Solving problems is one of the key reasons most of us are in the radio engineering business. What a time we are in; the focus on engineering has never been keener. Nor have there been as many problems to solve! One of our Telos/Axia installation contractors, Gregory Dahl of Second Opinion Communications, offered some thoughts for AoIP broadcasters during this unusual time.

Dan Feely, Chief Engineer of Mount Wilson FM’s Global Jazz, shared some techniques in building translator racks that I thought you’d like to consider. First, Dan builds them all the same. By adopting the same complement of equipment, troubleshooting is more efficient; and fewer spares are needed. So much the better if you can standardize on equipment brands. By adopting this technique, which is also shared by EMF in Rocklin, CA, installations are smoother.

Telos’ invention of AoIP almost 15 years ago has brought with it some amazing changes to broadcast engineering. In addition to simplified installation and the end of punching down long wiring runs, AoIP has brought a new look at the STL, or Studio-Transmitter Link.

I first met Rob Bertrand over a decade ago, when he was working with his college radio station. Since then, he has accepted positions of increasing responsibility for a number of major players, and is now the Senior Director of Technology for American University’s WAMU in Washington, DC.

Owners of our Element and Fusion consoles are aware of the built-in mic processing features. Well, there’s basic mic processing in our QOR.32 and QOR.16 console engines, used with RAQ, DESQ, Radius, and IQ surfaces, too. I spoke with Telos Alliance Support Engineer Brett Patram recently, who outlined the setup of these parameters.

In the days of analog systems, we used a test set called a “butt-in” or simply “butt set” that was commonly used by the phone company. With some serious alligator clips on the test cord ends, you could “butt into” or bridge any audio circuit to monitor the audio...a very useful tool to trace analog signals.

John Bisset, Telos Alliance Radio Products Sales Manager for the Western U.S., tells us about his travels across the country, where he has helped facilitate a number of AoIP radio facility installations. He shares some of his experiences here.

Winter weather preparedness is a topic near and dear to our readers’ hearts, with some good suggestions from our initial column on the subject. Ray Gorney is the Assistant Director of Engineering for Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls, ID, CSN International, and the Effect Networks. Ray added a very important consideration to that survival backpack we wrote about last issue—prescription medications. For engineers who take prescription or even over-the-counter meds, having a one- or two-day supply in the survival kit is a necessity. It could be dangerous, if not deadly, for some to be without their meds.

In this blog, we’ll divert from Livewire+ Axia topics to focus on winter prep. Except for our friends to the south and far west, the rest of us have to deal with–in some cases–harsh cold weather conditions. A little pre-planning will make the season easier.

“What seems normal to one man is often simply a dream to another.” These were the words of Reverend Gene White in 1983 when he moved to southwestern Kansas from Chicago. Upon his arrival, Rev. White was astonished at how much he missed the positive influence of Christian radio as he scanned the dial in the Heartland and found no Christian radio.