Society of Broadcast Engineers Chapter 124 - Portland & Salem Oregon, Vancouver, Washington Water Cooled Newsletter, e-mail edition November, 2006 http://www.sbe124.org Editor/Webmaster: Kent Randles K7YXZ - watercooled at sbe124 dot org 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 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. For the addresses shown, substitute "@" for "at" and "." for "dot." Thanks! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ NEWSLETTER ADVERTISERS (links to their sites are on http://www.sbe124.org) Tom Abbott - Belden/CDT Electronics Division Michael Bach - WB6FFC Kathrein Scala Division Sandy Berenics - Wheatstone Corp. Larry Bloomfield KA6UTC - Larcan & LightningMaster Mike Brown N7AXC - Brown Broadcast Services, Inc. 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 Walt Lowery - Nautel & Continental Chris Pannell - Harris Broadcast-Radio Larry Sayer -Rohde & Schwarz Debbie Storz - Econco Ellis Terry - Broadcast Electronics Bob Trimble N7IYI - RF Specialties of WA Michael Troje - Continental Electronics Brian Walker - Professional Video & Tape, Inc. These fine folks make the three versions of our newsletter possible. ************************************************************************* CHAPTER 124 MEETING IN PORTLAND WHEN: Tuesday November 14th, Noon. WHERE: Buffalo Gap Saloon & Eatery 6835 SW Macadam (at California) Portland 503-244-7111 WHAT: Portland-area company Audio Precision Inc. on their new APx585 8-channel audio analyzer. Details below. CHAPTER 76 MEETING IN EUGENE WHEN: Wednesday November 15th, 11:30 AM WHERE: SPECIAL LOCATION Cumulus-Eugene 1200 Executive Parkway, Suite 400 Eugene 541-284-8500 WHAT: Tour of 6 "modern" radio facilities and then lunch. Details below. CHAPTER 141 MEETING IN MEDFORD WHEN: Thursday November 16th, SPECIAL TIME: 6:30 PM WHERE: SPECIAL LOCATION Kathrein/Scala Division 555 Airport Road Medford 541-779-6500 WHAT: Special evening tour of Kathrein/Scala plant in Medford, RSVP required. Details below. THIS MONTH'S PROGRAM PRESENTATIONS IN PORTLAND, EUGENE, AND MEDFORD PORTLAND INFO Dan Knighten of Beaverton's Audio Precision Inc. will do a presentation on their new APx585: 7.1 audio testing? No problem. He'll also have their ATS-1 with him. See http://ap.com/index.php?page=products&id=1100001060&PHPSESSID=4feae6e711afba82b5 802becbd1751ff . 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 . EUGENE INFO For the Cumulus-Eugene tour, park in the back parking lot. Tour includes 95.3 KUJZ, 96.1 KZEL, 97.9 KNRQ, 102.3 KEHK, 590 KUGN, and 1320 KSCR. See http://www.eugeneradioadvertising.com/stations.htm The Eugene meetings are on the Wednesday after the second Tuesday of the month. You do not have to be an SBE member to attend these meetings. Anyone with an interest in the subject matter is welcome. For more information e-mail Dennis Hunt dhunt at cmc dot net. See www.sbe76.org for a map to the meeting location. MEDFORD INFO For the Kathrein/Scala tour, pizza and refreshments will be served at 6:30 pm, and an interesting program will start at 7:00 pm. Get all the information including where to send the required RSVP at http://www.sbe141.org/misc/Kathrein_Scala_SBE_Meeting.pdf . Also see http://www.kathrein-scala.com/ The Medford meetings are on the Thursday after the second Tuesday of every month. For information, call Mike Gary at 541-772-2600 ext 209 or e-mail mgary at kmvu-tv dot com. See www.sbe141.org . LAST MONTH'S MEETINGS The Portland, Eugene, and Medford presentations were by Larry V. Bloomfield of Evertz (son of Larry B. Bloomfield) on their huge line of fiber optic products for video, audio, control, datacom, RF, and telecom. See http://www.evertz.com/tools/fiber-selector YXZ REPORT by Kent Randles K7YXZ CBRE Senior Engineer, Entercom-Portland Co-Chair, Portland/Vancouver LAECC Chapter Secretary/Newsletter Editor watercooled at sbe124 dot org THE NEXT-TO-LAST "HARDCOPY" NEWSLETTER If you get a copy of this newsletter that comes to you through the US Postal Service, note that we will be mailing out only one more issue after this one. Eventually, almost everything comes down to time and money. In this case it's my wife's and my time, and the chapter breaks even on the mailed newsletters even though they cost over $1.50 each to print and mail. After eleven years, I'd prefer to put the time into the website and the HTML version, and begin doing RSS (Real Simple Syndication). So, the website will improve, and features will be more easily updated and accessed. To continue receiving the newsletter automatically, please subscribe to the SBE-PDX e-mail list, which only sends out messages containing the newsletter or Chapter 124 announcements. Go to http://www.broadcast.net/mailman/listinfo/sbe-pdx to subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your options. If you have ANY trouble with the list, just e-mail me and I can fix it. RANDY PUGSLEY TO CHURCHILL MEDIA Former Infinity-Portland Director of Engineering then Educational Media Foundation contract transmitter-site and audio-processing guru Randy Pugsley is now Director of Engineering for Churchill Media, headquartered in Eugene. A COUPLE MORE LOCAL COPPER-THEFT STORIES John White K7RUN quotes Loren Flindt KB7APU on the OR-ENG remailer about copper theft