TWiRT 748 - Cart Machines: The Rest of the Story with Andy Rector

The Story of the Broadcast Cart Machine is fascinating, especially to those of us who used them on-air, or installed and repaired them as engineers.  Andy Rector, who was heavily involved in the business of broadcast cart machines, joins us for Part 2 of our exploration into this history.  We’ll go through the 1970s and 1980s, as new broadcast cart machines were developed and deployed. We’ll follow this story arc right up to the late 1990s, when Andy says was really the end of that cart machine era.  

Show Notes:
An Afternoon with John “Jack” Mullin - A video by the Audio Engineering Society

Guest:
Andy Rector - Broadcast Equipment Historian

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

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook - and see all the videos on YouTube.

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.
Aiir, providing PlayoutONE radio automation, and other advanced solutions for audience engagement.
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.

 
Subscribe to Audio:
iTunes
RSS
Stitcher
TuneIn

Subscribe to Video:
iTunes
RSS
YouTube

TWiRT 748 - Cart Machines: The Rest of the Story with Andy Rector

TWiRT 747 - How We Got the Cart Machine with Andy Rector

Most of us in radio engineering have worked with broadcast cart machines. While it’s been a good 25 or 30 years since we’ve had them in our studios, we’ll never forget the pleasure - and occasional pain - of using them and maintaining them.  But how did cart machines come to be? Were they always like the ones we grew up with in the 70s and 80s? Or did the development come with fits and starts?  Andy Rector worked with broadcast carts nearly from the very beginning of their existence.  He’s been interviewed many times and provided historical presentations to SBE groups, AES sections, and others. We’re delighted to have Andy Rector join us on this TWiRT episode to look at the early days of broadcast cart machines and the early technologies employed.  

Show Notes:
These Were the Carts of Our Lives - Radio World article

Guest:
Andy Rector - Broadcast Equipment Historian

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

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook - and see all the videos on YouTube.

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.
Aiir, providing PlayoutONE radio automation, and other advanced solutions for audience engagement.
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. 

Subscribe to Audio:
iTunes
RSS
Stitcher
TuneIn

Subscribe to Video:
iTunes
RSS
YouTube

TWiRT 747 - How We Got the Cart Machine with Andy Rector

TWiRT 746 - IP Radio & WiFi Engineering with Cam Lasley

Young broadcast engineers are few and far between, but Cameron Lasley is making a big difference for broadcasters in Kentucky.  Cam’s primary role is with wireless broadband technologies; he’s the owner of a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) in Kentucky.  On a future TWiRT episode we’ll discover Cam’s broadcast engineering experiences, but on this show we’re finding out about the WiFi technologies that power IP radio links.  These are links that broadcasters - as well as WISPs - use every day.  We’ll gain understanding of link budgets and margins, as well as best practices for modulation schemes and frequency band selection for IP radio links. There’s a lot of great information for us broadcast engineers to absorb on this episode of TWiRT.

Show Notes:
Telecast Communications website
RF Elements Horn Antennas
Ubiquiti AirMagic video tutorial
Ubiquiti Link Planner
TP Link Aginet - WISP end to end management

Guest:
Cam Lasley - Owner at Telecast Communications, LLC

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

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook - and see all the videos on YouTube.

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.
Aiir, providing PlayoutONE radio automation, and other advanced solutions for audience engagement.
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.

 
Subscribe to Audio:
iTunes
RSS
Stitcher
TuneIn

Subscribe to Video:
iTunes
RSS
YouTube

TWiRT 746 - IP Radio & WiFi Engineering with Cam Lasley

TWiRT 745 - Tower Maintenance and Broadcast Regulations - with Robbie Hulett and Bud Walters

Today’s TWiRT webcast is a double-header - two guests on very different yet important topics.  First up is Robbie Hulett, owner of Tower Maintenance Corp.  Robbie shares his company’s work and achievements on social media, keeping broadcasters abreast of current trends in the tower maintenance field. Perhaps some of TMC’s work will prompt others to check on and maintain their vertical structures with the attention they deserve.  And Bayard “Bud” Walters - a Nashville-based radio group owner - gives us his candid thoughts about the FCC’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” regulatory reform program.  The NAB has filed lengthy comments and suggestions, and Bud, owner of Cromwell Broadcasting, has a few thoughts of his own to share.  See if you agree or disagree!

Guests:
Robbie Hulett - Owner at Tower Maintenance Corporation
Bayard “Bud” Walters - Owner and President at Cromwell Media

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

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook - and see all the videos on YouTube.

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.
Aiir, providing PlayoutONE radio automation, and other advanced solutions for audience engagement.
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.

 
Subscribe to Audio:
iTunes
RSS
Stitcher
TuneIn

Subscribe to Video:
iTunes
RSS
YouTube

TWiRT 745 - Tower Maintenance and Broadcast Regulations - with Robbie Hulett and Bud Walters

TWiRT 744 - Engineering Achievement with Paul Shulins

Congratulations to Paul Shulins, co-owner of Over The Air RF Consulting. He is the recipient of the 2025 NAB Radio Engineering Achievement Award, which was presented at the NAB Show on April 8. Paul joins us on TWiRT, along with Chris Tarr, to talk about recognizing broadcast engineers and their contributions and recognition in the broadcast industry.  We’ll also look at some moments and technical achievements in Paul’s career, plus discuss engineers’ role in the future of radio broadcasting. 

Guest:
Paul Shulins - Broadcast Engineering Consultant and Co-Owner at Over the Air RF Consulting

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

Follow TWiRT on Twitter and on Facebook - and see all the videos on YouTube.

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.
Aiir, providing PlayoutONE radio automation, and other advanced solutions for audience engagement.
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. 

Subscribe to Audio:
iTunes
RSS
Stitcher
TuneIn

Subscribe to Video:
iTunes
RSS
YouTube

TWiRT 744 - Engineering Achievement with Paul Shulins