TWiRT 656 - Summer Projects with Josh, Chris, and Kirk

Despite the hot weather, we know that summer will be fading into fall for us in the northern hemisphere. Josh Jones with Maxx Konnext Group joins us to talk about a production room he’s just finishing up. Chris Tarr is on the show, live from Magnum Media’s data center, and Kirk shares photos and thoughts on a new FM station that’s built with everything at the transmitter site, including the on-air phone system and the audio console. What are your thoughts on Kirk's "main studio" build?

Show Notes:
Chris praises the IT connectivity services of Christen Roberts at iQWired.net
Josh Jones is part of Maxx Konnect Group’s expanding technical services for broadcasters
Kirk is installing an Axia Altus mixing console that operates in a software container, accessible from anywhere.
A Telos VXs broadcast phone system lives on the same server as the Axia Altus.
WBZK-FM (The Buzz) is installing and modifying a 10-year-old Nautel VS 2.5 FM transmitter to serve as an FM+HD transmitter.
Opening that transmitter, Kirk was reminded that he had repaired it almost 7 years ago.  Here’s a video of that repair when this same transmitter was at WKXY-FM.

Guest:
Josh Jones - Broadcast Engineer at Maxx Konnect Group

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:
Nautel brings you Transmission Talk Tuesday Discussions. Easy, free registration is here.
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 - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. 
And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts.

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TWiRT 656 - Summer Projects with Josh, Chris, and Kirk

TWiRT 655 - Interoperability is Cool with Robbie Green

Interoperability - what does that mean? After this 1-hour conversation with Robbie Green and Chris Tarr, I would say it means “controlling or checking on one device by using another device or system”. Scaled up intelligently, it implies having control and understanding of complex systems from a single location, or doing so automatically.  So, rather than separately checking on an automation system, an audio processor, an audio router, a satellite receiver, a transmitter, or a security system, these individual systems can connect meaningfully to a central monitoring and control (“M&C”) system and/or to each other as appropriate.  GPIO is a low-bar baseline for interoperability.  Serial control, RS-422, and CanBUSS moved us forward, but a variety of TCP/IP protocols, including SNMP, have brought us to a good level of general interoperability if we’re willing to do the work and research to implement them. These ideas have motivated Robbie Green and Chris Tarr to implement interoperabilities that make broadcast operations more reliable, stable, and convenient.  

Show Notes:
Robbie mentioned the LANTRONIX UDS2100 as a good Serial Device Server
We mentioned live, on-line demos of some Inovonics devices, which are also interoperable
Connect SNMP to other protocols with these...https://www.controlbyweb.com/x600m/
Robbie’s example of vMix TCP integration - https://www.vmix.com/help26/TCPAPI.html
Messaging on various display platforms, like Paravel's WallTime

Guest:
Robbie Green - Product Manager, Communication Products at Telos Alliance

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:
Nautel brings you Transmission Talk Tuesday Discussions. Easy, free registration is here.
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 - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. 
And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts.

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TWiRT 655 - Interoperability is Cool with Robbie Green

TWiRT 654 - FreePBX and VoIP Telephony for Broadcasters with Tony Lewis

FreePBX is an open source SIP PBX software application used in many thousands of businesses, including broadcast facilities. Tony Lewis is the entrepreneur behind this amazing software, and he joins Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack to discuss the benefits and uses of VoIP telephony. Tony recently founded ClearlyIP.com, a provider of SIP telephony services and equipment, with expertise in high-volume inbound calling, needed by so many broadcasters. 

Show Notes:
FreePBX is still free!
ClearlyIP.com focuses on Radio Stations and SIP/VoIP telephony services
WiPhone, A Phone for Hackers and Makers

Guest:
Tony Lewis - CEO at ClearlyIP.com

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:
Nautel brings you Transmission Talk Tuesday Discussions. Easy, free registration is here.
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 - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. 
And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts.

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TWiRT 654 - FreePBX and VoIP Telephony for Broadcasters with Tony Lewis

TWiRT 653 - Burning Man for Radio with Frank Martin

Frank Martin is a thoughtful and insightful broadcast engineer with decades of radio and TV experience. And, he’s sharing some compelling ideas with us on this episode of TWiRT. Based in Los Angeles, California. Frank provides service, integration and support for TV, AM, or FM transmitters and studios

Today we’re discussing a new LPFM filing window (Nov 1 - 8, 2023), ATSC 3.0 television, “Franken FM” stations, C-QUAM AM stereo, and whether market size and career satisfaction are related. Plus, Frank has some final thoughts inspired by The 10 Principles of Burning Man.

Show Notes:
This is a TV story. No wait, it's a Radio story. Stop, It's a little of both. By Michael Couzens
Frank mentioned his favorite movie streaming service, Flixtor.
Frank mentioned the Zapperbox MI, an ATSC 3.0 (NexGen TV) receiver.
I-1430 is an off-the-air live AM stereo stream.
The 10 Principles of Burning Man

Guest:
Frank Martin - MPH Broadcast Services - LA Broadcast Engineer & Consultant

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

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TWiRT is brought to you by:
Nautel brings you Transmission Talk Tuesday Discussions. Easy, free registration is here.
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 - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. 
And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts.

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TWiRT 653 - Burning Man for Radio with Frank Martin

TWiRT 652 - Trends in LED Tower Lighting with Bear Poth

The FAA compliance rules for your tower’s obstruction lighting continue to be updated as evidenced by a November 2020 FAA circular.  Bear Poth, President & CEO at LumenServe, is here to review some key aspects of the regulations that broadcast engineers need to know.  LEDs have been around for many years, however, in the tower lighting world their deployment is creating big changes. 

Our guest, Bear Poth, is the founding President and CEO of LumenServe and has an extensive entrepreneurial and operations background founding and growing numerous telecom and technology-based companies. His experience includes being founder and CEO of companies that have built and operated IP Networks with 3,000+ route miles of microwave/fiber transport, built and serviced 25,000+ VoIP connections, constructed over 1,300 miles of hybrid fiber/coaxial broadband plant, provided 50k+ CATV/telephone/Internet connections, constructed 100k+ square-mile canopy of wireless networks and constructed and operated 500+ wireless towers.  Bear is a long-time member of the Engineering Advisory Board at The University of Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas. 

Show Notes:
Free tower resources, including the Tower Lighting Poster
FAA Regulations and Advisory Circulars
Chris mentioned his new Weather Station; it’s the Tempest

Guest:
Bear Poth - President & CEO at LumenServe, Inc.

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:
Nautel brings you Transmission Talk Tuesday Discussions. Easy, free registration is here.
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 - with StudioHub cables and adapters. Audio problems disappear when you get Angry at AngryAudio.com. 
And MaxxKonnectWireless - Prioritized High Speed Internet Service designed for Transmitter Sites and Remote Broadcasts.

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TWiRT 652 - Trends in LED Tower Lighting with Bear Poth