Society of Broadcast Engineers

Chapter 16, Seattle, WA

(Titles are links, clicking on the title will take you to the article)

The “Taste of NAB 2009” was an outstanding success with over 35 people attending the event October 12.  It seems Larry Bloomfield’s road show gets better every year.  He had a lot of practice though because the Seattle Show was his last after doing over 60 shows across the United States this year.  You can find a complete report on the Seattle event in this issue of the Waveguide.

Following discussions of the controversial digital power increase at the NAB Radio show in Philadelphia this year, the FCC appears to be ready to approve a 6 dB increase as an interim step, to be followed later by the full 10 dB increase.  Many are suggesting the digital power increase is necessary for improved mobile reception and perhaps even more important to the emerging new class of portable receivers being introduced to the market place.

One of the new class of digital receivers is my new iPhone 3GS.  The new iPhone application is reported to being developed in-house by Apple for both the iPhone and the iPod touch, supposedly with the same functionality as the FM radio in the new iPod nano.  The new iPhone application will include the ability for listeners to get information and purchase songs from the Apple iTunes store.  The IBOC power increase will

almost certainly improve the reported lack-luster performance of the receivers already on the market, including Microsoft’s Zune and the Apple nano.

The FCC has recently clarified procedures for verifying performance of AM DA’s using the new computer modeled (moment method modeling) DA array designs.  Topics include: types of antennas covered under the new rules, tower location tolerance, sample line impedance measurements, and antenna monitor requirements.  A full copy of the FCC text can be found at:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2340A1.pdf

Permanent FCC rules allow AM stations to operate on FM translators within their AM service areas went into effect on the first of October.  The FCC says over 250 AM’s are rebroadcasting on FM, many of them broadcasting Friday night high school football games for the first time.

Legislation is pending in Congress to remove the third-adjacent-channel protections for full-powered stations to allow more LPFM stations on the air, but there are many questions about how much spectrum is available even without the protections.

SBE Chapter 16 Secretary Report

SBE Chapter 16 Secretary Report
Wednesday October 14, 2009

Executive Board Meeting at KING-FM studios
Chapter Chairman Jim Dalke called the meeting to order at approximately 6:20PM.  Also present were Treasurer Terry Spring, interim Secretary John Price and Directors Clay Freinwald and Tom McGinley.

First order of business was the October 21 Taste of NAB.  The venue will be Advanced Broadcast Solutions.  Jim said he had visited the site.  It’s Southwest of SeaTac airport and close to I-5.  Directions are on the web site.  Harris is the sponsor.  We need to encourage Chapter members to attend.  Some have already RSVP’d.  Jim said he’d send out another reminder Email to the membership.

Second topic was the November 12 lunch meeting.  Program Chair Steve Lockwood was not present, but Clay remembered the presenter was going to be Ellis Terry of Nautel.  Jim added that there will be no regular December lunch meeting.  In its place will be the annual dinner at Ivar’s Salmon House on Lake Union.  Jim suggested either December 12 or 19 as possible dates.  Tom McGinley will contact Ivar’s and confirm one or the other.

Third topic was the Waveguide.  Jim reminded all that things will remain status quo and that Jeannie will step aside to make way for a new web master in January 2010.

The next Executive Board meeting is tentatively set for Wednesday November 11 at Hatfield and Dawson.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:55PM.
Respectfully submitted,
John Price, Interim Secretary, SBE Chapter 16

We have ‘fallen back’ on time, so we have an extra hour to prepare for the starting of our certification - quest. Certification is more important now then ever before.. it’s not just the certificate we can hang on the wall.. It’s the recognition that we have the current skills and knowledge that are required to succeed in out ever advancing industry.

