efficiency of today’s codecs.

S. Merrill Weiss, who has been deeply involved in both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 standards work, feels the jury is still out regarding hybrid DTV/FM transmissions.

“After reviewing all the publicly available technical material that I could obtain on the proposal to combine ATSC digital signals with FM analog signals in a single Ch. 6 emission, I found a dearth of information on either practical operating parameters and systems, or testing of equipment beyond very rudimentary prototypes,” said Weiss.

He expressed several concerns, one of them being the possible impact on 3.0 reception associated with the necessary “squeezing in” of DTV transmission bandwidth to accommodate an FM carrier. “The center frequency of the digital signal would be about 160 kHz below the channel center, and it is not known to me whether consumer receivers being sold can be pulled that far,” said Weiss. “The system may work and be useful, but the information is not available yet to prove it. Once this is released, a judgement on the practicality and utility of such a system may become possible.”

Mark Aitken, ATSC 3.0 “evangelist” and Sinclair Broadcast Group’s senior vice president of advanced technology, remarked that he was not surprised at all about the “second coming” of Franken FMs after last July’s mandatory shutoff of remaining analog LPTVs.

“Actually, I think I played a role in getting them in business with 3.0,” said Aitken, explaining that his own involvement into “stretching” a TV channel’s utility “came about quite some time ago” when he was asked if it were possible to accommodate multiple services within a single television channel’s spectrum allocation.

“The question posed to me several years ago was ‘if I had 6 MHz of spectrum and wanted to offer a narrowband 5G service, could I do that in conjunction with ATSC 3.0?’” said Aitken. “I thought about it and said ‘yeah.’ I demonstrated it later. This was with a narrowband Internet of Things service. I showed that we could carry two separate RF services within a single channel. I probably should have taken out a patent!”

Putting Spectrum to ‘Good Use?’
Asked whether he thought a Franken FM was a legitimate application of the ATSC 3.0 or a misuse, Aitken took a neutral stance.

“I’m not going to argue against folks who want to use technology to their advantage,” he said. “The large number of Franken FMs that existed are from people who are not in the TV business. With the limitations of FM spectrum, they are making use of the FCC rules and channel segmentation philosophy. They’re putting it to good use.”

He explained that by its very nature, ATSC 3.0 is designed to be extremely flexible and extensible. “Numerically — and this is not understood by most folks with regard to ATSC 3.0 — you can get to any number of bandwidths,” Aitken said. This is the reason that the [3.0] bootstrap itself is only 4.5 MHz wide. We wanted to make sure that in the future 5 MHz raster spectrum could be used by others by using the 3.0 standard. This is not ensconced or codified in the standard, as it was feared that the FCC might do an ‘about-face’ and reduce [U.S.] TV channel bandwidth to 5 MHz, so this was dropped out of the specification. A channel bandwidth of 8 MHz is, in fact, codified within the ATSC 3.0 standard and is being tried in India.”

As Sinclair owns a number of Ch. 6 TV stations that could potentially become Franken FMs, Aitken — when asked about such a possibility — said that he didn’t see this happening anytime soon, although the possibility of gaining more utility from television broadcast spectrum is always intriguing.

“I would think there’s no current interest [in Franken FMs],” he said. “Sinclair is not really interested in radio, as its core business is video. I don’t want to preclude this possibility in the future, but right now we’re focused on rolling out ATSC 3.0.”l

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

The post Next-Generation ‘Franken FMs’ on the Rise appeared first on Radio World.

Focal recently expanded its Alpha Evo studio monitor line with the new Alpha 80 Evo and Alpha Twin Evo powered monitors, joined by the additional debut of its Sub One subwoofer, designed for the Evo and Shape monitor lines.

Like the original Alpha 50 Evo and Alpha 65 Evo, released last year, the Alpha 80 Evo and Alpha Twin Evo are based around a Slatefiber cone, made by Focal in France from recycled carbon-fiber. Alpha 80 Evo and Alpha Twin Evo offer a new 1/4-inch (6.35 mm) TRS jack input, a user-disengageable automatic standby power mode and, on the Alpha 80 Evo, inserts for wall and ceiling mounting. The fully analog monitors are equipped with two class D amplifiers whose high-current capacity reportedly allows full control of signal dynamics.

The new monitors feature a 5/8-inch thick (15 mm) MDF cabinet and incorporate internal braces. The bass-reflex design, with a new larger cabinet vent, has been designed aiming to ensure acoustic integration in a variety of studio spaces. Offering integrated mounting points, the new Alpha Evo line can potentially be incorporated into an immersive mixing system.

