Everything about Chapter 124 is summed up in the monthly
August 2008 Newsletter
(below the list of advertisers)
| Representative | Web site |
Business
card |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Abbott | Belden Electronics Division |  |
| Robert Rogers | Broadcast Tower Services |  |
| Michael Bach WB6FFC |
Kathrein-Scala Division |
|
| Larry Bloomfield KA6UTC |
Larcan |
|
| Al Jason | Harris Broadcast (Radio) | Al
Jason 530-676-0766 Phone 321-726-3296 Fax 530-363-0475 Cell  |
| Tom Franklin | Norcom |  |
| Edward Forke | Shively Labs |  |
| Matt Granard | Westlake Electronic Supply |  |
| Joe Harrington | Harrington Tower Services |  |
| Gray Haertig | Gray Frierson Haertig & Associates |  |
| Michael Johnson | Dielectric |  |
| John Pierce | Tektronix |  |
| Larry Sayer | Rohde & Schwarz |  |
| Ellis Terry | Broadcast Electronics |  |
| Bob Trimble N7IYI |
RF Specialties |  |
| Brian Walker | Professional Video & Tape, Inc. |  |
| Michael Troje | Continental Electronics |  |
| Debbie Storz | Econco |  |
Snail mail:
SBE Chapter 124
PO Box 1727
Portland, OR 97207-1727
You may use excerpts if attributed to the original
source and
"Water Cooled Newsletter" SBE Chapter 124, Portland, OR
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. For the addresses shown, substitute "@" for "at" and "." for "dot." Thanks!
| WHEN: | Tuesday August 12th, Noon | |
| WHERE: | Buffalo Gap Saloon &
Eatery 6835 SW Macadam (at California) Portland 503-244-7111 |
|
| WHAT: |
Buck Waters from Broadcasters General Store will
feature Mike Uhl of Telos doing a presentation on the Telos Zephyr IP.
See http://www.bgs.cc/ and http://www.telos-systems.com/ZephyrIP/index.htm
|
|
The Medford meeting is usually two days after the Portland meeting.
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, which has its own bathrooms. 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 and directions see http://www.sbe124.org/SBE124_maps.html .
LAST MONTH'S MEETING
|
Mark
The
Gang
NEXT MONTH
|
John Strauch of NewTek will discuss IPTV and the tools that make it easy the TriCaster way. NewTek will host lunch.
See http://www.newtek.com/tricaster/
by Kent Randles K7YXZ CBRE
Senior Engineer, Entercom-Portland
Co-Chair, Portland/Vancouver LAECC
Chapter Secretary/Newsletter Editor
secretary at sbe124 dot org
Barry Mishkind, Editor of Radio Guide magazine came to town and presented James Boyd K7MKN with a plaque (James was speechless, which is very rare):
Barry featured James in the March/April issue of Radio Guide as a local treasure.
There are now 12 FM HD signals (nine with HD2) and four AM HD signals on the air in the Portland market. Go here for a complete list.
Last month, thirteen broadcast groups petitioned the FCC to raise the FM HD Radio power by as much as 10 dB, raising the ratio from 100:1 to 10:1. NPR Labs released their own study. It's at http://www.nprlabs.org/publications/reports/200807151044-DRCIAFullReport-ExecSummary.pdf.
At the current 1% IBOC power, mobile digital coverage only slightly underperforms quality analog coverage, while indoor and portable digital coverage is substantially smaller than analog for most stations.
Station impacts from IBOC DAB to analog FM vary widely from station to station, primarily due to the fact that the IBOC DAB digital sidebands are actually co-channel to neighboring stations on first-adjacent channels; the FCC’s first-adjacent allocation rules for analog FM cannot adequately protect against some close-spaced conditions.
Current field evidence, including listener reports, of interference to analog reception from IBOC DAB at 1% power is minimal. This may suggest that interference is less noticeable than predicted, however, due to the noiselike nature of IBOC-to-analog interference, which lacks the audible clues of typical analog-to-analog interference, it may be difficult for field listeners to identify an interfering IBOC signal and report their impaired reception.
Improvements in IBOC DAB receivers and antennas are not currently expected to be a significant remedy for the shortfall in indoor and portable reception. Other techniques, likely transmission-based, will be needed to improve service.