The path all begins here:

Certified Broadcast Technologist (CBT)

The Certified Broadcast Technologist certification can be obtained by meeting one of the following requirements:

1. By achieving a passing grade on the proficiency examination. There is no experience requirement to be eligible for the examination.
2. By holding a valid General Class license with either two (2) years of continuous satisfactory service in broadcast engineering or related technology prior to the date of application, or a total of three (3) out of the last five (5) years of satisfactory service in broadcast engineering or related technology. (The service record on the back of the FCC General Class license must show no record of discharge for unsatisfactory service or for unlawful activity.)
3. By holding a valid FCC Amateur Extra Class license who meet the above service requirement.
4. By holding a valid license equivalent to one of the FCC licenses listed above, who meet the service requirement. (NOTE: This provision is for those who live in areas that do not operate under the rules and regulations of the FCC.)

The Certified Broadcast Technologist Exam: Exams are three hours and consist of 50 multiple-choice questions relating to either AM/FM or TV. Each exam is computer-selected from a pool of questions, and every exam is unique. Each correct answer will be worth two (2) points. The Broadcast Technologist multiple choice examination will consist of questions on:

• electronic fundamentals
• FCC rules pertaining to operating tolerances
• safety

Dates to Remember in 2009
Certification Application Deadlines:

December 31,2009      @Local Chapters        Test Date: February 5-15, 2010
March 26, 2010           @NAB                        Test Date: April 13, 2010
April 16, 2010             @Local Chapters        Test Date: June 4-14, 2010
June 4, 2010                @Local Chapters        Test Date: August 6-16,2010
September 17,2010     @Local Chapters        Test Date: November 5-15,2010

     CERTIFICATION OBJECTIVES
   To raise the professional status of broadcast engineers by providing standards of professional competence in the practice of broadcasting engineering. To recognize those individuals who, by fulfilling the requirements of knowledge, experience, responsibility, and conduct, meet those standards of professional competence. To encourage broadcast engineers to continue their professional development.

For more information and/or application forms please feel free to contact Michael Scott, CPBE.
E-Mail okscott@halcyon.com ; Voice (253) 680-7756 ; FAX (253) 845-5882

SBE LUNCHEON
Thursday November 12, Noon

The digital sideband power
for HD Radio is going to
get a boost soon. Are you
prepared for it?

Hal Kneller, CPBE DRB. of Nautel will be
our guest speaker. Hal will talk about
the ramifications of the IBOC power
increase on the operation of today’s
FM transmitters. 

SBE CHRISTMAS PARTY!
Mark your calendars now!
The Big SBE Annual Christmas Dinner Party
will be held this year Saturday, December 19 - 6pm
at Ivars Salmon House on Lake Union
in the spectacular Potlatch room..
All members, their significant others,
sponsors and friends of Chapter 16 are all invited!
Incredible dinner menu
Prizes and gifts for everyone. Details will be announced on the chapter website www.sbe16.org as they become available

Wow, can you believe that it’s holiday time again ?   Where in the world has this year gone?

Lets dig into what’s been happening since we last met –

–for the time being – or until tougher details are ironed out.  The big sticking point is how to deal with adjacent channel interference.   In this area, where stations are pretty spread out and mainly Class C’s we don’t have major adjacent issues.  However in other areas of the country with boat-loads of Class B’s and A’s it’s a different matter.

The problems for broadcasters come in several forms.  If you have a digital transmitter capable of more power, and the FCC says it’s OK to increase to -14, you can turn up the power.   However, not very many broadcasters went out and purchased a digital transmitter capable of much more power than what they needed.    If your station is operating its digital transmitter at near maximum power you are not likely to want to go out and buy a higher powered unit – especially – knowing that the -14 level might not be final.  There are many that are pushing for -10 but their efforts might not succeed.   So you may well find yourself in the same boat you are in now and not be willing to do anything until the matter is finally sorted out.   This is especially the case if increasing power, even to -14, means spending a lot of money.  In most cases this is not a linear relationship.

For equipment manufacturers the prospect of increasing HD power to -14 is not exactly a welcomed idea for they too are going to be faced with the prospect that the power level could go higher and broadcasters that are likely to want to wait until the matter is finally resolved.   Then there is the economy factor.  Cap-X is very hard to come by these days.

Another big factor on the expense side is the equipment that follows the HD Transmitter.  In many cases the method used will have to be upgraded or changed and the cost of doing this could be considerable.

