TWiRT 697 - Swapping Old Tech for New with Matt Levin

Audio over IP (AoIP) has been used in broadcast facilities for about 20 years now. A few broadcast facilities have swapped one brand or standard of AoIP equipment for another during that period. Some broadcasters have swapped equipment twice! Whether the reasons for changing equipment are technical, political, old age, or support issues, we’d like to know about the challenges - or the easy aspects - of changing AoIP brands and standards. Matt Levin is a broadcast engineer in Ohio. His consulting and studio construction work take him to different facilities to make upgrades. Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack discuss with Matt about using different AoIP systems, using console profiles effectively, and about FM audio processing running on PCs and servers. 

Show Notes:
Processors Are Tasked With Repairing Damage - Radio World article by Matt Levin

Guest:
Matt Levin - Broadcast Engineer & Technical Consultant

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:
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.

 
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TWiRT 697 - Swapping Old Tech for New with Matt Levin

TWiRT 696 - I'm a Builder Engineer with Dan Case

Dan Case just retired from full-time broadcast engineering - and some key projects are fresh on his mind. Dan started his radio career in Erie, Pennsylvania, and quickly moved up with more responsibility and some engineering management. Dan believes in fixing audio problems right at their source and never trying to fix bad audio with more audio processing. And Dan’s passion is developing customer local solutions where they’re needed.  From a custom telephone hybrid in the early 1970s, to building a solid, reliable AM station pattern controller.  He coined the term “Revenue Insurance” as a way to validate and justify capex expenditures designed to keep revenue flowing in the midst of other failures or disasters. This is an informative interview with with both technical advice and business acumen shared for your benefit.

Guest:
Dan Case - Director of Engineering (Retired)

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

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TWiRT is brought to you by:
Nautel’s HD Digital Radio Test Drive unlocks content, revenue, & ratings potential
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 696 - I'm a Builder Engineer with Dan Case

TWiRT 695 - Big Tech for Smaller Markets with Dave Radigan

Boasting 17 signals in 4 radio markets - in New York and Pennsylvania - Radigan Media represents the kind of local radio that’s not only serving its local communities, but doing so with newer technologies. Dave Radigan wears many hats in his growing network of stations, including Chief Engineer. He’s implemented Audio over IP (linear Livewire) between studio and transmitter site, partly because he needed a bi-directional link with no audio compromises - and contact closures. And, Dave has recently opened the door to the “flexible studio”.  Using AoIP audio routing tech he’s providing his staff with convenient options for live talk shows, voice-tracking, and production from the same studio, as needed. Let’s check out Dave’s reasoning about implementing the latest tech, when it makes sense to do so. 

Guest:
Dave Radigan - Owner / CEO at Radigan Media

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

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TWiRT is brought to you by:
Nautel’s HD Digital Radio Test Drive unlocks content, revenue, & ratings potential
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 695 - Big Tech for Smaller Markets with Dave Radigan

TWiRT 694 - CHR Radio Engineering in Santo Domingo with Rafael Recio

Many radio engineers love to visit other radio stations. We get ideas to perhaps implement in our own stations. Or sometimes we may get a sense of satisfaction thinking that we’ve done a superlative job in our own facilities - compared to others. Today we’re honored to visit the studios of 100.1 FM in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. OMG! What a drop-dead gorgeous studio! Rafael Recio is the Chief Engineer at 100.1 FM. He shows-off this beautiful and effective working studio, which is home to live shows in morning and afternoon drive every day.  Rafael worked with the station’s Program Director, Harold, to design and build this world-class radio studio + control room. 

Show Notes:
Time Lapse video of 100.1 FM’s studio construction
Rafael is using Axia iQ AoIP audio mixing consoles.
100.1 FM - “Santo Domingo’s Greatest Hit Music Station”
We mentioned the Museo de los Telecomunicaciones, noting the early and continuing technical advances in the Dominican Republic.

Guest:
Rafael Recio - Chief Engineer at 100.1 FM, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

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

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TWiRT is brought to you by:
Nautel’s HD Digital Radio Test Drive unlocks content, revenue, & ratings potential
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 694 - CHR Radio Engineering in Santo Domingo with Rafael Recio

TWiRT 693 - I Like to Move It, Move It with Chris Tarr

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:

1. Planning Transmitter Moves

   1. Facilities - Building, road, fencing, parking, HVAC, roof, ice protection

   2. Legal including FCC

   3. Permitting - local zoning, building, etc.

   4. Safety - fencing, insurance requirements, guy anchors, tower base

   5. STL considerations & options

   6. Frequency coordination for 950 & IP STLs

   7. Fiber internet availability

   8. AC Power - service sizing, etc.

2. Executing the move

   1. What can be built and ready beforehand

   2. What has to move overnight or a weekend

   3. Absolutely no off-air time? Or minimal?

   4. Actual cutover

   5. Moving audio processing if needed

   6. What if something goes really wrong? 

   7. Plan to go back if needed?

3. After the move (should have been before the move)

   1. Tying up all the loose ends

   2. Grounding, lightning protection

   3. Putting redundancy in place at the new location

   4. What if Internet installation is late?  Wait or move ahead?

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:
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.

 
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TWiRT 693 - I Like to Move It, Move It with Chris Tarr