Radio World

Carl Davis is retiring after a 50-year career in broadcasting.

For the past decade he has been radio account manager for the eastern United States for Electronics Research Inc. ERI has named Angela Gregory to manage accounts in the region starting Jan. 1.

“Davis’s career has included senior management roles at commercial and public television and radio stations and equipment sales at ERI and Harris Corp. (now GatesAir),” ERI wrote in the announcement.

“In 2018 he was inducted into the North Carolina Broadcasters Hall of Fame. His professional activities have included participation on the National Association of Broadcasters Engineering and Advisory Committee, the North Carolina Emergency Communications Committee and holding leadership positions for his local chapter of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.”

[Read Radio World’s 2018 interview with Carl Davis.]

Davis grew up in Hickory, N.C., where got his start in radio at WIRC and WXRC, according to an earlier Radio World story. He studied sociology at East Carolina University in Greenville, where he worked at campus station WECU(AM) and local station WOOW(AM) as chief engineer and program director.

Earlier roles included assistant general manager of PBS-NC, vice president of engineering for Voyager Communications and director of engineering for Durham Life Broadcasting.

“In retirement, he will continue to reside in Greenville, N.C., and has indicated he will remain an active participant in the East Carolina University’s Alumni Association and the ECU Foundation and its scholarship programs,” ERI said.

ERI also announced that Angela Gregory will become Eastern Region account manager for radio.

“Gregory joined ERI in 2019 in its Quality Assurance Department in roles that exposed her to all aspects of ERI’s design, fabrication and installation processes and procedures,” ERI said. She will be based at the company’s headquarters in Chandler, Ind.

Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Carl Davis Retires from ERI appeared first on Radio World.

What appears to be a last-ditch effort by Urban One Broadcasting Network to salvage a radio station construction permit in Florida has failed. The FCC this week denied a Petition for Declaratory Ruling by the broadcaster to reinstate Urban One’s forfeited permit to construct an FM radio station in Cross City, Fla.

Urban One’s efforts to resurrect the CP for WURB(FM) date back to 2014 and its acquisition of an expiring construction permit from Alex Media Inc., according to FCC documents. Urban One filed an application to modify the construction permit just months before the expiration and proposed a new tower site. However, Suncoast Radio filed an objection to the modification saying it did not comply with the commission’s rules.

The FCC agreed and, in a subsequent notice sent on July 17, 2014, gave Urban One 30 days to amend its modification application. At the same time, the commission noted the CP permit for the proposed station was due to expire days later on July 21, 2014.

The FCC told Urban One: “This letter does not extend the expiration date of that construction permit or provide any additional time to construct.”

[See Our Business and Law Page]

According to FCC documents, Urban One followed up by filing two petitions for reconsideration — one asking for Special Temporary Authority to operate the FM at the new site — which were filed following the CP’s expiration. The FCC denied both in early 2015, determining “the construction permit automatically expired and was forfeited.”

What followed has been years of petitions and appeals filed by Urban One seeking return of the CP. The broadcaster’s most recent Petition for Declaratory Ruling was filed in June 2021 and sought reinstatement of the CP with an additional 18 months to construct the facility.

Albert Shuldiner, chief of the FCC’s audio division, perhaps ended the back and forth for good with a letter sent Wednesday to William Johnson, managing member, Urban One Broadcasting Network, which stated: “In short, then, there remains no construction permit for us to reinstate, as it was forfeited by its own terms on July 21, 2014. The call sign WURB was deleted, and the unbuilt Cross City FM channel assignment was deleted and designated as a vacant allotment in the Table of Allotments, from which it was subsequently added to the Auction 109 inventory.”

The FCC says channel 249C3 at Cross City, Fla., was included in the inventory of the recently completed Auction 109.

Cross City, Fla., is a city of 1,689, according to the 2020 Census, located about an hour west of Gainesville, Fla., on the state’s Gulf Coast.

