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La Zeta 95.7 Inc. enters into Consent Decree to Resolve Political File Investigation

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A Quu promotional image

Radio data technology company Quu announced a deal to provide Salem Media Group with “ad sync” services on 28 FM stations in 17 markets.

Quu offers services to let radio stations manage RDS/HD in-car stereo displays with an eye toward revenue and a better listener experience. Beasley Media Group is among its investors.

It says its technology lets stations generate revenue by enhancing over-the-air spots with client logos and text to be seen by consumers on their desktops, mobile and dashboard devices.

The announcement was made by Quu CEO Steve Newberry and Salem Media Group President of Broadcast Media Dave Santrella.

[Related: “NAB EVP Newberry Plans Exit”]

“Salem Media Group further underscores the broadcaster’s commitment to providing unique advertiser experiences and optimum service offerings by featuring album art, showcasing station information and creating a complete 360-degree visual and audio-based advertiser experience for clients and listeners,” Quu said in a press release.

Santrella was quoted saying that radio serves and engages but that “radio needs to improve the user experience so that we look as good as we sound.”

[Related, 2019 story: “NextRadio Outcome Leaves a Void”]

The post Quu to Provide Ad Sync to Salem appeared first on Radio World.

Michael O’Rielly’s renomination as an FCC commissioner was rescinded by Pres. Donald Trump Monday, according to published reports.

O’Rielly was originally nominated to the FCC by President Barack Obama and was sworn in November 2013. He was sworn into a second term in 2015. His term expired in June.

O’Rielly is a conservative who generally favors deregulation, including of ISPs and lifting media ownership rules given the rise of competition from cable and broadband and satellite, and was instrumental in loosening KidVid regs on TV stations.

[Read: O’Rielly Seeks to Knock Down Barriers]

The renomination of O’Rielly for another term was reportedly put on hold in July by Sen. Jim Inhofe because of the FCC’s decision to allow Ligado Networks to deploy a lower-power national mobile broadband network.

NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith released the following statement in response to the news O’Rielly’s nomination had been rescinded:

“Mike O’Rielly has been a sterling public servant for as long as I have had the privilege of knowing him, a span of time covering my years in the Senate and throughout my time leading NAB. He is the consummate professional — smart, diligent, honest, and fair. For these and many other reasons, NAB has been proud to support his continued service at the commission. But for these reasons also, I have every confidence that he will succeed wherever he casts his lot.”

There has been no comment from the FCC or O’Rielly at the time of publication.

 

The post Trump Rescinds O’Rielly Nomination at FCC appeared first on Radio World.

RJ Russell

The SBE’s engineer of the year is probably someone better known to television engineers than radio, but he plays a crucial role in U.S. frequency coordination, and has been helping to revitalize that volunteer program.

RJ Russell will receive the Engineer of the Year Award from the Society of Broadcast Engineers in its upcoming virtual national meeting. The award is named for Robert W. Flanders.

The society also named two recipients of the SBE Educator of the Year award: Fred Baumgartner and Roland Robinson. That award, which is named for James C. Wulliman, recognizes outstanding service and excellence in sharing knowledge through teaching other broadcast engineers.

[Read: “SBE Takes Its National Meeting Online”]

RJ Russell has been an SBE member for 21 years and has served in several board and committee positions.

After service in the Marine Corps he worked for a number of TV groups, and he was a broadcast engineering manager on the Sprint Nextel Project for four years, assisting TV stations with the 2 GHz repack and reimbursement. He also designed and built a new broadcast center for Brigham Young University and he has been active on the ATSC 3 project station in Cleveland.

“Most recently, RJ accepted the critically important position of SBE frequency coordination manager as an independent contractor through his company, TBSI,” SBE stated in its announcement.

“RJ has a vast and unique knowledge of the frequency coordination process and is the SBE’s major representative to the Department of Defense and its contractors in the SBE-DOD-NAB transition process at 2 GHz,” it said.

