This Week in Radio Tech HD guysfromqueens

Chris Tarr just finished a long-anticipated FM transmitter move. Big implications attended this move all the way across a metro area. The new site needed a directional FM antenna, and they decided that a new transmitter made more sense than moving the old one. Chris covers a lot of ground when contemplating any transmitter site move. Kirk Harnack touches on a few pointers for IP radio microwave links, including not trusting the existing infrastructure too much!







Show Notes:









* Planning Transmitter Moves



* Facilities - Building, road, fencing, parking, HVAC, roof, ice protection







* Legal including FCC







* Permitting - local zoning, building, etc.







* Safety - fencing, insurance requirements, guy anchors, tower base







* STL considerations & options







* Frequency coordination for 950 & IP STLs







* Fiber internet availability







* AC Power - service sizing, etc.











* Executing the move



* What can be built and ready beforehand







* What has to move overnight or a weekend







* Absolutely no off-air time? Or minimal?







* Actual cutover







* Moving audio processing if needed







* What if something goes really wrong? 







* Plan to go back if needed?











* After the move (should have been before the move)



* Tying up all the loose ends







* Grounding, lightning protection







* Putting redundancy in place at the new location







* What if Internet installation is late?  Wait or move ahead?













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







NUG@NAB Radio Technology Forum  is almost here! Register for this free event at NAB!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 and the new a href="https://angr...

What’s happening at NAB 2024 in Las Vegas? No way can anyone bring you ALL of the highlights, but we’re bringing seven outstanding engineers and corporate leaders to you on this episode of TWiRT! Our broadcast studio is the Bionic Table at Broadcast Bionics in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Thanks to Broadcast Bionics for the bandwidth and studio space.







Guests







Darnell Forde - Broadcast Engineer at Salem Media Group, San Diego, CABob Stroupe - Regional Engineering Manager at iHeartMedia, Houston, TXFrancis (Frank) Martin - Owner of MPH Broadcast ServicesDan McQuillin - Managing Director at Broadcast BionicsScott Stiefel - Chief Executive Officer at Telos AllianceJeff Schick - Chief Technology Officer at Sprite Media, Inc.George Whittam - Owner GeorgeThe.Tech, Co-host VOBS.TV and Pro Audio Suite PodcastJohn Bisset - Director, Western US Sales 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’s HD Digital Radio Test Drive unlocks content, revenue, & ratings potentialBroadcasters 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 and the new Rave analog audio mixing console.The new MaxxKonnect Broadcast U.192 MPX USB Soundcard - The first purpose-built broadcast-quality USB sound card with native MPX output.

The Public Radio Engineering Conference (PREC) seems to get better and better each year. Attendees were frequently held in wrapped attention by captivating and informative presentations about audio and RF technologies and techniques.  Our guests on TWiRT each took a few minutes away from the conference sessions to give us their impressions of the technologies being discussed and what’s ahead for Public Radio Engineers.







Guests







Cornelius Gould - Audio Processing Architect at Angry AudioScott Fybush - Editor/Publisher at NorthEast Radio Watch/Fybush MediaJim Gray - Managing Partner at Optimized Media Group - OMGJoseph Williams - DIrector of Engineering & Technology at WRTI, Temple UniversityRichard Parker - Director of Engineering at Coast Alaska







Hosts







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







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







Sponsored by







NUG@NAB Radio Technology Forum  is almost here! Register for this free event at NAB!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 and the new Rave analog audio mixing console.The new MaxxKonnect Broadcast U.192 MPX USB Soundcard - The first purpose-built broadcast-quality USB sound card with native MPX output.

Search the web and you’ll find hundreds of articles videos - and thousands of opinions - on the best mics to use for radio and podcasting. One of our sponsors is Angry Audio, makers of two novel mic processors to improve and control the sound of two popular microphone families. Our longtime friend and colleague, Cornelius Gould, designed the audio processing algorithms behind these specific mic processors. “Corny” joins us to talk about this rather unique approach to mic processor design and implementation. Plus Tom Ray pops in to discuss microphone choices with Chris Tarr. Plenty of opinions and some solid advice!







Show notes:









* Cornelius Gould is also the founder & host of The Rocketry Show podcast.







* The mic pre/processors for which Corny wrote the algorithms are the REbel & SMooth from Angry Audio







* Tom Ray’s microphone is a PreSonus PX-1 condenser mic with a dbx 286s processor







* Chris Tarr is liking his Electro-Voice RE20 with a RØDECaster Pro







* Kirk is currently using a Sennheiser MKH 416-P48U3 with a PreSonus Revelator iO24







* Article: The 4 Different Types of Microphones for your Studio









Guests







Cornelius Gould - Audio Processing Architect at AngryAudioTom Ray - President of Tom Ray Consulting







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







a href="https://www.nautel.

Can you imagine installing 60 broadcast transmitters over the past 8 years? Robert Combs, Corporate Director of Engineering at Cumulus Media has been doing exactly that. Transmitters of all sizes and from several major manufacturers. The most recent transmitter replacement is at WZYP-FM in Huntsville, Alabama. Market Engineer, Dominic Mitchum, is taking care of much of the local work and logistics, alongside Robert’s work. The project also includes replacing the RF coaxial transfer switch, main coax, and even the main and backup FM antennas. Robert and Dominic give us a very informative video tour and discussion of this project on Capshaw Mountain. Plus, Chris Tarr relates his own recent transmitter installation experiences and has developed some advice on purchasing used transmitters.







Guests







Dominic Mitchum - Director of Technical Operations at Cumulus Media, Huntsville, ALRobert Combs - Corporate Director of Engineering at Cumulus 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







NUG@NAB Radio Technology Forum  is almost here! Register for this free event at NAB!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 and the new Rave analog audio mixing console.The new MaxxKonnect Broadcast U.192 MPX USB Soundcard - The first purpose-built broadcast-quality USB sound card with native MPX output.

Over 50 years ago, Mike Dorrough introduced the Discriminate Audio Processor - the DAP 310. Broadcasters that cared about audio quality started buying and installing DAP310s to improve the audio quality of their stations. Five decades later these old audio processors are still in demand - as are services to supply parts and repairs. Randy Swaffer and Mike Phillips are two DAP310 enthusiasts - and they know all about repairing and aligning these classic units. Jordan Tuck also joins us to talk about refurbishing other broadcast gear, including a Continental Electronics FM transmitter and an A-6000 audio console.







Show Notes:









* DAP310 Repair Information Website - dap310.com







* PAMS Series 49 Jingle Demo Page - Listen here!







* We discussed Kapton film as used in plate blocker capacitors for FM transmitters









Guests







Randy Swaffer - Minister, Professional Piano Tuner, Dorrough DAP enthusiastMike Phillips - Attorney, Engineer, musician, & Dorrough DAP enthusiastJordan Tuck - Broadcast Engineer & Refurbisher of Broadcast Equipment







Host







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







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







Sponsored by







NUG@NAB Radio Technology Forum  is almost here! Register for this free event at NAB!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 and the new Rave analog audio mixing console.The new MaxxKonnect Broadcast U.192 MPX USB Soundcard - The first purpose-built broadcast-qua...