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August 24, 2007
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August 2007 Newsletter
SBE Chapter 48 / SMPTE Rocky Mountain Section
July 2007 Meeting Report
The 16th Annual Lookout Mountain Denver SBE & SMPTE Luncheon
Date: Friday, July 13th, 2007
Location: Lookout Mountain Park
Time: 11:30 to 1:00
Our annual picnic on Lookout Mountain this year was another great event. Attendees
traveled from all over the country to join Denver television professionals
for tasty barbeque, great weather and great socializing at a great location.
Everyone was well-fed as the luncheon was catered by Bennett's and included
beef barbeque, pork brisket, turkey brisket with coleslaw, potato salad, brownies,
iced tea, lemonade and sodas.

Lines were never too long for all-you-can-eat

Tables filled fast but everyone found a spot and good company

Official announcements were kept to a minimum

Piles of raffle prizes assured almost everyone won something
The bargain $5 contribution was supplemented
by the Denver Chapters of SBE and SMPTE and
the
generosity
of our
sponsors. A wide range of very cool prizes were also provided by our sponsors
for the raffle. These included not only the usual t-shirts and hats,
but briefcases, DVDs, leather folders, and even an iPod! Monitary and
prize contributions were provided by Sony, Harris, Burst, 5280, Leader,
Ross,
Omneon, Gepco, Qualcomm, SpectraLogic, and Pathfire - many thanks for
their generous contributions.
Report by Tom Goldberg
Return to table of contents
Random Radio Thoughts

Cris Alexander, CPBE, AMD
Crawford Broadcasting Company
And still we wait…
The joke may well go: “How many FCC staffers does it take to format
a rulemaking enacted months and months ago for publication in the Federal
Register?” The punchline: “Evidently, several more!” As
I write this on July 27, there is still no sign of Federal Register notification
of the new FCC rules for terrestrial digital radio (which were enacted last
March). The rules won’t officially go into effect until 30 days after
Federal Register publication, so at this point we’re still at least
a month away from AM HD-R nighttime and the other goodies in the new rules.
My company recently had to renew some STAs for our FM stations using aux antennas
for digital operation. That would not have been required under the new rules.
I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised.
Also in the works
Ed Schober, a consulting engineer out of New Jersey operating under the
business name “Radiotechniques Engineering, LLC,” has petitioned
the FCC for some changes in the AM pre-sunrise and post-sunset rules. The
petition is available online at:
http://amband.org/files/RM-11384.pdf
In short, the petition calls for:
• PSRA and PSSA power not limited to 500 watts if no interference would
be caused
•
Stations should be allowed to use their day, night or aux facilities
or one tower of any array for PSRA/PSSA operation
•
Class B and D stations should be able to operate with any power up to
the maximum day or night station power during PSRA/PSSA operation so long
as
no interference is caused
I have no idea whether any or all of this will fly, but on the surface
it seems to make sense. Comments can be filed via the FCC’s EDOCS system
by referencing RM-11384.
At least part of the impetus for this proposal is the change in Daylight
Savings Time. The expanded DST window robs AM daytimers of an hour
of morning drive in spring and fall months. Full-timers with restrictive
night
power/pattern
also suffer as a result. You might recall that the FCC issued new PSRA/PSSA
authorizations last winter. It was quickly discovered that there was
a rather big bug in the FCC’s computer algorithm that calculates PSRA/PSSA power
levels. All those new authorizations were quickly rescinded. We were told
at the time that we could expect new authorizations in September. We’ll
see.
Ten weeks later…
Our Los Angeles station, KBRT, returned to commercial power on Thursday,
July 19, ten weeks to the day after the Catalina Island fire. The station
has been on the air at full power (except for a couple of days early
on) since the fire, on generator power. The station’s propane-fueled generator
was a real fuel hog and because of the difficulties of getting propane delivered
to the site on a weekly basis, we rented a diesel-fueled generator that we
later purchased. Chief engineer Bill Agresta had to haul 20 gallons of fuel
up the hill every day for ten weeks, plus or minus. Diesel is $5.00 a gallon
or thereabouts on the island, and if I recall correctly it weighs about 8
pounds per gallon. By my calculations, that means we spent roughly $7,000
on fuel and Bill schlepped close to 11,000 pounds of fuel up the hill since
May 10. Needless to say, it’s a huge relief to have commercial power
once again! Remember that Bill lives at the site, which had only a 3 kW portable
gas-fueled generator to keep a few lights and the refrigerator running after
hours. No hot water, no washer, no drier, no electric stove. It was like camping
out indoors – for ten weeks!
