Vintage Audio: Zenith Royal 1000 TransOceanic

The lure of snagging distant short wave signals from the other side of the globe has been a part of radio listening from the earliest days. As receiver and battery technologies improved, radios became portable, meaning DXers were no longer confined to listening in their basement or attic radio shacks.

WSB-AM Transmitter Party

During the 2015 NAB Radio Show in Atlanta, Charles Kinney opened the doors to the iconic WSB (AM) transmitter site and threw a party!  Nearly 80 engineers and friends showed up to see the current site and learn about the history of AM transmissions from here.

Streaming and Podcasting with a Guy from Queens

Andrew Zarian is the founder and President of GFQ Networks, a tech-savvy Internet broadcaster located in Queens, New York. Currently the hosts of a dozen different streaming video shows and a couple more podcasts, GFQ is one of the up-and-comers in the Internet streaming world – and also a Telos Alliance client. We sat down with Andrew to get the scoop on how he started, and where he thinks Webcasting is headed.

HD and AM Transmission with Gary Liebisch

Two decades of hands-on radio engineering prepared Gary Liebisch for important roles in radio transmitter design and management at Harris Broadcast. Now he’s educating and finding technical solutions for customers at Nautel. Gary talks with Chris Tobin and Kirk Harnack about 4th generation HD Radio gear, plus tight IT integration into today’s lower-maintenance transmitters.

Dr. Barry Blesser Talks Voltair

Audio over IP – Take a Lesson from Radio

Even as AES67 levels the playing field in the broadcast space for Audio over IP (AoIP), there is still reluctance within the television industry to fully embrace it.  We should take a cue from our brothers and sisters in radio who have adopted AoIP with open arms.  Many in television think that as soon as you start talking about IP technology, it infers video over IP, and cannot see the benefits of AoIP.  While video over IP still has a way to go before it reaches acceptance, that doesn’t mean that we need to wait to deploy AoIP. For decades, audio systems in broadcast facilities have been cumbersome and often over-engineered, but, that can change.  Audio over IP has been tried and tested in the radio sector — these same solutions can be adapted for television.

Leveraging Radio Engineering with Daniel Hyatt

Daniel Hyatt is finding ways to leverage his radio engineering experience. From his Director of Engineering position in Denver, Daniel is running a large DJ business, Sound and Light company, does global sourcing, and is even manufacturing custom LEDs for niche projects. What can we learn from Daniel’s entrepreneurialism?

Sounding 9x Better at WBHM

Broadcasting from the campus of the University of Alabama - Birmingham, WBHM is north central Alabama's NPR news station. WBHM features a variety of local programming, as well as offerings from NPR. It is also where we find Systems Administrator/Chief Operator Darrell Pierson McCalla, who recently purchased an Omnia.9. After using it for two and a half months, he's enthusiastic about the improvements to the 90.3 Mhz FM signal.

How AES67, the New Audio over IP Standards, will Bring the Convergence of Telecommunications, Studio Audio, and Intercom

AES67 is a new industry standard for interoperability of high quality audio over IP networks from the Audio Engineering Society, published just under two years ago (September 2013). This standard was quickly embraced by all of the main broadcast audio equipment vendors, and compatibility modes announced by all of the major competing networking audio vendors: Livewire, Q-LAN, Ravenna and Dante. Outside of broadcast, there has also been a high level of audio industry acceptance.

Digital Signage Technology with Jeff Schick

Digital signage technology is showing up everywhere - from swanky elevators to shopping malls to restaurants. Now, some radio stations are using this tech to inform station visitors, on-air talent, and station staff. As engineers we’ll be called upon to implement such systems. Jeff Schick joins Chris Tobin and me to explain what to look for in digital signage.