The Alpha Twin Evo sports dual 6.5-inch Slatefiber woofers and a 1-inch Aluminum inverted dome Tweeter, while the Alpha 80 Evo has a 8-inch Slatefiber woofer and 1-inch Aluminum inverted dome Tweeter.

Meanwhile, the Sub One, with its 200 watts (RMS) amp, is intended for partnering with any of the monitor models from both the Alpha Evo and Shape powered monitor lines for a 2.1 system, as well as multi-monitor immersive sound setups. For the Sub One’s speaker drivers, Focal engineers have chosen double-skinned Slatefiber cones.

Currently shipping in North America, the three models have SRPs of Alpha 80 Evo $549 each ($1,098 a pair), Alpha Twin Evo $659 each ($1,318 a pair), and Sub One $999 each.

The post Focal Augments Alpha Evo Studio Monitor Line appeared first on Radio World.

Workbench explores how an Octopus can help you check components.

The FCC continues its recent explorations of how to improve EAS while, separately, a campaign is underway to encourage more countries to use Common Alerting Protocol.

Fred Baumgartner says ATSC 3.0 could be a radio content provider’s Holy Grail.

Thresa and Michael Gay offer a growing line of problem-solvers. And Dan Houg samples the joys of semi-retirement.

Read it here.

The post Inside the Feb. 2, 2022 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

A Groundhog Day shadow is passing over the nomination of Gigi Sohn to the FCC, but it likely has to do with another shadow that passed over the committee this week.

Signaling that there would not be enough Democratic votes to secure a favorable report of her nomination to the full Senate, it has been stricken — literally — from the agenda for Wednesday’s (February 2) vote on a host of nominations.

That is according to a note late Tuesday from the committee. Also pulled was the nomination of Alvero Bedoya to the open seat on the Federal Trade Commission and Mary Boyle to be a commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The reason appears to be the absence of committee Democrat Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), who suffered a stroke and is in the hospital, though he is expected to make a full recovery. “[T]he speedy recovery of Sen. Luján remains first and foremost priority,” said the committee before reporting the dropped nomination, all likely to need every Democrat to get approval.

“[T]he list of nominations to be considered at tomorrow’s Commerce mark-up has been recalibrated to take into consideration the need for all Democratic votes in order to move certain nominees forward,” said a committee spokesperson.

Perhaps the delay is so legislators can contemplate the issues raised by cable and telecom ISPs Tuesday. Both NCTA President Michael Powell and USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter wrote the committee to raise concerns about Sohn’s recusal offer related to broadcast copyright and retrans.

A version of this story appeared first in our sister publication Broadcasting & Cable.

The post Gigi Sohn Nomination Pulled from Confirmation Vote appeared first on Radio World.

Dan Houg, right, jokes around with Jobie Sprinkle during a break at the 2016 Public Radio Engineering Conference. Both are past presidents of APRE.

Dan Houg made an unusual entry into the field of radio engineering in 2004. He was in his mid-40s, having never even been in a radio facility before.

That did not prevent him from working successfully on several major projects, nor from becoming president of the Association of Public Radio Engineers. But after 17 years he has moved on to a different venture.

Radio World asked him about that and about his tenure as chief engineer of Northern Community Radio in Minnesota, a two-station network consisting of KAXE(FM) in Grand Rapids and KBXE(FM) in Bagley, near Bemidji.

Radio World: Dan you posted on PubTech that you were about to “cease to be a broadcast engineer and become a semi-normal human being.” How does it feel to have made that big decision?

Dan Houg: I knew about a year ago that I wanted to wrap up my 18 years in broadcast and work on restoration projects of vintage electronics, motorcycles and vehicles at home.

However, KAXE had a construction permit for increasing tower height that was expiring soon. I had always intended to see that project through to completion, but funding delays kept pushing construction back until this April [2021], when I could finally start purchasing.

In May, I made the decision to leave at the end of October, hoping the project would be done but needing to set a date for myself to leave.

The tower crew finished up Friday afternoon, Oct. 29. I turned the new plant on at 3 p.m. and drove home for the very last time at 6 p.m. after a 13-hour day.

It feels incredible to finish this project that started over three years ago, get it on the air and be able to retire the day it is operational. It is exactly the right time to leave.

RW: What are your plans?

