Newsletter
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http://www.sbe124.org
SBE Chapter 124
PO Box 1727
Portland, OR 97207-1727
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"Water Cooled Newsletter" SBE Chapter 124, Portland, OR
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| WHEN: | Tuesday March 13th, Noon. |
| WHERE: | Buffalo Gap Saloon & Eatery 6835 SW Macadam (at California) Portland 503-244-7111 |
| WHAT: | Al Jason, Regional Sales Manager of Dielectric Communications Inc. on their antenna systems, obstruction lighting, and machine-to-machine monitoring products. See http://www.dielectric.com . |
Details below.
Al Jason, Regional Sales Manager of Dielectric Communications Inc. on their antenna systems, obstruction lighting, and machine-to-machine monitoring products. See http://www.dielectric.com .
The Portland meetings are on the second Tuesday of every month. Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings. When you get to the Buffalo Gap, go in the SW California St. side door, turn left, and go upstairs. We have the whole upper floor. For more information on Chapter 124 in Portland/Vancouver/Salem, contact Chapter Chair Ev Helm, e-mail chairman at sbe124 dot org, or call him at 503-977-7752. For a map see http://www.sbe124.org/SBE124_maps.html .
Chris Poulain, Executive Vice President of Audemat-Aztec on their on their broadcast encoding, metering, and monitoring equipment, especially the GoldenEagle HD. See http://www.audemat.com/ .
Dave Grant WA7TOM of Manon Engineering will speak about Narda Safety Test Systems for RF energy safety compliance. See http://www.narda-sts.us/ .
by Kent Randles K7YXZ CBRE
Senior Engineer, Entercom-Portland
Co-Chair, Portland/Vancouver LAECC
Chapter Secretary/Newsletter Editor
secretary at sbe124 dot org
Holding at 12 FM HD signals (nine with HD2) and two AM HD signals on the air in the Portland market.
The big news this month is that on March 22nd the FCC has announced a bunch of digital radio rule changes that may go into effect by the end of May. They will: allow AM HD Radio at night, let FM HD stations do "extended hybrid" modes, do away with FM HD Radio Special Temporary Authority requirements for antennas, allow stations to lease bandwidth to third parties, and extend EAS and I.D. rules, etc., to HD signals. You can read the whole thing at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-271699A1.pdf .
As I type this on April 5th, 91.5 KOPB-FM is poised to turn on the market's first HD3, which will be a modified version of Oregon Public Broadcasting's Golden Hours radio reading service. The current Golden Hours runs on OPB's TV SAP channels and includes Descriptive Video ("A woman in a red dress steps into the room…"), which probably wouldn't sync up with the TV programs due to the approximately 8 seconds of delay that FM HD Radio has.
93.1 KTRO-FM flipped formats from conservative talk to "Regional Mexican Music" as "El Rayo" and turned their stereo pilot back on.
Salem Media of Oregon had bought what is now 910 KTRO and simulcast 93.1 until the switch.
Station owners are determined to fill up the FM band in the Portland/Vancouver radio market from 88.3 to 107.5 and bring the FM count up to 25 stations. This information is from the FCC's FM Query, www.radio-locator.com, and www.fccinfo.com. Moving in are Class C 96.5 KWLZ from Warm Springs to West Linn, changing to 96.3 with 2.9 kW ERP (effective radiated power) directional C3 on Mt. Scott with a null to the SSW. Cumulus' 97.9 KNRQ Eugene now a class C, moving to Tualatin but staying on 97.9 and dropping to 260 Watts ERP class A(?) on the Skyline Tower, curiously close in height to the 8-bay FM master panel antenna. And 94.3 KTIL Tillamook now a C3 moving to Government Camp, staying on 94.3, and ending up as a C2 with 3.4 kW ERP northeast of the town at a site near 88.7 KLVP at over 6000 feet above sea level and almost 1800 feet HAAT (height above average terrain).
From an e-mail message from Gayleen Jennings, Qwest Broadcast Svcs-Seattle, Exchange Carrier Svcs Group: "Dear Friends, I would like to take this opportunity to Thank all of you for being such great customers, co-workers & friends. With much consideration and sadness, I would like to say good-bye for now. I have taken another position within Qwest and have transitioned my OR broadcast accounts over to my colleague, Eric Youngberg. You can contact Eric Youngberg at 206 808-4571/800 607-7512 or Eric.Youngberg at qwest dot com. Eric is qualified to oversee all of your broadcast needs & some of you have already worked with him. Eric is looking forward to meeting each one of you. I will still be here to assist in anyway I can to make this transition a smooth one. Jeff Ditto will be Eric's backup when he is out of the office. Jeff can be reached at 206 808-6407 or Jeff.Ditto at qwest dot com.
