FIRST COMPUTER & ELECTRONICS SWAPMEET OF THE SEASON

    It's almost spring – when a ham's thoughts turn to…hardware! It will all be for sale at the 28th annual Salem Hamfair, better known as "Rickreall," since that's where it's held (west of Salem). Saturday February 16th, doors open at 9 AM. If you stand near the back door of the main hall, you will see most of the broadcast engineers in Oregon. You can see the flyer at http://www.w7sra.com/flyer/Flyer_2008_Final.pdf .

    The Winter/Spring 2008 Crutchfield catalog shows four low-priced car stereos with built-in HD Radio receivers. The new JVC KD-HDR30 for $160; the XHD6425 from Dual for $150 that has been out for a while, plus their XHD6420 without a USB input for $130; and now the Jensen HD5212 with USB, iPod adapter, and SD card reader for $160.

    The NAB is supporting a 10 dB power increase for FM HD Radio. From http://www.nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Press_Releases1&CONTENTID=11666&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm "Acting upon a recommendation from the NAB Digital Radio Committee, the Board unanimously approved a resolution to seek FCC authorization for higher-power operation of FM HD Radio stations."

    A 10 dB increase would bring the analog to digital effective radiated power ratio up from 100:1 to 10:1. Poking around the websites of FM HD Radio transmitter manufacturers, the ones who make solid-state models list them up to at least 3 kW in the HD-only mode, and some with the potential to go as high as 12 kW.

    Since this is still just a proposal, no one is quoting how much analog plus 10% HD they could put out. Assuming the FCC eventually approves a power increase, stations who now have separate FM HD transmitters feeding separate antennas (like KGON & KYCH) or "back feeding" combiners (like KRSK) would have to buy bigger ones. Stations using "high-level" combining (like KNRK), "mid-level" combining (like KBOO), or doing low-level combining using the new models of tube HD+FM transmitters (like KWJJ is about to) might be stuck at the original HD power level for awhile.

SKYLINE TOWER AMATEUR RADIO CLUB "EVENT"

    I put event in quotes because this one usually only involves a few people. We're going to compete again in the CQ Magazine World-Wide 160 meter SSB DX contest (http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/NEW160_CntRules_200810207.pdf). This year it's on February 23rd & 24th. This is the last "bottom of the sunspot cycle" 160 meter contest for years. We'll hang the center of the club's 180' B&W folded dipole from a yardarm near the bottom elevator stop on the big tower, and use it as an inverted V. If you would like to loan us a linear amplifier, we'd appreciate it. If you want to come operate, let me know.

RSI "RF SITE SAFETY AWARENESS™" TRAINING
COMING TO PORTLAND ON MARCH 13th

By Becky Catlin

Some of the subjects we cover in the class include:

-Updated FCC & OSHA Enforcement Actions
-Tower Posting Requirements
-RF Signage

Recommendations

-Safety Plans
-MPE (Maximum Permissible Exposure)

Overview

-Steps to Compliance
-MPE Math
-Antenna 101
-RF Health & Safety Outline
-General Safety Primer for Telecommunication Sites
-PLUS MUCH MUCH MORE

    Cost for the public RF SSA Class is $325 per person.  If you are interested in additional employees there is a group discount available with 5 or more.

    If you are unable to travel to the locations of our live training we do offer SSA online Training, which consists of 9 Chapters of Web-based training fashioned after our live classes. Each chapter is 4-5 pages of material with a 10 question quiz at the end of the chapter. The online is activated for one full year and you can print your certificate of completion once you have completed the training. The online training has a Learning Manager System and this allows an appointed manager to track the training of each employee, including date of training, length of time spent on the training, completion date, etc. These documents are printable and can be used in Training files for proof of training.

    We also offer Custom In-House trainings for customers that have more than 12-15 employees to train at one time. We come to your location and present our RF Safety Training class, including policies & procedures that are specific to your company. We limit our class size to a maximum of 30 students per class. The students can be your employees or contractors that work on your sites, so that you can ensure proper RF Safety training. If you have a really large group, there are discounts available for multiple day trainings. I would be happy to do a Proposal for you if you are interested.

    Our website is http://www.rsicorp.com and has the listings of all of our trainings available and the services we provide.

    Along with the above listed live and online RF Compliance Safety training classes RSI offers a host of General Industry and Technical Training Online Classes including but not limited to Hazard Communication Awareness, Introduction to Radio Antenna Systems, Intro to 2-Way Radio Antenna Systems Line Sweep Testing, OSHA 10 Hr. certification.

