Water Cooled Newsletter May 2007 http://www.sbe124.org Editor/Webmaster: Kent Randles K7YXZ - secretary at sbe124 dot org You may change your subscription any time at http://www.broadcast.net/mailman/listinfo/sbe-pdx SBE Chapter 124 PO Box 1727 Portland, OR 97207-1727 You may use excerpts if attributed to the original source and "The Water Cooled Newsletter" SBE Chapter 124, Portland, OR Eugene, OR has SBE Chapter 76, see http://www.sbe76.org Medford, OR has SBE Chapter 141, see http://www.sbe141.org A NOTE ABOUT E-MAIL ADDRESSES In order to prevent e-mail addresses from being "mined" and then spammed, there are no longer clickable links to e-mail addresses or intact e-mail addresses in this newsletter. For the addresses shown, substitute "@" for "at" and "." for "dot." Thanks! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ NEWSLETTER ADVERTISERS (links to their sites are at http://www.sbe124.org) Tom Abbott - Belden/CDT Electronics Division Michael Bach WB6FFC - Kathrein Scala Division Sandy Berenics - Wheatstone Corp. Larry Bloomfield KA6UTC - Larcan Mike Brown N7AXC - Brown Broadcast Services, Inc. Dennis Burton - Harris Broadcast-Radio Edward Forke - Shively Labs Tom Franklin - Norcom Matt Granard - Westlake Electronic Supply Gray Haertig - Gray Frierson Haertig & Associates Joe Harrington - Harrington Tower Services Jerry Hill K2JH - Shively Labs Al Jason - Dielectric John Pierce - Tektronix (Video Product Line) Larry Sayer - Rohde & Schwarz Debbie Storz - Econco Lyle Garrison - Broadcast Electronics Bob Trimble N7IYI - RF Specialties of WA Michael Troje - Continental Electronics Brian Walker - Professional Video & Tape, Inc. These fine folks make all the versions of our newsletter possible. ************************************************************************* PORTLAND CHAPTER 124 MEETING WHEN: Tuesday May 8th, Noon. WHERE: Buffalo Gap Saloon & Eatery 6835 SW Macadam (at California) Portland 503-244-7111 WHAT: Dave Grant WA7TOM of Manon Engineering will speak about Narda Safety Test Systems for RF energy safety compliance. See http://www.narda-sts.us/ . EUGENE CHAPTER 76 MEETING WHEN: Wednesday May 9th, 11:30 AM WHERE: Sizzler Restaurant 1010 Postal Way Springfield 541-726-9933 WHAT: Dave Grant WA7TOM of Manon Engineering will speak about Narda Safety Test Systems for RF energy safety compliance. See http://www.narda-sts.us/ . MEDFORD CHAPTER 141 MEETING WHEN: NOTE SPECIAL DATE FOR MAY! Thursday May 3rd, 12 noon. WHERE: SPECIAL LOCATION FOR MAY! KOBI Studio C 125 S. Fir Street Medford WHAT: The first stop of the Taste of NAB Road Show for 2007. See http://www.tech-notes.tv/2007/2007-Sponsors-DoorPrizes.htm PORTLAND MEETING INFO The Portland Chapter 124 meetings are on the second Tuesday of every month. Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings. 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. See www.sbe124.org . EUGENE MEETING INFO The Eugene Chapter 76 meetings are on the Wednesday after the second Tuesday of the month. You do not have to be a member of the SBE or of the local broadcast engineering community to attend these meetings. Anyone with an interest in the subject matter is welcome. For more information e-mail Chapter Chair Dennis Hunt dhunt at cmc dot net. See www.sbe76.org . MEDFORD MEETING INFO The Medford Chapter 141 meetings are on the Thursday after the second Tuesday of every month. For information, call Chapter Chair Rick Carrara at 541-773-1212, or e-mail rcarrara at kdrv dot com. See www.sbe141.org . LAST MONTH'S PRESENTATIONS IN PORTLAND, EUGENE, & MEDFORD Al Jason, Regional Sales Manager for Dielectric Communications Inc., on their antenna systems, obstruction lighting, machine-to-machine monitoring products, but mainly their new transmission line monitor. See http://www.dielectric.com/ NEXT MONTH'S PRESENTATIONS In Portland and Eugene Dave Grant WA7TOM of Manon Engineering will speak about Narda Safety Test Systems for RF energy safety compliance. See http://www.narda-sts.us/ . In Medford, it the first stop for the 2007 Taste of NAB Road Show. See http://www.tech-notes.tv/2007/2007-Sponsors-DoorPrizes.htm . THE YXZ REPORT by Kent Randles K7YXZ CBRE Senior Engineer, Entercom-Portland Co-Chair, Portland/Vancouver ECC Chapter 124 Secretary secretary at sbe124 dot org SBE MEMBERSHIP DRIVE WITH LOCAL PRIZE DRAWING To help with the annual SBE Membership Drive, Chapter 124 is going to have two drawings. One will be for members who bring new members into the chapter, and another for the new members. We'll do this at the July 10th meeting. The prizes will be two HD Radios. LIFE WITH HD RADIO There are currently 12 FM HD signals (nine with HD2, and one with HD3) and two AM HD signals on the air in the Portland market. 