Radio Station Rises from the Rubble

Natural disasters tend to bring out the best and worst in people. For KHKC 102.1FM, located in Atoka, Oklahoma, a tornado that hit on May 9th definitely brought out the best in a lot of people.

“The storm totally destroyed the studios and damaged our main tower, explains Bob Sullins, president of Keystone Broadcasting. “Station manager Ricky Chase and his daughter were in the studio when the tornado struck, and took shelter under a desk. Thankfully, they were not injured.”

Vintage Audio: Tektronix 310 Portable Oscilloscope

An earlier edition of Found in the Attic examined a surplus OS-8/U oscilloscope, and we noted that this was one of the first portable general purpose scopes. The honors for the first portable laboratory-grade oscilloscope goes to Tektronix, who introduced the model 310, which is the subject of this installment.

While the 310 eventually had a wide range of field service applications, it began in 1954 as a project contracted by IBM, who needed such a device for servicing its main frame computers. Initially, Tektronix didn't expect much demand for the 310 beyond fulfilling IBM's needs. Soon however, production could barely keep up with demand. Manufacturing of the 310 and 310A continued through 1971, a 16-year production run. When it was over, tens of thousands of these oscilloscopes had been sold.

Z/IP - ping Along at the RNC

Steve Neumann is Program Director at WINT in Willoughby, Ohio, about 15 miles to the east of Cleveland. When the station decided to broadcast live from the Republican National Convention in downtown Cleveland next week, they needed to know they’d be able to provide a stable remote feed back to their studios. Fortunately for WINT, Steve goes back a ways with Telos Alliance CEO Frank Foti.

Topics: Telos Z/IP ONE

Vintage Audio: A Pioneer SA-6500II Power Amplifier

Without a doubt, the best-known brand of hi-fi gear from the late ‘60s and throughout the ‘70s was Pioneer. The sleek styling of brushed aluminum panels and large illuminated dials convey a sense of sophisticated elegance that makes them sought after items even 40-some years after their manufacture.

Pioneer's product line always included everything from top-of-the-line equipment to gear that college students on a shoestring budget could afford. And sometimes there were package deals that included speakers, turntable, tuner, amp, and tape deck. This installment of Found in the Attic looks at a trio from the late 1970s – the SA-6500II power amplifier, TX-6500II AM-FM tuner and CT-F505 cassette deck.

Vintage Audio: Hallicrafters S-20 'Sky Champion' receiver

This installment of Found in the Attic examines the Hallicrafters S-20 'Sky Champion' receiver. The 'Sky Champion' line was the company's' mid-priced communications receiver.   Introduced in 1938, the S-20 was replaced by the S-20R in 1939. Since it was in production for less than a year, these receivers are somewhat rare.

There are several differences between the S-20 and S-20R. The S-20 primarily used tubes with grid caps, while the later S-20R used newer replacements. Tube lineup for the S-20 includes: 6K7, RF stage; 6L7, 1^st detector-mixer; 6J5, HF osc; 6K7, IF amp; 6Q7, 2^nd detector-AVC-1^st audio stage; 6F6, audio out; 6J5, BFO and 80, rectifier.

Topics: Vintage Electronics, Vintage Audio Technology

TWiRT 312 - Rx for TX with Mike Patton

What conditions bring radio transmitters to an early demise?  What items does a professional transmitter restoration job include?  And what technologies are worth maintaining versus those no longer appropriate for daily use?  Michael Patton helps radio station owners face these and other questions about keeping their stations on the air and viable.

Guest: Michael Patton, Owner - Michael Patton & Associates

Hosts:  Chris Tobin, IP-Solutionist  and Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Links from the show: 

Michael Patton & Associates Transmitter Repairs

Nautel - Recommendations for Transmitter Site Preparation

Lightning Strike Map

Blitzortung Lightning Dynamic Map

Industrial Risk Insurers’ Pre-Emergency Planning Guide

Meet the Man Behind 'the Dan' 

Gary Katz, the acclaimed producer and major force behind the discovery and presentation of some of the most important artists in the history of popular music, visited Telos Alliance headquarters to discuss a very exciting possible cooperative venture. While here, he sat down with our own Denny Sanders to discuss some of his recollections spanning more than 50 years in the music business and gave us his thoughts about audio integrity and the pursuit of quality sound.

TWiRT 311 - Audio Processor Development with Cornelius Gould

G-Force is the latest audio processing development from Cornelius Gould. While this tech and the audio results are nothing short of amazing, we’re asking Corny about the road he travelled to get here.  What’s the path between humble beginnings and the pinnacle of audio processing technology?

Guest: Cornelius Gould, Audio Algorithm Designer - The Telos Alliance

Hosts:  Chris Tobin, IP-Solutionist  and Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Links from the show: 

Blog Post by Cornelius Gould about Omnia.11 3.0 software

Video by Cornelius Gould explaining the first implementation of Chameleon technology (Pt 1 of 3)

Article about the history of broadcast audio processing

Connecting the Land Down Under

With 78 analogue and 25 digital radio stations distributed across the entire continent, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is Australia’s largest commercial radio broadcaster. Each of these stations combines “live and local” programming with networked shows originating from multiple network hubs; often up to four different source cities in any given day.

Topics: SCAsat Audio Distribution Network

TWiRT 310 - A Loaded Otter on War Stories

On this week’s War Stories episode, Rich Parker shows us a backhoe fade in Ketchikan, translators on Prince of Whales Island, and he hikes the Blueberry Trail to meet a helicopter on Pederson Hill. Chris Tobin is here along with Rich Parker on TWiRT.

Guest: Rich Parker, Director of Engineering at Coast Alaska

Hosts:  Chris Tobin, IP-Solutionist  and Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Links from the show: 

KRBD - STL 'backhoe fade' just before leaving for PoW Translator work

KRBD Prince of Wales Island and Ketchikan Translators

KTOO - Pederson Hill Translator Site

Whirlwind Qbox - all-in-one audio line tester

EXCEL Digital Voltmeter XL830L