NPR Labs' Rich Rarey

Rich Rarey’s name is synonymous with audio engineering at NPR, and has been for over 30 years. Now, Rich is the Director of NPR Labs, the USA’s only not-for-profit broadcast technology research and development center.

Rich joins Chris Tobin and Kirk Harnack with broadcast engineering tales from the past, and fascinating looks at an award-winning NPR Labs project in progress now.

Axia enters Pop Culture

A console on your smartphone?

Well, not exactly. But pretty close!  Addison Burnside, student Assistant Engineer at the East Valley Institute of Technology's KVIT found that Element consoles have crossed over into pop culture - or at least to stock photo houses.

Masterful Audio

Omnia's Corny Gould puts it down in print

When you work with a bunch of really smart guys, you tend to forget sometimes just how respected they are.And then, you get a little reminder -- like this one.

Transition from ISDN to IP Audio Continues

Following our blog post about the gradual phasing out of ISDN in favor of IP Audio transmission for remote broadcasts, we received a variety of comments and questions regarding the pros and cons of this transition. We'd like to answer those questions – not just because we create IP Audio technologies, but so you can better determine if and when IP Audio might be right for you.

With that in mind, our Cam Eicher answers some great questions posed following last week’s blog post.

Catalog Collection Keeps Track of "The Shack" Radio Shack Catalog

Fans of Radio Shack were hit hard with the recent news that the electronics retailer plans to close roughly 20% of its stores. The announcement indicated the chain will close over 1,000 of its lower-performing stores, primarily in the U.S.

While electronics consumers remain hopeful for the future of Radio Shack, no matter what the future holds, they can rest assured that the glory days of Radio Shack’s past and an archive of Radio Shack catalogs will be immortalized by Mike D’Alessio on radioshackcatalogs.com.

Mute it, Kirk: Radio Transmitter Muting

Kirk has a transmitter problem related to operation during antenna icing conditions. Between Chris Tobin’s help and ideas from the TWiRT chat room, I think we’ve got a solution! Plus, Chris Tobin explains how transmitter muting and safety lockouts are USED in multi-transmitter master antenna sites.

Adventures in Engineering: Radio is OK GO! in Oklahoma

Studio projects come to us for a variety of reasons.

For Rich Hardy, a contract engineer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a recent project came via inheritance. “Another contract engineer had designed a six-console Axia build out, but he passed away before construction began, so I inherited the project. I didn't know much about Axia or Livewire, so I started reading up on it.” Hardy liked what he read, and soon plans were being finalized.

And then came more…

As ISDN is Slowly Phased Out, IP Audio Emerges

Voice Actor Barry Zate writes: “I am a user of the Telos Xstream. I love it. But [my ISP] is working hard at ditching ISDN [and] I am paying $360 a month. I am wondering if Telos has talked with [ISPs] about ISDN… I am wondering if they could offer ISDN to save the service.

Are you working on promoting the Z/IP product? It sounds like a solid alternative. ISDN is just dying here. HELP!”

Managing Talk Show Callers and Content with the Telos Hx6

Producing great talk shows and call-ins requires a smooth workflow to get guests and callers on and off the air. It's difficult to present natural sounding conversation to your listeners when you're fussing with controls and settings. Or when audio quality varies audibly from caller-to-caller.

What's needed and how can you best get the job done right?

Omnia.9 Undo - A Cease Fire in Radio's Loudness Wars

We've all heard about loudness wars on the airwaves, but you may not be aware of the loudness war in the music industry, or at least not how far it has progressed.

Nobody wants to release a song quieter than other contemporary releases. Few want to just match the loudness, most seem to want to release their music louder than other contemporary releases. The reasons are not clearly known. Perhaps there is a misconception that a loud release will cut through better on the radio. Perhaps it's human nature. Perhaps some people think their music will be a bigger hit if it's louder.

Topics: broadcast audio processor