Yea Engineering with Rob Chickering

What’s an engineer to do when the talent loves technology as much as he does?  Roll with it and have fun! Rob Chickering is the VP of Operations and Engineering for Yea Networks - the house that Kidd Kraddick built. Rob joins us to show off his fantastic radio studios in Dallas, and talk about how engineers can be just as creative as major-league talent.

Telos and Linear Acoustic: Helping Broadcasters Keep Their Eye on the Shifting Center of the Broadcast Universe

The television broadcast industry has become infinitely more complex during the last five years, with producers churning out more content than at any other time in history. Meanwhile, the broadcast landscape has become vast and wholly unpredictable, with consumer preferences driving when, where and how content is consumed. These changes have come upon the broadcast industry swiftly and relentlessly. Less than a decade ago, content producers could safely predict that consumers were watching the vast majority of content on television sets in their homes. But now, with an abundance of smartphones, mobile devices and apps — all of which are routinely relaying broadcast content — the lines on the playing field have changed. And they are anything but predictable.

While the beginning and endpoints of this new playing field are still somewhat discernable despite constantly evolving technical standards, broadcast mediums, consumer device and viewing preferences, the middle points and content distribution methods are murky and less defined. Even though producers are now able to express themselves using more technically advanced tools than ever before — and consumers are able to consume content more conveniently 'anytime, anyplace, anywhere' — this has put strain and uncertainty on the part the broadcasters themselves, who are less visible than the producers or consumers in the broadcast chain. These broadcasters essentially need to create and adapt new content distribution channels and working methodologies where no precedent already exists.

There is a lot at stake for broadcasters, since their role is critical to both the content producers and consumers. The Telos Alliance, and its subsidiary Linear Acoustic, has played an active and innovative role not only in helping define this new broadcast distribution landscape, but also in helping its international customer base understand and overcome the challenges it presents. Over the course of this interview, Tim Carroll, Chief Technology Officer of Telos Alliance, explains how the broader television broadcast environment has changed and how Telos and Linear Acoustic are helping customers navigate and overcome the daunting challenges that now exist.

Roots Radio with John Stephens

John Stephens describes himself as a Serial Entrepreneur. After 35 years working in all forms of the media John finally got around to his lifelong dream of building and operating a radio station. John's station is an "Internet Pure-play" meaning on-line only, no transmitter required. "Our Musical Roots"  has listeners in 30 different countries around the world. John calls his format "Progressive Rock for Vintage Rockers."

Chris Tobin and Kirk Harnack talk with John about the evolution of his Internet station from original idea, to business  plan and then finally the fun part, designing, building and bringing his dream to life.

Saul Levine: FM Radio Pioneer

Saul Levine, one the pioneers of FM radio in Los Angeles, has been operating KKGO 105.1 since February 1959. Through his company, Mount Wilson Broadcasting, KKGO is the oldest, independent FM station in Los Angeles and one of the very few independent FMs remaining in any major market.

The station originally signed on as KBCA, became KKGO, then KMZT, then returned to the KKGO call letters in 2007. The station began as a classical music outlet, then had a long-running jazz format, returned to classical, and finally adopted a successful country music format.

Recently, Omnia Brand and Marketing Manager Denny Sanders spoke with Saul Levine at his Los Angeles headquarters.

Vintage Tech: Sencore DVM-56A Microranger

A better title for this month's technical missive might be "Found on the Workbench", because that's where this item has lived for the past 30 years. When it was introduced in the early 1980s, the Sencore DVM-56 was a milestone device. It was one of the first DVMs to feature autoranging, thanks to the marriage of voltmeter and microprocessor technologies. No more constant fiddling with the range switch, remembering units of measurement, or where the decimal point goes. Other nice features were a programmable dB function, peak-to-peak, average and true RMS AC ranges, peak and null indicators and switch-selectable resolution of 3, 4 or 4 ½ digits. Resistances could be measured up to the unheard of range of 100 megohms and greater by paralleling a 90 meg resistor across the input terminals and using the Hi Power Ohms function.

Engineering for Non-Engineers with Skip Pizzi

For most of us engineers, our jobs would be easier if our colleagues understood a bit more about broadcast engineering. Skip Pizzi has finished updating the fourth edition of “A Broadcast Engineering Tutorial for Non-Engineers.” He joins us for a fascinating look at this updated book, and how both engineers and non-engineers benefit from broadening their engineering horizons.

AoIP: It’s the Ecosystem, not just the Technology

When Steve Church unveiled IP-Audio, the technology which became our Axia brand, at NAB in 2002 he told everyone his vision: all broadcast equipment speaking a common language of networked control and audio, finally doing away with soldered, single-destination audio circuits and the stupefying array of connectors that accompanied them. Steve’s desire – and ours – is that all broadcast gear should interoperate. And not just operate together, but do it easily, seamlessly and without drama.

Fast-forward to 2014: our customers tell us that we’ve made a bit of progress! We’ve come to refer to this synergy, this co-operation of broadcast gear, as an ecosystem – all parts working together in harmony, with the sum of the parts being greater than the whole.

War Stories with Mark Jensen

OK, it’s “War Stories Lite”.  Mark Jensen is well-known among podcasters as the go-to guy for solid reviews of equipment for home and small studios.  His web site, NewMediaGear.com, is a resource for studio-makers and other gear-heads seeking a professional’s take on items from microphones to mixers. Mark shares his wisdom and years of experience with Chris Tobin and me on this episode.

TOTAL Support - 24/7 and Beyond

Good help is hard to find. Unfortunately, this familiar adage seems to ring true even more today than it used to. As companies look to cut costs, it seems once you make a purchase and step outside the store or have your item delivered, you’re on your own. There’s no guarantee you’ll receive quality service and support. Even with a big ticket item, support can come at a premium.

At The Telos Alliance, we realize how important follow-up support is… and how reliable you need your broadcast gear to be to keep your facility humming. That’s why when you purchase gear from Telos Systems, Omnia Audio, Linear Acoustic, 25-Seven Systems, or Axia Audio, we’re here for you.

Vintage Tech: GE BM-1-A FM Monitor

During the golden age of radio, all of America's largest electronics manufacturers were engaged, as there was lots of money and prestige to be had building broadcast equipment. RCA, Raytheon, Westinghouse and General Electric were all big players. By the 1960s, the AM and FM expansions were pretty much over. One by one, these big firms got out of broadcasting, often to pursue more lucrative government contracts as the war in Vietnam escalated.