Radio Technical Programs
Last month I mentioned that we have several radio tech programs in
the works for this fall. As we roll into autumn, we’ll nail down the dates
and venues and get RSVPs from the local radio crowd. Again, if you have specific
requests, drop me a note and I will see what I can line up. Generally speaking,
manufacturers and distributors are eager to come talk to engineering groups.
If you have news to share with the Rocky Mountain radio engineering
community, drop me an email at crisa@crawfordbroadcasting.com.
Return to table of contents
AMATEUR RADIO NEWS
Compiled By Tom Weeden, WJ9H
From Chapter 24 - Madison
Sunspots & radio flux
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Environment
Center (SEC) released their monthly forecasts of sunspot number and 10.7 cm
radio flux. The SEC forecasts that the smoothed sunspot number reached its
low value of 11.7 in March 2007, and predicts that the solar flux will reach
its low of 75.4 this month. This is the fourth month in a row that the SEC
predicts the solar flux will bottom out in July.
Based on the SEC predictions, this is probably at the bottom of Cycle 23
and extremely close to the beginning of Cycle 24. Two events will mark the
beginning of the next sunspot cycle: The observation of the first opposite
magnetic polarity sunspots compared to Cycle 23 sunspot polarity, and the
observation high solar latitude sunspots — the Cycle 23 sunspots are
now very near the solar equator.
Although sunspots have been observed since Galileo’s time, in 1848 a
Swiss astronomer named Rudolf Wolf came up with a method of counting sunspots
which is still in use today. Wolf dubbed the 11-year solar cycle period
of 1755-1766 as "Cycle 1."
8-year-old WI boy passes general license exam
Wisconsin kid makes good: Jackson Tenor, KC9KVU, age 8, recently passed
his General license exam and almost passed the Extra! He is a member of the
Green Bay Mike and Key Club and will be in the 3rd grade at Holy Apostles
Catholic School in Green Bay. His proud father is Joe, N9UPU.
ARRL working with DoD on repeaters
The American Radio Relay League has sent out more than 100 letters to repeater
owners/trustees who have repeaters affected by the "Pave Paws" radars
(PPR). Citing an increasing number of interference complaints, the US Air
Force has asked the FCC to order dozens of repeater systems to either mitigate
interference to the Pave Paws radars or shut down. The ARRL is working with
the US Department of Defense (DoD) to develop a plan to mitigate alleged interference
from 70 cm ham radio repeaters to this military radar system on both coasts.
According to the DoD, the in-band interference from Amateur Radio fixed
FM voice repeaters has increased to an unacceptable level. Pave Paws radars
are used for national security functions, including early detection of water-launched
missiles. They are critical to national defense and are in use 24 hours per
day, seven days per week. The situation affects 15 repeaters within 100 miles
of Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and more than 100 repeaters
within 140 miles of Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, California.
ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND, stresses that
the Defense Department acknowledges Amateur Radio’s value in disasters
and emergencies and is being extremely cooperative — and a wholesale
shutdown of US 70 cm Amateur Radio activity is not on the table. The Amateur
Radio Service is a secondary user in the 420-450 MHz band, both by the Table
of Frequency Allocations and the FCC Part 97 regulations. As such, Amateur
Radio licensees, jointly and individually, bear the responsibility of mitigating
or eliminating any harmful interference to the primary user, which in this
case is the Government Radiolocation Service that includes the DoD Pave Paws
systems.
The League has been in contact with representatives of the FCC. They have
the ultimate responsibility for enforcing any mitigation plan, up to and including
ordering specific repeaters to shut down operations. The FCC is aware of the
complex nature of this problem and the mitigation strategy being proposed
by the DoD.
—
Excerpts from the American Radio Relay League’s Web site at arrl.org
and ARRL Wisconsin Section Manager Don Michalski, W9IXG.
Return to table of contents
The YXZ Report
by Kent Randles K7YXZ CBRE
Senior Engineer, Entercom-Portland
Co-Chair, Portland/Vancouver ECC
Chapter 124 Secretary
There are currently 12 FM HD signals (nine with HD2, and one with HD3)
and two AM HD signals on the air in the Portland market.