At 10% IBOC transmission power, most stations would gain covered population, approximately equaling analog indoor and portable and exceeding mobile.
Unqualified 10% IBOC transmission power is predicted to cause substantial interference to analog reception of a significant number of first- and second-adjacent channel stations.
Stations on “non-commercial” channels (88.1-91.9 MHz) and “commercial” FM channels (92.1-107.9 MHz) would receive similar amounts of interference to their analog operations from IBOC DAB at 10% power. This is notable since it was expected that commercial channels have more conservative protection standards.
Initial projected system-wide estimates of the costs of deploying a combination of optimization strategies for indoor digital coverage parity could approach a doubling of transmission investments.
Input interference to existing analog FM translators, should all stations convert to IBOC DAB, is expected to affect approximately 5% of all translators.
Our findings indicate that several potential strategies should be investigated, and where practical, developed for system-wide improvement in digital radio service:
Single Frequency Network (SFN) boosters may be approaching Independent Demonstration Of Viability maturity, providing a potentially critical strategy to improve digital indoor coverage, where needed, while controlling analog interference effects. In addition to technical development and testing, an economic analysis is indicated.
Limited elevation of IBOC transmission power, including separate directional antenna systems for the IBOC transmission and asymmetrical sideband power, should be developed and tested to limit interference to neighboring FM stations.
Further testing on the impact of elevated IBOC power on consumer receivers, including radio reading service SCA receivers, is needed to develop rational policies for sideband power increases, where appropriate [not all stations will consider it necessary or appropriate].
Reportedly, CBS Radio is selling radio properties that are in markets ranked 16 and lower. Portland is market 23 and the list includes 98.7 KUPL, 101.1 KUFO, 101.9 KINK, and 106.7 KLTH. Conspicuously absent from the list I saw online are 107.5 KXJM and 970 KCMD - which might mean they already have a buyer. All the CBS-Portland FMs are about to gain almost 200' in height above average terrain when their new HD Radio-capable master antenna goes on line. Non-directional day/2-tower night directional 5 kW KCMD was built to go to 25 kW during the day, and might be able to go higher both day and night if it were relocated and more towers were added.
On July 26th, my wife and I went to the Seattle SBE Chapter's Picnic on Vashon Island with Ken Broeffle (now Director of Engineering for Clear Channel-Seattle) and his wife. On the way to the picnic, held at the 710 KIRO transmitter site, the whole group got tours of 1000 KOMO, 950 KJR/820 KGNW, 570 KVI, 770 KTTH/1090 KPTK, and finally KIRO.
See the page with all the pictures at http://www.sbe124.org/Tours/Washington/Seattle/
From http://www.radiodailynews.com/DCS%20Comments%20Third%20FNPRM%20073008.pdf
VIII. Reallocation of TV Channels 5 and 6 for FM Service
Among all of the proposals adopted or under consideration in this docket, this proposal, advanced in 2007 by Mullaney Engineering, Inc. (“Mullaney Plan”)86 has the greatest potential to deliver economic power to minority owned media. The proposal contemplates that most or all
AM stations could be transformed into FM stations.87 In the Broadcast Diversity Order, the Commission agreed that this proposal could produce tremendous opportunities for minorities.88
AM suffers profound competitive disadvantages compared to FM: lower signal quality, higher interference, frequent need for directionalization, generally diminished nighttime service, higher engineering and maintenance costs, and the near-impossibility of multicast HD service.
Thus, for a generation, a typical AM station has produced about 20% of the listenership and revenue of a comparable FM station. With radio revenues and especially AM station valuations plunging year after year, and with single-owner satellite service on the immediate horizon,89
radio needs to be saved. The Mullaney Plan – an Exodus of AM to the Promised Land of FM – is simply the greatest proposal on the table anywhere to save radio.
And if a lifesaver is needed by anyone, it is needed now by minority owned radio.90 Radio is the heritage, entry communications technology for entrepreneurs of color. In 2001, more than half of minority owned stations were AM stations, and a minority owned station was 43% more likely than a non-minority owned station to be an AM station; further, minority owned stations were 19% more likely than non-minorities to operate between 1410 and 1600 kHz.91 By MMTC’s back-of-the-envelope calculation, the Mullaney Plan would roughly triple the asset
value (and thus the capital access ability) of minority owned broadcasters.