Houg: Well, I joke with staff that I need to be like the 17-year cicada and go underground and not be seen nor heard from. Being a small shop, I’ve been in 24/7/365 contact for the last 18 years, literally not having my phone off for close to two decades, so I need to hide for a while to shed some stress. My wife knows all too well the 2 a.m. voice of the Sine Systems and Davicom remotes.

Financially, I still need to bring in some income, so I call this “leaving radio” more than retirement. When I’m in my home shop I’m in my “happy zone” and will earn a few dollars fixing things.

RW: What is the FixIt Workshop?

Houg: The Fixit Workshop (thefixitworkshop.com) is my new venture to switch gears away from broadcast.

As with so many of us engineers, I’m good at fixing things whether it is diagnosing a fire-breathing 25 kW tube transmitter, setting up a microwave link or repairing the HVAC system. Now I’ll turn to restoration of vintage guitar amps, I have a pallet of 1960s European tabletop tube radios that need refurbishing, and I enjoy working on the big Sansui, Fisher and Marantz solid-state receivers from the 1970s.

I have two VW Westfalia camper vans to restore getting ready to sell one of them, and all sorts of projects have come my way from putting a new engine on a log splitter, welding up a maple syrup stove and sap evaporator to repair of an old slot machine. I have a particular fondness for 1980s Mercedes Benz diesels and am always on the hunt another one.

Our service as “do it all” engineers really reflects a skill set that is apparently in short supply in a small community. I nostalgically like to think of myself as Luis, the Fixit Shop owner on the children’s television series “Sesame Street.” Working on well-made appliances like the Sunbeam T20 Automatic Radiant Control Toaster, an incredible piece of American engineering, is so rewarding for me.

RW: Is it true you’d never been in a radio station when you started your KAXE job in 2004?

Houg: Yes. My friend, Maggie Montgomery, was the general manager of Northern Community Radio, and the previous engineer had left. I decided to leave a very nice government job that was sucking the soul out of me and try my hand being KAXE’s engineer. Straight up learning curve. I have so much respect and admiration for the folks that have been in radio their entire lives and have such a good grasp on the technology. I’m just getting to the point where I feel like I have a handle on some things!

RW: And here you were doing a buildout of a 100 kW FM.

Houg: This last project was a complete replacement of our tower, transmitter plant-plus-shelter, and microwave link.

Dan Houg at the KAXE job site.

KAXE went on air in 1974, but the original tower went down in 1984 when a truck was putting a load of Class V on our tower road, and the raised gravel box snagged the lowest guy spanning over the road and brought the tower down.

When it was replaced, I don’t think the management at the time communicated to Pirod that in addition to our 100 kW 12-bay antenna with radomes, there would be ANOTHER 100 kW tenant with a 10-bay with radomes, all interleaved in the top 100 feet of the tower.

We had a tower analysis performed a few years back, because every tower maintenance crew that came out would say “Man, that tower looks overloaded.” The engineering report stated the tower was in danger of failing, even if bare with no antennas, and that it did not pass current standards for a 40 mph wind!

So as part of a long-term infrastructure improvement project, we knew it had to be replaced. We got a construction permit to go from 315 to 499 feet, and got to work raising money.

The new tower is on the same site as the old tower, 15 feet away, and the new tower was used to destack the old tower.

Now we have an ERI guyed tower that meets current standards and I sleep much better. I worried every night with high winds that the old one would come crashing down.

We have a Nautel NV30LT-N transmitter being supplied program material using a GatesAir IP Link 200 with dual IP paths of land fiber and a licensed 11GHz link, an Orban 8700i processor and a gorgeous Tunwall switch controller for the Dielectric 6000 series switch that eliminates an old patch bay (which was mounted at the perfect height that every generation of engineer has bonked his head on).

I reused our old Electro-Impulse 25 kW dummy load, having cleaned it, replaced the power cord and fixed the air flow switch. It works great except it smells like mice when it gets hot.

RW: What other accomplishments are you proud of from the past 17 or 18 years?

Houg: Through the financial genius of our former general manager, we’ve built new studios at KAXE in 2005, and added the new station KBXE in 2012 with full studios at 50 kW with a new ERI 499-foot tower.

I’ve done three towers and two studios now. My first tower, a 90-foot self-standing, taught me the importance of soil borings I’d neglected to obtain; it became the “STL tower from hell” after they found 6 feet of muck below the surface that required much excavation and foundation support.

Then with the KBXE 499-foot tower I learned that every large project takes a serpentine path, despite laying out the process linearly. It nearly killed me with stress with twists and turns in everything from siting, property acquisition and construction.

