This Week In Radio Tech (TWiRT)

The FM Radio Data System has been around for 45 years, but internationally finalized in 2000. Despite being a worldwide standard, radio manufacturers and broadcasters have implemented the standard in different ways, resulting in rather inconsistent information displays for consumers. One leading company fixing this problem is Quu. Joe Marshall is the Technical Success Manager for Quu, and focused on helping FM broadcasters get consistent and compelling data and graphical displays on every FM and HD radio on the road.

Show notes:

NAB Study and Best Practices:NAB Auto Initiative (this page links to these two PDFs):NAB_DigitalDash_BestPractices_0319.pdfNAB_DigitalDash_RecommendedBestPractices_0419.pdf

Guest

Joe Marshall - Technical Success Manager at Quu, Inc.

Host

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

Follow Kirk on Twitter - @kharnack

Follow TWiRT on Twitter - @TWiRTshow and Facebook

Sponsored by

Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.

Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, a 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 T...

Dan McQuillin is known for making complex broadcast operations much simpler, often by “disappearing the complexity”. We’re looking at the Digital/Bionic Table and the overarching themes in the way technology is deployed that Table leverages... Software, Browser based interfaces, BYOD and Virtualisation, and the impact that leaning in to these changes can have on the way spaces are designed and content is created and consumed.

Show notes:

This first look at the Bionic Table is so new, there’s just no information on the web about it. Watch this episode of TWiRT and you’ll be as up-to-date as anyone. When Bionic Table is publicly released, you’ll be able to read about it here… https://www.bionics.co.uk/

Guests

Dan McQuillin - Managing Director at Broadcast Bionics, Ltd.

Host

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

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

Sponsored by

Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, a 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.

Most broadcast engineers know of David Layer. He’s the VP for Advanced Engineering at the NAB. We know David because he has frequently given presentations about radio technology at broadcast trade shows. The hope of a reduction or end to the COVID pandemic has broadcasters enthused about meeting again in Las Vegas - this time in October, 2021 - for an NAB Conference and Expo, including the NAB Radio Show. David Layer joins us to discuss the rebuilding of the radio lab equipment and ongoing testing for both AM and FM hybrid or all-digital broadcasting, as well as plans for the NAB Show this fall.

Show notes:

* NAB Show, 2021 - Education & Exhibits - October 9-13, 2021 in Las Vegas, NV, USA* David mentioned NAB Amplify, a digital showcase of first-ever product reveals* NAB 2020 - The Year in Review - Broadcasters serving us during a pandemic

Guests

David Layer - Vice President, Advanced Engineering at National Association of Broadcasters

Host

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

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

Sponsored by

Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, a 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.

When changing audio routing in a broadcast facility, we often need to change other routes as well. Control signals, metadata, monitoring points, and more. Dan Bays began designing routers for recording studios, connecting different brands of equipment on the fly. Now he develops systems that route Audio over IP and associated GPIO and other control data. And, sophisticated salvos and monitoring are combined with Logic Flows to create reliable, automated systems with redundancy, all to keep the right audio on-the-air 24/7.

Show notes:

* Dan’s original company, Software Authority* Pathfinder Core PRO - Appliance and Virtual Machine* Dan authored “Guide Your Audio Home with Pathfinder”* Dan has been helping broadcasters route audio for a long time - Radio World, 2008

Guests

Dan Bays - Project Manager for Pathfinder at Telos Alliance

Host

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

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

Sponsored by

Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, a 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.

Of all the professions, those involved with radio broadcasting may rank highest in percentage of “jokesters”. We certainly have a 100% jokester guest panel on this episode of TWiRT! From engineers, to station managers, to on-air talent (and most have done 2 or 3 of these 3 things) our guests each have a very high “JQ” - Jokester Quotient. Enjoy with me these stories of April Fools jokes and pranks.

Show notes:

* Bill Jackson noted a position open at KLOVE & Air1 in Rocklin, CA* List of April Fools' Day jokes - Wikipedia* Seven April Fools' Day Pranks That Went Wrong - Newsweek* April Fool's Day Radio Hoaxes - Hoaxes.org* Pull a fast one with these 8 April Fools’ Day pranks - Audacy.com* April Fool’s Day pranks on radio stations - RadioToday

Guests

Chuck Kelly - Vice President Market Development at Broadcast Electronics / Elenos GroupBill Jackson - Regional Broadcast Studio Engineer at Educational Media FoundationCam Cornelius - Emmy Winning SAG-E National VoiceOver & Imaging DudeRobert Combs - Director Of Engineering - Corporate at CUMULUS MEDIACornelius Gould - Owner & Managing Director of Legato Communications LLCJim Graham - Owner at JJH Broadcast & “Flunky at WFOX”Dave Supplee - Northeast Regional Engineer - Cumulus BroadcastingChriss Scherer - Member Communications Director at Society of Broadcast Engineers

Host

Jake Alderman is Program Director for Virtual Solutions at Telos Alliance. Sound intriguing? I think so! We see broadcast infrastructure moving more and more into a virtualized space - either on-premises or perhaps in the cloud, and Jake is just the guy to clarify some concepts about virtualization. From Virtual Machines (VMs) to Software Containers to hypervisors, Jake and his colleagues are pushing the envelope on broadcast operations.