    RSI also performs MPE Studies and Site Assessments and writes complete comprehensive Safety Plans for organizations nationwide.

    If you have additional questions I will be happy to visit with you, or you can reach me at 888-830-5648 or e-mail me at beckyc at rsicorp dot com.

KGW FIRST TO GO HD WITH NEWS PRODUCTION IN PORTLAND

By Eric Dausman KD7DNM CBNT
Director of Technology, KGW
Chapter 124 Treasurer
treasurer at sbe124 dot org

    On January 21^st , 2008 at 5 PM, KGW launched its new look and new HD production system at 1501 Jefferson Street. After three years of submitting and revising budgets to Belo Corporation, our turn finally came. We were told in April of 2007, that we had been selected to "get ready" and submit a plan in July. With the help of Tim Kerr, Technical Systems Manager, we began refreshing our quotes and going over our diagrams and spreadsheets. Our funding was approved on August 8^th, and we were told by Belo that we were expected to get it on-the-air in January.

    On February 9^th, we began ordering equipment. We placed orders for the long lead items first like our new Grass Valley Kayak switcher, LDK-4000 studio cameras, and our Calrec audio console. We also ordered about a couple-hundred different modules from Everetz and others to use for video distribution, up-conversion, down-conversion, and aspect-ratio conversion. Sony provided the five HD cameras necessary for the POV and Newsroom shots. Two more Sony cameras will be placed into service shortly for a permanent roof camera location and a Skycam looking at Downtown Portland. Fujinon provided all of the new HD lenses. Beck provided the basic implementation of the new HD switching and distribution infrastructure. The KGW technical staff did most of the interface to the existing plant, camera installs, HD upgrades to existing equipment, etc.

    Since we had the space, we decided to build an HD control room from the ground up in space formerly occupied by our "backup" control room. The only thing that remains from that room is some of the furniture. Otherwise, it is completely new. We installed a new plant wide Telex/RTS 110 x 110 matrix intercom/IFB system at the same time.

    Our goal was to convert the entire news production operation to 1920 x 1080i native HD production. Everything in-studio is now in this HD format. We do up-convert our existing Sony SX field format to HD. All field shooting is now done in widescreen. Our Weather Graphics are now in HD, and all of our other graphics are now in HD. We have ordered our new Ultramedia III HD [camera] from FLIR for our helicopter, and we will soon have HD Skycams. We have two Sony HD field cameras. One is the new Sony HDCAM Blue-Ray format, and the other the Sony HDCAM EX. Both are being used by News and Production for daily work. Right now we are airing at least one story every day in 1080i native HD. All HD from these cameras is cut on Final Cut Pro.

    Executive News Director, Rod Gramer, got his chance to do some much needed overhauling of the news set. We have a really cool looking new desk, and there are now eight new plasma monitors on the set, and one ten-foot wide rear screen system. Even the floor got a new shiny blue paint job!

    The toughest part of the job was getting it all in place. We still have a lot of punchlist items to work on. But the list is down to somewhat manageable 50 items! The project details really get you down. I spent the better part of two months meeting daily with every technician on our staff to make sure they were thinking about what they would require to get their projects done. For the most part, it all worked out.

    We delivered the new control room to News on Monday January 14^th for technical rehearsals. A lot of stuff was not really working yet. Every day we added more stuff to the switcher and the directors started working with Newscast Producers to see if it would work. By the end of the week, the directors, producers, and air talent were more comfortable with the new systems. The anchors especially were freaked out about what they might look like in HD. In the end, that worked out fine. A combination of finer makeup and skin detail correction in the LDK cameras makes them look much better than they ever did in the old SD world.

    We actually moved to the new HD control room a day ahead of time. We did not tell anyone, but we ran a full 24 hours on the temporary set from the HD control room beginning Sunday January 20th. This gave us all the confidence we needed to go on the air on Monday.

    I will try to keep you up to date with more HD news as we finish the project over the next few months. Special thanks to the KGW technical staff that helped with this transition. They are a great bunch and really stayed focused over the past several months to get it all done. Tim Kerr, Steve Kaluza, Dave Tinkham, Peter Deffenbacher, Peter Davies, Charlie Rose, Dan Dugan, and John Waikart. We also had the help and support of all of the Technical Operations staff to pull cables, install connectors, take extra operation shifts, etc. It was a great team effort!

    Oh, yea, the best part! My boss just told me we are now building a remote HD studio in Pioneer Square! Holy Aspect Ratio Converter, Batman! There goes our Summer Vacation plans!!! I have to go now. A viewer wants to know if our new HD studio conversion has caused his old analog TV to die!