For a complete
list, see http://www.ibiquity.com/stationlist_hdradio.php?theState=OR&sortBy=StnMarket&theCity=PortlandOR#stationlist
AMATEUR RADIO FIELD DAY
The Skyline Tower Amateur Radio Club participated in the ARRL Field Day
contest on June 23rd and June 24th from Ev Helm's Lazy H Ranch in Mulino.
On poles we had a 6M beam with an arm-strong rotor and a Gap Titan DX. But
strung from trees we had a 2-element 40M loop, and a Barker & Williamson
BWD-180, the 180-foot long folded dipole we used for the 160M contest. We
had lots of fun, even if the propagation wasn't so hot. Pictures will eventually
be at http://www.w7dtv.us .
HD RADIO MODULE BUSINESS STARTED
(From http://www.sem.samsung.com/cms/_work/en/company/news/newsView.jsp?seq=563)
Samsung Electro-Mechanics and iBiquity Digital Corporation caused a stir
at the 3rd annual Hybrid Digital Radio Business Conference in Shenzhen when
they announced plans to co-develop core solutions for hybrid (digital and
analog) radio.
A technology-sharing agreement with iBiquity, which owns original technologies
related to HD RadioTM, allows Samsung Electro-Mechanics to produce module
base-band solutions designed in optimized environments by iBiquity. Other
module makers today have to add the base-band and RF solutions separately,
but Samsung Electro-Mechanics will embed them into the module for better
performance at a lower price.
Samsung will apply cutting-edge 90 nm CMOS processing to produce a system-in-package
(SIM) device that measures 25 mm by 25 mm by 2 mm, one twentieth the size
of competing modules. It will operate on a mere 150 mW (one-thirteenth the
power required by other HD radio modules). A prototype of the next-generation
HD radio module will be ready in the second half of 2007, and mass production
is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year.
Return to table of contents
Clay’s Corner for August 2007
Featuring News, Rumors and Views
From Usually Reliable and Irrefutable Sources

By Clay Freinwald
SBE Seattle Chapter 16
Well first it was record setting heat, and now, as I write this, it’s
been a bunch of record setting rainfall - Frankly, I’ll take the rain.
Hard to believe that we are in the latter half of 2007 already!
Lots of news this month – so here we go –
The headliner this month must be the changes that are about to be made
to the EAS. If you attended a recent SBE meeting, I gave those in attendance
a preview of coming attractions. At some 75 pages the 04-296 FNPRM is full
of information as to what they want to do, but a bit light as to how they
are going to go about it.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-109A1.doc
The SBE EAS Committee is knee deep in this issue at this writing trying to get
those answers. Wondering what it means, the FCC has deferred to FEMA for a lot
of these changes. What we do know is that CAP or Common Alerting Protocol is
going to be in our future. Nothing like a little research to get up to speed
on the matter. So here’s your homework assignment – go to the following
site –
http://www.incident.com/cookbook/index.php/Welcome_to_the_CAP_Cookbook
There are a ton of questions coming out of this, including the big-one – ‘are
we going to have to buy new EAS Equipment?’. Fasten your seatbelt….Many
have been very critical about the EAS, and many have been listening and the answers
and solutions are starting to flow.
Bustos Media is awaiting receipt of PTA so
they can turn on KDDS/99.3 at their newly constructed transmitter site at South
Mountain, West of Shelton. Next up for the site is the construction of KFMY/97.7.
Both of these stations high powered rim-shots will be operating with 64kw.
On the subject, have been listening to KNBQ a bit. Their HD signal does a respectable
job from Capital Peak SW of Olympia.
Sounds like a bit of internal rumbling at Viacom, this time, involving the daughter
of Sumner Redstone.
NewBay Media has purchased IMAS publishing. IMAS is well known in our world as
publisher of TV Technology and Radio World.
Sounding much like the law suits regarding EAS, Rembrandt Technologies has filed
a suit against the major TV networks as well as Harris claiming patent infringement
for their use of the ATSC standard for DTV. Just what we needed right now. Sounds
like something to pad the bank accounts of some lawyers to me.
Remember when Google was thought of as only a search-engine? Then they started
making in-roads into Broadcasting. Now they are waving billions of dollars at
the FCC telling them that they are prepared to bid on spectrum that will be released
as the result of the conversion to DTV – IF – the FCC will include
provisions to let them wholesale or lease spectrum to others. Obviously players
in this arena are not thrilled over this one.
