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Editorial: More Than Half Full
A New Energy Floats to the Surface
5.07.2008
Overall, it has become clear to us that radio’s health and growth do not rely on any one tool or platform but rather on a willingness to be flexible, to try something new and not be afraid to fail at one project and then try another.
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SBE Offers HD Radio ‘Field Guide’
Latest Books Include Tom Ray’s Offering Through SBE and Focal Press
by Paul McLane, 4.23.2008
This book is appropriate for engineers as well as managers.
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Opinion: Compatibility Begins at Home
2.01.2006
Surround-sound broadcasting has been a hot topic for both terrestrial and satellite radio. As with any enhancement to an existing broadcast format, backward compatibility is a must. The systems proposed or in use for surround radio adhere to this requirement, delivering surround audio to properly equipped new receivers, without compromising existing mono or stereo reception on existing devices.
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Commentary: APT Has Its Own Take on Surround
Enhanced apt-X Is Suitable for Surround, Regardless of Format
by Jon McClintock, 12.07.2005
In recent years, 5.1 surround sound has become the accepted mode for audio in the film, television and music industries, as opposed to the simple, two-channel stereo approach. Consumer demand has largely driven this increase in audio channels, with most households now owning a DVD player complete with a 5.1 speaker configuration.
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Keeping Tabs: Public File 101
My Real-World Advice on What to Keep and What to Toss, and When
by Chuck Bullett, 4.23.2008
If keeping a historical archive is important to you, I recommend establishing a separate archive altogether for such material, or even enlisting a representative of your local historical society to take charge of such material for you.
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Radio: ‘We Already Do Localism’
Proposed Regulations Are Seen By Broadcasters As Simply Turning Back the Clock
by Randy J. Stine, 3.12.2008
The recommendations include requiring stations to establish permanent advisory boards and to carry a mandatory amount of public service programming.
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What Bugs Me About ‘Localism’
Cole Commentary: The Urge to Embrace Program Regulation May Seem Irresistible But It’s One the FCC Should Avoid
by Harry Cole, 2.01.2008
The FCC has turned into Mr. Peabody, ushering all of us Shermans into the Wayback Machine so that we can re-live the halcyon days of regulation.
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Today’s Best Reads and Some Great Oldies
by Timothy Kimble, 2.13.2008
In a query of engineers, several familiar, cherished titles came up again and again. But we also received surprising and astute recommendations for any CE who has a staff to manage as well as facilities to maintain.
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LP Gas Generators for Standby Power
Is LP Gas the Answer for Your Facility’s Standby Power Questions?
by Paul Kaminski, 11.07.2007
The same liquified petroleum gas that cooks a steak in the back yard might save your bacon when powering your plant’s standby generator.
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BGAN Opens Up Remotes
Author Explores Applications Made Possible by Inmarsat BGAN
by Paul Shulins, 9.01.2007
Broadcasting radio remotes is a challenge. Over the past few years that task has become a bit more difficult with the advent of HD Radio and the resultant delays to be worked around.
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Ouch! Radio Hunkers Down
Industry Simultaneously Faces Many Challenges and Declining Revenues
by Guy Wire, 4.09.2008
Station employees everywhere know these are tough times for radio.
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Guy’s 2008 Forecast (and Surprises)
Our Visionary Cowboy Test-Drives a Sync-Equipped Ford and Makes Bold Predictions
by Guy Wire, 2.12.2008
Making room for a new calendar as I did in January prompts a look back on how our industry grappled with the past year’s challenges and what’s likely to occur moving into the new year.
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Battle for the Band: AM IBOC Under Siege
Nighttime Hash Complaints Slow Deployment & Operation of HD on AM Band, Raise Doubts About Success
by Guy Wire, 12.12.2007
The interference fallout of full-time AM HD operations has been scattered and largely anecdotal. According to reports in RW, only one formal complaint has been filed as of this writing. By the time you read this, there likely will be others.
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Guy Wire Letters
Guy Wire is the pseudonym of a veteran engineer who prefers to remain anonymous. He welcomes your comments and questions. E-mail him at: gwire@imaspub.com.
2.15.2007
Readers' comments include:
- The Problems Are Real
- If They Come, Someone Will Build It
- Internet Radio in the Car: More Than a Test Drive?