91.5 KOPB-FM turned on Oregon's first HD3, a modified version of Oregon Public Broadcasting's Golden Hours radio reading service. 15 kbps is the HD3 bandwidth, taken from the HD2 which is down to 32. They hope to raise the HD3 audio level average soon. At NAB in Las Vegas, Ibiquity Corporation had a hospitality suite in the Hilton Hotel that was full of HD Radios. I took pictures of them all, and you can see them and links to information about every one, including some special-price offers, at http://www.sbe124.org/HD_Radios . Radiosophy has a new boom-box-like HD Radio that is only $59.95 with rebate until July 3rd. See http://www.radiosophy.com/products/hd100.html and http://www.hdradio.com/2007_HDRadio_Rebate.pdf . Radio Shack has their Accurian HD Radio on sale for $129.99 until May 15th. See http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2460834&cp . Best Buy is now selling HD Radios by JVC, Kenwood, Alpine, and Visteon at all of its 832 stores. I went to several presentations on HD Radio at NAB, and we'll need another generation of radios to take advantage of the proposed features. They include: conditional access, which will require every radio to have its own serial number so that they can be addressed; 5.1 surround sound, which may require data to "steer" the audio; and HD2 for AM, using really low bitrates and perhaps a different codec (I heard an amazing demo of stereo music at 24 kbps). Finally, the real eye opener: talk of a power increase for FM HD of 3 to 10 dB which would demote existing HD transmitters to backups, and strain the new tube FM HD rigs. The big question: will this keep stations from going HD until it's resolved one way or another? EAS AT NAB I attended the Western States EAS Summit during NAB. NOAA Weather Radio is headed towards their HazCollect program, which gives local Emergency Operation Centers text input into a national warning system. NOAA Weather Radio's concatenated voices would read the alerts regionally. They are shying away from having Weather Radio rebroadcast alerts from Local Primary and Local Relay Network sources. At the national EAS meeting, they went over the current structure of warnings. You'll be glad to know that National Public Radio and the Primary Entry Point system are now hard-wired to FEMA which will handle audio from the President. This link had been missing for years. NAB HAM RECEPTION I always go to the Ham Radio Operators Reception at NAB. I was at the very first one in the '80s. This year I got there 30 minutes early and the line was already a hundred feet long. There were a lot more tables to sit at this year, which was so nice after a day of being on your feet. Sponsored again by Heil Sound, thanks to Bob Heil K9EID. RDS RT+ The next level for RDS, and by default HD Radio PAD/PSD, is Radio Text Plus. The next generation of analog FM radios would have a bigger display and similar fields to HD Radio. The prototype Kenwood car stereo in the Broadcast Electronics booth had a touch screen to enable the user to pick the fields to display. FM KSND TO JOIN AM KWBY 940 KWBY Woodburn and 95.1 KSND Monmouth will become the first Spanish-language AM/FM combo in Oregon when Ernie Hopseker sells KSND to Don Coss for $1,700,000, according to the Statesman Journal in Salem. See the April 24th article at http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/NEWS/704240337/1001 . SCARY REALITY OF WIFI Put this in your "safe web surfing" file: beware of "evil twin" free WiFi access points. These are folks who set up near a legitimate hot spot and skim your information by posing as the hot spot! Easy to set up and hard to trace. See http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/042507-infosec-evil-twin-wi-fi-access.html . ANSWERS TO YOUR DTV QUESTIONS Got questions about the DTV transition? Visit http://www.dtvanswers.com/ , the official Web site of the National Association of Broadcasters' digital television (DTV) transition campaign. Launched in January 2007, the DTV campaign's mission is to ensure that no consumer is left unprepared, due to lack of information, for the Feb. 17, 2009, federally mandated transition from analog