The big rage now is to reduce your ‘carbon-footprint’…Here’s
a couple of items to ponder as you go around replacing your light bulbs with
fluorescents …. In the UK a study by the Energy Saving Trust has concluded
that consumer electronics will soon overtake kitchen appliances and lighting
as the biggest power user in homes. Flat-Screens, Computers and other high-tech
gadgets that we are apparently addicted to are taking an every increasing chunk
of our ‘carbon footprint’ Ever turn everything off in your home and
them go out and watch the meter continue to turn? Consider that by 2020, TV sets
that are turned off, will consume 1.4% of all domestic power used…(Remember
when off meant – OFF?)
Big changes at Harris. Not only do we have yet another Harris Rep for the PNW
but Harris has established a relationship with SCMS whereby orders for what are
called 3rd party, vendor-items are now handled by SCMS. Apparently they will
still be able to provide these items, but only as a part of an order for Harris
made equipment. Chris Pannell, former Harris Rep. in our area has been promoted
to Director of North American Radio Sales. That new Rep. is Al Jason who has,
in the past, been associated with other broadcast equipment makers. Someone told
me that there are only 99 jobs on the supply side of this industry, and 101 people….Hence
the apparent revolving door.
So who is going to end up owning Tribune and Seattles Channel 13 and 22? Will
it be Sam Zell? Apparently later this month that decision will be made.
SBE is having great success with their new Web Based courses on RF Safety with
several additional sessions being announced. Our local Chapter is hoping SBE
will have a session in the fall that would enable more in our area to attend.
We are working on it, and will advise. This is something that everyone will want
to attend that is involved with towers and transmitter locations as well as ENG
facilities.
Citadel has sold their cluster of Radio Stations in Spokane to Mapleton. What
caught my eye on this change was their proposal to down-grade one of the areas
historic radio stations, KGA…All of this so they could increase the signal
from a co-owned, co-channel, station in the Bay Area of California. One hates
to see this take place, but it is certainly not history making. Here in the PNW,
Entercom did just that so that they could improve their cluster in Portland.
At last report, former Seattle area Engineer, Dave Ratener, was employed by Citadel
in Spokane.
Meanwhile, Citadel has been buying a 5.7% stake in McClatchy, the newspaper company.
Interesting twist I’d say. McClatchy owns the Tacoma News Tribune and 49%
of the Seattle Times.
From the FCC’s fine department comes this jewel, perhaps a Darwin award
candidate…Donald Winton of Corpus Christi, Texas will be contributing $7,000
to the treasury. Seems Mr. Winton was broadcasting a local AM station on CB Channel
19 and he would not let the FCC to inspect his CB Station. At he turned off the
CB rig when he was asked to do so by an FCC agent.
KZIZ in Sumner has been having grief with their new array just south of Auburn
on 1560 trying to get their directional antenna to perform correctly, apparently
due to power line re-rad.….The result, less power at night than they wanted.
Word is that the Covington Radio station promoters have filed an application
to move to Cougar Mountain with an ERP in the vicinity of 8Kw. Considering the
fact that the present Cougar FM’s operate with either 50 or 100Kw ERP,
this will certainly be a low powered operation. Looking at their proposed contours,
it will, however cover the Seattle area quite nicely. One only needs to look
at the success of KUOW, the only market FM not on either Cougar or West Tiger
with substantially less coverage that afforded by the higher sites to answer
the question, is it worth it. The question is now whether a major player invest
in this facility. The price based on dollars per kilowatt of ERP could be surprising.
Stephan Lockwood, of Hatfield and Dawson fame, has recently created a Remailer
for those that deal with high powered HF SW transmitters. For more info, contact
him via – lockwood@hatdaw.com.
There is still a lot of fur flying over the proposed merger of XM and Sirius
with the proposal causing many to declare their support or opposition to the
proposal.
The second audio channel of HD Radio commonly called HD2 is finding
a number of willing program sources. In some cases these may have been previously
interested in being on an FM sub-carrier. In some cases, NCE Broadcasters are
using their HD2’s carrying what was previously on a carrier current system
or a 10 watt operation. Niche programming is finding that these HD channels are
just perfect for their needs. The good news is that it takes the pressure off
those that have been demanding LPFM licenses.
Locally Fisher has expanded in the on-line world with the acquisition of Pegasus
News. It’s fascinating to watch the traditional Broadcasters come to understand
that they must evolve into being content providers where-ever possible. Just
streaming your existing programming is not enough in today’s world.
The KKOL battle rages on…Thanks to Jim Dalke, we have a ring-side- seat..