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post FCC Denies Request for Reinstatement of Florida CP appeared first on Radio World.

Over the years, Australian pro audio manufacturer Røde has built a solid presence for itself in the recording and broadcast industries, but in recent times, the company has put much of its focus on podcasting — and that effort has paid off handsomely.

In podcasting today, Røde is one of the 800-pound gorillas and a lot of that has to do with its RødeCaster Pro podcast production studio, a specialized, all-in-one recording and mixing unit that came out in 2018. The unit does a great job of walking that upper-prosumer tightrope, providing simplified broadcast features in a portable form that audio pros, aspiring pros and content creators can all use to get very respectable results.

Building on that success, Røde has since also released podcast- and streaming-oriented mics at price points that are attainable by consumers. So what do you do once you release the two things that podcasters need the most? Well, you accessorize them out and accordingly, Røde has released a number of accessories aimed at RødeCaster Pro users in the last few months.

Rødecaster Cover Pro

The first item is the RødeCaster Cover Pro, which is simply a clear acrylic cover for the RødeCaster Pro. The cover is designed to fit perfectly over the unit and protect it when you’re not recording. Certainly, you don’t want to carry the unit in a backpack to go on location and then discover you’ve prised off a fader en route. Likewise, if you’re working from home as many podcasters do, the cover will protect the mixer from seemingly innocuous dangers like a cup of coffee or your too-damn-curious cat walking all over it.

There is a third-party cover already on the market for the RødeCaster Pro, but Røde’s obviously comes from the manufacturer (which always provides some added peace of mind) and it has a street price around $50 — a full $40 less than the third-party competition at this writing, so it’s a win all around.

[Check Out More Product Evaluations in Our Products Section]

Next up is the RødeCaster Pro Accessory Kit, which is a bundle of four minor-but-useful items — the kinds of tidbits that feel a little wasteful to purchase until the rueful day you need them. None of items are so essential that you can’t work without them, but they make things slightly simpler.

The kit includes the SC9 TRRS-to-TRRS cable, which is basically a 3.5 mm TRRS cable designed to connect a RødeCaster Pro to audio devices — for instance, a smartphone, so you can record a phone interview directly into the unit. There are other ways to connect a smartphone (Bluetooth, for instance), but it gets the job done simply.

Next is the HJA-4, which is a pack of four 3.5 mm-to-1/4-inch headphone adapters. You’ve got these lying around already, of course, and they come with every set of decent headphones you’ve ever bought — but you’ve misplaced them before, too. With a pack of four, you have more than enough to ensure you don’t run out when connecting podcasters and their guests’ headphones into the mixer.

Then there’s the XLR-ID pack, which is simply four pairs of color-coded plastic rings that snap on to XLR plugs at each end of a cable so you know which cable is which. Sure, you can use gaff tape to do the same thing or, God forbid, simply pay attention to what you’re doing, but they make for one less thing to think about.

Rounding out the Røde RødeCaster Pro Accessory Kit is the DC-USB1 USB-to-12 V DC power cable, which allows you to run a RødeCaster Pro off a USB output, like a portable powerbank, providing a bit more portable utility if you’re not near a wall outlet. You’re still going to need a relatively high-power USB power source (2.4 A minimum), but to sound like Yogi Berra for a minute, this is the kind of item you don’t need until you need it.

Rode PSA1+ Professional Studio Arm

All that said, let’s move on to the most notable podcasting accessory Røde has released in recent times — the Røde PSA1+ professional studio arm. It is a nice piece of kit, able to hold a microphone weighing up to 2.6 lbs.

Aesthetically, it is black with some silver accents, it prominently sports the Røde logo in a few places, and offers a horizontal reach of about 37 inches. The arm comes with both a desk insert and a clamp, so you have options for attaching it to your table or desk, and there’s also a mic thread adapter in case you need it.