to digital broadcasting. The site features a countdown clock. FREQUENCY COORDINATION & OTHER STUFF by Everett E. Helm W7EEH CPBE Chapter Chair Director of RF Engineering, OPB Frequency Coordinator, Oregon & SW WA chairman at sbe124 dot org ANNUAL SBE FREQUENCY COORDINATORS MEETING AT NAB While in Las Vegas, I was able to attend the annual SBE Volunteer Coordinator’s meeting. It was extremely well attended with many industry representatives in addition to many of the SBE Volunteer Coordinators from around the country. First item on the agenda was a presentation by T-Mobile, who has recently purchased the new Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum which is adjacent to channel A7 on the upper side of our BAS 2 GHz band. These are called the “A” block AWS and are divided into two 5 MHz bands. A1, 2110-2115 and A2, 2115-2120 MHz. This was sold on a market by market basis. They intend to build out the major markets first. The only market in Oregon won by T-mobile was Lane County around Eugene, which probably will not be constructed for about year. T-mobile made a very informative presentation. They are very pro-active in coordinating their activities and have hired Comsearch to aid in this notification process. They intend to set up nationwide hotline phone numbers to respond to interference issues. This has serious potential interference, since many 2 GHz ENG receive sites are not listed in the FCC database. I do not know who were the successful bidders for the A Block AWS in the other market areas in Oregon, but I certainly hope they will also be pro-active at coordination with BAS. Several representatives from the Department of Defense (DOD) were in attendance to brief us on the coordination efforts for the sharing of 2 GHz spectrum with DOD satellite uplinks in several key regions of the country. In the West, it’s primarily Vandenberg AFB in California and Colorado Springs in Colorado. This is a very mission critical service administered by the Air Force that potentially may control and monitor as many as 140 satellites of all types, including NASA and GPS. While they would be using high EIRP uplinks, in most cases it would be from a large dish aimed into the sky and would not be of long term duration. SBE has had several productive meetings with DOD. This is a service that will not come online for a few years until new satellite platforms are launched. Sprint/ Nextel made a presentation outlining their progress with the 2 GHz relocation project and their proposal to the FCC for an extension. Azcar has been chosen to provide training in support of the ENG relocation efforts. Details of Sprints progress and updates are available at: http://www.2ghzrelocation.com . Clay Freinwald made a short presentation on the refarming of the 450 MHz BAS band. The new channel alignment is not very spectrum efficient, since no one makes radios that would program to the center frequency of an appropriate “stack” of 6.25 kHz channels without using more channels than the communications bandwidth would require. He’s looking for suggestions, perhaps a graphic, that would help explain the problem to the FCC with hopes of modifying the band plan. There was a short discussion of the “White” spaces issue with regards to interference to wireless microphones. Relatively high power broadband wireless devices operating in the “unused” TV channel spectrum. Current tests at the FCC OET labs of the prototype system have not been too promising with regards to protecting interference to licensed services. Remember that wireless mics in the channels 52-69 will have no place to hide when the spectrum is cleared in 2009. Manufacturers continue to sell units in the 700 MHz range however. Everyone is encouraged to check your licenses in the FCC ULS database. Make sure that each license shows 2 locations. (TX & RX) Use the FCC tool to confirm azimuth for fixed links. All in all, a good time was had by all. Thanks, CUL, & 73, Ev PDX RADIO WAVES by Michael D. Brown N7AXC CSRE Brown Broadcast Services, Inc., Portland mike at brownbroadcast.com Mike's column appears in even-numbered months. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS CAMPAIGN By Tyree Wilde Warning Coordination Meteorologist NOAA's National Weather Service Portland, OR The National Weather Service (NWS) offices in the Pacific Northwest will be conducting a Severe Weather Awareness Campaign from May 6-12 to help educate the public on severe weather hazards. We invite you to join us to provide valuable information to our community. During this special week, we will be issuing special public information statements (see attached) about severe weather by highlighting a different topic each day.  