I started on the media desk back in 1998 when we were still called US West. I've made so many friends, enjoyed many conversations & participated in so many major broadcast events. I wish you all the best! Thank you all for making my journey here on the Media, Broadcast Desk enjoyable and memorable. I will miss all of you."
We will certainly miss Gayleen. She not only made our jobs easier, sometimes she made them possible! And over time she was the only person we needed to call, from POTS (plain old telephone service) to T-1. (When you call Verizon, for instance, you never get the same person twice.)
(From http://www.heilsound.com/pro/press/pinkpearl.htm)
"Heil Sound recently introduced the Pink Pearl PR20 large diaphragm vocal microphone, the first model introduction in the new Spotlight Series. Blazoned with the pink ribbon on a pink pearlescent finish, ten percent of the retail sale price and a minimum guaranteed donation of $6,800 will be donated to The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for the purpose of raising the awareness of breast health and breast cancer.
'Our own family has been affected by this terrible disease, and this is our way of helping raise the awareness of breast cancer,' says Sarah Heil, vice president of Heil Sound. 'Early detection is the key to beating this thing and if we can help through being proactive in the entertainment industry then the Pink Peak will have been a success.'
For more than 20 years, the Komen has been a global leader in the fight against breast cancer through its support of innovative research and community-based outreach programs. Working through a network of U.S. and international Affiliates and events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, the Komen Foundation is fighting to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by funding research grants and supporting education, screening and treatment projects in communities around the world.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was founded on a promise made between two sisters - Susan Goodman Komen and Nancy Goodman Brinker. Suzy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1978, a time when little was known about the disease and it was rarely discussed in public. Before she died at the age of 36, Suzy asked her sister to do everything possible to bring an end to breast cancer. Nancy kept her promise by establishing The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in 1982 in Suzy's memory.
The Heil Sound Pink Pearl PR 20 represents completely new dynamic microphone technology and is designed for a wide range of professional applications such as live sound, commercial broadcast, and professional recording. Its wide frequency range outperforms old industry technology and it can withstand huge amounts of SPL. The end result is a microphone that can answer the call to any application. For example, the gorgeous upper mid range makes the Pink Pearl PR 20 the absolute best live female vocal microphone on the planet."
Last September I had the pleasure of escorting Scott Fybush and friends around Portland to various broadcast station sites so that they could see and photograph them. You can see all the stories and pictures now.
The
Big Trip 2006, part V: Portland's TV and FM tower farms
http://www.fybush.com/sites/2007/site-070309.html
The
Big Trip 2006, part VI: Downtown Portland and KEX/KPOJ
http://www.fybush.com/sites/2007/site-070316.html
The
Big Trip 2006, part VII: Portland's East Side, Hood River and The Dalles
http://www.fybush.com/sites/2007/site-070323.html
(From http://pressroom.opb.org/pressreleases/200703202)
Posted Tue March 20, 2007
"Oregon Public Broadcasting has promoted Don McKay [WB7BPI] to vice president of Engineering. McKay, who has over 30 years experience in television broadcasting, joined OPB in 1999 as director of the Engineering Network Center, responsible for the design and implementation of the conversion of analog to digital for both radio and television.
Prior to joining OPB he was with Southern Oregon Public Television for 18 years where he served as chief engineer, COO and interim general manager. He also spent five years with CIM associates as TV engineer, producer and director."
From Jack Roland KEØVH
The net meets on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month at 10 AM Pacific Time. Locally in Denver on the WA2YZT repeater, on 146.805 and 447.175 with a pl of 186.2. AND, through the Internet Radio Linking Project on the Denver Reflector Node #9874.
To find a node in your area you can go to the www.irlp.net website, click on the "Node Info" on the left, then click on the "List of nodes and frequencies" in the middle of the page. In a moment a full list of node numbers, cities, countries and the like will appear and do a page search for you city. When the node is highlighted click on the node number and that repeater information will appear, usually with contact information of the trustee/repeater owner. When you have done this and are able to access your node (usually at 4 digit code on the local repeater unless it is a closed club system), you will want to connect to the Denver Reflector Node #9874. . See also www.wa2yzt.com
If you need further help contact me at KEØVH at qsl dot net .
