Columns and Views
Rings, Stubs and Rototillers
There are numerous FM antenna designs commercially available with various characteristics. Types include the...
Reflections and Predictions on Satellite Radio
As we celebrate the holiday season and the close of 2002, the urge to...
Lights, Camera … Chainsaw!
If you maintain an older tower, lit with traditional red lighting, you might want...
VSWR Bandwidth, Friend or Foe?
Too often, FM antenna systems are tuned with the engineer watching the transmitter reflectometer...
A Story of Radio Mice and Men
How does that nursery rhyme go, "Hickory, dickory, doc-tor ... the mouse climbed up...
Overshoots and Close-In Coverage
In this segment, we will discuss methods of dealing with the problem of overshooting...
Protection Inside the ATU
Tower light monitoring is still high on the "hit lists" of the FCC and...
Antenna Gain vs. Transmitter Power
How many bays do I need in my antenna and how much transmitter power...
A Better Way to Implement AM IBOC
Will the controversial invention now called HD Radio steadily grow and gather more speed...
The Buck Stops With You
Budgeting; doing more with less; saving money...These are the "new" rules of radio engineering
Understanding FM Systems: A New Series
With this article, we begin an in-depth look at FM transmission systems.
He Found the Fix in the Drawer
In this era of consolidation, things are done a little differently. Instead of one...
How to Expand Scrunched Screens
We'll start off with a simple yet effective tip from Fred Greaves Jr., director...
‘Old’ Tricks for New Engineers
Brent Barber, station manager and chief engineer for WDSO(FM) in Chesteron, Ind., read the...
Lightning Strikes; So Do Thieves
John Stortz of the Moody stations in Florida protects his VRC-2000 remote control from...
Soaking up the waves. RF might hurt you.
Other than this obvious effect of tissue heating, we still don't know what the...
Stupid-Proof the Lockup
You may remember last year's photo of all the gate locks, looped through each...
Modulation and the Older Tx
Like it or not, at some point in your career you'll probably need to...
Install This Insurance Tray
Now that summer is in full swing, consider adding a safety "insurance" tray designed...
Understand the Rules on RFI
It's probably one of the most disturbing phone calls you'll receive as a chief...
Building a Better Model for Ibiquity
It's like we're all watching a troubled sci-fi movie: "The Day the IBOC World...
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane …
Pulling cable? Make sure you place two labels on the cable runs, as shown...
Wasps, Pine Trees and Meter Bulbs
A recent inquiry comes from an engineer in charge of three AM stations, with...
Digital Cameras Are a Big Help
Damian Centraf is the chief engineer for Herald Broadcasting's WSHB Shortwave station in Pineland,...
A Bumpy Ride for Ibiquity at NAB2002
It wasn't quite what the Ibiquity Digital brass had been hoping for. The long-awaited...
Doing It Right!
Longtime friend John Francioni with Capitol Broadcasting in Raleigh, N.C., loves all the "how...
Hot Numbers You Need to Have
When was the last time you checked backup items like surge suppressors, the UPS...
Emergency-Proofing the Tx Site
Do you work for a station ownership that understands the importance of keeping a...
Got Your Sterno and Spaghetti-Os?
One of the benefits of doing contract engineering and project work is the breadth...
Deriving the Real IBOC Equation
My colleague Skip Pizzi spends a lot of time gazing at the crystal ball...
Let’s Play ‘Spot the Problems’
Damian Centgraf is with WSHB Shortwave of the Herald Broadcasting Syndicate Inc. He needed...
Dodge PC Problems Ahead of Time
After building computers for critical broadcast applications for more than 15 years, Jeff Allen,...
Can’t See the Tower for the Trees
Backups are great – when they work!...Winter’s elements can force dependence on a generator....
Keep Your Transmitter Healthy
Robert Gonsett's CGC Communicator recently spoke of white-colored light-emitting diodes (LEDs) being incorporated into...
Death Star Strikes Planet Earth Radio
We saw it coming. Some said it could never work. Others said no one...
Tones to Troubleshoot AM Xmitters
Engineers are perhaps the most resourceful members at a radio station - quick to...
Last-Minute Gift Ideas for Work
Here’s a column you’ll want to cut out and give to your friends and...
Nice Things for the Staff and You
Figure 1 begs the question, "Will lightning run backward?" It’s always a good idea...
Deadbeats
If you’ve spent some of your nice fall days cleaning your transmitter site, watch...
How to Find Old Xmitter Parts
We’ve all worked for owners who thought transmitters last forever, but the truth is...
Whose Standards Are Being Compromised
As I inspected a site where a bush hog operator had bent a guy...