This Week In Radio Tech (TWiRT)

Shane Toven joins us from a mountaintop transmitter site in Wyoming - nearly 9,000 feet above sea level! Caring for about 30 transmitter sites across 3 states, Shane has plenty to share with us about high-altitude broadcast engineering and maintenance. Chris Tobin is here as well with comparisons to his big city experience and practices.

More proposed regulations for EAS and WEA procedures… Podcasting is becoming even more prominent as the largest US radio broadcaster demonstrates by recent hiring… The World Broadcasting Union wants protection for C-band satellite antennas… And there’s a free, 2-day seminar for new and returning ABIP inspectors. Oh, and 35 engineers are getting new FM transmitters!

Chris Wygal is here for this milestone 400th episode of TWiRT! Chris relates a couple of War Stories, including using what you have to get the job done - even if it’s a machete. Chris Tobin reveals how to get antennas placed at the top of trees. And we all discuss the shortage of broadcast engineers and how to make a career move gracefully.

Catching up with Chuck Kelly is always a treat! Chuck’s insights into AM and FM radio - both analog and digital - help the rest of us see what’s important and what will be important in the coming months and years. We’re talking about HDRadio, DAB, DAB+, and DRM, as well as when it might be right to turn off analog radio services. Plus, Chuck extols the benefits of the new FT8 digital mode for Amateur Radio operators.

When you visit a couple dozen radio stations around the world in a month, you get to see what the most forward-thinking broadcasters are up to. Gary Kline is sharing this valuable experience and information with Chris and Kirk, as we look to see what’s next for radio broadcasters and engineers.

"Remote Broadcast Setups and Strategies for the Young Broadcast Engineer" - that's an article authored by Chris Ark. He specializes in planning and executing successful live broadcasts from a variety of venues. Chris shares his advice, tips, and tricks to help us avoid problems and assure high quality audio and execution at live outside broadcasts.

The Most Interesting Ham in Broadcast Engineering, Charlie Wooten, is our guest. He’s just back from the Dayton Hamvention with a report on Contesting, thoughts on DXing, and broadcast transmitter site wisdom - especially for the hot summer months ahead.

Josh Bohn heads up a growing broadcast contract engineering firm. Many stations need better, reliable, IP-connect remote control for transmitter sites and other remote systems. Plus, with remote broadcasts depending on wireless IP connections, Josh has worked out a system that practically guarantees broadcast-quality IP connections from almost anywhere.

What mistakes can you make when building or expanding your Audio over IP network? Barry Thomas has installed and maintained several different AoIP networks and knows more than one way to mess it up. The good news he’s sharing with us the right ways to ensure reliability and great performance from today’s broadcast infrastructure systems. Chris Tobin has his own experiences, too, and shares his insights.

Radio Program Directors, Music Directors, on-air Talent, and more are convening in Hollywood at the World Wide Radio Summit. Speakers and panels are sharing new research and honing legacy ideas over three days. Scott Shannon, Joel Denver, Mike McVay, Steve Goldstein, Fred Jacobs, Darren Davis, and Ben Cooper are among the gifted presenters. This conference offers a chance for Radio Programmers to meet with equipment manufacturers and software suite companies. We’re talking with several manufacturers about their latest ideas to help make radio content easier to create while sounder better than ever.