Fred Baumgartner

“Through the direct involvement of RJ, who is respected very highly by the DOD, FCC and NTIA, the SBE and its members, broadcast licensees, and the DOD have benefited from the careful, meticulous planning that RJ has worked exceptionally hard on to maximize DOD-coordinated use of 2 GHz without constraint on broadcasters.”

He is overseeing preparation of a national database of 2 GHz users to help the work of SBE frequency coordinators. “He has revitalized the program at a difficult time in the history of volunteer frequency coordination,” SBE said.

Last year’s recipient was Charlie Wooten.

The 2020 educators of the year are both longtime SBE members.

Fred Baumgartner has worked for 17 years with the Ennes Educational Foundation Trust, leading Ennes Workshops during the NAB Show and producing the SBE presentation on NextGen TV during the 2019 PBS TechCon.

Roland Robinson

Roland Robinson is an instructor of classes in broadcasting and video production at Bates Technical College in Tacoma, Wash., and has implemented an SBE-approved certification curriculum in broadcast classes.

“The curriculum was recently renewed unanimously by the SBE National Certification Committee, the members being impressed by the curriculum presented by Robinson,” SBE stated. He is also active in Washington state emergency alerting.

MultiCAM Systems won the SBE Technology Award for its Air Bridge video offering.

SBE Chapter 37 in Washington, D.C., won the Best Educational Event for the NextGEN TV Summit in January, held in conjunction with SMPTE.

The full award list including chapter membership and attendance awards awards is here.

The post RJ Russell Is SBE’s Engineer of the Year appeared first on Radio World.

The history of audio processors for U.S. radio stations can be roughly divided into two chapters. The first, when these devices were a compliance tool for FCC regulations regarding transmitter modulation. Their job was to maintain average modulation levels between the required 85 and 100%, and ensure audio peaks never exceeded 100%. The second chapter, after the loudness wars began, when audio processors were used to create a signature sound for a station, and ensure modulation levels were kept as high as legally possible.

The Gates Sta Level AGC and SA-39B peak limiter belong to the earlier era.

Both were introduced in the 1950s, and enjoyed long service lives. They were designed around conventional textbook circuits with no “black boxes” or deep secrets about how they operated. Both were easy to set up and maintain. They were marketed by Gates throughout the 1960s and early ’70s as the perfect pair for maximum modulation.

Simple setup

The SA-39B was introduced by Gates in 1957, and replaced the similar SA-38, which was designed in 1948. It was marketed as a solution for AM, FM and TV operations.

The SA-39B’s audio circuit consisted of three push-pull stages: 1612, input; 6SJ7, intermediate; and 6V6, output. The regulated power supply had a 5V4 rectifier, and 6X5, 6SJ7 and 6L6  in the regulator circuit. A 6H6 functioned as the control rectifier. This regulated supply powered the first two audio stages. To ensure low noise, the filaments of the 1612s were run off a separate DC supply.

The theory of operation is simple. The audio output signal is sampled, rectified by the 6H6, and the resulting negative voltage connected to the second control grids of the 1612 input stage. As the output voltage increases, the grid becomes more negative, lowering the gain of the amplifier. Through compression levels up to 20 dB, distortion remained at a respectable .05% or less.

Compared to today’s audio processors, there were few adjustments and options to consider when setting up the SA-39B. Attack time was fixed at .001 seconds. Release time was adjustable via a six-position switch on the rear panel. Position 1 had a recovery time of .2 seconds, and each successive position added an additional .2 seconds. Position 3, with .6 seconds was the recommended starting point, and could be adjusted faster or slower to suit the format.

A tweak inside the limiter was used to set the front panel meter for 0 dB compression with no input. Then, it was simply a matter of increasing audio input until normal programming showed about 5 dB of compression. This setting allowed sufficient headroom for the occasional intense peak energy.

Output levels could be adjusted to +20 dB. If that was too much, two fixed attenuator pads could easily be inserted into the circuit.

