TWiRT 727 - Windows 11, RDS/PAD, and 11 GHz for 2025 with Jeff McGinley

Jeff McGinley is the kind of engineer who pays attention to the important things. He’s focused on the technologies that bring value to the on-air talent and to the listeners, all the while satisfying the shareholders drive for return on investment. Jeff’s advice is based on real-world experience, so you know there’s value there, too. On this episode we’re discussing the end of official support for Windows 10, and moving to Windows 11. Plus, Jeff and Chris both relate the importance of good metadata for listeners via RDS and PAD (for HD Radio). And we discuss the significant benefits of 11 GHz IP Radio links.

Show Notes:
End of support for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7
There are several ways to upgrade to Windows 11.

Guest:
Jeff McGinley - VP of Engineering at SummitMedia

Hosts:
Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.Media
Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, & South Seas Broadcasting

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TWiRT is brought to you by:
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.

 
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TWiRT 727 - Windows 11, RDS/PAD, and 11 GHz for 2025 with Jeff McGinley

TWiRT 726 - Moving Eight Radio Stations on Maui with Russell Laferty

Akamai Broadcasting bought six radio stations (2 AM & 4 FM) plus a number of translators on Maui. Russell Laferty has been building new facilities, and your TWiRT host, Kirk Harnack, is helping with the final wiring and configurations. In addition to a new rack room and (so far) one studio, Russell is moving several studio-transmitter link (STL) systems and installing new ones. One highlight of the work has been improvements to two tower sites on Mt. Haleakala. We visit the upper site at close to 10,000 feet above sea level where Russell gives us a video tour of the building. Plus, learn how a defective Ethernet switch earned Kirk a trip to this transmitter site above the clouds. 

Show Notes:
Mt. Haleakala Observatory: Science City
Axia StudioCore is a new I/O and Mix Engine from Telos Alliance
We’ve installed some of the first Axia xNode2 units in our rack room.
The Axia xSelector is key to monitoring our multiple stations.
The Axia StudioEdge handles plenty of analog and AES/EBU connections to our AoIP network.
Omnia MPX Nodes are getting perfect FM MPX signals to our FM transmitters and translators.

Guest:
Russell Laferty - Broadcast Contract Engineer

Host:
Kirk Harnack - Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, Akamai Broadcasting, & South Seas Broadcasting

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TWiRT is brought to you by:
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.

 
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TWiRT 726 - Moving Eight Radio Stations on Maui with Russell Laferty

TWiRT 725 - Babelfish Logic Integration with Alex Hartman and Jim Gray

Necessity truly is the mother of invention. So, when Jim Gray and Alex Hartman needed to gain remote control of some late-model CD players, they developed “Babelfish.”  The Babelfish Ecosystem is a solution for logic integration amongst systems that typically are unable to communicate with each other. Whether it's a 40 year old on-air light system that only speaks in relays or a new IP based system that only communicates virtually, the Babelfish Ecosystem allows unlike systems to communicate as one. Babelfish, speak any language for GPIO control. Alex and Jim join us to explain the necessity, the solution, and the tech behind these useful tools.

Show Notes:
BabelFish web page at Optimized Media

Guests:
Alex Hartman - Partner at Optimized Media Group
Jim Gray - Managing Partner at Optimized Media Group

Host:
Kirk Harnack - Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, Akamai Broadcasting, & South Seas Broadcasting

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TWiRT is brought to you by:
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.

 
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TWiRT 725 - Babelfish Logic Integration with Alex Hartman and Jim Gray

TWiRT 724 - Hall of Fame Engineers! with Mark & Paula Persons

Engineers are usually the unsung heroes of Broadcasting. But Mark and Paula Persons have set a high bar for professionalism in our industry. They were both inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame and join us to talk about it.  Did you know that Mark never wore blue jeans to work - not even at transmitter sites? And Paula’s keen accounting and PR skills made the most of Mark’s efforts both in the field and in the repair shop.  We engineers can all learn from the Persons’ professionalism and teamwork. 

Show Notes:
The story of Mark & Paula’s induction into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame
“Where Have All the Broadcasters Gone?” - a book by Mark’s father, Charles B. Persons
Audio on MWPersons.com and on a YouTube playlist.
Paula mentioned using D2 Biological Solution for restoring old headstones as part of her volunteer work with the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Mark mentioned he’s written about 200 articles in Radio World magazine.
Mark and Paula will visit the island municipality of Bonaire soon. While Paula goes SCUBA diving, Mark will visit PJB3, a powerful AM station on 800 kHz.

Guests:
Mark & Paula Persons - Retired Broadcast Engineering Team, Now Busier Than Ever

Host:
Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook

TWiRT is brought to you by:
Nautel and the HD Digital Radio Test Drive
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.

 
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TWiRT 724 - Hall of Fame Engineers! with Mark & Paula Persons

TWiRT 723 - Hurricane, Flooding, and Disaster Recovery with Christian Vang and Dave Anderson

In late September, 2024, hurricane Helene hit parts of Florida and caused wind damage and severe flooding in Georgia, South Carolina, and especially Western North Carolina. Hurricane Milton hit Florida in October, 2025, causing even more damage there.  In both storms, electricity was knocked out, cell phone service disrupted, and Internet was down for many. In these disasters, local and regional radio largely remained on-the-air, alerting listeners to the storms’ arrivals and keeping them updated with news of emergency services, relief sites, and a lot more. Christian Vang and Dave Anderson are broadcast engineers in Northern Georgia and Tampa, Florida, respectively. Both are seasoned in planning for disasters and working those plans while being flexible in emergency response, all the while keeping studios and transmitters operational.  Chris Tarr joins us as well with some additional notes on emergency preparedness for broadcast engineers.

Show Notes:
We ran out of time, but Christian asked that we share with you this drone video from the Asheville, NC, City Government

Guests:
Christian Vang - Broadcast Engineer/IT Specialist
Dave Anderson - Chief Broadcast Engineer at WUSF Public Media

Hosts:
Chris Tarr - Group Director of Engineering at Magnum.Media
Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, & South Seas Broadcasting

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook

TWiRT is brought to you by:
Nautel and the HD Digital Radio Test Drive
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.

 
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TWiRT 723 - Hurricane, Flooding, and Disaster Recovery with Christian Vang and Dave Anderson