The following subjects will be covered during the campaign: Monday: Flood and Flash Flood Safety Tuesday: Tornadoes, Waterspouts and Tornado Safety Wednesday: Wind, Hail, & Lightning Safety Thursday: Wildfire Awareness Friday: NWS Watch and Warning Program Saturday: NOAA Weather Radio / All Hazards Information We encourage you to consider providing daily weather safety information in your news stories.  Public Information Statements focusing on a specific weather topic each day that provide some background information are available from our Internet homepage at:  http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/severeawareweek.php. Other severe weather and safety information can be found on the following webpages: www.weather.gov/om/severeweather/index.shtml www.weather.gov/safety.php As part of our Severe Weather Awareness Campaign, the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) will be issuing a TEST Severe Thunderstorm Watch on Wednesday, May 9 at 9:00 am PDT for some counties in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. As a reminder, Severe Thunderstorm Watches are issued when weather conditions are favorable to produce organized thunderstorms capable of producing 3/4 inch hail or wind 58 mph or greater. A Tornado Watch would be issued when conditions are favorable to produce organized thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes. Our office will be disseminating the TEST Severe Thunderstorm Watch under the WMO identifier WWUS86, but will not do an EAS activation for this TEST product. As you know, it is rare to have a Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado Watch issued for our area. Therefore, this might be a good opportunity to test your communication systems to ensure you can receive this product. For this awareness campaign, the TEST Severe Thunderstorm Watch sent out Wed, May 9, will only be a TEST product to test communication systems and internal procedures. If there are any questions, please don't hesitate to give me a call at 503-326-2340 x223. JOBS IN OREGON Post Date: 4/16/2007 Job #: 1468 Job Title: Broadcast Maintenance Technician Location: Eugene, OR Job Description: Experienced in the installation and maintenance of television studio equipment. Strong computer skills essential; Apple experience desirable. Knowledge of microwave and TV transmitters desirable, but not essential. Individual must work well with others and possess sound fundamental technical skills. SBE certification preferred. IN WASHINGTON Job Title: Maintenance Technician FT Location: Seattle, WA Post Date: 4/12/2007 SBE Job #: 1446 Job Description: We have an opening for a full time broadcast maintenance technician with communication systems background working 8 hour days/5 days a week. Work times are variable and may include weekdays, weekends, swing, and overnight as employer needs dictate. This position will primarily support the Production, Promotion and Master Control areas. The ideal candidate should be able to work with several departments and have good writing, documentation and verbal communication skills. Applicants must have a strong broadcast background and a minimum of 3 to 5 years experience including IT and computer/network based systems. Expertise in RF, Mechanical Maintenance, and A/V systems is also desired. Candidate needs to be proficient in the installation, maintenance and troubleshooting of Avid NLE systems, DVCPRO & Betacam equipment. Experience in documentation of various systems by computer based CAD programs is an advantage. Ability to distinguish colors, hold a valid WA drivers’ license, lift and carry up to 50 lbs., speak/hear clearly and work alone under pressure is also required. Job Title: Site Technician 2 Location: Yakima, WA Post Date: 4/9/2007 SBE Job #: 1416 Job Description: Performs technical functions to include installation, maintenance and updates of electronic systems & equipment and wide-area networks used in the reception, processing, compression and transmission of TV analog and digital signals to company subscribers. Supports on-air operation and maintenance activity within the uplink facility. Provides accurate analysis, rapid