This Week In Radio Tech (TWiRT)

Everyone is being affected by "supply chain" delays and difficulties these days. Broadcast engineers are waiting longer for equipment delivery - sometimes a lot longer. What's behind these delays? Didn't they get that container ship unstuck from the Suez Canal a long time ago? Some delays are being mitigated by equipment redesign - others by costly air freight. Scott Stiefel at Telos Alliance is seriously plugged in to supply chain management and the issues of the past 2 years. Indeed, he's one of our industry's leading experts on working through and around these challenges.

Show notes:

* An Overview of the Top 5 Semiconductor Foundry Companies* More wafer fabs in the US – When, how?* Fire Destroys AKM Audio Chip Factory: Can 2020 Get Any Worse?* Kirk notes that the short story, “I, Pencil: The Movie”, gives an excellent overview of a cooperative supply chain, demonstrating its complexity. (6 ½ min video)* Scott’s Tip: Schedule a meeting with yourself.  Here’s how.

Guest

Scott Stiefel - Co-Chief Executive Officer at The Telos Alliance

Co-Hosts

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.Media 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,

If you could choose someone to gather and publish the information that broadcast engineers need day-to-day or once in a blue moon, you’d choose Barry Mishkind. A broadcast engineer in his own right, Barry founded OldRadio.com - The Broadcast Archive - to help himself and other engineers quickly find otherwise hard-to-get information on the broadcasting industry and broadcast equipment. A quick look at OldRadio.com’s FAQ page gives one an idea of the vast information in this online resource. And, The Broadcasters’ Desktop Resource is another invaluable treasure trove of current broadcast technical news, how-to articles, and other resources for broadcast engineers. Barry’s in-person Tuesday lunch at NAB, and his Virtual Lunch Gathering on Thursdays provide a terrific time of teaching, learning, and camaraderie for both radio and TV engineers.

Show notes:

* The Broadcasters’ Desktop Resource* OldRadio.com - the Broadcast Archive* Sign up for the Virtual Lunch Gathering here.

Guest

Barry Mishkind - The Eclectic Engineer

Co-Hosts

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.Media 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

Pack 300 pounds of luggage, parts, and tools - Check.Set FM transmitters to 30 watts TPO - Check.Set STL data rate to 8 kbps - Check.Take the day off if the weather is nice because no one else will be working - Check.Bring the caribou and beluga recipe books - Check.Such is the to-do list for Pierre Boucher, broadcast technician for some of the most northern radio stations in Canada. Working in far Northern Quebec and Nunavut, Pierre keeps these vital communications resources on-the-air for the Inuit people and others living in these northern extremes. Pierre joins Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack on this intriguing episode of TWiRT.

Show notes:

* Taqramiut Nipingat Radio Network official website* Wikipedia’s description of the Taqramiut Nipingat network of stations* VF2446-FM - Low Power FM station in Salluit, QC, CA on Radio-Locator.com* A Salluit 360º Street View from March, 2016* Many of Pierre’s hand-selected tools are from Wera

Guest

Pierre Boucher - Technicien en radiodiffusion

Co-Hosts

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.Media 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.

Jeff Welton is a sought-after speaker at broadcast engineering conferences. As a regional sales director at Nautel, he visits hundreds of radio transmitter sites, noting areas for improvement prior to installing a new transmitter - or for providing a better operating environment for an existing transmitter. We talk with Jeff about troubleshooting techniques for today’s solid state transmitters. What about air handling now as opposed to older tube transmitter air cooling? And how is efficiency and reliability better or different now? Chris Tarr adds updated advice from his own hands-on work with a variety of transmitters, including several brands of solid state units.

Show notes:

* Jeff mentioned LDMOS transistors as the current best-choice RF amplifier* Ferrite Cores play a major role in solid state transmitter protection* Chris mentioned the line of Rig Expert Antenna Analyzers

Guest

Jeff Welton - Natuel Regional Sales Manager, Central U.S.

Co-Hosts

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.Media 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

We’ve seen and heard news reports about pandemic lockdown measures taken in Australia. Recently some measures have eased up, so Aussie radio engineer, Stephen Wilkinson, joins us live from Sydney. Stephen is the Technical Ops Manager at Hope Media, and he consults a number of other radio stations on their engineering and technical operations. How are his stations doing under stay-at-home orders, and what technical solutions has he implemented? Chris Tarr looks after over 30 radio stations in Wisconsin and describes his solutions as well.

Show notes:

* Microsoft InTune for remote device management

Guest

Stephen Wilkinson - Technical Operations Manager at Hope Media Ltd and Owner, Optimum Sound Services

Co-Hosts

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.Media 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.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.

