TWiRT 331 - IP Radio Success with Jeff Holdenrid

Microwave radio links have been around for a while, and now with so many IP Radios on the market, how does a broadcast engineer choose what’s right? Jeff Holdenrid with DoubleRadius has been installing and configuring these systems for over 15 years. He gives us the lowdown on the inexpensive, unlicensed systems up to fully licensed links for broadcast.

Guest: Jeff Holdenrid, Sales Engineer - DoubleRadius

Hosts:

Chris Tobin, IP-Solutionist 

Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Show Links:

Superior Essex Armored CAT6 cable

DoubleRadius value-added wireless networking

Micronet Communications & Consulting

Comsearch wireless solutions

Cambium Networks link planner

Ubiquiti outdoor wireless link calculator

Meet the New Guys

It's a new year, and the Telos Alliance has added two new members to its growing family. We welcome Brett Patram, new Support Engineer, and Dave Collins, US Sales Manager for Omnia Audio. Brett has been working actively in the Cleveland radio market as an engineer for the past eight years. He was the Director of Engineering for Salem Media Group Cleveland for the past six years before joining the Telos Alliance. He is also the current Vice Chair for the local Society of Broadcast Engineers chapter 70.

Dave is originally from Philadelphia, and has been in radio, working as a program director, on-air host, and technical guy, for the last 15 years. Most recently, he worked at a station group in Lebanon, New Hampshire, did the ski and snowboard reports for a network of stations, and was the voice of Dartmouth Sports Network. Dave has engineered thousands of remote broadcasts, including live play-by-play sports, debates, interviews, and live music concerts. Get to know Brett and Dave! 

Topics: The Telos Alliance

Our Top 5 Direct Current Posts of 2016

As we begin anew with the start of 2017, we also take a look back at the top Direct Current content of 2016—the items that received the most opens from our weekly enewsletter. (Sign up here!)

5) In late May we introduced Streaming University to rave reviews from broadcasters looking to get the most out of their streams. This informative video series ran all summer long as we featured a new video covering an important aspect of streaming audio each week for 14 weeks. The kickoff drew a lot of attention as Professor Kirk Harnack introduced Streaming U with an overview of what was in store.

Topics: The Telos Alliance

TWiRT 330 - War Stories with Tom Ray

It’s a “War Stories” episode with special guest, Tom Ray.  Tom is a soldier in the broadcast engineering trenches every day. He joins Chris Tobin and me with tower snakes, mothball mice, and clever engineering tips for mobile, street-level remote broadcasts.  

Guest: Tom Ray - President, Tom Ray Broadcast Consulting

Hosts:

Chris Tobin, IP-Solutionist 

Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Show Links:

Lectrosonics Wireless Mic and IFB Systems

The Car Doctor show

How to get rid of a Rattlesnake!

Vintage Audio: Western Electric Gear

As an electronics geek coming of age in the 1970s, my need for components and other gear often outstripped my meager budget. Between construction projects in Popular Electronics and restoration of surplus grab gear, the revenue from the allowance and part-time job wasn't enough.

Fortunately, help was at hand. With the rapid obsolescence of equipment and a thriving economy, it was often simpler for both consumers and companies to replace than repair. Picking up discarded TVs and stereos during the town's annual spring cleanup yielded a wealth of components. Occasionally, colleges got overwhelmed with components from surplus grabs and would pass some along to deserving high school students.

Topics: Vintage Electronics

TWiRT 329 - FM Antenna Tuning with Dana Puopolo

That hunk of brass, copper, and stainless steel up on the tower is a lot more important than we often consider. The FM transmitting antenna launches a station’s signal to the audience.  It can have a huge effect on the station’s listenability. Dana Puopolo joins Chris Tobin and Kirk Harnack for anecdotes and specific advice about tuning FM transmitting antennas.

Guest: Dana Puopolo - Chief Engineer WGLS-FM, Rowan University Radio, Glassboro, NJ

Hosts:

Chris Tobin, IP-Solutionist 

Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Channeling Your Inner SDI 

Building on insight and history in the television broadcast industry, The Telos Alliance created a new division to focus on the expanding needs of the TV audio market. Titled the “TV Solutions Group” (TVSG), the knowledge and resources of the two Telos Alliance TV brands, Linear Acoustic and Minnetonka Audio, are combined to provide a wide range of products, solutions, consultation, and custom development. Read more about TVSG here.

Here's the first of many TVSG tech tips:

Telos Tackles the Last Frontier

Public radio has a special place in the hearts and minds of listeners in rural communities. Often, it's their only link to the outside world. So it is in Alaska. “The Last Frontier” is served by 26 public radio licensees. Scattered across the state, they cover over 90 percent of the population. Reflecting the unique needs of each community, their program content varies widely, ranging from locally-produced entertainment to town meetings to regional and national news and information. At the hub of this network is Alaska Public Broadcasting (APB), whose headquarters are in Anchorage.

TWiRT 328 - Check the Radio and Turn Signals with Mark Persons

Gentleman engineer, Mark Persons, talks about mentoring engineering students from 150 miles away. Custom EAS Relay panels. Plus 4 dB steps in some car radios volume controls is crazy! And car-buying advice you don’t want to miss.  Plus Chris Tobin reports in from the Government Video Expo and Drone Show.

Guest: Mark Persons, President of M. W. Persons & Associates

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

Keeping it Simple with SNMP

As broadcasters develop more complex networks for IP audio, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is becoming commonplace. At its most basic, it is a protocol for collecting information about and controlling managed devices on IP networks. These might include workstations, printers, servers, routers, and switchers. But it has the potential to do a great deal more for broadcasters.

Most of today's broadcast equipment with an IP connection supports the SNMP protocol. With a bit of time and creativity, SNMP can become the front end of a command and control system that feeds an onscreen dashboard, where all the key parameters of your station's facilities can be monitored.

Topics: SNMP