communication and coordination of technical issues to facility supervisor, broadcast center staff and/or other Company departments as required. Provides alternate point of contact to outside vendors/contractors hired to perform station up keep. Qualifications: - Minimum of four (4) years experience operating a wide variety of broadcast transmission equipment. - Two (2) years of experience dealing with technical issues in live broadcast environment. - Familiarity with broadcast systems, digital & analog broadcast signals, fiber and satellite receive and transmit systems. - Familiarity with building HVAC systems, Power/UPS systems and automation systems is a plus. - Working knowledge of broadcast quality test and measurement devices. - Ability to quantify/qualify digital and analog technical impairments. - Must be able to work early mornings, late nights and/or weekends. Overtime will be required. - Must have extensive range in lifting/carrying and be able to remove and install technical equipment. - Requires hand/eye coordination, high manual dexterity and mechanical aptitude. - Must have well developed interpersonal skills and be able to work closely with others in a team environment. - Requires strong oral and written communications and above average organizational skills. - Moderate domestic travel required Job Title: Video Network Engineer Location: Seattle, WA Post Date: 3/16/2007 SBE Job #: 1381 Job Description: Video Network Engineers in the Streaming Media, Video and TV Technologies department support the mission of the Company by supporting a wide range of projects in program distribution, systems integration, and new technology initiatives. The engineer must be able to design systems and procedures to manage complex video, audio, IP and RF distribution systems. The engineer must interact effectively with a broad range of people in all units of Computing & Communications Division and a client community consisting of university faculty and staff and various vendors. Relevant Technologies and Skills: It is highly desirable that the candidate have experience in areas of both television and computing including broadcast automation in a file based workflow environment, digital asset management systems, IP networking. Familiarity with FCC licensing requirements for FM radio transmission is desirable. Demonstrated ability to work independently. Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and apply new technologies. Demonstrated ability to develop creative solutions for academic, and research partner’s needs. Demonstrated ability to document work with technical drawings, spreadsheets, and write-lists as required. Competitive candidates will have excellent written and oral communication skills and have the ability to work with minimal supervision, either independently or in a collaborative team environment. Requirements: Bachelors Degree in E.E. or related field or 4 years equivalent training in television engineering. Four years experience in television technology. Additional Requirements: Experience in engineering support for television broadcast facilities. Demonstrated familiarity with television test equipment. Experience in planning and operating satellite television equipment. Ability to create, read, and interpret engineering drawings and electronics schematics. Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills. Must be able to work at times in close quarters, under equipment, and inside equipment racks. Must participate in rotating on-call support, which may require extra working hours. ELSEWHERE The University of Alabama, Center for Public Television and Radio is searching for a Broadcast Engineering Tech Sr. This position will be responsible for achieving and maintaining first-class broadcast standards for the production and transmission of programming for the Center for Public Television and Radio and for WUOA/WVUA. Visit Employment Opportunities at jobs.ua.edu for more information and to apply. EOE    Dream Job For Broadcast Engineer   No corporate BS Low cost of living Good weather Great insurance Liberal vacation time Low pressure Holidays? We offer a week winter holiday, Spring Break week, and most others One of the best retirement plans in the country Intellectual environment Interesting and varied- TV, Radio, Studios, Transmitters Key Member of Management Team Participation in professional organizations and conferences is encouraged Work on the University campus in Tuscaloosa Several challenging projects in works The University of Alabama Center for Public Television and Radio seeks qualified applicants for the position of Broadcast Engineering Technician Senior. Must be experienced in broadcast studio and transmitter design, construction, and maintenance. Experience or interest in high power broadcast transmitters is a plus. For more information contact Dave Baughn, Director of Engineering and Search Committee Chair, 205-348-8622. Apply at www.jobs.ua.edu. Deadline May 25. SEARCH TIPS Anyone can see the generic list of job openings on the national SBE site at http://www.sbe.org/cgi-bin/sbe_job_listing.pl?