This last tower project I knew there’d be twists and turns. When an obstacle would come up I tried to say “Okay, let’s figure this out.”

There’s an old adage that every engineer should return to the first studio they built and apologize. So true with KAXE. There’s things that I was able to do much better on my second studio for KBXE including my own plan for sound isolation that a very highly paid architect did so poorly at the KAXE studio.

RW: Briefly tell us about your career before you came to this job.

Houg: Well, I started working running carnival rides, so don’t disparage those folks!

I worked for the Minnesota Department of Health for 17 years doing health care facility inspections, food and lodging inspections, and ended up in water quality doing testing and providing technical assistance for public water supplies.

I have a degree in social work, one career in health and another in broadcast; and I’ve just now figured out what I want to do in retirement!

RW: You mentioned a couple of people in your post as having been helpful in the radio part of your career.

Houg: Having zero radio background when I started, I needed a lot of help building a new studio within eight months of starting employment. I was in over my head.

A former engineer of KAXE, Shane Toven, was a font of information for the studio build and programming of our Logitek and ENCO systems. Many know how brilliant Shane is, and he had installed KAXE’s first satellite system, an SOSS, at age 14 as a nerdy kid looking for a place to hang out after school.

As projects kept coming and I was buying equipment, I ended up with a career-long relationship with SCMS salesman Jim Peck. Jim steered me to good equipment decisions and helped me think through projects to account for all the pieces. Having the ability to talk to a knowledgeable sales rep versus scrolling through web pages was so crucial in making the right decisions.

And I’d met Gray Haertig of Haertig and Associates at my first Public Radio Engineering Conference. I noticed this loud man in an Aloha shirt in the front row brilliantly interacting with speakers who then got up and gave a stunning presentation himself.

I’ve used Gray for our RF engineering and FCC filing since that time and am indebted to his generosity and knowledge as well as friendship. Shane, Jim and Gray have told me to breathe when needed, gotten me out of jams and given great advice, some of which I’ve taken and foolishly disregarded the rest. They are great friends.

RW: You’ve been active in the Association of Public Radio Engineers. How is the organization holding up, through the many months of the pandemic?

Houg: The APRE Board comprises station staff, industry reps and organization members, all of whom saw their workload and workflow drastically change over the last two years.

The APRE has two very important strengths that keeps it thriving. First, the board members themselves are incredibly committed radio professionals who are task-oriented and work together as a cohesive group. It has been my great pleasure to be part of this organization with such highly functional people, including our current Board President Victoria St. John as well Jobie Sprinkle and Paxton Durham.

The second strength is that being a volunteer organization unlike a manufacturer or vendor, the APRE doesn’t HAVE to make money or put on conferences to stay afloat. As they negotiate conference postponements and cancellations due to the pandemic, the assets and resources are not depleted.

The APRE is meeting actively all through the pandemic and is ready to bring the Public Radio Engineering Conference back in full.

RW: What else should we know?

Houg: If I could impart any passing wisdom to engineers, it would be to feel free to ask the stupid questions. Seek help, ask advice and admit you don’t know something as there are brilliant people willing to help you.

Dan Houg invites hearing from readers by email to thefixitworkshop@gmail.com.

The post Dan Houg Leaves With a Job Well Done appeared first on Radio World.

The plaque outside WSTA noting the station’s role during and after Hurricane Hugo (click to embiggen)

Jeff Huggabone forwarded this picture of the plaque outside WSTA(AM) in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. As the plaque notes, “Lucky 13” was the only station to remain on the air in the wake of Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Jeff was reminded of the plaque by the announcement on Jan. 31 that Addie Ottley was retiring from his six-days-a-week post as host of the “Addie Morning Show.” Ottley had announced last November, on his 80th birthday, was beginning his “semi-retirement” and stepping down as president and CEO of Ottley Communications Corp., which operates WSTA.

“If you read the inscription and really take a moment to unpack it, I think it can give you a feel for Addie’s sense of dedication and what this radio station represents to mush of the residents in the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Jeff wrote.

The post Mailbag: The Lucky 13 appeared first on Radio World.

With World Radio Day coming up, UNESCO is offering a list of suggestions about how radio organizations around the world can celebrate it.

“We encourage all radio stations to plan and take part in this global event by organizing original activities related to the theme ‘Radio and Trust,’” it wrote in the introduction to a list of 13 ideas.

“Make the themes of the day your own — trust in radio journalism; trust and accessibility; trust and sustainability of radio stations.”