[The participating Portland node is 3420, N7PIR at 440.450 with a PL of 103.5 Hz, located on the Stonehenge Tower. Our own Mike Steiner KD6LVP is the trustee. See http://www.qsl.net/n7pir .]
by Chris Murray
Co-Chair, Oregon EAS (SECC)
Director of Engineering
McKenzie River Broadcasting, Eugene
ichabod at kknu dot fm
(See http://www.broadcast.net/mailman/listinfo/eas-or)
More from Chris next month.
by Everett E. Helm W7EEH CPBE
Director of RF Engineering
Oregon Public Broadcasting, Portland
>1 GHz Frequency Coordinator, Oregon and SW WA
Chapter Chair
chairman at sbe124 dot org
As I reported last month, Sprint Nextel asked the FCC March 7 to extend its September 2007 deadline for completion of the 2GHz TV Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) relocation project by one to two years.
The request, part of its BAS Relocation Status Report to the commission, comes after consulting with "BAS equipment vendors, integrators, contractors, satellite operators and the broadcast community."
In the report, Sprint Nextel characterized the company's progress on moving TV BAS licensees — broadcasters currently using 1990MHz to 2110MHz for electronic newsgathering and fixed links, to new 12MHz digital channels between 2025 MHz and 2110 MHz as "significant."
Sprint Nextel is responsible for a "complex, multiparty effort" to transition about 1000 BAS licensees, the report said. So far, two markets — Yuma, AZ, and Lima, OH — have completely transitioned to the new 2 GHz band plan. Those transitions demonstrate that the new BAS equipment can meet the needs of broadcasters and that relocation can be implemented without disrupting ongoing ENG operations.
Neither Designated Market Area, however, "is representative of the more complex major markets or the country as a whole," the report cautioned.
The report presented the commission with statistics to quantify the scope of the company's efforts. To date, the company has spent more than $186 million to pay for an inventory of more than 12,000 pieces of BAS RF equipment. That includes 6000 transmitters and receivers, 4000 controllers and about 2000 antennas and antenna upgrades.
Despite adding staff and working out "template contracts with all major broadcast group licensees," which together account for 65 percent of all BAS licensees, the effort continues to progress, but more slowly that anticipated. As of the filing, the company had completed Frequency Relocation Agreements (FRAs) with 22 percent of all TV BAS licensees, compared to 1 percent of all licensees in February 2006.
According to the filing, the relocation project "has proven far more complex than originally anticipated." In asking for the extension, the company said "unforeseen, unavoidable complications in the transition have impeded progress in transitioning all DMAs by the originally anticipated date. Sprint Nextel anticipates requiring an additional 12 to 24 months to complete the BAS transition."
At NAB 2007 in Las Vegas, Sprint Nextel VP of Spectrum Development Mike Degitz will speak April 15 to present the broadcast industry with an update on the 2 GHz transition. The company will also have representatives available to meet with broadcasters during the convention.
The FCC is may release findings this summer on whether a new device can deliver high-speed Internet service over unused airwaves without disrupting television programming.
A coalition, which includes Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., Dell Inc., and others, wants the agency to open up unlicensed and unused TV spectrum, also known as "white spaces," for broadband Internet service.
However, TV broadcasters are unconvinced the device will work and said if the new technology is approved it could also cause problems with their federally mandated transition from analog to digital signals in early 2009. The devices would not go on sale until February 2009.
The coalition, which submitted the prototype about two weeks ago, said using the white spaces would spur technological innovation and help provide affordable broadband service to millions of Americans, especially in rural communities. These devices would attempt to be "smart" enough to find the unused channels dynamically and avoid interference to DTV receivers and low power wireless microphones.
I met recently with Charlie Rhodes, noted Engineer and member of the original ATSC. Charlie has published several papers on this subject in TV Technology and has serious concerns about interference to Broadcast spectrum, especially service to rural areas served by low power TV Translators. Often referred to as "WiFi on Steroids" this network would be potentially built around mobile and fixed transceivers up to 4 watts. How is a DTV receiver supposed to reliably receive a relatively weak signal, when this unlicensed device operating on an adjacent channel in close physical proximity is crushing the receiver front end? Maybe even right next to the DTV receiver! These devices will be relatively inexpensive and available "over the counter." Most folks will never have a clue why their DTV reception has failed after their neighbor, or perhaps even their own household, has purchased one of the units. In many cases, the Desired/Undesired ratio may be so high that even DTV reception in the metro areas will be effected.