To help sort all this out will be Hal Kneller from Nautel at our next meeting on November 12th – Hope you can be in attendance.

For the first time in 10 years I am no longer on the SBE Board of Directors and am not chairing the EAS Committee.   All I can say is it was a great ride and one that I would encourage every SBE Member to seriously consider.   I can tell you that you can make a difference.   When the time comes, seriously consider giving your name to the Nomination Committee.  If you’d like to know more, give me a call.    Our new President, Vinny Lopez, at the last meeting, announced his choices for committee chairs –Here’s a look at all the standing committees and their chairs -

Big news in the radio business recently  came from Sacramento where a jury has awarded the family of a women who died in a water drinking contest $16.57 million.

stations in Seattle.   You have to think that stations across the country will now be paying much closer attention to their contests. 

At last April’s NAB the big talk was not about big screen TV’s but rather little ones. One of the firms that have been working on this for several years is Qualcomm with their Flo TV, often called Media Flo.   On Oct 29th, Chrysler announced that, starting in December, you can buy the service as an option in most of their new vehicles.  It includes 20 channels.  Certainly the Seattle area will be included with a number of sites already up and operating in this area.   I have to assume that this will be a back-seat option with all the dialog regarding driver distractions.

Lawmakers appears to be digging into the driver distraction matter all over the country with some calls for nation-wide regulations.   I think that everyone can agree that drivers texting is dangerous….but so is the application of makeup or reading the paper (all of which I routinely see).   The ARRL has been fighting those that have suggested that Ham Radio operation in a vehicle is dangerous.   Then there is the one that we need to watch, the idea that operation of a car radio should be restricted.  What about those GPS devices and other ‘display’ type items that have made the new car dashboard more and more distracting?

There is a new face at the head of NAB as Gordon Smith has moved into his new office in WDC.  Gordon has some ties to the PNW where his family operates a business.  Already Mr Smith has met with the FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to talk about areas of interest to broadcasters.

Looking at the economic situation …It appears that things continue to improve, here are some tid-bits -

> Patrick Communications reported an upswing.  Several groups are reporting that their increases are coming from such NTR sources as the Internet etc.

> Not sure what it will mean to the folks working at the local Tribune operations, however, Tribune CEO Sam Zell said that, with luck, they will exit bankruptcy in the first quarter of 2010.

> LIN reports an 18% drop in Q3 revenue.

> In an apparent cost cutting move a Washington DC TV station has reported asked their news casters to do their own teleprompter.

>   Newspapers continue to see their circulations slide to the lowest level in 70 years, reportedly down over 10% over a year ago.   Locally, the Seattle times has seen their numbers go up thanks to the demise of the PI.

Due to what they call less demand, Microsoft is going to end some of the services they have been distributing via FM Subcarriers and concentrate on information used by navigation devices.   MSFT picked up where Seiko left off with a wrist-watch that would provide the user with a number of information services.  My guess with the penetration of cell phones that much of this no longer made sense.   Several FM stations in the Seattle area broadcast this info on a sub-carrier.

he other day, while driving up to West Tiger Mountain I was startled to see something that you don’t want to see – A tower folded over like a jack-knife.   I spoke with one of the workers on the scene that morning and he mentioned something about bolts being changed so apparently there was some work going on that did not go quite right.  The tower, a 120 foot Rohn SSV, is owned by Dick Collins.  He told me they were going to re-locate some of the impacted antennas to an adjacent tower and would repair the damage next spring.    As luck would have it, I did not have my camera with me that day, however Terry Spring did… and shot this picture showing the top of the tower on the ground.   The way it came down was lucky.  Note the tower to the left….Had it hit that it would have likely taken a lot of circuits down including the T-1’s that a number of broadcasters rely on at West Tiger.

We are still hearing about TV stations that have come to regret moving their digital operation to their former analog channel.   WGHP in High Point N.C. is an example.  They moved their DTV operation to Channel 8 and now want to move back.  The reason cited – ‘a sizeable number’ of its viewers could no longer get the station.   I’ve not heard any rumors about our local stations on channels 9, 11 and 13.   Perhaps there are exceptions.   I still have to wonder how in the world this shuffle is going to result in any nation-wide spectrum for ‘other’ wireless devices.   It appears that there are a number of TV operations continuing on VHF channels that would preclude this.   It must be a spectrum management headache at the FCC.

