Columbus Indie Alternative Survives and Thrives

Every once in a while we come across a broadcaster or radio station so interesting and unique, we have to tell the story. Earlier this year the Telos Alliance van paid a visit to one such station, just a couple hours south of our Cleveland headquarters. There, in Ohio’s state capital of Columbus, is independent CD 102.5 (WWCD), the Alternative Station.

Topics: CD 102.5, independent radio, Columbus, OH

Magnetic Tape and the Emergence of High-Fidelity Recording

In the earliest days of sound recording (late 1880s to 1926), all recordings were made acoustically. That is to say, a recording machine with a large horn with a needle on the other end was set before an orchestra and the vibrations from the needle would “draw” a pattern on a spinning wax cylinder (or later flat disc). If a vocalist was called upon to sing, they would stand before the horn and sing right into it.

Topics: Vintage Electronics, Vintage Audio Technology, Broadcast History

TWiRT 368 - The Broadcasters Clinic in Madison

Possibly the best regional conference for Radio and TV engineers, the WBA Broadcasters Clinic is our venue in Madison, Wisconsin.  John Chelliah, Steve Lampen, Chris Tarr, and Mark Persons make-up an all-star cast for this episode of TWiRT.  We’re talking 12 GHz coax, AoIP, and console-less consoles, live from Madison.

Topics: Broadcast Engineering, Streaming Audio, audio, audio quality

Jason Wisnieski: Renaissance Man

As he nears the 20 year mark with the company, we sat down with Telos Systems Product Manager Jason Wisnieski for his career backstory, his view of the industry, and what it means to be part of the Alliance. Hear what the Telos veteran, wearer of handlebar moustache, and resident renaissance man has to say.

Topics: Telos Systems, Telos Alliance

The Bisset Brief: Great Plains Spreads the Word with AoIP

“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.

Omnia Provides Xtra Listener Satisfaction

When the owner of Spain’s XtraFM 92.7 decided to sell, he wanted the buyer to be someone with ‘Radio DNA’—someone familiar with the industry who really cared about the station, and wouldn’t buy it simply as a money-making venture. Otherwise he was going to take it off the air. Enter Patrick van den Hoek, broadcast engineer at XtraFM for seven years. When the offer to buy the station was extended, Patrick didn’t have to think it over for too long.

Topics: broadcast audio processor

TWiRT 367 - AoIP Covers Boise with Jordan Bitz

Jordan Bitz walked into an existing AoIP radio station and had to learn it - fast! Now he’s extended his AoIP network to a transmitter site 30 miles across the valley. Plus, he’s using streaming audio for distribution and backup systems.  

Also on this episode, David Bialik previews an amazing Broadcast and Streaming track at the AES Convention in New York.

Topics: Broadcast Engineering, Streaming Audio, audio, audio quality

College Radio: Igniting the Soul

Down on the lower end of the FM dial is where you’ll find them… Diligently plugging away, sometimes sounding as if they’re not so sure of themselves, playing music you’ve likely never heard before. Depending on what you hear, you may feel it’s not your cup of tea and tune your radio to something more mainstream.

But do you ever get tired of mainstream and feel like you want something a little different? Then I invite you to stick around a while, bear with the young DJ spinning the tunes, and open your ears to something you don’t always hear on mainstream radio. Welcome to the wonderful world of college radio.

Topics: college radio, College Radio Day

Live(wire) in Canada!

This past weekend was the annual conference of the CCBE (Central Canada Broadcast Engineers) outside Toronto. The proceedings featured a small-scale interoperability event similar to the AES Plugfest, and a keynote presentation on the benefits of AES67 and AES70. Our Jeff McGinley attended along with Tyler Everitt, from our Canadian dealer Pippin, so we caught up with them for a review.

Frank's Magical Mystery Tour of Abbey Road

Have you ever experienced something surreal? Recently, I had reason to visit and work at Abbey Road Studio in London, and it still seems surreal!! My colleague Jayson Tomlin, Gary Katz (producer of Steely Dan), and myself were there to do testing and evaluation of some new technologies we’ve been working on for broadcast and consumer applications.