We have long known how difficult it would be to erect to transmission facilities,
witness KRKO in Everett, but hardly anyone would have predicted the calls to
remove one after construction.
I love the story about KNCR in Fortuna California. Seems they were evicted at
their old transmitter site….so they put up a tower at the studio, 2-miles
away, under the rules that permit an emergency antenna. One little problem…they
neglected to include the FCC in the change. The dollar amount - $3200.
The Fairness Doctrine has been back in the news. Efforts to restore the critter
appear to have failed.
Local firm, Symetrix, has appointed Tim Murray to the position of western regional
sales manager.
One media news item you, thankfully, don’t hear about very often is the
murder of a radio talk-show host. Mike Webb, formally with KIRO Radio was killed
back in April and recently his admitted killer was arrested in Seattle.
Could it be something we will see in this area? Comcast recently added more HD
Channels and in the process moved a number of channels out of its expanded basic
analog tier. As consumers
continue to purchase DTV sets at an every increasing rate, those channels that
are not running DT are going to find themselves on the short end of the stick.
Speaking of which, have you noticed the number of HD sets that are now available
for under a Grand? A recent visit to my local Costco was cool in that there are
a number of new sets with nice big 1080 signs on them. The question is how low
will prices go? For stingy/tight holdouts like me…I just know that I will
buy a new set and the next day find that the price dropped a bunch. Reminds me
of when I bought that new calculator at the University Bookstore just to learn
that that a week later the price dropped. Oh well.
Something that you hate to report on, the death of tower workers. This time near
Lawrence Kansas. Two workers fell some 300 feet as they were installing a new
ENG system on a tower.
Found in a recent Frys add in the paper… An ad for a Channel Master HDTV
Antenna. Takes me back to the days when providers of antennas were out selling
antennas for color… as if it took a special model to receive NTSC! The
one at Frys is for UHF. Is there someone that’s going to stay on VHF around
here? The fact is that research is showing that there is a huge percentage of
folks that don’t know a thing about the switch to digital. Perhaps not
until Opra tells them about it?
Well that time has come to end this session, but before I conclude – This
little gem… a description of a computer programmer – He is someone
who solves a problem you didn’t know you had in a way that you don’t
understand.
Have a great summer, what’s left of it.
Clay, CPBE, K7CR etc
Return to table of contents
SBE OPPOSES LIVE CODE TESTING
From SBE Short Circuits
SBE NATIONAL RELEASES STATEMENT OPPOSING LIVE CODE TESTING
OF EAS
The Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) announced its opposition to the
use of real or live NWRSAME codes for system tests of the public warning system
by National Weather Service (NWS)/NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) and some local
authorities.
Alerts from the NWS, some local authorities and the Emergency Alert System
(EAS) using real emergency event codes, when no actual emergency exists, have
recently been used in some communities to test consumer receivers. The NWS
is recommending the practice be expanded nationwide. While stated NWS policy
establishes that approval for NWS live code testing is up to the state and
local EAS committees, some committees are not being consulted or do not understand
that they may decline the request. Local emergency officials also may not
fully understand the implications of the request and may participate without
realizing the serious negative results. The SBE asserts that these cry-wolf
alerts will potentially cause public alarm, weaken confidence in the EAS for
real alerts and discourage broadcaster’s involvement with volunteer
EAS programs.
Broadcasters and cable systems decode the EAS data and send the information
directly to scrolling messages on TV screens and radios. One result of live
-code tests would be that TV’s viewed by the deaf and hard of hearing,
and TVs in public places would not show any indication that the message is
not a real alert. In addition, those receiving emergency messages through
the Internet, PDAs, cell phones, programmable road signs, highway advisory
radio, lottery terminals and shopping center marquee signs will not know the
message was simply a test. The SBE says the negative effect of live -code
testing outweighs the benefits of testing the public’s weather alert
radios.
SBE President Chriss Scherer, CPBE CBNT, said, "There is a national effort
to update EAS and NWR data standards with a technology called Common Alerting
Protocol (CAP). CAP will allow a visual scroll of the same information as
in the audio message, and the SBE suggests that such a technology — when
in common use — will be better suited to live-code tests."
Return to table of contents
SCMS Takes Over Harris Box Sales
SCMS has acquired the Harris Broadcast Center Division,
which sold third-party professional equipment for broadcasters. Harris will
continue to manufacture and distribute its own brand TV and radio products.