Suggestions include special programs, contests and quizzes.

Here is the list, in PDF format for downloading.

The 11th World Radio Day is Feb. 13. The event started in 2011 on the anniversary of the founding of United Nations Radio.

The post 13 Ideas for Celebrating World Radio Day appeared first on Radio World.

G Networks announced a partnership with Text Groove to offer text messaging to U.S. radio stations on barter.

“One of the many benefits of the Text Groove platform is its ability to enable text messaging on a station’s existing studio phone number (landline, toll-free or VoIP), enabling immediate listener text interaction,” the company said in its announcement.

It quoted G Networks Chief Development Officer Rich O’Brien saying the technology was designed for radio station contexts specifically, to encourage listener interaction.

The announcement was made by Curtis Machek, CEO of Text Groove, and Warren Friedland, president of G Networks.

Text Groove launched in 2017 and says it has some 300 stations using its service in Canada and the United States. It says it has the ability to text-enable any landline, toll-free or VoIP phone number.

G Networks is a network audio company, part of media ad sales firm Gen Media Partners.

The post Text Groove Partners With G Networks appeared first on Radio World.

These are good times for RadioDNS, it seems.

“Anyone can implement our open standards without needing our involvement or agreement,” said Project Director Nick Piggott in a press release previewing the organization’s upcoming annual General Assembly.

“That means they’re growing in use, both visible and invisible, across a growing number of areas of the radio industry globally. RadioDNS has established itself as a valuable and reliable resource.”

RadioDNS will hold its 16th General Assembly virtually on Feb. 23; it is open only to members. (See a list of members.)

“Our standards have been widely adopted by broadcasters, manufacturers and service providers, and are now proving valuable across the entire industry, not just hybrid radio,” the not-for-profit organization stated.

“As hoped and intended, our standards are now part of commercial offerings which create differentiation and competition but without creating unnecessary implementation costs and complexities.”

The service is free, and can be adopted by broadcasters directly or through a service provider.

Among other topics at this month’s assembly, RadioDNS will present its plans to develop hybrid radio functionality further.

Among organizations joining RadioDNS in the past year are IEEE BTS, Gracenote and NXP.

The post RadioDNS Readies for General Assembly appeared first on Radio World.

Radio Azadi journalist Mohammad Homayoon Hewad at work in Kabul (from the Radio Azadi website)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is noting the 20th anniversary of the relaunch of broadcasts to Afghanistan in the Dari and Pashto languages.

“RFE/RL’s broadcasts resumed less than five months after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. and nearly a decade after the Dari and Pashto services were closed down in 1993 as part of an overall restructuring of RFE/RL operations following the end of the Cold War,” the organization noted in a press release.

“Despite last year’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and return of the Taliban to power, Radio Azadi continues to serve the Afghan people as a trusted and reliable source of news, analysis, and responsible discussion – on radio and, especially, on digital platforms.”

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly was quoted saying Radio Azadi has been “a trusted friend and partner to the Afghan people, in good times and bad.” He said the service’s work is important now “when so many of the achievements of the past twenty years are at risk.”

Radio Azadi marked the anniversary with a video report about the past 20 years, a photo gallery of journalists and a video of colleagues sharing experiences.

The organization said that its journalists “have endured death threats and other forms of harassment from Taliban and Islamic State forces, trends that intensified prior to the Taliban takeover.” It said four colleagues lost their lives in bombings in the past four years.

“The changing reality of producing journalism in Afghanistan forced RFE/RL to take dramatic steps to protect its staff, including the closure of its Kabul bureau, and evacuation of threatened local journalists from the country. Many former Radio Azadi staff remain in Afghanistan, ineligible for refugee status under U.S. government or international resettlement programs. Their situation remains highly tenuous.”

The post RFE/RL Marks Radio Azadi Anniversary appeared first on Radio World.

It’s the sign of a good engineer to design facilities with backup systems.

We all know it’s just a matter of time before the “main” whatever will fail, requiring full dependence on the backup gear.

But don’t be lulled into a sense of false security just because you have a backup — whatever it may be. For best reliability, these backup systems need to be tested periodically.

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In the old days many of us performed Sunday night maintenance, from midnight to 6 a.m., during which studios and transmitters were cleaned, and backup systems were tested on the air. Few of today’s broadcast engineers have that luxury, yet the backups still need testing to ensure reliability.