at the Larch Mountain communications site: "...copper grounding plates off the building and cut the grounding cables off the tower legs. They also cut the ground wires from the hardline. They also tried to dig up the ground wires from the ground near the base of the tower." Tim VanDenBos W7TRV of KOIN reports: "Two weeks ago our site at Grizzly Mt. shared with KATU, KGW, KPTV and KFXO had a similar problem. They cut the tower ground wires and pulled them out of the ground as far as possible before cutting them off. They also took our large multi-strand ground wire to the grounding plate mounted outside the building. Fortunately they left the ground wires from the waveguides and the copper ground buss alone. Bob (KFXO) and I went up there last week and replaced the ground wires. Unfortunately this kind of activity will not stop as long as recyclers keep taking the stolen material from these guys. Word to the wise, keep all your spare coax, Heliax, waveguide, etc. inside and protect the outside material as best you can. We have had incidents on our Sylvan Hill property cutting 4" Heliax into six or seven foot sections, hauled over our fence and then they drive around to pick them up. MORE WEBSITES WITH PICTURES OF TRANSMITTER SITES Gray Haertig reports through the OR-ENG remailer: " Some of you on these lists have been following my building projects up in the Healy Heights tower farm here in Portland. I've posted a few before and after pictures of the old KXL-FM transmitter building for your enjoyment at: http://www.well.com/user/dmsml/stonehenge/index.html . Consultant Don Mussell has been kind enough to host these pictures on his web site. There are also a bunch of pictures of the Stonehenge Tower installation at this URL. As I get the time, I will post some pictures of the progress on the Harold Singleton house which I am remodeling for myself. It is located between the old KXL building and Stonehenge. While you're there, check out all the other pictures Don has on his web site - http://www.well.com/user/dmsml/look.html . Thanks, Don!" LIFE WITH HD RADIO Holding at 12 FM HD signals (nine with HD2) and two AM HD signals on the air in the Portland market. 1330 KKPZ turned on their HD Radio signal. I took a trip to my nearest Radio Shack after hearing in one of the ever-present (at least on commercial radio) HD Radio spots that they have HD Radios now. The manager knew a little about HD Radio, and said they had exactly ONE coming and he wasn't sure if it was a Boston Acoustics Receptor HD, or an Accurian Tabletop HD Radio (Captain? The Accurian ship is powering up its weapons!) which is on their website at http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2460834&cp and is $174.99 after rebate. The info says it has 24 presets. Ironically, an actual radio listener walked in right after me and asked about HD Radio. After we found out they had nothing on display yet, I suggested that he go down the street to Magnolia Audio Video. Boston Acoustics is not on Magnolia's website, but Magnolia is on Boston's site as a Receptor HD dealer, as is Fry's. From http://www.radiosophy.com/status/: "10/13/2006 Update - Our radio has been certified by iBiquity! We can now begin the manufacturing process and will post a firm product ship date soon. Thank you for your patience during this long process - we're almost there! Orders placed today will be an additional 2 to 3 weeks from our first ship date." The Taste of NAB Road Show had a powered and working Radiosophy MultiStream HD radio on display. I got to play with it for a few minutes, and it's pretty cool. Easier to use than the Receptor, but no where near the bass response. No problem receiving most of the Portland FM HD signals with its whip antenna. FROM THE CGC COMMUNICATOR by Bob Gonsett W6VR Copyright 2006 Communications General(r) Corporation (CGC) http://www.bext.com/_CGC/ LIGHTING UP THE NIGHT SKY, AND CAPTURING THE SIGNAL Just for fun, I fired up the 150W high pressure sodium (HPS) lamp in my backyard the other night (see CGC #760) to light up the coastal low clouds, and was able to copy the signal three miles away. I have attached a JPEG of an audio spectrum screen capture using Spectrum Lab software. The 120 Hz line is all of the other lights in the county, and the 135 Hz line is the 150W HPS lamp received three miles away. The lamp is being driven at 67.5 Hz, so it flickers at twice that rate, or 135 Hz. Although the lamp was being driven with straight 67.5 Hz power for this test, the received signal is strong enough that we could easily copy text using Jason serial tone modulation. We'll probably set up to do a two-way text QSO using Jason and the HPS lamps via clouds soon. Kerry Banke, N6IZW, kbanke (at) qualcomm.com http://earthsignals.com/add_CGC/Images/0610082054.jpg . VULNERABILITIES OF CELLPHONES STUDIED U.C. Davis Assistant Professor Hao Chen and a team of graduate students are looking into the potential for cyber-attacks focused on cellphones and cellular networks. Chen's team has already found ways to use a PC to flood mobile phones with data streams, quickly accelerating battery drain, a technique that could simultaneously target 5,000 phones. Read about "zombies" and more: http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/43930.html CRTs