- HD Radio Antenna Question
- You're Living a Pipe Dream
- "A Wager for Guy"
- "HD Radio and Small Daytimers"
- "NAB2006 Abuzz Over IP, HD Rollout"
- "Concern Over Satellite Growth"
- "Guy’s Split Personality".
- "Thanks for a thoughtful analysis"
- "Radio Makes Room for WiMax"
- "HD Radio"
- "Let’s Have AM Improvement With Clout"
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Can You Get Tuners in the Big Apple?
We Find HD-R Product Availability Good But Demo Experiences Lacking in New York
by Thom Moon, 5.07.2008
Not only was it not connected to an antenna, it wasn’t connected to AC or an amplifier. Not a great way to sell a $500 piece of gear.
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Are Elevated FM IBOC Levels a Good Fix?
Fans Seek Wider Coverage, Robust Signals; Critics Fear More Interference
by Leslie Stimson, 4.09.2008
An effort to seek regulatory approval for a voluntary increase in authorized FM IBOC power levels is up in the air.
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RVA Takes ‘Software-Centric’ Approach
ENCO Installation Is First Commercial Use of Digigram Visiblu for Routing Audio Over IP
3.26.2008
For the first time, the audio stream contains both the audio payload and embedded automation control for both source and destination.
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Audition 3.0: Digital Audio Band-Aid
Editing Software Adds Tools to Clean Clips, Remove Disturbances, Leaving Audio Unaffected
by Read G. Burgan, 5.07.2008
Beginning with Audition 1.5, Adobe has brought its experience with photo software to the original Cool Edit program. It has done this by adding a “spectral” view.
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MicroTrack II: More Record Time, Faster USB
Journalists Will Like Its ‘Speedy’ File Transfer, 2 GB Recording, Location Markers and Analog Limiter
by John Gatski, 5.07.2008
Despite the abundance of more expensive CompactFlash-based stereo recorders, the M-Audio Micro Track is suitable for recordists, musicians and journalists.
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TuneStudio: Not Just for Rockin’ Out
Belkin’s Portable Mixer Is for Musicians, But Broadcasters May Like XLR Mic Inputs, Stereo Audio
by James Careless, 4.23.2008
The multiple inputs and options of this versatile device open up real possibilities for budget-minded broadcasters.
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A Voice Across the Pacific: KWID & KWIX
FDR Sought to Throw America’s Voice Westward
by Dr. Adrian M. Peterson, 4.23.2008
It was August 1941, just a few months before the tragic events now known worldwide as Pearl Harbor.
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Last of VOA’s Wartime Transmitting Stations Goes Dark
How International Broadcasting Found Its Way to Delano
by James E. O'Neal, 3.01.2008
For the first time in nearly 63 years, the station is now strangely quiet. Save for an occasional lizard or cotton tail, the parking lot is vacant.
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Fred Newman: Money Where His Mouth Is
A Walking Sound Machine Talks About His Years With ‘Prairie Home’ and Getting Those Sounds Just Right
by Ken R. Deutsch, 5.07.2008
When I spoke with Newman on the phone, he exuded the excitement of a kid putting on a show for the family, only a lot funnier.
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Tom Silliman: NAB Honors Do-It-All Engineer
Radio Innovator Was Born With a Greenie in His Mouth — and a Taste for Bigger Things
by Randy J. Stine, 4.23.2008
During a career driven by a desire for adventure, Tom Silliman has managed to conquer many aspects of life, both professional and personal.
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In Blacksburg, Dave Hodges Keeps It Moving
Engineer Enjoys Working for a Small Company and Being Entrusted Early With Significant Projects
by Ken Deutsch, 4.23.2008
Engineer for Positive Alternative Radio and Positive Radio Group, both based in Blacksburg, Va.
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Radio Has a Special Place in the Car
Cruising and Playing the Radio ... With No Particular Place to Go
by Charles S. Fitch, 2.01.2008
In a moment of insanity, your brother has loaned you his ‘61 Impala 409 pearlescent red convertible.
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The General Electric Phasitron FM Transmitter
A Legendary FM Modulator Tube Helped This Fledgling Medium Out of the Nest
by Charles S. Fitch, 10.24.2007
In the early 1950s, many saw the emergence of FM on a new band (88–108 MHz) as a waste of time and money. Only a few visionaries, people who were ready to try different paths, create new audiences and serve new needs, succeeded with FM.
