The usual suspects are coming out for and against any change.
Does anyone else not see this?
I will let George take this one:
It may indeed be too late to do anything about the broadcast media ownership rules, as the lid came off Pandora’s box in 1996. Now is the time, however, to be ever vigilant against attempted censorship of New Media.
That question was posed to me this afternoon by a coworker. It is, indeed, a good question. Certainly, broadcast engineering is more of a vocation than a career, especially where it concerns radio stations. Why would anyone work for low wages, long hours, little or no recognition, 24/7 on call, and or unappreciative management.
Further, in this risk adverse, zero defect, micromanaged environment, what is the upside to being a radio, RF or broadcast engineer?
I suppose one would have to have some appreciation for history. One of the reasons I cover radio history here or certain historical events is that without knowing the roots of radio, one would be hard pressed to find today’s version of radio broadcasting even remotely interesting. Understanding the before there was an internet, web streaming, Spotify, Youtube, Sirius/XM, television, cellular telephones, 3G, 4G, and so on, radio was mass media. Radio was people driven, people oriented, not an automation computer programmed from afar. People tuned in for the music but also the personality and the personal connection.
Growing up in the late sixties and seventies, radio was my link to the outside world. As a young boy living in rural upstate New York, my mostly agricultural surroundings seemed a bit provincial. Through radio, I was able to listen to the clear channel stations from New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Cincinnati, etc. The street that I grew up on did not get cable TV until 1980, prior to that, the roof top antenna received exactly two channels, when it wasn’t blown over by a storm. The black and white TV was often broken, sometimes for over a year. It was of not great consequence however, when nightly under my pillow, the battery powered transistor radio was employed until midnight or later.
When I got older, shortwave radio kits were built and listened to.
Through that medium, I learned about life outside of my small town.
Author, sitting in front of Atwater-Kent Model 20 regenerative receiver
The upside is being a part of something that can still be great, although those stations are getting harder and harder to find. Still, there is a certain pride to a job well done, a clean transmitter room, a well tuned machine working into a properly tuned antenna. Does anyone even appreciate that anymore? I do. Lou Dickey, John Dickey, Bob Pittman, Leslie Moonves, and other CEO’s may not care that transmitter site is clean and well kept. They may, in fact question it as a waste of salary. I appreciate it. Fellow engineers will appreciate it, too.
Starting a transmitter, especially a high powered tube transmitter, is a joy all it’s own. Nothing against Nautel, they make fine transmitters, however, when pressing the on button, the outcome is almost assured: The transmitter will turn on. Not so with certain tube type transmitters. Pressing the plate on button for one of those can have many different outcomes. There is certain thrill when it all works right, the first time. There is a certain pride driving away from a transmitter site, listening to the radio and knowing; I caused that to happen.
I received the alert e-mail from NOAA space weather this morning, but didn’t have time to do a blog entry. CME is expected to hit earth at 0625 UTC (+/- 7 hours) on 8 March. This is about 2:25 am EST. Moderate to severe geomagnetic storms are expected in the mid and high latitudes. This will mostly effect HF and low VHF frequencies, however, it could also effect power systems, GPS, satellite down links and up links as well.
Fortunately, the North and South American continents will be facing away from the sun during the predicted arrival period, thus should be spared the worst of the effects. At least that is the theory. In any case, there will likely be some good Northern Lights displays in the early morning hours.
Thus, if you are on your way to work in the wee early morning to fix some mysterious automation outage, look to the north, there is your answer.
Many of the US’s earliest commercial radio stations are celebrating their 90th anniversary of broadcasting this year. I’ve seen announcements for WOR, WGY and a few others.
It is fun to go back and look at the old pictures of those stations during the golden age of AM radio. If nothing else, it reminds us of what used to be and will likely never be seen again. Stations like WGY employed hundreds of people in their hay day; actors, musicians, announcers, news people, sales people, support staff, engineers, etc. These days, WGY likely employs less than ten, certainly not more than twenty directly.
There are a few stations bucking that trend, very few.
So here is to what once was and happy birthday to the hollowed out shells of their former selves.
Sometimes there is just no way around it, especially with some modern equipment:
Hard restart, Nautel VS2500 transmitter
This Nautel VS2500 transmitter got all cranky after lightning struck the tower (or nearby) on Friday night. Thunderstorms in February are not unheard of, but they are unusual, at least in the Northeastern United States.
Nautel VS2500 FM transmitter, WBEC-FM, Pittsfield, MA
Anyway, the transmitter would not reset or restart via remote control, therefore, we had to ride the chair lift to the top of the hill and pull the plug to reset its logic and start over again.