Case in point, a backup RF amplifier. For the purposes of this column, it was a 500-watt backup RF amplifier drawer that sat on a shelf at the transmitter site until it was needed in an emergency. Fortunately, a wise engineer decided to check out the relic. When it didn’t fire up, he sent it to a nearby contract engineer for repairs.

Fig. 1: Suspicions started with the back panel hole. (left)
Fig. 2: The skeletonized remains of a mature mouse and baby are visible among the litter. (right)

The first clue was a missing Sub-D connector on the rear panel. This hole was factory-punched, and not a modification. But perhaps a hole for an option that should have been covered — it was not. The missing connector left about a half-inch hole as seen in the first image. The text label gives you some idea of what was awaiting the engineer investigating the unit.

The second image shows the nest and mess that field mice made of the inside. What is amazing is that after opening the top of the transmitter, the contract engineer inspected the top, bottom and sides carefully to see if there was any other way in. There was not. So, takeaway No. 1 is that mice don’t need more than a half inch, and maybe less, to infest our gear.

The top was replaced and the contract engineer developed a cleaning plan, starting with purchasing a high-filtration full-face mask. Mouse urine, feces and litter can harbor dangerous (and possibly deadly) bacteria — mice are filthy animals. Because of the contamination hazard, do not use a vacuum to suction the debris; its exhaust will only contaminate the air and your shop.

This job called for several toothbrushes, wooden cotton applicators, Clorox or similar brand wipes, and bottles of at least 70% denatured alcohol, along with latex gloves. A large plastic trash bag was placed on the workbench and the amplifier was placed inside. The bag edges were folded up around the equipment to prevent any liquids from contaminating the workbench. The oversize bag also provided room to discard waste as it was removed, lessening the chance that the discarded debris would miss a garbage can.

Using a combination of wooden cotton applicators saturated in alcohol, needle-nose pliers (for removing larger pieces of debris), and the wipes, the painstakingly slow job of removing the nesting materials, feces and mouse skeletons began.

Yes, apparently both the momma mouse and two offspring died inside the equipment. In one of the accompanying photos (Fig. 2) you can see the spines, ribs and skulls of momma and one of the offspring.

Fig. 3: The destructive nature of mice includes their penchant for chewing wire insulation. (left)
Fig. 4: The cleaning is complete. (right)

In addition to using the chassis as a toilet, the mice chewed the insulation off several wires. The missing insulation can be seen on the red wire in the third image (Fig. 3). As a part of the repairs, the damaged wires needed to be replaced. Cable ties that secured bundles of wires had to be cut; the wires separated, and individually cleaned. The cleaning process was tediously slow, to avoid creating any airborne dust, while thoroughly cleaning.

After scrubbing with the swabs and toothbrush, and saturating the boards with the alcohol, the chassis was moved to a clean trash bag and left for 48 hours so all liquid cleaning fluids evaporated. If you’re doing work like this, seal the used bag with cable ties and dispose. Do NOT compress the bag as you seal it — the escaping air may have the bacteria you are trying to avoid.

The fourth image (Fig. 4) shows the sanitized unit. To complete the cleaning, the rear panel was dismounted from the enclosure, showing the “innards” of the RF amplifier. Note that the large aluminum heat sink to which the RF combiner circuit card is mounted (with the squiggly lines) made its way back to shining once again.

So inspect your backup gear — and especially any welcome holes, no matter how small.

John Bisset, has CPBE, more than 50 years in broadcasting and is in his 31st year writing Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award. Workbench submissions are encouraged and qualify for SBE recertification credit. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.

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WorldCast Systems announced new versions of its APTmpX, an MPX/composite compression algorithm.

“APTmpX significantly lowers the hardware and distribution costs previously associated with standard FM network architecture,” the company said in the announcement.

“Despite the advent of the internet and digital broadcasting standards, FM remains the world’s most popular transmission format and a central technology in radio broadcasters’ efforts to maximize their reach and audience. As a result, new technologies have had to be created to enable an FM-centric workflow to also work for internet delivery.”

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It said the initial version, launched in 2020, offered FM broadcasters access to high-quality signal compression for centralized FM MPX/Composite transmission.

“This provided a game-changing solution in the <900 kbps region,” it continued. “However, the latest release of APTmpX takes this even further.”

Three versions are available that offer levels of compression at 600, 400 or 300 kbps network bandwidth. “This dramatically widens the potential impact of the technology on the industry and means that the composite signal can now directly be transported with non-destructive compression from 600 kbps down to 300 kbps, all at the highest sound quality,” it stated.