Locally, Doug Tharp represents SCMS and will serve to sell the estimated 500
lines that Harris sold. SCMS hired two of the Harris salesforce in the deal.
Return to table of contents
Softwright Press Release
AURORA, COLORADO - July 12, 2007
SoftWright LLC, makers
of the Terrain Analysis Package Software (TAPtm) for rf wireless system
design have announced the release of a new version of their software called
HDSpectrum.

Users of the Terrain Analysis Package can now view their transmitted
and received frequency spectrum in the graphical form of a spectrum analyzer
using the TAP HD Spectrum interface.
In the past intermod software was often accused of generating reams of
paper output that no one really examined. SoftWright has been developing
and enhancing their intermod software for over 20 years to make its output
more meaningful than most other intermodulation product software tools.
While it is easy to mathematically generate lists of potential combinations
of transmitted frequencies, SoftWright has developed a tool that will
allow the engineer to examine the resultant potential hit frequencies
in many
ways. With HDSpectrum you can analyze potential intermodulation products
as well as the participating frequencies which can create the problems.
It can properly consider broadcast, simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex
facilities. The software can also take into account the deviation of
the transmitted frequencies as well as user-specified bandwidth around
a protected
or received frequency. This provides a considerably more conservative
protection than simply considering only the direct frequencies causing
the destructive
intermodulation products. This newest capability also depicts all portions
of the calculated intermodulation results in the format of the video
display of a spectrum analyzer.
This new feature is provided to all our customers at no additional charge,
if you have the TAP Intermod module as a part of your TAP system and
a current maintenance subscription. If you would like to add this capability
to your rf system design tools, please contact SoftWright.
Return to table of contents
The KE0VH Hamshack.doc

Jack Roland
jroland@entercom.com
Entercom Denver
We have changed the IRLP Reflector Worldwide node now and
the SBE IRLP Hamnet is meeting on the Great Lakes Reflector 9615. This node
reflector is now the SBE National connection dedicated to (as much as any
frequency can be, of course anyone is welcome to use the reflector) SBE Amateur
and Engineering Communications. This reflector will also be dedicated to Broadcast
Engineering emergency communications for any who need it anytime in time of
disaster or need of any help. Thanks to Tom K8TB, in Grand Rapids Michigan
for setting this up and helping us out.
The SBE IRLP Hamnet meets on the 1st
and 3rd Saturdays of the month at 11am Mountain time, 1pm Eastern, 12noon
Central, and of course 10am Pacific. Locally in Denver on the WA2YZT repeater,
on 146.805 (2 meters) and 447.175 (70 centimeters) with a pl of 186.2. AND,
now on the IRLP reflector 9615.
To find a node in your area you can go to
the www.irlp.net website, click on the "Node Info" on the left,
then click on the "List of nodes and frequencies" in the middle
of the page. In a moment a full list of node numbers, cities, countries and
the like will appear and do a page search for you city. When the node is highlighted
click on the node number and that repeater information will appear, usually
with contact information of the trustee/repeater owner. When you have done
this and are able to access your node (usually at 4 digit code on the local
repeater unless it is a closed club system), you will want to connect to the
Great Lakes Reflector 9615. See also www.wa2yzt.com
If you need further help contact Jack at either KE0VH@qsl.net, or jroland@entercom.com.
...until next month, 73’ de KEØVH
Return to table of contents
SBE to Offer New Specialist Certification
Following recent changes in the FCC rules recognizing the viability of
digital radio and the official endorsement of multicasting, the National
Certification Committee of the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) is
proud to announce its next specialist certification, Digital Radio Broadcast
(DRB).
This specialist certification will qualify an individual's knowledge
of digital radio broadcasting including audio processing, studio-to-transmitter
links and transmission of multi-channel digital program streams. The
official
roll-out of this specialist certification will be during the SBE National
Meeting, held in conjunction with SBE Chapter 20’s, Pittsburgh Regional
Convention, October 10-11, 2007, in Monroeville, PA.
SBE President, Chriss Scherer, CPBE CBNT remarked that, “while broadcast
and media engineering continues to evolve to cover a broad range of technologies,
certain aspects of broadcast engineering have a specific and specialized knowledge
base. This is why the Specialist Certifications were developed.”
The specialist will include knowledge of importers, exporters, the various
methods of combining analog and digital transmitters to antenna systems, delivery
of digital audio signals and data to transmitter sites, transmitter emission
mask measurements, AM and FM FCC rules, monitoring of digital signals and
bandwidth requirements for AM antenna systems.