The mic arm is well-packaged to survive transit; open up the box and you’ll find all the various parts, most notably the thick, hefty arm, which feels satisfyingly solid. Both lengths of the arm are covered with spongy neoprene sleeves that are emblazoned with the Røde logo. That makes it feel a little weird if you don’t have a Røde mic at the end of the arm, and I’m sure that’s no accident.

Not only do the sleeves help deaden potential sounds from the arm as you move it, but they also provide good protection if you bang your hand, head or coffee mug against the arm while recording. The sleeves have small plastic grips attached for cable management — a nice touch, though it means that if you want to cut the sleeves off for some reason (for instance, if you’re video podcasting and can’t have the Røde logos in the picture), you lose your cable management, which is a shame.

The arm comes pre-assembled, so all you have to do is install the clamp of your choice, drop in the peg at the end of the mic arm, and you’re set. The mounting hardware is very low profile; with both the desk insert and the clamp, installation is simple — very much a set-and-forget experience.

The desk clamp slides on to a desk or table with a width of 18–55 mm, while the surface mount can tackle 10–70 mm. On the desk clamp, there are rubber tabs at the ends of the metal bar that you use to tighten the clamp; they come off, allowing you to remove the bar for an aesthetically simpler look that also helps ensure that the clamp won’t accidentally get loosened by an errant knee hitting the bar under the desk.

The arm itself has a vertical reach of 860 mm and 360° rotation, and is nearly dead silent; when I moved it around, the mic didn’t pick up movement or create sounds like springs stretching as I put it into position. Whether folded in on itself or extended, the arm was well-behaved, even when it was fully extended straight out at a low, acute angle with the table.

In testing with a popular podcast mic from another manufacturer weighing 1.4 lbs., the arm didn’t droop or shake, even in some unlikely, difficult positionings.

Everything came together quickly, it worked well and as far as mic arms go, it’s stylish. I’m not sure how much there is to be said about studio arms, but ultimately, what do you really want from one? You want it to work quietly, stay where you position it, and otherwise be the last thing you’re thinking about; a good studio arm is something you ignore even as you use it, and the PSA1+ answers all of those demands easily.

This article originally appeared in our sister publication Mix. Users and suppliers are both invited to send news about recent installations and product applications to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Røde Delivers Range of Helpful Accessories appeared first on Radio World.

The Georgia Association of Broadcasters (GAB) has named the 2022 year’s inductees into the association’s Hall of Fame.

The GAB Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have had a lasting impact on the state’s broadcasting industry. “Once again our Hall of Fame class has great representation from radio and television, small markets and large, management and on-air talent and with diversity that is truly representative of Georgia’s broadcasting industry,” said GAB President Bob Houghton. “We are so pleased to be able to honor these incredible individuals.”

The following individuals will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Athens, Ga., on Jan. 26.

• Doug Weathers, WTOC-TV – television journalist and news director
• Ed Harbison, WQXI-AM/FM and WAGH(FM) – Georgia state senator
• Scott Miller, WCUG(FM) – radio broadcaster and play-by-play voice for Columbus State University Cougars
• Joe Willie Sousa, Golden Isles Broadcasting – general manager and on-air personality

From Left: Doug Weathers, Ed Harbison, Scott Miller and Joe Willie Sousa

Each winter the GAB hosts an annual luncheon to honor new Hall of Fame members and recognize recipients of the annual E. Lanier Finch Scholarship.

Since its inception, 93 broadcasters have been inducted into the GAB Hall of Fame. Past inductees include this year’s emcee — Monica Pearson with Georgia Public Broadcasting — and others, including Judy Woodruff, broadcast TV journalist; Skip Caray, former Atlanta Braves play-by-play announcer and son of Chicago broadcasting legend Harry Caray; Pete Van Wieren, American sportscaster; and Mike Roberts, Georgia radio station owner and morning host.

Submit news about your event to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Georgia Broadcasters Name 2022 Hall of Fame Inductees appeared first on Radio World.

