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Category: Technical
My Professional Opinion: Do NOT Run the FEMA/Ad Council PSA!
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
Talkers
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — You may have seen my warning in Friday’s edition regarding a PSA that was released by the Ad Council, under the auspices of FEMA, extolling the virtues of the emergency alerts the public can now receive on their cell phones. A great idea. Worthy of getting the word out. Even if the PSA promotes a service available on cell phones.
Only one problem. The PSAs (there are several, and they are also available for television) use the EAS two-tone alert tone as part of the message.
WTOP Hacking – Why You Should Worry
By Steven J.J. Weisman
TALKERS
Legal Editor
BOSTON — As reported in Talkers earlier in May, Washington D.C. radio stations WTOP and Federal News Radio had their websites hacked resulting in the possible infection of anyone who accessed the two websites using the popular Internet Explorer web browser prior to the discovery and correction of the problem.
The hacking of these two websites is particularly insidious because unlike infections that occur when a computer user is lured to a phony infected website set up for the specific purpose of infecting unwary computer users — a technique called “phishing” — in this case, the computer users were infected when they went to legitimate websites that they believed were trustworthy.
Crud and Other Stuff
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
Talkers
Technical Editor
First the Crud
NEW YORK — So I was working on this transmitter today. Seriously – I know this starts off like a joke. Problem was actually a bad air switch. All transmitters have a way to sense air flow. If there is no air flow in the transmitter, if, for example, the blower motor quits, it will shut down. In the case of a tube transmitter, this is to prevent the final amplifier deck from melting down and starting a fire. In a solid state transmitter (which also uses temperature sensing in the final amplifier), it prevents the transistors from self destructing causing a fire and/or other severe damage to the amplifier.
Anyway, this isn’t related to the air switch, but it could be (the air switch in this case was 33 years old – it simply had enough). The air filters on the transmitter were caked with crud.
Lighting Up the Stick (and Painting it Too)
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — This week, I was going to write about a computer program that stations could use to experiment with IP codec transmission. And possibly actually use it on the air. Problem is, I ran into a snag with it and haven’t been able to get it to work correctly. Perhaps next week.
So I’ve decided, since it’s spring, to talk about tower painting and lighting. The FCC has several “hot ticket” items they can get you on if your station is inspected. Tower painting is one of them. So is lighting. As an ABIP inspector, I have a particular interest in these topics.
Transmitter Site Maintenance: Time for Spring Cleaning
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — For most of us, spring has finally sprung, which is good news for that pesky groundhog. I just came across an interesting recipe for groundhog stew. Maybe next year.
But spring generally means spring cleaning. I don’t know about where you are, but here in the northeast, the winter was a bear. Snow, ice and wind can cause issues for your transmission facilities. So it’s time to do a thorough inspection of your transmitter sites – both the main transmitter sites and anywhere you may have an STL transmitter or receiver.
IP in Our Broadcast World:
Don’t Fear the Internet
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — We have been discussing, on and off over the past couple of weeks, IP and IP codecs in our “broadcast” environments. This was a discussion that quickly escalated when Verizon quietly started telling customers in the northeast that ISDN was soon to be history.
At the recent NAB Show in Las Vegas, nearly everything I saw was IP based in some form or another. So the truth of the matter is, IP is here to stay and it’s up to us to make it work.
First and foremost, there was a comment by someone who stated, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Would you trust your high dollar sports remote to an IP connection over the public internet?” Apparently, CBS television has answered that question.
2013 NAB: IP Codecs, Transmitters,
the Future of AM and other Cool Stuff
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — Greetings from 29,000 feet over Colorado. I’m returning from the NAB Show in Vegas and there were some very interesting items to see this year. I am going to wait until next week so I can put together a good article regarding IP codecs, so please stay tuned for that. I moderated a session in the Broadcast Engineering Conference on Sunday, April 7, called “IP for Radio”. A lot of good information came out of that session – I need to go back and review my notes.
Comrex Access: Why Every Show
Needs One
By Charles Karel Bouley
Host
The Karel Show
SAN FRANCISCO — Technology has changed every part of our lives and that is especially true for those in the arts, particularly broadcasting. What it used to take a truck to do, now takes less than a briefcase and cost 1/100th the original price.
Radio today is changing; no longer is it just terrestrial. It’s the stream, it’s the podcast, the Twitter, the YouTube — it’s moving at the speed of sound. But many hosts are not. They are stuck in their studios doing the same type of radio that worked 20 or more years ago.