Gregory Mercier, director of product marketing, was quoted saying the new versions will particularly benefit broadcasters in areas of poor bandwidth penetration.

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

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Holly Saurer

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced several bureau staff changes on January 31, including new Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer.

Saurer has held several positions in the bureau including deputy bureau chief, associate bureau chief, senior legal advisor and attorney-advisor with the Media Bureau’s Policy Division. Saurer also has experience working in the offices of commissioners themselves.

For the past year, she has served as legal advisor of media for Chairwoman Rosenworcel. Before that, Saurer served as an acting media advisor for Rosenworcel as well as for former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. She also served as an International and Consumer Affairs legal advisor for former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.

Prior to joining the commission, Saurer worked at the Washington, D.C., offices of Drinker Biddle & Reath and Miller & Van Eaton. She received her JD from American University and graduated from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Saurer replaces Michelle Carey, who had served as chief of the Media Bureau since May 2017.

Rosenworcel also appointed several other new bureau chiefs, including new heads of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, the Public Safety Bureau, the Enforcement Bureau and the Office of the General Counsel.

“Ensuring modern communications reach every corner of the country isn’t possible without the leadership of incredible, capable experts throughout the commission,” Rosenworcel said in a news release. “I am confident in the talent at the FCC and honored this team will help lead the commission.”

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Adriana Rizzo will work on building audience growth for Audacy. She joins the company effective Jan. 31.

As senior vice president of consumer marketing, Rizzo will work across Audacy’s brand strategy, creative, messaging, media planning and attribution, to grow the company’s audience. She will report to Paul Suchman, Audacy’s chief marketing officer.

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“We’re thrilled to have Adriana join our growing team,” said Suchman. “Adriana will be a key partner to our business lines and to our marketing leads across broadcast, digital, sports betting and podcasting.”

Before joining Audacy, Rizzo launched the Discovery+ streaming service. Before that she worked at ESPN, launching WatchESPN, rebranding ESPN3 and repositioning ESPNInsider. Her early career includes marketing roles at Verizon, early-stage start-ups, and agency-side experience.

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SXM Media, part of SiriusXM, has rolled out a “listener identity solution” called AudioID that it says will help marketers reach consumers “at scale.”

“AudioID puts content and audiences first, providing an improved consumer experience across multiple platforms and a better way for brands to buy audio advertising,” the company stated. It calls this an example of its investment in audio ad technology “to make advertising across satellite radio, streaming music and podcasts as simple as pressing play or turning the dial.”

The announcement was made by Chief Revenue Officer John Trimble. AudioID uses technology from AdsWizz, which is owned by SiriusXM.

The company, which owns streaming platform Pandora and podcast producer Stitcher in addition to its flagship satellite business, positions itself as “the largest digital audio ad ecosystem in North America,” and said AudioID will expand its impact and appeal.

AudioID uses an algorithm that accepts and matches a variety of “consented” listener signals and weighs them, responding to ad requests by finding or creating “unique, anonymized AudioIDs.” IDs can be tapped for functions such as forecasting, frequency decisions and first-party targeting.

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The company will use its datasets of the populations of Pandora, SiriusXM and Stitcher listeners, matching them to create AudioIDs. “This will allow for a better ad experience for consumers, marketers and publishers, tapping into listener behavior and preferences in a way that supports the future of identity safety while helping marketers achieve their goals.”

Later this year, AudioID will be extended to off-platform parties through AdsWizz. Right now the effort is focused on the United States; in the longer term the company hopes to expand AudioID globally.

It said privacy protection is embedded into AudioID through anonymity. “AudioID always remaining an optional (versus required) solution for external parties.” Chris Record, senior vice president and head of ad product, technology & operations at SXM Media and AdsWizz, was quoted describing AudioID as “a consumer-first, privacy-conscious infrastructure.”

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The city of Pine Bluff, Ark., is home to an unused and still-unlit antenna tower originally built to provide radio service from KPBQ(FM). (credit: Creative Commons)

Even though the land has changed hands several times over the years, the Media Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission has made it clear that an unsafe and unused antenna structure on a parcel of land in Arkansas — which has since been declared a “menace to aviation” — must be pulled down by the current land owners.

There was much promise back around this structure in 1990 when land owner Lee Ann Kleider granted Colon Johnston permission to construct a 374-foot-tall structure in return for a rental fee of $12,000 per year. According to an FCC summary, the tower was built in connection with the acquisition of new FM broadcast station construction permit to serve Pine Bluff, Ark. Over the years the antenna and station changed hands several times — first to SEARK Radio in 1997 and then MRS Ventures in 2003.