It’s been a decade since digital radio launched in Germany, and it seems to be catching on with listeners. Digitalradio Büro Deutschland, the joint-initiative between broadcasters, receiver manufacturers, and network operators in Germany, declared the 2021 the “best year for DAB+ since 2011.”

According to the Büro, 2021 saw a 30 percent increase in number of digital radio receivers in German homes and cars over the prior year, and DAB+ signals are heard in about 27 percent of German households, some 11 million people. Around 20 percent of all radio listeners regularly tune to DAB+ programs.

On Dec. 21, 2020, regulations went into effect requiring radios with displays, as well as radios in cars, to be capable of receiving DAB+ signals. This resulted in the sale of about 1.83 million stationary DAB+ devices in 2021, a relative increase of 15.2 percent over the previous year.

[Check Out More Global News from Radio World]

“The driving force behind the current DAB+ dynamism is the commitment of many private broadcasters, who are broadcasting new programs nationally and, increasingly, regionally via the digital terrestrial radio standard,” stated Digitalradio Büro Deutschland in a German-language announcement.

According to the Media-Analyse ma 2021 Audio media usage survey, the audience share for DAB+ is 20.4 percent among listeners 14+, and for the 30- to 59-year-old demographic that increases to 22.7 percent.

As of December 2021, about 300 DAB+ channels are offered nationwide, around 100 of which are digital only. The Büro also noted that DAB transmission infrastructure continues to grow in Germany with six more transmission sites going on air by April 2022 to close gaps in the transmission network.

In the first two weeks of December alone, public broadcaster NDR put into operation a new DAB+ transmitter in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; private broadcaster Radio Arabella Bayern expanded its reach to cover all of Bavaria; and 37 private broadcasters in Saxony applied to join local, regional, and state-wide DAB+ networks.

Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post 2021: Best Year Yet for DAB+ in Germany appeared first on Radio World.

“Radio is outmanned, outgunned, out-funded and fragmented. The competition is not.”

That’s the message that Xperi Corp. has been taking to the global radio industry. The technology company believes its DTS AutoStage platform is the answer.

In a new ebook co-produced by Radio World and Xperi, we talk with experts about this proposition — how the connectivity environment is changing and how DTS AutoStage is designed to address that change.

For listeners, this new hybrid radio platform promises more content, better control, and new ways to engage and personalize audio content in the car.

For automakers it offers consistency in the driver experience, global coverage and field upgradeability.

For radio, it promises stations a visual presence that can be monetized and that looks as good as what SiriusXM, TuneIn or Spotify can offer, if not better.

Will it meet those objectives? Providing insights are Roger Lanctot of Strategy Analytics, Steve Shultis of New York Public Radio, John Clark of NAB PILOT, Steve Newberry of QUU and executives at Xperi led by Joe D’Angelo. You’ll also see what real radio station displays look like in DTS AutoStage on the dash of a Mercedes S-Class vehicle.

Read it here.

The post Radio’s Call to Action: DTS AutoStage appeared first on Radio World.

Happy holidays from the team at RW Engineering Extra! Here’s your latest issue, featuring insights and resources just for engineers.

Take a page from the IT handbook. Chris Fonte writes that FOSS applications can be adapted to create custom solutions for broadcast.

What to know about getting your streams cloud-ready and CDN-compatible from a paper. Rick Bidlack of Wheatstone offers a primer on the politics and protocols of streaming.

And thoughts on streaming for radio by Tech Editor Cris Alexander.

Read it here.

 

 

 

The post Read the Dec. 15, 2021 Issue of RW Engineering Extra appeared first on Radio World.

Jim Winston

Jim Winston is president and founder of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters.

He was interviewed by Victor Bruzos, a 2021 law fellow at the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC). Answers were edited for clarity and brevity. MMTC commentaries appear regularly in Radio World, which welcomes other points of view on industry issues.