Show notes:

* Cloud Academy - Docker vs. Virtual Machines: Differences You Should Know* Portainer.io - Open Source Container Management GUI* Docker vs. Virtual Machines: What are the Differences?* The Broadcast Bridge - Vendors Now Well Versed In The Language of IT* Jake and Kirk referred to the Axia iQs virtual audio console* And the Telos VXs virtual VoIP system for radio* OpenVPN Software Container* Plex Software Container* Guacamole - container remote access tool

Guest

Jake Alderman - Program Manager of Virtual Solutions at Telos Alliance

Host

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

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

Sponsored by

Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, a social media tools at Bionic.radio.Angry Audio - with ...

Maybe you've seen Jordan Tuck's handiwork on Facebook; he refurbishes the radio gear we loved from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Most of this cherished audio gear is older than he is! How'd he get so good at bringing consoles, tape decks, audio processors, etc. back to life? Jordan credits Mike Patton and others for showing him the way to broadcast equipment resuscitation, and he’s on this episode of TWiRT to tell us about it.

Show notes:

* Micheal Patton & Associates* Jordan likes to source LEDs from SuperBrightLEDs.com* PR&E brochure about the AMX audio console (PDF)* Jordan talked about repairing the Texar Audio Prism - here’s an article by its inventor.

Guest

Jordan Tuck - Broadcast Equipment Refurbishing Specialist at Mike Patton & Associates

Host

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

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

Sponsored by

Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, a 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.

Andy Low began his broadcasting career with IT experience. His only exposure to audio or RF engineering had been through his father’s amateur radio equipment. But when the opportunity arose for Andy to assume an overall engineering position, he dove right in, learning what he needed to keep his stations on-the-air and making improvements. Andy’s experience with taking over in an “engineering vacuum” taught him the value of documenting everything, and he shares what he learned with us.

Show notes:

* Quarterly Tower Inspection Report - Google Forms Template* Midwest Communications* WKZO - Everything Kalamazoo* Battle Creek, MI* How to Get Started with Google Forms* We discussed the utility of Google Shared Drives (G-Suite users)

Guest

Andy Low - Chief Engineer at Midwest Communications, West Michigan

Host

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

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

Sponsored by

Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, a 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.

WRHU at Hofstra University on Long Island has been chosen by the Academy of Radio Arts and Sciences of America to receive the 2021 World Radio Day Award. Andy Gladding, Chief Engineer at WRHU-FM, has led a cadre of Hofstra University students in planning, coordinating, and executing an impressive day-long broadcast for World Radio Day. So, impressive they even received a UNESCO award!

Show notes:

* WRHU to Go Worldwide on February 12–14 (Radio World article)* WRHU Radio Hofstra University Receives World Radio Day Award 2021* World Radio Day is Saturday, Feb. 13 (Radio Survivor)

Guests

Andy Gladding, MsED – Chief Engineer at Salem Media Group & Chief Engineer at WRHU-FMDerek Futterman - Multimedia Marketing Manager at WRHU-FMRachel Luscher - Personnel Director at WRHU-FMEdward Mabeza - Program Director, Music at Radio Hofstra University, WRHU-FMCrystal Bermudez - Cultural Content Director at WRHU-FMShayna Sengstock - Technical Engineer at WRHU-FM

Host

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

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

Sponsored by

Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, a social media tools at Bionic.radio.Angry Audio - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com.And

There’s no way to know if 2021 will be less tumultuous than 2020, but last year was a turning point for many, if not most broadcasters. George Zahn, a Cincinnati-area broadcaster and audio enthusiast for over 40 years, notes a “dumbing down” of audio quality in broadcast, while some broadcast competitors are getting better. He joins us with solid advice and a warning or two about keeping great audio in broadcasting.

Guest

George Zahn - Station Director at WMKV-FM, Maple Knoll Communities

Host

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

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

Sponsored by

Broadcasters General Store, with outstanding service, saving, and support. Online at BGS.cc.Broadcast Bionics - making radio smarter with Bionic Studio, visual radio, a 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.