%20type=mem&goto=jl&access= . SBE Members can go to http://www.sbe.org/user_login/?RETURN_URL=http://www.sbe.org/cgi-bin/sbe_job_listing.pl?goto=jl and get all the details. Or, contact the SBE office at 317 846-9000. Please refer to the position you are interested in by Job Number. Don't forget to check the Oregon Association of Broadcasters (OAB) Employment pages at http://www.theoab.org/jobs_radio.htm and http://www.theoab.org/jobs_tv.htm , as well as http://newradiostar.com/jobs.htm which lists the top 100 best places to look for jobs on the net. ON THE CALENDAR May 3 (Thursday) SPECIAL Medford SBE Chapter 141 meeting. See http://www.sbe141.org . May 5 (Saturday) IRLP version of SBE's HamNet. Net meets the first and third Saturdays of the month at 10 AM. See http://www.qsl.net/ke0vh/SBEhamnet.html May 8 (Tuesday) Monthly Portland SBE Chapter 124 meeting, noon. See http://www.sbe124.org . May 9 (Wednesday) Monthly Eugene SBE Chapter 76 meeting, 11:30 AM. See http://www.sbe76.org . May 13 (Sunday) SBE Chapter of the Air, 0000 GMT, second Sunday of the month. Hal Hostetler WA7BGX in Tucson, AZ is Net Control. The published frequency is 14.205 MHz. Occasionally, that frequency is busy and you may need to move up (no more than 10 kHz) to find the SBE meeting. May 19 (Saturday) IRLP version of SBE's HamNet. Net meets the first and third Saturdays of the month at 10 AM. See http://www.qsl.net/ke0vh/SBEhamnet.html June 1-3 (Friday-Sunday) SeaPac, the ARRL Northwestern Division Ham Convention, Seaside Convention Center, Seaside, OR. See http://www.seapac.org. SBE NATIONAL 9102 North Meridian Street, Suite 150 Indianapolis, IN 46260 Phone: 317-846-9000 Fax: 317-846-9120 http://www.sbe.org FREQUENCY COORDINATION For southwestern Washington and ALL of Oregon: >1 GHz call Everett "Ed" Helm W7EEH at 503-977-7752, fax 503 293-4877, or e-mail microwave at sbe124.org; <1 GHz call Mike Steiner KD6LVP at 503-235-8517, fax 503-231-4624, or e-mail under1gig at sbe124.org. You can browse the database at http://www.sbe124.org/part_74/. If you are not IN the database, you are NOT coordinated. MONTHLY SBE LUNCH IN PORTLAND At noon on the second Tuesday of every month, broadcast engineers in Portland meet at The Buffalo Gap Saloon & Eatery, 6835 SW Macadam (at SW California), 503-244-7111. After their lot fills up, you'll be searching the narrow streets for blocks around for a space, so get there early. For more information see http://www.thebuffalogap.com . For directions, go to http://www.sbe124.org/SBE124_maps.html. For chapter information call Everett "Ed" Helm at 503-977-7752, or e-mail chairman at sbe124 dot org. As usual, everyone, member or not, is welcome to attend. SBE 124 OFFICERS. ETC. Chapter Chair/Frequency Coordination for Oregon and SW WA >1 GHz Everett Helm W7EEH CPBE chairman at sbe124 dot org Oregon Public Broadcasting 503-977-7752 Portland Chapter Vice-Chair Phil Kane K2ASP P.E. vicechair at sbe124 dot org CSI Telecommunications 503-292-2350 Beaverton Treasurer Eric Dausman KD7DNM CBNT treasurer at sbe124 dot org KGW 8 503-226-5000 Portland Secretary/Portland-Vancouver EAS/Newsletter Editor & Circulation/Webmaster: Kent Randles K7YXZ CBRE secretary at sbe124 dot org Entercom-Portland 503-535-0482 Certification: Eric Margeson W7OSN CPBE certification at sbe124 dot org KOIN 6 Portland 503-464-0860 Oregon EAS: Chris "Ichabod" Murray ichabod at kknu dot fm McKenzie Broadcasting 541-484-9400 Eugene Frequency Coordination <1 GHz Mike Steiner KD6LVP under1gig at sbe124 dot org KATU 2 Portland 503-235-8517 National SBE Liaison/National EAS: Clay Freinwald K7CR CPBE k7cr at blarg dot net Entercom-Seattle 206-343-9700 Newsletter Contributor: Michael Brown N7AXC CSRE mike at brownbroadcast dot com Brown Broadcast Services 503-245-6065 Portland