We’re delighted to officially welcome Chris Tarr to TWiRT as our new weekly co-host along with the show’s founder, Kirk Harnack. As Group Director of Engineering for Magnum Media, Chris brings a daily hands-on radio engineering perspective to the show. We’re giving Chris the floor for this episode so you can get to know him and the kinds of projects he’s working on at Magnum Media. Since Chris Tobin’s passing, Kirk Harnack has been hosting TWiRT solo for the past year. Kirk recently invited an engineer familiar to many of us, Chris Tarr, to rejoin TWiRT as a regular co-host. To our delight, Chris Tarr has accepted the invitation and will be on TWiRT regularly! Chris Tarr also joins us on this episode to fill us in on highlights of his engineering work in 2021.

Show notes:

* RigExpert AA-230 Zoom - RF Network & Antenna Analyzer

Guest & Co-Host:

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.Media

Co-Host:

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.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.

Sam Woo owns a media content and consulting company, Primetime Radio. He collaborated with former TWiRT co-host, the late Chris Tobin, on technical improvements and logistics for producing the “Let’s Go Devils Podcast” as well as corporate events and more. Sam joins us to talk about his collaborations with Chris Tobin, and to show us the “Menlo” that Chris Tobin often used for his appearances on TWiRT. Since Chris Tobin’s passing, Kirk Harnack has been hosting TWiRT solo for the past year. Kirk recently invited an engineer familiar to many of us, Chris Tarr, to rejoin TWiRT as a regular co-host. To our delight, Chris Tarr has accepted the invitation and will be on TWiRT regularly! Chris Tarr also joins us on this episode to fill us in on highlights of his engineering work in 2021.

Show notes:

* Chris Tarr mentioned LUCI software for live remote broadcasts* Sam Woo produces the Let's Go Devils Podcast* The Let’s Go Devils Podcast get rather rowdy. See this video and watch for Chris Tobin and Sam Woo in the video.

Guests

Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.MediaSam Woo - Founder and CEO at Primetime Radio

Host

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.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.

A few AM station owners have turned their licenses back into the FCC, giving up on their AM radio business. Many other AM station owners, however, are looking for ways to profit from their AM transmitter site property, or to reduce transmission site costs. Co-locating with land mobile and cellular towers using an inexpensive slant-wire feed for the AM station may be a solution for some AM station owners. There are other financial mitigations as well. Benjamin Dawson and Stephen Lockwood from Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers join us to discuss the possibilities.

Show notes:

* “Collocating AM Transmitter Facilities With Cellular Monopole Towers“ - Radio World* “Optimization of Shared-Frequency AM Antenna Systems Using Synergistic Filter Design” - Ronald D. Rackley, PE* Deferred Maintenance and Its Effects on Future Costs - Ben Dawson* Revisiting Medium Wave Ground System Requirements - Ben Dawson & Stephen Lockwood* We talked about Maxwell’s equations (from Wikipedia)* Crane Arc from AM Station RF (video clip)

Guests

Benjamin F. Dawson, III, PE - Consulting Engineer, Hatfield & DawsonStephen S. Lockwood, PE - President/Senior Electrical Engineer, Hatfield & Dawson

Host

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,

Is the Mayor of Verona, NJ, doing the engineering work at the top stations in New York City? Or, is the CTO at those top-rated stations moonlighting as a New Jersey township mayor? Either way, you’re right. Alex Roman leads a staff of engineers and IT pros at WQHT-FM and WBLS-FM in New York City. He says that “radio IT” is the same as “regular IT”, and we all need to work with that notion. Alex reveals other insights and techniques for broadcast engineering, remote workers, and lots of outside broadcasts on this episode of TWiRT.

Show notes:

* HOT97’s YouTube channel showing much of their video production* Alex mentioned E2X transport for HD Radio channels over IP* Ha! We talked about the Blue Yeti on this week’s show, too!

Guest

Alex Roman - Chief Technology Officer at MediaCo New York City Radio & Mayor, Verona, NJ

Host

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.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.

A real pioneer in deploying digital audio sources, infrastructure, and transmission in the UK - and even worldwide, Quentin Howard is our guest on this fascinating episode of TWiRT.  Already a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Quentin was further honored as a Fellow of the Radio Academy in November, 2021. We’re discussing the first uses of Compact Disc digital audio in the UK, as well as the UK’s first use of audio processing on FM broadcasts in the 1980s. DAB rollout and the subsequent DAB+ ratification and rollout are also among our topics. We round the show out with what may be the perfect radio format for many TWiRT fans - Boom Radio!

Show notes:

* Boom Radio - Direct AAC stream link - Direct MP3 stream link* RODE NT-USB* Blue Yeti* Inovonics 250 FM audio processor* David Lloyd - Boom Radio presenter* Quentin mentioned he likes to evaluate audio quality with Mozart’s Piano Concerto 21* DAB and DAB+ in the UK (Wikipedia article)

Guest

Quentin Howard, F.I.E.T. - Radio and TV Media Executive, Technologist and Consutant

Host

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