Are we going to see 3D-TV ?  There appears to be a lot of working going on in that direction. SMPTE is now involved.  Sounds like a great Chapter Meeting idea – We do have a SMPTE chapter in Seattle, perhaps they would be willing to come and tell us
About the mode and the chance that we might indeed see it.   Some are predicting that there could be as many as 45 Million 3-D TV homes by 2013.   I suppose that sports would be the first place to see this happen.  Those side-line shots in 3D would be pretty impressive….Now if they can figure out how to pay for it.  

It’s interesting to see the new FCC Chairman dig into just how healthy our business is with the hiring of Steven Waldman to lead an effort to assess the matter and make recommendations for possible policy changes.   I have to wonder how this might impact such issues as media consolidation.   Certainly the state of the economy has had a major impact on our business.

On the business side of things, the new owners of a major cluster of radio properties in Portland is having an impact on Seattle Radio with the departure of several from here going there.   Must be something going on as not many opt for going to a smaller market.

Here are some job openings in Southern California, thanks to Bob Gonsett and CGC.

TELEVISION ENGINEERING OPENING AT KSCI, LOS ANGELES

  Broadcast Engineer needed at "LA 18," KSCI-TV in Los Angeles. The ideal candidate will have at least three years experience as a television maintenance engineer, SBE Certification and a broad knowledge of television operations.   The successful candidate will provide daily maintenance and alignment of studio equipment, support for productions and assistance with computer issues Please refer to the formal job description and application instructions under
the "Broadcast Engineer" heading at the  following URL -http://www.la18.tv/Landing/Default.aspx?PI=1023

  ENGINEERING OPENING IN SAN DIEGO

Turning Point for God, Inc. is seeking a full-time experienced Chief Engineer/Engineer in Charge for their San Diego operations. Please see details at –
 http://tinyurl.com/TurningPointEIC

Flooding continues to be on the minds of many in the Green River Valley due to issues with the Howard Hansen Dam.   Whereas the dam was built back in 1962, not many have any grasp of what this could mean as the Dam effectively ended the historic flooding in the valley.   Some notable activity taking place.  Boeing, who built a big facility in the former Longacres site has been building flood walls around their installation.   Bustos Media is faced with the possibility of 6 feet of water at their 1210 AM facility on the East Side of Auburn.   Two alternatives are being worked at this time.  One is to modify the transmitter building raising the equipment up 8 feet, the other is to simply move the equipment to higher ground when a flood warning is issued.   To deal with that, they have been granted approval to operate with very low power from their present Day-Site on the west side of Auburn.   The Army Corps of Engineers are saying that there is a 25% chance the area will be flooded.   If we had any idea that dam could have a problem this array would have been built like KRKO.

Clearwire is going to roll out their long awaited 4G based WiMax system in the Seattle area in December.    It will be interesting to see the impact of this.   Nice being in a city where the latest in wireless wizardry comes early.   There is potential that this could become a competitor for Radio.   GM is reported to have struck a deal with Autonet that could mean that WiMax equipped cars could be around the corner.  GM, unlike other car makers, still does not offer HD Radio in their vehicle.   By the way, Volvo just announced that HD Radios would be standard in their cars.

Always enjoy reporting on FCC enforcement activity ….A couple of folks in Brooklyn NY have been ordered to contribute to the US Treasury in the amount of 10 Grand for pirate radio activity.  (Perfect)

The big item this month in the area of FCC enforcement is the matter where KWVE-FM was fined by the Commish $5000 for not airing an EOM after an EAS Test.   Feeling that the FCC was coming down too hard on the station, all 50 state broadcast associations signed a letter of protests to the FCC.   The SBE Board of Directors discussed the issue, but, other than an agreement to watch the situation, no action was taken.  Many have voiced concern that to fine a station for making an EAS mistake was counter productive and could lead to reduced participation in the EAS.