[Read more tech history: “Proof of Performance, 1970s Style”]

A nice feature of the SA-39B was the six 1/4” phone jacks on the bottom of the rear panel which were wired to measure cathode current of the audio stage tubes. With a 1/4” phone-to-banana   plug patch cable, it was a simple matter to check these currents with a VTVM. Normal currents for each stage were indicated on the schematic.

Phone jacks made balancing the push-pull stages of the SA-39B easy. An octal-based electrolytic made replacement of the power supply capacitors a simple plug and play procedure.

There were two reasons for regular checks. Cathode current is a good indicator of tube life and when it begins to fall, the end is near. Second, push-pull circuits only work well when the tubes are balanced, and tubes don’t always age at the same rate. Imbalance can lead to increased hum and distortion, and in the case of the 1612s, thumping during low frequency passages.

Maintenance was fairly simple, with the usual tube checks and logging socket voltages. Access via the drop-down front panel gave access to most of the resistors and capacitors, neatly laid out on two circuit boards. Earlier tech manuals for the SA-39B documented component designations, values and voltages, but that went away when the abbreviated 4-page manual was released.

Most components of the SA-39B were mounted on two circuit boards. Earlier manuals included diagrams of the component values, designations and tube socket resistances.

A nice feature of the SA-39B was the 20-20uf 450 volt power supply electrolytic, which was provided on an octal socket. These capacitors were more expensive than the conventional twist-lock style, but made replacement a plug-and-play procedure, rather than a tedious and time-consuming chore.

The Gates SA-39B, and comparable peak limiters such as the RCA BA-6C and Collins 26U-1 were among the first casualties of the loudness wars. When the FCC passed regulations allowing AM stations to increase their positive peak modulation from 100 to 125%, their days were numbered. Asymmetrical modulation called for entirely different circuits for peak limiting. By the mid 1970s, the loudness wars had spread to the FM front. When the Orban Optimod 8000 was introduced around 1976, it revolutionized FM audio processing, and conventional peak limiters began to disappear there as well.

Cult status

While the SA-39B has largely faded from memory, the Gates Sta Level has been elevated to cult status as the decades have passed. In fact, software-based audio processors often have a ‘Sta Level’ setting to emulate its unique sound.

The Gates Sta Level was the last AGC amplifier that the company manufactured utilizing vacuum tubes.

Introduced in 1956, the Sta Level was in the Gates product line for the next two decades. It had a well-deserved reputation for its unobtrusive control of audio levels. The secret was the GE 6386, a remote-cutoff twin triode. It had a long life, and never seemed to lose its wonderful linearity. A little-known fact is that the Sta Level was not the first audio processor to use the 6386.

Shortly after General Electric introduced the 6386 tube, its broadcast products division introduced the 4BA9B1 Uni-Level to take advantage of it. The Uni-Level was a stripped-down AGC amp built for a low price-point. Input and output levels were controlled by fixed resistive pads, there was no compression level meter, and minimum parts count. The tube lineup was a 5Y3 rectifier, 6386 push-pull input/control, 6AL5 control rectifier, and (2) 6V6 push-pull output. They started selling like hot cakes.

Gates wanted a piece of the action, but they didn’t want to run afoul of GE’s application patent on the Uni-Level circuit. The challenge for Gates engineers was to design a device that utilized the 6386, but was sufficiently different to dodge a patent infringement. They did this by putting an OB2 regulator for the 6386 plate supply as well as adding a 12AT7 between the 6386 variable-mu stage and the 6V6 output stage. It was totally superfluous, and all the extra gain was swamped out by negative feedback. But it did keep the lawyers happy.

A control to adjust cathode voltage of the 6V6 output stage was the only tweak to tune up the Sta Level.

One of the underground mods for the Sta level was to remove that 12AT7 and couple the plates  directly to the 6V6 grids with .5 uf mylar capacitors. The result, less noise distortion and heat, better sound. But many engineers didn’t stop there.

