This Week In Radio Tech (TWiRT)

Hearing dialog on some TV shows and many movies broadcast on TV is a problem. Why is dialog often hard to hear? Radio doesn’t have this problem. And TV typically didn’t until we went digital with DTV and 5.1 audio. Ken Tankel is Kirk’s go-to TV audio specialist. Ken worked for years in radio major market radio, so he understands audio processing. But, TV audio is markedly different, with different goals, targets, and formats. But we’d still like to understand the dialog! Ken walks us through some similarities and differences in TV and radio audio, and describes TV’s audio problems with some possible solutions.

Show notes:

* The USA’s CALM Act is about Loud Commercials

* Pro Tools Expert article on Loudness - Good Summary

* “CALM Before the Storm” - blog post on CALM compliance

* Kirk suggested that 5.1 mixes be checked in stereo with Auratone speakers

Guest

Ken Tankel - Field Applications Engineer at Telos Alliance

Hosts

Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnackFollow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Nautel and the continuing informative live webinars. Sign up for free!Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.Nautel and the regular Transmission Talk Tuesday series of online engineering roundtable events.Angry Audio - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. And M...

Some technical advice is timeless. Other tech advice changes with the times. Such is the case with FM transmitter sites. Now more than ever we broadcast engineers need to apply the right safeguards and approaches at today’s FM transmitter sites. Situated under tall lightning “attractors” - otherwise known as “towers” - FM transmitter sites need a mix of time-tested design care and contemporary precautions. Hal Kneller is a 40 year veteran of transmitter sites, and his Florida home provides plenty of experience with lightning protection, whether the equipment is old or new. 

Show notes:

* Xenirad Broadcast Engineering - web page with ¼ wave shorting stub demo video

* Hal mentioned the CyberPower ATS PDU 44004

* Kirk Mentioned the Henry Engineering Failsafe UPS Power Switcher

* Nautel white paper on Lightning Protection for Radio Transmitter Stations

Guest

Hal Kneller - Broadcast Technology Consultant

Hosts

Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnackFollow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Nautel and the continuing informative live webinars. Sign up for free!Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.Nautel and the regular Transmission Talk Tuesday series of online engineering roundtable events.Angry Audio - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts.

Pierre Lonewolf’s career journey that led him to Kotzebue, Alaska in the early 1980s. You can’t get much farther away from major population bases than northern Alaska. Kotzebue, population 3,283, sits on a sand spit of Alaska’s Arctic west coast just across the Chukchi and Bering Seas and several hundred miles from the Russian eastern frontier. It’s a scenic but scarcely populated place that features abundant wildlife like caribou and moose and bear. Pierre Lonewolf, CSRE, CNT, manages engineering services at KOTZ(AM) and KINU(FM) plus a network of FM translators and low-power FMs serving tiny villages. [Excerpted from an article by Randy Stine.] Pierre joins Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack for a lively discussion of radio engineering in this remote Alaskan village.

Show notes:

* Radio Heritage Foundation article about Pierre Lonewolf by Randy Stine

* Pierre and Chris mentioned the Inovonics IRM610, Internet Radio Monitor

Guest

Pierre Lonewolf - Chief Engineer at KOTZ-AM and KINU-FM

Hosts

Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnackFollow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Nautel and the continuing informative live webinars. Sign up for free!Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.Nautel and the regular Transmission Talk Tuesday series of online engineering roundtable events.Angry Audio - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts.

“Aggressive Neglect” sounds like a great name for an Alt Rock band, but it’s actually one of Dennis Sloatman’s pet peeves. Petrified hamburger leftovers in the wiring chases is another. But he would rather construct new, reliable, yet simple broadcast systems than complain about poor work that preceded him. From continuing education to SNMP-monitored systems to small, medium and very large markets, Dennis Sloatman is the thoughtful engineer who plans the work and then works the plan. Let’s get wiser in our broadcast engineering skills by spending an hour with the top-shelf broadcaster.

Guest

Dennis Sloatman - Broadcast Engineer, BS Engineering, CSRE, MSCSE, AMD, iNet+, A+ Hardware/Software, CBNT - SBE Member

Hosts

Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnackFollow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Nautel and the continuing informative live webinars. Sign up for free!Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.Nautel and the regular Transmission Talk Tuesday series of online engineering roundtable events.Angry Audio - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts. Look for in-depth radio engineering articles in Radio-Guide magazine.

The auto industry has been offering after-market parts and assemblies for decades. Now we’re seeing more after-market system replacements in the broadcast industry. Mike Patton, a well-known contract engineer, is offering replacement assemblies for some popular AM and FM transmitters. These specific transmitter models are typically well-designed for long life, but now suffer from parts made of “non-obtainium”. Mike solves this with newly-designed replacement assemblies made from parts available now. Join Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack as we listen and watch Mike describe how these replacement systems are keeping hundreds of otherwise perfectly good transmitters on-the-air today.