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The Transistor Portable Radio
Regency’s Model TR-1 Was Introduced in 1954 at a Price Roughly Equivalent to $400 Today
by Charles S. Fitch, 7.18.2007
Growing up is daunting. All those “rites of passage” through which we must travel. The first day of school, exams, dating, awkward holidays with distant relatives.
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Trading Spaces, Shifting Gears
The Move to New Platforms Is Important, But It Must Be Done Thoughtfully
by Skip Pizzi, 5.07.2008
Some observers have remarked that this spells trouble for radio as other competitive services become increasingly more convenient.
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Living La Vida Local — Or Not
Terrestrial Radio May Be Squandering Its Most Valuable Attributes: Localism & National Aggregation
by Skip Pizzi, 4.23.2008
How should terrestrial radio react?
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Polarizing the Receiver Marketplace
Horizontal and Vertical Have New Meaning in the Development and Deployment of Consumer Receivers
by Skip Pizzi, 4.09.2008
This dichotomy affects the landscape in which these types of services currently try to compete with each other.
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On the Street Where You Live
A Proposal for a Better Way to Navigate the Show Floor — and Salute Inventors Too
by Steve Lampen, 3.26.2008
I have a great idea. And this idea, as most great ideas, comes from frustration.
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I’m the Man Who Found the Lost Cord
by Steve Lampen, 9.26.2007
Of course, it should be the lost “chord” but I wrote the lost “cord,” as we’ve been talking about power cords. We’ve talked about gage size, current draw, even the melting temperature of the jacket.
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Power Cords ... With a Guitar
Let’s Talk About What You Can Do With Them
by Steve Lampen, 8.15.2007
Power cords are ubiquitous, so even if a guitar doesn’t don’t have one, a guitar amp certainly does.
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Ceiling Tiles and Transmitter Keys
Another Solution to Fishing Cables in Ceilings
by John Bisset, 5.07.2008
I guess what you have on hand and that solves the problem is the proper tool for the job.
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Stop VSWR Trips With a Funnel
Also, Health Hazards From an Unexpected Source
by John Bisset, 4.23.2008
Heavy rain can wreak havoc with any AM array.
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Rack Shelf Adds a Second Pair of Hands
Also, Here’s a Wireless Video Security System That Can Help Keep Your Site Secure
by John Bisset, 4.09.2008
Police respond faster to a crime in progress.
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10 Tips to a Faster, Healthier Computer
Regular Tasks to Help Assure Your PC’s Well-Being
by Larry Foltran, 4.23.2008
If you already take these steps, the list may be helpful to save for a user/colleague.
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WGBH to Open ‘Studio’ in ‘Second Life’
Station Does a Little Virtual Anthropology With the Help of a CPB Grant
by James Careless, 3.26.2008
By purchasing “land” in Second Life and building a concert hall, the station is creating a destination for Second Life gamers.
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CC Asheville Builds Beyond the Bleeding Edge
Tucked Into the Mountains, Cluster Employs IP Audio and Other Innovative Studio Solutions
by Chris Karb, 3.12.2008
We would be the development mule, as it were, with our staff willing to invest the time and effort to develop those systems fully.
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Where Are the Oldest Tower Sites?
Some Are Abandoned, Others Not, But All Provide a Door to History
by Scott Fybush, 8.15.2007
But when Editor in Chief Paul McLane asked me to write about some of the more unusual and distinctive sites I’ve seen in my travels, my thoughts turned to some of the oldest radio artifacts still out there in the field.
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Art Deco Radio in Northeast Ohio
Our Intrepid Traveler Visits Akron, Canton and Youngstown
by Scott Fybush, 2.01.2007
Where can you find a 12-tower directional AM antenna system, not one but two classic Art Deco studio buildings, the closest co-channel AM stations in the country and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all within an hour's drive or so?