Back when stations used to build their own equipment, the Sta Level’s schematic was the jumping off point for far more elaborate devices. Precision resistors, high-quality audio transformers, audio attenuators and other high-end components were often used.

While the Sta Level used an OB2 to regulate power to the 6386, many home-brew designs regulated everything, often using a 6AS7 with a 6SJ7 DC amplifier and OB2 VR tube as a reference.

Some stations went all out with the metering circuit, adding a rotary or pushbutton switch to select dB compression, audio output VU, cathode current of the audio stages, DC filament voltage for the 6386 and balance of the two push-pull stages. A few circuits also included indicator bulbs for expansion, compression and when the gain was frozen. They were not terribly useful, but fun to watch.

[Read more fun radio history from Tom Vernon: “The Time Has Come to Talk of Many Things”]

TV stations often had problems with the quiet passages in films, when the AGC would suck up all the background noise up to program level. The solution was to modify the Sta Level circuit with a pot to control the DC bias on the cathode of the 6386. That would establish a platform which would limit the range overs which expansion would occur.

Setup and maintenance of the Sta Level was straightforward. Once it was connected to the console output and being fed normal program level, adjust the input level control till the meter indicates around 15 dB of compression. Adjust the output control to properly feed the following device. At many stations, this was the phone line connecting the studio to transmitter, where the peak limiter was presumably located. Finally, set the recovery time for single or double.

As shipped, the Sta Level’s recovery time for 2/3 level was 7 seconds, and 90% level in about 28 seconds. By changing the values of R36 and 37, that could be increased to as fast as 2 ¼ seconds for 2/3 level and 10 seconds for 90% level. This was a common mod for Top 40 stations. Want to slow it down instead? Then 11-1/4 seconds for 2/3 level and 45 seconds for 90% might be more to your liking if you had an easy listening format.

By changing the values of two resistors, the recovery time of the Sta Level could be increased or decreased.

Sta Level had a tweak for balancing the cathodes of the 6V6 output stage. The manual called for matching the voltages, but a more precise method was to adjust for minimum distortion at 1 kHz. That was about it for adjustments.

Due to its simple design, reliability and great sound, the Sta Level was used lots of places besides the air chain. If you purchased a Gates automation system in the 1960s or ’70s, it often had a pair of Sta Levels on the audio output to even out the levels between different sources. Stations used them in production room for the same reason. Some were wired into a patch panel so they could be deployed for sports remotes, which had notoriously erratic levels. Talk stations were known to use them on phone lines.

While both units enjoyed a long service life, advancing technology eventually caught up with them. In 1975, Gates/Harris introduced the Solid Statesman line of audio processors. This included the  M-6543 AM limiting amplifier, M-6631 FM  limiting amplifier and M-6629 automatic gain control amplifier.

The Sta Level and SA-39 pictured with this article were found while cleaning out transmitter buildings during the contract engineering days of the 1980s. The SA-39 dates from the late 1950s, while the Sta Level was manufactured in 1967. They were cleaned up and returned to good operating condition. Both are now enjoying their retirement as objects of affection in my own personal home museum of oddities.

 

 

The post Radio Audio Processing, Before the Wars appeared first on Radio World.

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Sumter Broadcasting Co., Inc. enters into Consent Decree to Resolve Political File Investigation

WHOC, Inc. enters into Consent Decree to Resolve Political File Investigation

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Skytower Communications-Etown, Inc. enters into Consent Decree to Resolve Political File Investigation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An image from the SBE website

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An image from the website of the League of Women Voters

New PSAs encouraging Americans to register and vote launched today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RW: Tell us about WMSS.

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

Covering sports for WMSS

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

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

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

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

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

RW: How did WMMS get started?

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

Archival photo

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

RW: What role do students play?

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

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

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

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

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

View from production to air studio

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

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

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

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

RW: What else should we know?

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

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

[Read more about the station’s history.]

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