KOLJ-AM in Texas will be sending a check for $7,000 to WDC, appears they resumed operation, after a storm, with a tower having a different electrical height than the one on their license (ooops)

Reports are that Bob Wyatt, whose job was eliminated in a cut-back at KSPS in Spokane is now Director of Engineering for Alaska Public TV in Anchorage.

On October 24th there was an interesting reunion in Bloomington, Ill…the gathering was a 50th anniversary of the audio cartridge tape recorder.     Speaking of which – I just received an email concerning my 50th high school reunion – OUCH !

Ever wonder what the Government thinks about your industry ?   Take a look at these links -

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos109.htm

http://www.bls.gov/oes/2006/may/oes274012.htm

That’s it for this month, friends.   My next column will be for December –
So have a happy Thanksgiving wishes for you and yours.

Clay Freinwald, K7CR, CPBE

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

For those of you that do not receive SBE-news - _________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’m pleased to bring you this issue of SBE-news, my first as SBE President. Broadcast regulatory issues affect us all, either directly or indirectly, in our daily work. SBE has adopted a set of legislative goals and new Government Relations Committee Chairman, Barry Thomas, will tell you about those goals and the focus of his group’s work for the coming 12 months. Also in this issue is news on an Ennes Workshop in Denver next month and a new independent group advocating broadcaster’s use of BAS spectrum.
Vinny Lopez, CEV, CBNT
SBE President
SBE’s Government Relations Effort Moves Forward
Some of the SBE's most important work is done by the committees of the national board of directors.  One of our most high-profile committees has been the Government Relations Committee. President Lopez asked me to serve as the 2009-2010 committee chairman.

Serving on this committee with me are:

The SBE Executive Committee consisting of::
    Vinny Lopez, SBE President
    Ralph Hogan, SBE Vice President
    Ted Hand, SBE Secretary
    Andrea Cummis, SBE Treasurer
    Jim Bernier, SBE Director
    Jeff Smith, SBE Director

Chriss Scherer, SBE Director and an SBE Past President
Joe Snelson, SBE Director and Frequency Coordination Committee Chairman
Ralph Beaver, SBE Director and EAS Committee Chairman
Mark Heller, SBE Director
Ray Benedict of CBS and an SBE Past President
Dan Ryson of Cavell-Mertz & Associates
Troy Langham of Clear Channel Radio

Chris Imlay Esq., SBE’s General Counsel (Ex Officio)
John Poray, SBE Executive Director (Ex Officio)

Because of the critical nature of this committee and in an effort to keep our committee aligned and responsive, the entire SBE Executive Committee serves on this important committee.  This core group is augmented by the chairpersons from the committees most involved with government issues; Frequency Coordination and EAS as well as some subject experts.  This is an incredibly strong group of professionals and it's an honor to have their participation on the committee.

The work of this and all committees is to operate in support of the four purposes of the SBE as stated on the back of your membership card.  The Government Relations Committee is usually concerned primarily with purpose #4 - To represent the needs of members before regulators and the industry.  Recently the board of directors refined its member-benefit focus which resulted in a shift in Society activities away from a historical interpretation of this purpose to one where our work has a clear benefit to our members.  Our efforts may, by extension, advantage all broadcast engineers and even the broadcast industry, but the benefit focus is primarily on the SBE Membership.   Our function, like any board committee, is to research and develop recommendations for the SBE Board of Directors who debate, decide and direct the committee to execute their instructions.  We are not a communication arm of the society.  We are a resource to the board of directors and the president who communicates on our behalf.

The SBE Executive Committee drafted and ratified a set of goals for the SBE National legislative efforts.  Our efforts will be guided by these goals.  We will develop mechanisms to further these goals and can see where our work lies. 

We always seek your comments and input.  Although our contact information is available on the SBE web site, I encourage you to post your comment on the SBE Roundtable for discussion among SBE Members. 

Thanks for your support!
Barry Thomas, CPBE, CBNT
Chair, SBE Government Relations Committee
SBE Immediate Past President
Vice President of Engineering, Lincoln Financial Media