Stranger than Fiction!
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — March was a bizarre month. I don’t know if it was the full moon last week, the expectation of a spring that wasn’t quite here yet or what. Here are two examples:
I would have asked that this be published on April 1, but too many people would think this was an April Fools gag. I swear, I couldn’t make this one up!
Where’s the Proof?
I have a client station that I’m working for on a submission to the FCC. It involves a directional AM antenna, and we need to submit the results of a Partial Proof of Performance on the antenna system – one done before a modification, one done after. Only problem is, the station cannot locate the full Proof of Performance of record on the antenna system.
Verizon: No Longer Taking Orders for ISDN Service in Northeast Starting May 18
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — You may have noticed that my column is late this week. I normally write it over the weekend. Something told me to hold off. And today there is something to talk about.
It came out today that Verizon, at least in the Northeast, has been telling people that they will no longer be taking orders for ISDN service starting May 18. That’s right. ISDN is on the way out.
And I said this at least 5 years ago.
ABIP: Being prepared for an FCC Inspection
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — One of the things I am doing these days is administering the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program for the New York State Broadcaster’s Association. Huh? You don’t know what ABIP is? Allow me to explain.
Just about every State Broadcaster’s Association runs an ABIP program. For a nominal fee, the Association will send an inspector in to run your station through an FCC type inspection. The good news is, we’re not the FCC. If we find something amiss, you have the opportunity to fix it. If you can fix it while we’re there, great. If not, you will normally have to pay a re-inspection charge so that the inspector can sign off on the fix.
A Not So High-Tech Solution to a
High-Tech Headache
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — Some people tend to think I’m crazy – just ask my wife. But there are times when you simply need a good old common every day item to get the job done.
I visited a transmitter facility recently to find the Engineer looking somewhat perplexed. And the building smelling like a truck stop. Visiting the generator room showed a puddle of diesel fuel on the floor. Oops.
More About IP Codecs
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — Last week’s article on IP codecs generated numerous emails. (In case you missed it, read that piece here.) The general gist of the emails is that these devices are not understood very well. Granted, they are still a fairly new technology, but they are a mystery. So, I’ll touch on several of the emails I received in hopes of clearing up some of the mystery.
The first note was from a station that is presently using an IP codec as an STL (Studio to Transmitter Link). When they moved their facility several years ago, they found they would not be able to make a microwave shot to the transmitter site, and the local phone company fouled up the program line installation they requested (big surprise). The station opted for the IP Codec route.
Beyond ISDN: Welcome to the Age
of the IP Codec
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — I made a Facebook posting last week regarding a radio program I am involved with – Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor. A friend who has a voice over business posted that he’s heard the show through one of his clients and thought it was a good show and sounded really good. I posted back that I bet he never would have guessed we deliver the audio to the satellite uplink via an IP codec. Another voice over friend chimed in wanting to know what codec we were using. My first friend then said, “what’s an IP codec?” Uh, oh.
Back in the “good old days”, if you wanted to get audio from point A to point B you had basically two choices: a dedicated land line from good old Ma Bell (aka, the phone company) or you sent a tape.
Then, Ma Bell decided to get rid of dedicated equalized services – at least interstate. These days, it’s very difficult if not impossible to get a dedicated broadcast service even in the same city.
Winter Advice: Be Sure to Install Deicers
on your Antenna!
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — I received a rather disturbing photo via text message from a friend of mine in a fairly small market. Seems this station, as many small market stations do, had not had anyone do maintenance on their transmitter for quite some time. My friend, an on air personality, not an engineer, was shown how to tune the transmitter. And that’s fine. But, there is more to tuning a transmitter than making sure the numbers fall where they should on the meters on the transmitter.
EAS LESSON: Protect Your Station
from Hackers
By Thomas R. Ray, III CPBE, AMD, DRB
Tom Ray Consulting
President
TALKERS
Technical Editor
NEW YORK — By now, you have heard that there was an EAS hack at a TV station the other day. An alert went out about a zombie attack. Now, before anyone goes off about EAS, it should be noted that the CAP feed was not affected. This appears to be strictly a case of computer network security.
And before we go deeper, it should be stated that when something like this happens, it is only natural that it becomes a news story. And news stories require actualities. If something goes awry with EAS, please keep in mind that it is OK to play the actual audio message that went out – but it CANNOT contain the EAS data bursts or the two-tone alert signal. It is illegal to transmit those outside of an actual EAS activation or test, per FCC regulation 47 CFR 11.45.