FAST BECOMING EXTINCT By 2010, iSuppli predicts CRTs will account for only 2.1 million (or 5%) of the 44 million TV sets sold. Flat screens will be all the rage. http://tinyurl.com/yy8e53 SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIOS HAILED FOR INTEROPERABILITY Software defined radios (SDRs) will allow emergency responders from various agencies to communicate with each other according to this report from Government Computer News, so SDRs may become the technology of choice for "interoperability." And the prices of SDRs are expected to drop in the near future. http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/42398-1.html . A FEW ITEMS FROM EUGENE, OR, STATEWIDE EAS 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. FREQUENCY COORDINATION & OTHER STUFF 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 Ev is taking the month off. PDX RADIO WAVES by Michael D. Brown N7AXC CSRE Brown Broadcast Services, Inc., Portland mike at brownbroadcast dot com Mike contributes in "even" months. JOBS IN PORTLAND Maintenance Engineer, Oregon Public Broadcasting Position: Full-time, regular position. Compensation: $17.64 - $26.46 DOQ, plus benefits. Primary Duties/Responsibilities: Repair, maintain, update and install broadcast electronic equipment. Conceptualize and implement new system designs, maintain and update documentation, construction and on going maintenance and calibration programs. Assist in the design, instillation, emergency repair, preventative maintenance and technical operation of all equipment within the OPB system. Must have a very high level of technical expertise relative to equipment operation and maintenance procedures. Must be highly skilled with a very broad range of equipment types and theoretical disciplines. Must be tactful, maintain harmonious relationships with co-workers and deal with co- workers and the general public in a professional and competent manner. Must maintain technical competency. Working Conditions: Generally work will be done in a shop or studio environment. Work may be done at other locations such as transmitters or remote sites. Work varying shifts, including, evening, weekdays and holidays. Since the broadcast facilities is essentially a 24-hour/day operation, this person is required to report to work during inclement weather conditions and respond to emergencies. This position may also be required to be included in the on call rotation. Some equipment may expose employee to potentially dangerous high voltages and non-ionizing radiation levels. Must be able to lift equipment weighing up to 75 lbs. Must have a valid driver's license or access to suitable transportation. Qualifications: Five years experience in Broadcast and/or IT maintenance engineering. Preference will be given to a degree in Computers or Electrical Engineering. · Must possess good oral and written communications skills as well as good interpersonal skills. · Must be competent with Broadcast digital formats including Serial Digital, SD, HD, DVB/ASI, and digital file formats such as Mpeg 2. · Must have a working knowledge of video and broadcast fundamentals including broadcast digital video and digital audio. · Must understand digital video theory, digital video files formats, and digital video distribution. · Must have a working knowledge of video editing fundamentals including at least 2 years of Avid non-linear editing systems. · Must have at least 2 years of experience working in IP including local area networking, file handling and protocol management as it relates to the broadcast environment. · Must have at least 2 years of experience working with Master Control Automation systems and content management systems. · Must be familiar with both Mac and Microsoft operating systems, knowledge of technical design, construction, maintenance, and operations of the aforementioned system and the test equipment and tools used there-in. · Must have a working knowledge of either AutoCAD or Visio used in the documentation of our facilities. · Working knowledge of broadcast radio is a plus. To Apply: Send cover letter, resume and salary history to: OPB HR, 7140 SW Macadam Ave., Portland, OR 97219. Screening begins 11/24/06. www.opb.org Equal Opportunity Employer IN OREGON Post Date: 10/3/2006 Job #: 1020 Job Title: RF Engineer Location: U.S. Job Description: We seek an RF Engineer to assist in product development. Specific tasks are: Designing/developing radio transmitter(s) to transmit synchronized pulse signals with specific information embedded in the signal. Designing/developing radio receiver(s) to receive synchronized pulse signals, heterodyne input signal to higher frequency input, A/D conversion, and buffer input to FIFO. FPGA possible. Compensation is negotiable. Washington/Oregon location preferred, but will consider other locations, especially western USA. Job Title: Staff Engineer Location: Southern Oregon Post Date: 9/14/2006 SBE Job #: 967 Job Description: Ability to take initiative, work unsupervised, quickly analyze and repair issues, learn quickly and document all work required. This is a fast paced high pressure environment, must be able to think and act professionally in emergency situations. IN THE SEATTLE AREA Job Title: Video Engineer Location: Redmond, WA Post Date: 10/3/2006 