8VSB SEMINAR COMES TO OREGON

    If you are associated with or interested in the DTV transition, now just over a year away for full service stations, you really need to attend the 8VSB Digital Television seminar to be hosted in Eugene by SBE Chapter 76 at the KLSR studios. This is the full 1½ day seminar led by Gary Sgrignoli, DTV Transmission Engineer for Meintel, Sgrignoli, & Wallace. The dates are March 14 & 15, which is Friday and Saturday. Sessions will begin on both days at 10 am, so you have time to commute to Eugene from the Portland area. The cost is reasonable for the time and materials that you will receive. See the flyer elsewhere in this edition, or go to http://www.SBE76.org for more information and registration materials. Pre-registration is highly encouraged… Questions? E-mail VSB_Seminar at SBE76 dot org

NTIA DTV SET TOP CONVERTER BOX COUPON PROGRAM

    Beginning on January 1^st, the NTIA began accepting applications for consumers in the U.S. to receive up to two $40 coupons to be redeemed towards the purchase of a DTV converter box (Set Top Box or STB) to continue to receive over the air television after the February 17, 2009 cessation of analog transmissions from full power stations. Response has been really good with over 3 million applications. Interesting that Oregon leads the nation in per capita applications with over 180,000 to date. If you haven’t ordered your coupons yet, you can do it online at: http://www.DTV2009.gov .

    While the response has been good, confusion reigns with the public about what exactly will happen on that now famous date. LPTV and Translators do not have a mandatory date set, which means that many viewers in much of rural Oregon will not see much change, but may need to take advantage of the converter box program sooner than later. Only 3 of the 34 STB’s approved by NTIA for the program have "analog pass through," which may make it difficult for viewers in areas with a mix of full service and LPTV stations if they do not buy a box with the pass through feature. NAB has recently stepped in to try to educate the manufacturers and public about the feature and its impact on LPTV stations.

DTV TRANSITION STATUS REPORTS DUE THIS MONTH

    If you are involved with the full power DTV transition, be sure to make note that the FCC is requiring that all stations need to file a Form 387 DTV Status report by the middle of February. Hopefully by now, given the recent clarification of policies and procedures by the FCC, you have a clearer picture of where you will be on February 17, 2009!

    At OPB, we have two stations that are on their final channels, and three that are moving back to their present "analog" channels. We’ve ordered new solid state DTV transmitters and will be installing them during this coming summer. Our FCC DTV status report will include technical modifications of the proposed facilities to adjust what was published in the Appendix table of allocations. I fully believe that the stations on high band VHF will provide excellent coverage, hopefully to more than fully replicate that of the existing analog coverage.

SPRINT / NEXTEL 2 GHZ RELOCATION UPDATE

    At this point in time, all stations should be finished with their equipment inventories and most will be working with the vendors for final quotes on equipment and integration services. For those of you that may have microwave licenses on 2 GHz associated with translator or LPTV services, you have only until March 15^th to get those quotes filed. You must check on this now if you have any questions.

    On the current schedule the Portland, Eugene, Medford, and Bend, markets will not transition to the new band plan until August of 2009. Much of the new equipment may not be delivered until spring of that year.

WINTER ADVENTURES IN OREGON BROADCASTING

    I’ve included some recent pictures of the adventures of OPB Field Engineers enjoying servicing some of the OPB sites. Remember this when you are warm and dry and can drive to your transmitter on paved roads. This HAS been an unusual winter so far!

Click on pictures for full-sized images.

The road to KTVR & KUNP, Mt Fanny, East of La Grande after the last wind storm. More than a dozen trees had to be removed.  This trip took an entire day to just clear the road. Most recent trip to the site took 4 1/2 hours each way by sno track vehicle.

Icing on the towers and antennas at Beaver Mtn, near Baker City.  VSWR was higher than usual...

Sometimes the extreme weather comes with beauty as well. Beaver Mtn, near Baker City, home of rural TV translators, an FM station, and multiple communication facilities.

On the way up to Beaver Mtn. You can bet that the crew from the Qwest office in Baker City were mighty glad to see the OPB snow track coming up the road.  No, snow vehicles can't go everywhere!

Sunday morning services at Basket Mtn, near Milton Freewater. The antenna had been blown off the mounts, knocking out all tv translators.

Yes, even Eugene got a good dump of snow this year. Blanton Heights, South of Eugene. Autzen Stadium at UofO in the center of picture.

All for now.

Thanks, CUL, & 73, Ev