Digital audio broadcasting (DAB) enhances a broadcast licensee’s ability
to not only better serve the public, but to provide means of additional revenue
in this highly competitive industry. Station owners will rely on the knowledge
and expertise of station technicians and engineers to implement this service
for their companies. With this specialist certification, the engineer or technician
carries the credentials needed for successful installation of digital radio
transmission systems. The specialist certification will focus on the current
in-band, on-channel transmission system being deployed in the U.S., and will
be called the SBE Digital Radio Broadcasting Specialist.
By becoming a certified specialist, a radio broadcast engineer can assure
his or her manager that he or she is up to date on the latest technology.
Digital audio broadcasting is different than traditional analog services.
An individual's ability to certify his or her knowledge of the entire system
rather than just a single part will bring confidence to both the individual
and station management.
To apply for the SBE Digital Radio Broadcast specialist certification,
applicants must currently hold SBE certification at the Broadcast Engineer,
Senior Broadcast Engineer, or Professional Broadcast Engineer certification
level. The exam will consist of 50 multiple-choice questions and one essay
question. Following the roll-out of the specialist certification, the SBE
will release an update to its CertPreview software of practice tests. To obtain
an application for the Digital Radio Broadcast specialist certification, go
to www.sbe.org/Specialist_Cert.php on the SBE website or contact the SBE National
Office.
Return to table of contents
SBE Certification News
College Credit for Your SBE Certification:
College Credit for Your SBE Certification
The Society of Broadcast Engineers and Excelsior College have teamed up! Your current SBE Certification may qualify for credit towards a degree from Excelsior College or could help you finish that degree you’ve been working on at another institution. If you’re interested, contact Excelsior College by calling toll-free at (888) 647-2388 to learn about the details.
When you are ready to submit your SBE Certification for credit to Excelsior College,
download the SBE transcript request form at www.sbe.org or www.excelsior.edu,
or contact the SBE National Office for a copy. When you’ve completed the form,
e-mail, fax or mail it to Megan Clappe, Certification Director at the SBE National
Office, who will prepare your transcript and send it to Excelsior College.
Megan Clappe Certification
Director
Society of Broadcast Engineers
9102 N. Meridian Street, Suite 150
Indianapolis, IN 46260
mclappe@sbe.org
SBE CertPreview Software
SBE CertPreview sample certification test software is now available.
It’s Microsoft Windows-based and replaces the previous DOS-based software.
New sample tests are available for Broadcast Technologist, Audio Engineer,
Video Engineer, Broadcast Networking Technologist, Broadcast Engineer and Senior
Broadcast Engineer in both radio and television. Sample tests include 50 to
100 questions and indicate when an incorrect answer has been given. It provides
a list of resources from which to learn more about a subject. Cost for each
SBE CERTpreview practice test is $27 plus $3 shipping. Contact the National
Office to order a copy.
Certification Exam Session Dates:
The SBE National Certification Committee certification exam session
dates for 2007 are listed below. Check the list below for the exam period
that is best for you. For more information about SBE Certification, see your
Chapter Certification Chair or
contact Megan Clappe,
Certification Director at the SBE National Office at (317) 846-9000, or mclappe@sbe.org
Exam Dates |
Location |
Application Deadline |
Aug 10-20, 2007
(reminder only) |
Local Chapters |
June 8, 2007
(deadline past)
|
Nov 9-19, 2007 |
Local Chapters |
September 21, 2007 |
Fees are as Follows:
Certification Level |
Member |
Non-Member |
Broadcast Technologist |
$40 |
$103 |
Broadcast Networking Technologist |
$55 |
$118 |
Broadcast Engineer |
$55 |
$118 |
Audio/Video Engineer |
$55 |
$118 |
Senior Broadcast Engineer |
$80 |
$143 |
Professional Broadcast Engineer |
$105 |
$168 |
Specialist Certification |
|
|
AM Directional Specialist |
$50 |
$113 |
8VSB Specialist |
$50 |
$113 |
Please
note: SBE Certification exams are administered only by SBE and are proctored
in-person by qualified and approved representatives of SBE. No other organization
is authorized to administer SBE exams.
Click here for
more information about SBE Certification.
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Bill Harris - Editor In Chief
(505) 767-6735
billharris@ix.netcom.com
Garneth M. Harris
Tom Goldberg - On Line Editor
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