Bousquet Ski Area Chair lift
At least the trip up to the transmitter site was scenic. We had to wait a day for the winds to calm down, but all in all, not a terrible day. Did I mention the scenery?
Some people work in offices and make lots of money. Others work outside, oblivious to the world going on around them. A fortunate few, myself included, get to work in many different environments, an appreciate them all.
A week or so ago, at the end of the day, I was carrying my tool bag back to the truck and was surprised to see this view:
View looking west from the WRKI transmitter site, Brookfield, CT
The picture really does not do justice. A much wider view is required to get the full effect. It looked like the sky was on fire, something out of a science fiction movie.
Then again, yesterday, I spent the day in a dank, smelly basement tracing out telephone wires. In the end, it all evens out.
Celebrated on February 13, 2012. Who knew about this? In any case, the purpose of World Radio Day is to:
…raise awareness about the importance of radio, facilitate access to information through radio and enhance networking among broadcasters. Radio has to be recognized as a low cost medium, specifically suited to reach remote communities…
And:
Furthermore, radio has a strong and specific role in emergency communication and disaster relief.
Which is true enough. The fact that this is sponsored by UNESCO, the UN being one of my least favorite organizations, makes me slightly suspicious. While radio can be used for good purposes, like any media, it can also be corrupted. It is up to the listeners to know the difference and act accordingly.
Radio is still the greatest mass media ever known to man kind, larger audience than the internet and TV. Over the last eighty years or so, radio has had an incalculable impact on society as a whole. Therefore, it is right to reflect on this and to honor radio history and those that develop and facilitate radio broadcasts past and present.
Eventually, you will get caught, odds dictate. The local engineer for Cumulus Broadcasting in Cincinnati found this out earlier in the week. Of course, innocent until proven guilty, so I won’t assume anything.
Broadcast engineering, especially radio engineering is a small field. Sadly, when something like this happens it makes all radio engineers look bad and there is no good reason or excuse for it.
I have seen several cases where an engineer or technical person has taken advantage of their position to pilfer from a radio station. These vary from cashing in on dud tubes from a transmitters site to taking high value equipment and selling it on eBay. I recall on recent instance of backup transmitter and STL systems being sold. I cannot imagine what these people are thinking. A transmitter, STL system, console or even a dud tube has a serial number and is traceable. Anything with a serial number is likely part of a station inventory list and or will have some record of manufacture and sale.
There are instances when old equipment is getting thrown out. In that situation, I always get permission before removing anything, even from the dumpster.
I have made several trips to the scrap yard with old transmitter chassis, wire or left overs from transmitter installations. In those circumstances, I always get a receipt and write the source of the scrap on the back. This way, a record is kept and if there is any questions, I can refer to it.
Generally speaking, it is better to be overly cautious.
We have this guy that works for us who is atypical. We call him Pete because that is his name. The other day, he was slacking off on the job again, this time figuring out how to take a nap in a transmitter:
Pete working on a Harris FM25K
What are we going to do with him?
Actually, he is rebuilding the grid tuning section (AKA input tuning section), which is no small matter. Soon, we will have this 26 year old transmitter running good as new, or better than new. It already sounds much better on the air than it did before, the input tuning is broader and there is much less AM noise.
Currently, it is running about 70% power while we wait for a replacement amplifier from Silicon Valley Power Amps.
Yesterday, January 18, 2012, I blacked out engineeringradio.us for the day in protest of the internet censorship bill working its way through congress colloquially known as SOPA or PIPA. There were some 17,000 or more others that did the same.
SOPA PIPA protest screen shot
If the internet is indeed the new media, destined to replace the old media, then having in place draconian restrictions that allow the government to block websites and content with no due process for the website owner is censorship, plain and simple. Imagine a country where the government can come in and shut down any newspaper, TV station or Radio station, give no reason other than some weak statement about copy write laws. See also: China, North Korea, Cuba, Soviet Russia, etc.
It is important to check the corporate power in this country. It is widely reported that Congress has a 9% approval rating. It is also hard to imagine their approval rating is actually that high. While signing petitions and writing senators and congressman may provide some relief, the shortest path to ending this is to boycott the corporate sponsors of the legislation. Hitting companies bottom line will speak louder than any internet protest, petition, letter writing campaign, etc. Thus, if so inclined, here is a list of producer companies that like the idea of internet censorship.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
~1st amendment to the United States Constitution
Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
~Benjamin Franklin
...radio was discovered, and not invented, and that these frequencies and principles were always in existence long before man was aware of them. Therefore, no one owns them. They are there as free as sunlight, which is a higher frequency form of the same energy.
~Alan Weiner
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers
~Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, Article 19
Heard in the clear