TWiRT 153 - Mics & Levels with Mike Phillips

Podcasts, talk shows, how-to programs, political commentary and rants, celebrity interviews or just mouthing off — most compelling audio content starts with a microphone and a quick trip through a mic pre-amp.

With thousands of mics on the market, and nearly as many pre-amp choices, how does the home studio user choose the right combination, and set them up properly? We take a shortcut to great advice that works every time!

Broadcast audio consultant, Mike Phillips, joins Chris Tobin and me for a fast-paced tutorial on mic selection, adjustment, proper use, and avoiding common pitfalls. As usual Andrew Zarian asks the really good questions that we forgot about!

This Week In Radio Tech is sponsored by:

Axia Audio and the popular IP-Audio Axia consoles. On the web at axiaaudio.com.

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TWiRT 153 - Mics & Levels with Mike Phillips

TWiRT 152 - Home Studio Boot Camp - Hookup

TWiRT 152 - Home Studio Boot Camp - Hookup

Balanced, unbalanced, transformers, servo outputs, -10, 0, +4, and four ways to use a quarter-inch tip-ring-sleeve connector!  What are we talking about?  Home studio wiring.  

Mixing pro, semi-pro, and home audio gear *is* challenging.  They're not really designed to work together.  So what can you hook up to what, and which audio connections need some help to work right?  

Chris Tobin and I will help you sort out the audio connections on typical home studio gear.  Plus Andrew Zarian asks the really good questions that we forgot about!

TWiRT is sponsored by Telos and the new Hx6 Six-Line Talkshow System. 

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TWiRT 152 - Home Studio Boot Camp – Hookup

TWiRT 151 - CALM with Tim Carroll

On December 13th, 2012, the rules of CALM went into effect, and the FCC began enforcing them. In its simplest terms, this means over-the-air (OTA) broadcasters, cable operators, satellite television providers, and multichannel video program distributors must ensure that commercials have the same average loudness as the programs they accompany.

More specifically, it means applying the ATSC A/85 Recommended Practice – a set of methods to measure and control the loudness of digital audio – to commercial advertisements delivered to viewers.

Tim Carroll, President of Linear Acoustic, discusses some history of film and television program loudness, then brings us to a better understanding of loudness management. One goal is to keep TV viewers happy, and not give them any reason to complain about jarring volume changes.

Here’s an FAQ about the CALM Act.

Chris Tobin, and Kirk Harnack are your hosts.

This Week In Radio Tech is sponsored by:

Telos and the ProSTREAM audio streaming encoder with built-in Omnia audio processing. Visit http://telos-systems.com/prostream/

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TWiRT 151 - CALM with Tim Carroll

TWiRT 150 - War Stories with Mark Mueller

Every tenth TWiRT show is devoted to “War Stories” – tales from the trenches of broadcast engineering. Our guest, Mark Mueller, tells us about working with AM Directional transmission systems, and describes some of the things that go wrong. Chris Tarr and Chris Tobin have their own experiences to share, too.

You may know of Mark Mueller’s work from his famous (among radio engineers) T2535SA Subaudible Tone Decoder. It’s the one product that actually worked well under a variety of program and tone levels to help automate syndicated radio programs before digitally-fired closures came along. The manual and schematic diagram of the T2535A is here.

Chris Tarr, Chris Tobin, and Kirk Harnack are your hosts.

This Week In Radio Tech is sponsored by:

Axia and the range of studio accessories and intercoms for Axia IP-Audio consoles.

TWiRT 150 - War Stories with Mark Mueller

TWiRT 149 - DGPS with Gary Galbraith

The radio frequencies below the AM broadcast band have found several interesting uses over the past century. A modern-day use of these low frequencies is to disseminate data to correct GPS readings, especially for ships, boats and barges.

Gary Galbraith works with Nautel, a provider of DGPS transmitters to the US Government. We look at a DGPS transmission site in Mississippi and discuss this technology. We also discuss other “radio navigation aids” in the modern world.

Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack are your hosts.

This Week In Radio Tech is sponsored by Axia and the range of studio accessories and intercoms for Axia IP-Audio consoles. Visit http://www.axiaaudio.com for more information.

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TWiRT 149 - DGPS with Gary Galbraith