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History Is Alive and Well in Milwaukee
In the inaugural installment of "Travels With Scott" (RW April 12, and archived at RW Online), I explored some of the fabulous sites that the Los Angeles radio market has to offer.
by Scott Fybush, 8.16.2006
In the inaugural installment of "Travels With Scott" (RW April 12,
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FM HD-R Implementation Options Abound
Signal Combining Choices Grow as HD-R + FM Power Efficiency Improves
by W.C. Alexander, 4.09.2008
While people may tell you that one option is “best,” the truth is that the most suitable option for your site is only determined by careful analysis of the situation.
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HD-R Processing Trickier Than Analog
In an ideal world, the HD Radio audio path would not be processed at all.
by W.C. Alexander, 5.09.2007
HD Radio audio processing has a lot in common with conventional broadcast air processing, but the HD path processing does depart considerably.
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Prepare Your STL Path for HD-R
Will Your Existing STL Work When You Convert to HD Radio?
by W.C. Alexander, 2.14.2007
For a lot of stations, STL and AES issues are major considerations in the HD Radio conversion process.
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At RFA, Putting R-Boss to Work
by Tom Vernon, 9.25.2002
The Technical Staff at Radio Free Asia Spearheads an Open-Source Approach That Can Help Your Station - for Free
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XM Radio's Music Is Massive
by Craig Johnston, 9.01.2002
While much of the wonder over satellite radio focused on orbiting transmitters and how 100 channels can be received by moving vehicles, big hurdles also had to be crossed down here on the ground.
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FASTROAD: Life in the Fast Lane
5.09.2007
The NAB recently announced formation of a technology advocacy program called FASTROAD, which, if nothing else, could be a finalist in a competition for acronym design: Flexible Advanced Services for Television and Radio On All Devices.
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Code Creation for Web Automation
by Rich Rarey, 4.11.2001
In the most recent Public Domain column, in the Feb. 14 issue, we created the rules AudioLocker would follow when playing audio files in a group. If we followed a formal software lifetime model, creating those rules would give us our "concept" and "requirements" phases.
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Close-In AM Field Intensity Measurements
by W.C. Alexander, 3.16.2005
In the March 2 issue, author Buc Fitch discussed field intensity measurement methodology. Here, Cris Alexander expands on Fitch's discussion of ND surveys.
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Antenna Tests and OEM Practices
by Richard Fry, 3.01.2002
How can you get the most out of your FM antenna system? To provide some insight into this subject, three prominent broadcast consulting firms were asked to respond to 15 topics about FM antenna performance.
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Should I Climb That Live AM Tower?
Is It Safe to Climb AM Radio Towers While the Station Is on the Air?
by Richard Strickland, 1.16.2008
If the power into the base of the antenna exceeds 500 Watts, nobody should be allowed to climb the tower. If the power is 200 Watts or less, it is generally safe.
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What’s the Deal With Exposure Limits?
Understand FCC Regulations and Who May Be Exposed to RF Field Levels That Exceed the Public MPE Limits
by Richard Strickland, 12.05.2007
This is the fourth in a series of Q&As with Richard Strickland about RF safety; the series is archived at radioworld.com.
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RFR Fines Can Burn You
Know the Rules or Pay the Costs
by Richard Strickland, 11.07.2007
The FCC started out by using $10,000 for virtually all RF radiation related fines, and all of the NALs (Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture) were directed at individual licensees.
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Case Study: How Do You Lug Your Gear?
The First in a Series About Radio Electronic Newsgathering Tips, Tricks and Trends
by Paul Kaminski, 1.16.2008
If like me you have been in the business for a few years and you’ve made more than your share of mistakes or missed the “money quote” because you didn’t have a backup item, you tend to bring everything you could possibly need in the field to an assignment — but likely won’t.
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The Globe Gets Greener
How Is WTGB’s Environmental Effort Going?
by Randy J. Stine, 5.07.2008
They say they are living what they preach by operating a more eco-friendly radio facility.
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Radio Catskill Benefits From Micropower
By a Dam Site, WJFF Calls Itself the Nation’s Only Hydro-Powered Station
by Tom Vernon, 4.09.2008
The story of hydro power in the Catskills, however, begins long before the advent of the radio station.
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KKGN ‘Green 960’ Seeks Greener Pastures
Clear Channel Station Adopts Makeover and Lines Up With Environmental Trends
by Tom Vernon, 2.01.2008
As energy shortages, deforestation and global climate change make the headlines on a daily basis, some broadcasters are responding by “going green.”
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