SBE Job #: 1009 Job Description: Responsible for providing technical support for a wide range of broadcast video and computer-based systems. Candidate will assist with system technical design as well as providing operational solutions. Other responsibilities will include hands-on support, Windows server configurations, preventative maintenance, modification and testing of these systems. Must be self-motivated, demonstrate initiative, have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be able to work well in a team environment. Requires 5+ years experience in a broadcast television or Post-Production facility. Minimum AS degree in electronics or computer science. Avid ACRS or ACWA or ACWE certification is desirable, but not a requirement. Should have experience with AutoCAD, MS-Word and MS-Excel and significant experience with digital audio and video signals. Must be able to lift 25 lbs, work in confined areas and be willing to work weekends and holidays. IN WASHINGTON Job Title: TV/Radio RF Broadcast Engineer Location: Spokane, WA Post Date: 10/17/2006 SBE Job#: 1052 Job Description: * Radio/Television RF maintenance duties including television and radio transmitter, microwave, tower, and wireless equipment. * Some studio equipment repair. Minimum Qualifications: * Associate of Science in electronics and/or computer study * Experience in RF-related industry desired * Computer systems knowledge a plus * Physically fit - low level tower climbing involved * Valid driver's license/good driving record * Non-smoker ALL U.S. Job Title: Radio Chief Engineer Location: USA Post Date: 9/14/2006 Job #: 973 Job Description: We are now accepting resumes for potential future openings. Knowledge of RF, IT and audio required. AM DA experience desired. SEARCH TIPS, JOB LISTS, SBE AND OTHERWISE 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. E-MAIL LISTS There are three Oregon e-mail lists you may be interested in: SBE-PDX, which distributes the unabridged e-mail version of this newsletter plus other news and announcements; EAS-OR, for announcements, news, and help on EAS-related topics; and OR-ENG for everything else that interests broadcast engineers, including frequency coordination. If you have World Wide Web access, you can use it any time to unsubscribe from the lists, to switch to and from digest mode, to check back issues of the list (which will be available after the list has been getting posts for a day or so), etc. The Web addresses for these resources are: SBE-PDX http://www.broadcast.net/mailman/listinfo/sbe-pdx EAS-OR http://www.broadcast.net/mailman/listinfo/eas-or OR-ENG http://www.broadcast.net/mailman/listinfo/or-eng If you do not have WWW access, you can do these same things via email. Send mail to "list name"-request at broadcast.net" (without the quotes and with an "@" instead of "at") with the subject or body containing just the word "help" (also without the quotes). You will receive an automated reply giving you further directions. Or, just send an e-mail message to kent at randles.com, who moderates these three Oregon lists. HAM RADIO As you may have noticed, many of us are Amateur Radio Operators. The Skyline Amateur Radio Club, run by W7EEH and KD7DNM, has three linked repeaters in northwestern Oregon. You can see the frequencies, PL's, and coverage maps at http://www.w7dtv.us/ , plus look at the pictures of our annual Field Day operating event. Note that the TV monitor in the upper left hand corner is the link to the menu. 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. ON THE CALENDAR November 12 (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. November 14 (Tuesday) Monthly Portland SBE Chapter 124 meeting, noon. November 15 (Wednesday) Monthly Eugene SBE Chapter 76 meeting, 11:30 AM. See http://www.sbe76.org . November 16 (Thursday) Monthly Medford SBE Chapter 141 meeting. See http://www.sbe141.org . February 17, 2007 (Saturday) Salem Repeater Association's Salem Hamfair, better known as "Rickreall." Polk County Fairgrounds, in Rickreall, west of Salem where highways 99W and 22 cross. Doors open 9 AM, and it's $8 at the door, or $7 in advance and you don't have to stand in the rain. See http://www.qsl.net/w7sra/ . 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 dot org; <1 GHz call Mike Steiner KD6LVP at 503-235-8517, fax 503-231-4624, or e- mail under1gig at sbe124 dot 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 124 LUNCH IN PORTLAND At noon, usually on the second Tuesday of every month, broadcast engineers in Portland meet at The Buffalo Gap Saloon & Eatery, 6835 SW Macadam (at California), 503-244-7111. Go in the SW California-side door, take a left, and go upstairs where we have the "attic" all to ourselves. After their lot fills up, however, a nearby parking space will be hard to find, so get there early. For more information and their map see http://www.thebuffalogap.com. For information call Everett "Ed" Helm at 503-977-7752, or e-mail chairman at sbe124.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 dotorg 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 watercooled 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 Newsletter Redactor: Patti Randles redactor at sbe124 dot org 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