Studio Builds with Robert Combs

From old-school studio wiring and transmitter installation, to new IP-Audio routing and backhaul, Robert Combs has seen and heard it all. As a Regional Director of Engineering for Cumulus, Combs is one of a few “go-to” guys when a world-class studio is going together, or a new technology is being tested in the field. We’re talking with Robert about engineering management of a region of radio stations, and how newer IP-Audio technology streamlines today’s radio studio demands.

SNMP with Charlie Toner

Since 1992 SNMP has been used to manage IT devices over IP networks, now engineers can manage networked broadcast equipment, too.  Charlie Toner is an SNMP expert. He explains how good use of SNMP affords control of your broadcast devices, codecs, transmitters, and automation systems.  Plus, we get clues on how to create a robust network environment of managed broadcast devices with SNMP.

24/7 Support Scores High with Emmis Terre Haute

Knowing your broadcast equipment is reliable is important to a radio engineer. But when issues do arise, it’s good to know there’s someone available for support too. That’s why Radio Engineer Ken Myers of Emmis Communications in Terre Haute, Indiana was pleased when Emmis furnished four newly built studios with Axia and Omnia gear in 2012.

Environmental Consciousness: Keeping the Country Clean with Omnia

With installations at stations and networks around the globe, the sound of Omnia audio processing is pretty much everywhere. Plenty of big broadcasters are vocal Omnia fans, of course, but what you might not know is that you don’t have to be a huge station to have Omnia clarity. Take Tim Marini for example, who runs an Internet streaming music station out of his house in rural Utah.

Marini started his stream in 2010, and experimented with several musical formats. On January 1, 2011 he started focusing on Hot Country. Since then, he has built up the 24/7 webstream to 100,000 -120,000 total listening hours per week, and is steadily building his base of sponsors. Part of his secret is not going overboard with commercials. “I limit breaks to three 90 seconds per hour,” he adds. He streams at 48K AAC+, and 128K MP3.

Topics: broadcast audio processor

Joe Talbot - SIP Tech Update

Quadcopters? We just can’t stop talking about them! So, there’s that. And Joe Talbot joins us from the high desert in Nevada. With more and more broadcasters moving away from POTS and ISDN tech, SIP/VoIP is bringing better-sounding phone calls into hundreds of radio and TV stations. How do you get SIP into your facility? Joe Talbot explains.

Topics: Radio Technology, sip

Vintage Audio: Panasonic SA 710 Quad Receiver

Even 30 years after four-channel quadrophonic gear disappeared from the consumer electronics stores, it still has a handful of die-hard followers. There are several websites devoted to all things quad, and four-channel equipment regularly appears on eBay. This month's find however - a Panasonic SA 710 quad receiver - was found in a thrift store, still in working condition.

Compliant Loudness Should Still Move the Meters!

Regulations which aim to improve broadcast audio loudness consistency are being implemented worldwide. This is a perfect example of legislators everywhere reacting to an issue that affects all their constituents' broadcast channels with loudness variation that is annoying to viewers. Often attributed to commercials, it is often program related as well.

This is a case where the old adage “be careful what you wish for, because you may receive it” definitely applies; in some cases the fix for annoying loudness variations has produced unintended consequences.

Axia in the Townsquare or We Get Buffalo'd in New York

You may not have realized that the third-largest owner of radio stations in the U.S. is Townsquare Media, with facilities in 66 small to mid-sized markets across the country - including a cluster of four stations in Buffalo, New York, where our story takes place.

It’s here that we met up with Chief Engineer Bill Stachowiak.

Vintage Audio: HP 403B AC Voltmeter

Back in the days when analog broadcast gear was the norm, every radio and TV station was required by the FCC to perform annual proof-of-performance measurements. That meant every engineer’s work bench had to be equipped with certain tools – namely an audio signal generator and distortion analyzer.

One of the more common of these was the HP 403B AC voltmeter. We discovered a rather distressed 403B on a recent trip to the attic.

Lee Sherwood's Radio Journey: Stella Nebraska to Major Market Hitmaker

My uncle was a guy with a golden voice and a master story teller’s delivery. He could have read the ingredients on a box of cake mix and make you want to listen.

From my early memories of the promotional LP’s that he sent my dad, to the WQAM Tiger sweatshirt my mom used to wear around the house, having your father’s only sibling on the radio brought our industry into my young mind.

With little warning, cancer took him from us in February. He left an enormous digital footprint of creativity, accomplishment and contribution to broadcasting. I proudly write in tribute to his legacy.