When the structure was first registered, the commission ordered that the structure be lit properly, including a steady-burning obstruction light at top and flashing lights at specified heights down the structure.

By 2011 it was clear that the antenna structure was no longer being used. Today, neither SEARK nor MRS remain in existence.

The land passed from one group to another, too. In 1996, Kleider sold the land, which is now jointly owned by Lora Lynn Gaither, Edward Wilkerson and Allen Wilkerson. But ownership of the antenna structure is not as clear because Gaither has never received payments for use of the structure.

In subsequent conversations with the Enforcement Bureau, Gaither expressed an interest in having the structure dismantled as it is not maintained and is located near her home.

But when the bureau reached out to the three land owners to get an update on the state of the structure in July 2021, no one responded.

In the years since the structure’s completion, the commission has received multiple complaints that the structure is not properly illuminated. In May 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration stepped in and determined that “this abandoned, unlit structure [is] a menace to aviation” and recommended the FCC take appropriate actions to ensure it is dismantled.

Now it is the commission’s responsibility to identify which party can dismantle the long-abandoned structure.

An unlit antenna structure such as this one poses a significant safety hazard to airplanes, passengers and the general public. Because it poses an imminent threat to life, the commission said it cannot wait for the landowners to obtain title of the easement and foreclose on the structure before ordering the antenna be taken down.

The commission therefore found that the land owners have an ownership interest in the structure. As a result, the landowners — Gaither, along with Edward and Allen Wilkerson — have been ordered by the commission to dismantle the structure within 90 days.

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Radio engineer Tony Abfalter is about to take a break from his normal work to head out on an unusual assignment.

Leighton Broadcasting, where Abfalter is director of engineering, said he is beginning a hiatus this week to join the U.S. Antarctic Program, part of the National Science Foundation team, as senior communications technician.

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“In this role Tony will be supporting a variety of communications systems, as well as assisting National Science Foundation staff with ongoing upgrades as needed,” Leighton said in an announcement.

This means he’s headed for the famous McMurdo Station on Ross Island, Antarctica, the southernmost point accessible by ship during local summer.

Abfalter will start with quarantines in Seattle and New Zealand. At McMurdo, he’ll work for nine months.

“While on location Tony will be responsible to troubleshoot and maintain all aspects of wired and wireless communications,” it said. “Tony will be using his deep knowledge of microwave, UHF and VHF technologies. He will be programming and maintaining radio gear, which connects researchers and technicians in the field to the main base as well as holding responsibility for station communications outward to the rest of the world.”

[Check out webcams at McMurdo Station.]

In addition to his technical experience Abfalter can draw on familiarity with work in temperature extremes. He’s a Minnesota native with cold weather survival experience and EMR/SAR training with the Holdingford Fire Department.

Temperatures during his stay are expected to go as low as –20 degrees Fahrenheit.

His employer plans to keep track of his adventures on its website. Leighton added that Abfalter is excited to work with an international community of researchers and maintenance personnel requiring him to draw on his communication skills “and possibly heretofore unused pantomime abilities.”

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Curt Yengst, a radio/TV broadcast engineer who for 17 years was also a contributor to Radio World, died in January. He was 52.

Yengst, a Senior Member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, was a broadcast engineer for Lighthouse TV/WBPH-60 in Bethlehem/Philadelphia, Pa.

Earlier he had worked The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as an engineer for the daily radio program “Decision Today” and for Star 99.1 FM WAWZ in Zarephath, N.J.

“He was buried with a tweaker in his hand and wearing his SBE pin,” wrote WBPH Chief Engineer Daniel Huber, noting that Yengst leaves his wife Dawn and four children. The couple had celebrated their 25th anniversary in October.

In lieu of flowers a GoFundMe page has been established for the family.

“Curt was part of the Radio World family,” said Editor in Chief Paul McLane. “It’s so upsetting to have him taken from us, and so suddenly.”

Yengst wrote numerous popular articles in Radio World about his own audio and recording equipment designs, as well as equipment reviews.

According to his obituary, Yengst also was author of the book “Tempus Fugit” and a self-taught musician who wrote, engineered and produced music in his studio, Zerro House Productions.

Yengst earned an associate’s degree from Thomas Edison University. He was an avid videographer who enjoyed recording and producing children’s musical and theater productions, a passionate follower of the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron, and an ordained minister. He attended Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship in Allentown, Pa.

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