Show Notes:

* Michael Patton & Associates (web site)

* Retrofit & replacement assemblies for popular transmitters as discuss on the show

Guest

Mike Patton - Owner, Michael Patton & Associates

Hosts

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.MediaKirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnackFollow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Nautel and the continuing informative live webinars. Sign up for free!Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.Nautel and the regular Transmission Talk Tuesday series of online engineering roundtable events.Angry Audio - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts. Look for in-depth radio engineering articles in

This man has seen some things and knows some secrets! Isaiah Chavez joins us on TWiRT.  You don't want to miss his "sticky chair" introduction to radio, or his baptism by fire into Broadcast IT.  Then there's the SBE Recruitment Ninja award he's about to receive! (OK, we made that up.)  Isaiah’s broadcasting career sounds like many others, but with his own unique twists.

Guest

Isaiah Chavez - Broadcast IT Engineer

Hosts

Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnackFollow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Nautel and the continuing informative live webinars. Sign up for free!Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.Nautel and the regular Transmission Talk Tuesday series of online engineering roundtable events.Angry Audio - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts. Look for in-depth radio engineering articles in Radio-Guide magazine.

I had a conference to attend - and speak at; Chris Tarr had a travel and transmitter story to tell. I had guests; Chris had frustrations. My boss supports me doing a weekly podcast; Chris’s boss supports his engineering initiatives. I drove from my home to this conference in Columbus; Chris drove from his home to get a transmitter in Colby. Bouncing back and forth between our respective “studios” we put on a pretty interesting and informative show this week. Chris and I hope you enjoy it!

Guests

Cam Eicher - SVP of Worldwide Sales at Telos AllianceGary Rosen - Vice President of Global Sales at Pliant Technologies, LLCMary Schnelle - US Sales at Broadcast DepotJohn Lynch - Director of Business Development at Broadcast Supply WorldwideBlake Thompson - Owner at BET Broadcast Engineering

Hosts

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.MediaKirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnackFollow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Nautel and the continuing informative live webinars. Sign up for free!Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.Nautel and the regular Transmission Talk Tuesday series of online engineering roundtable events.Angry Audio - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts. Look for in-depth radio engineering articles in ...

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has once again updated lighting requirements for broadcast towers and other “hazards to aviation” via an Advisory Circular issued in November, 2020. Tower lighting manufacturers are responding with new, appropriate lighting kits and custom solutions, and LED lighting is playing a large role in these updates. David Shepeard is President of Drake Lighting, and an advocate for simplified LED lighting systems that are readily remotely monitored and even remotely controlled. David joins us along with Mark Walker and Ryan Harper to show us their modern and simplified lighting controllers and LED tower-mounted lights. Plus we find out about the infrared lighting requirements included with LED lighting systems.

Show notes:

* Drake Lighting, Paducah, KY* FAA Advisory Circular  70/7460-1M, Nov 16, 2020* Visual Lighting Guide with examples

Guests

Mark Walker - Broadcast Sales Manager at Drake Lighting Inc.Ryan Harper - Director of Sales at Drake Lighting, Inc.David Shepeard - President at Drake Lighting, Inc.

Hosts

Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnackFollow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Nautel and the continuing informative live webinars. Sign up for free!Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.Nautel and the regular Transmission Talk Tuesday series of online engineering roundtable events.Angry Audio - with S...

How many radio remotes have you done from the “station van”? At the Wisconsin Broadcasters Clinic in Madison, WI, we’re broadcasting live from the Telos Alliance van. It was parked just outside the convention hall and seemed a perfect venue for a TWiRT episode. We get to hear from radio industry executives and top-notch broadcast engineers who are attending this terrific annual convention.

Guests

Mark Persons - M W Persons & Associates (retired)Michelle Vetterkind - President & CEO at Wisconsin Broadcasters AssociationPatrick Berger - Director of Engineering at WKQX-FM/WLUP-FM/WLS-FM/WLS-AMAlex Hartman - Customer Service Technologist at NautelJosh Bohn - President/CEO at The MaxxKonnect GroupJim Ragsdale - Executive Director for the Society of Broadcast EngineersShane Toven - Senior Broadcast Engineer at EMF - K-LOVE & Air1Paul Kriegler - Telos Alliance, US Manager, Omnia audio processing

Hosts

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.MediaKirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnackFollow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Nautel and the continuing informative live webinars. Sign up for free!Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.Nautel and the regular Transmission Talk Tuesday series of online engineering roundtable events.Angry Audio - with Studi...

While Hurricane Ian was destroying bridges, homes, and infrastructure in Southwest Florida, broadcast engineers were keeping their stations on the air however they could. And in the aftermath they’re repairing flooded transmitter sites and restoring signals where some things went very wrong. Thoughtful planning kept several broadcasters on-the-air with critical weather and safety information. Hal Kneller and Kevin Trueblood were in the middle of the destruction as Hurricane Ian rampaged through. Hal and Kevin join Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack with photos and security camera footage of the destruction and aftermath.

Guests

Hal Kneller - Broadcast Technology ConsultantKevin Trueblood - Associate General Manager, Technology & Operations - WGCU Public Media

Hosts

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.MediaKirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnackFollow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Nautel and the continuing informative live webinars. Sign up for free!Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, and social media tools at Bionic.radio.Nautel and the regular Transmission Talk Tuesday series of online engineering roundtable events.Angry Audio - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts. Look for in-depth radio engineering articles in Radio-Guide magazine.