To be sure, reallocation of TV channels 5 and 6 for FM service would have to await completion of the DTV transition. As such, the Commission should clarify that its March 6, 2008 announcement in the DTV Eighth Report and Order that it is rejecting the Mullaney Plan92 does not conflict with its position in the March 5, 2008 Broadcast Diversity Order that it is enthusiastic about and seeks comment on the Mullaney Plan.93 The Commission should specifically confirm that after the DTV transition is complete, it could be possible to convert Channels 5 and 6 for FM service. The Commission should also begin the process of thinking through a number of issues that may result from the AM-FM migration. The Commission should open coordination discussions with the U.S. Navy and with the Commission’s counterparts in the NARBA countries – Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas. Further, to assess the number of AM band licensees that would prefer to migrate to the FM band, the Commission should undertake a survey of AM broadcasters. The Commission should also perform engineering studies to determine how many FM stations Channels 5 and 6 could accommodate. 94
A considerable amount of time and planning will be necessary to smooth out issues that may arise during the migration.95 To initiate the process of identifying and addressing critical issues and planning an effective transition, the Commission should use its powers under the Federal Advisory Committee Act96 to appoint an advisory committee for the reallocation of TV Channels 5 and 6. The Commission created a similar advisory committee when it initiated the DTV transition.97
This race-neutral proposal directly addresses the most common market entry barriers faced by minorities and new entrants – access to spectrum, access to capital, and access to opportunity. Moving AM stations to the FM band, and particularly moving the weaker and disproportionately minority owned stations to the FM band will allow for stronger, clearer signals, with HD channels and greater potential to reach a wider audience. Approval and implementation of the Mullaney Plan should be the Commission’s highest priority initiative to promote diversity.
What does a GPS unit show when you are on the ferry in the middle of Puget Sound?
Like you are driving on a magic bridge, I guess.
After watching how well Ken Broeffle's portable GPS worked on our trip between Seattle and Vashon Island, my wife and I decided to buy one before our vacation the summer. While we are not directionally challenged, we are information junkies. We shopped around to find one that worked with RDS Traffic Alerts from Navteq, which are on KGON and KYCH as part of the Broadcast Traffic Consortium. Conveniently, Costco.com had it on sale.
Our unit likes KGON:
However, one can trust their GPS unit too much.
From Yahoo News via AP at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20080806/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_lost_convoy
Cannonville, Utah - A GPS device led a convoy of tourists astray, finally stranding them on the edge of a sheer cliff.
With little food or water, the group of 10 children and 16 adults from California had to spend a night in their cars deep inside the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
They used a global positioning device to plot out a backcountry route Saturday from Bryce Canyon National Park to the Grand Canyon.
But the device couldn't tell how rough the roads were. One vehicle got stuck in soft sand, two others ran low on fuel. And the device offered suggestions that led them onto the wrong dirt roads, which ended at a series of cliffs.
The group was so lost it couldn't figure out how to backtrack and started to panic. Kids were crying, and one infant was sick with fever, according to a member of the party.
From http://www.sbe.org/pub_sc.php#NewSpecialist
"This specialist certification will qualify an individual's knowledge of
digital radio broadcasting including audio processing, studio-to-transmitter
links and transmission of multi-channel digital program streams. The specialist
will include knowledge of importers, exporters, the various methods of combining
analog and digital transmitters to antenna systems, delivery of digital audio
signals and data to transmitter sites, transmitter emission mask measurements,
AM and FM FCC rules, monitoring of digital signals and bandwidth requirements
for AM antenna systems."
You have until April 18 (Friday) to apply to take an SBE Certification exam during the June 6-16 local exam window. See http://www.sbe.org/cert_classif.php. For the rest of the 2008 exam application and test dates, see the Calendar section near the end of this newsletter.
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
More from Ev next month.
by Michael D. Brown N7AXC CSRE
Brown Broadcast Services, Inc., Portland
mike at brownbroadcast dot com
Something from Mike next month.
From Jack Roland KEØVH
The net meets on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month (except in August) at 10 AM Pacific Time. 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 #9615.
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 #9615. . 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 .]
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.
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.