There’s a lot of BIG money behind this push for "free" spectrum. Currently the wireless microphone and other low power users have been able to get a bill into Congress to afford some protection. A further grass roots effort is needed to protect the future of DTV beyond just the 2009 analog cut off. Charlie suggests contacting our Congressional delegation to make sure they are aware of the impact to Broadcasting.
During a recent webcast that featured representatives of the FCC, NAB, MSTV, and APTS, we all got a glimpse into the daunting task that is the DTV Transition in the next, now less than, two years. While the FCC has yet to publish the final DTV table of allotments, it would appear that we are already behind schedule. As an example, a recent survey of 165 MSTV members indicates the extent that new transmission equipment will be required between now and February of 2009.
35 percent (about 600 stations) will be changing channels on Feb. 17, 2009;
28 percent will be going from their temporary DTV channel back to their old analog channel assignment;
6 percent will move to a new DTV channel.
550–600 Transmitters will be needed
600-650 Mask Filters
700-750 DTV Exciters
450-500 ATSC Encoders
350-400 Antennas with transmission line
150-200 Digital STL systems
OPB has three full service DTV transmitters to install. Fortunately, our antenna and towers are done, as is the STL distribution network. How the actual cut over will take place is under study. Don’t forget that OTA translators, cable head ends, and satellite carriers will have to be included with at least a digital front end demodulator prior to February 17th, 2009. Potentially a second shift in channel will be required if the analog channel is switched to digital after February 17th, 2009. The logistics will need to be well coordinated and there doesn’t seem to be any way to accomplish the feat without losing service for some viewers, for at least a short period of time.
Well, NAB is just around the corner. As you might have guessed from the comments immediately above, I’ve got new VHF DTV transmitters on my shopping list for KOPB, KOAC, and KTVR. All of which will be returning to their current analog channels. In addition, we’ll be looking at DTV translators. We have a pilot DTV translator project on a companion channel in Baker City to compete this summer. Equipment for the Sprint/ Nextel relocation will also be a required stop. HD Radio will be big this year and it’s important to keep up with where that technology is going as we plan more HD Radio upgrades. I’ll also be attending the usual SBE Frequency Coordinator’s meeting. With NAB, and the PBS Technology Conference, it will be 9 days and 8 nights in fabulous Las Vegas. (I’m tired already!)
Thanks, CUL, & 73, Ev…
by Michael D. Brown N7AXC CSRE
Brown Broadcast Services, Inc., Portland
mike at brownbroadcast dot com
Will AM HD at night be a success, a mess, or something in between? We’ll soon get to find out. Locally, KEX is expected to "light up" some time year. The Commission’s just-released "Second Report and Order on Digital Audio Broadcasting" which authorizes this, also allows FM operation in the "extended hybrid" mode. This adds carriers on the inside of the main HD carriers, and another 25 kbps of usable bandwidth. NPR’s 2004 tests with this mode showed some measurable increases in noise with analog reception on many radios, but surprisingly little effect to analog SCA reception.
The other Commission bombshell last month was the LONG awaited settlement of 76 groups of mutually-exclusive reserved-band non-commercial FM stations, and the announcement of a filing window for new stations in October. The fate of over 200 applications was at stake. For the first time, the applicants were judged on the new Point System, which gives preference to local applicants. Through the dissolution of comparative hearings, the freezing of new applications in 2000, and a series of court challenges to the Point System, some of these applicants have been waiting for as much as 13 years for a decision. The Point system (finally) gives a significant preference to local applicants and new entrants. The national satellite networks fared poorly as a result, compared to the total proportion of applications they filed. Jefferson Public Radio garnered a new station in McCloud, CA but failed in Chico and Redding due to lack of localism. Coos Bay School District 9 was granted a CP in Coos Bay, after waiting nearly 9 years.
Elsewhere on the non-commercial front, 92.1 KMKR has filed to move from Oakridge to Canyonville, with a city-of-license minor-change under the new Rules. This cleared the way for 91.9 KRVM, also owned by Lane County School District, to file for an increase in power from 1.1 to 22.5kw. Meanwhile, KWSO, the Warm Springs Indian Reservation station, filed to increase from 3.0 to 4.3 kW.
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