Victor Bruzos: NABOB has been around for more than 40 years, please tell us about the association’s history, work, and core principles.
James Winston: NABOB was founded in 1976 after a series of conversations at the National Association of Broadcasters convention. A young lady who worked for NAB at the time, Patty Grace Smith (she went on to have a very successful career at the Federal Communications Commission and at the Department of Transportation), spoke to several different Black broadcasters and they all described similar problems to her; however, most of them did not know each other, and they assumed that they were experiencing these problems all by themselves.

She introduced a few of them to each other and when they realized they were all having similar problems, particularly with advertisers not understanding African-American consumers, they created NABOB.

NABOB was formed with two goals: to increase the number of African-American–owned radio stations and to improve the business climate in which they operate by making advertisers and advertising agencies aware of the business value of advertising on their stations…

We still have a very small number of African-American owners … approximately 200 radio stations about 35 TV stations, which is still a considerably small part of the industry. …

Moreover, we advocate on behalf of our members within the advertising industry. … Many corporations now realize that, in spite of past efforts, there’s still a great lack of diversity, equity and inclusion in corporate America. And we have seen in recent months, several corporations specifically say they would like to do more business with Black-owned media companies. We are working with several companies to try to make that happen.

Bruzos: What is NABOB’s position on H.R. 4871, the Expanding Broadcast Opportunities Act of 2021, introduced in August by Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D–N.C.) and S.2456, the Broadcast VOICES Act, its Senate companion bill introduced by Sen. Gary Peters (D–Mich.). What kind of impact will it have for minorities and women wanting to gain entry into the media business?
Winston: The tax certificate program is a very interesting program. … NABOB was instrumental in getting that program adopted in 1978 as part of what the FCC called its minority ownership policy.

When the FCC had a conference in 1977 looking for suggestions about how to promote minority ownership, one of the things NABOB explained was that we weren’t getting phone calls telling us about stations that were available. Stations were mostly being sold through an “old boys” network that didn’t include NABOB members.

With the tax certificate program … if you sold a radio, television or (eventually) cable TV system to a company owned and controlled by minorities, you got a deferral of the capital gains tax. … Owners who never contacted NABOB members were now contacting them regularly saying, please buy my station.

In 1978 when the policy was adopted, African Americans owned 37 radio stations and one TV station, but by the time the policy was eliminated in 1995 there were 250 African-American–owned radio stations and 25 African-American–owned TV stations. That growth was primarily due to the tax certificate policy. Since the elimination of the policy in 1995 we have actually seen our numbers of radio stations and TV stations decrease.

NABOB has worked to get that policy reinstated for many years and we’re very hopeful the bill introduced by Congressman Butterfield and Senator Peters will get favorable consideration and bring that policy back. Additionally, the new policy is being proposed for small businesses, which include minorities and women-owned businesses, so we think it will have a broad impact in a number of areas and will significantly increase diversity within station ownership.

We still have some owners that took advantage of the program the first time around who would love to see it come back so they have a chance to use it again. The support is very high among our NABOB members for getting it reinstated.

Bruzos: Geo-targeting is another area of interest to minority broadcasters. If the FCC allows FM boosters to have separate programming and to engage in geo-targeting, what would be the impact on minority-owned stations?

Winston: The geo-targeting proposal is designed to enable radio stations to target smaller areas within their service area. For specialized programming, the geo-targeting program would stay the same, but an expanded program would allow for more local announcements. … So, for example, you could allow for different public service announcements, traffic announcements and, of course, commercials. …

For example, I might have a restaurant and my patrons come from an area that’s within a specific neighborhood and advertising to communities 10 to 20 miles away would not be cost effective for me; in that instance geo-targeting might be exactly what I need.

One other interesting thing I just learned about geo-targeting is that because it uses FM boosters, it can actually improve the service quality for FM boosters by directionalizing the signal. … I think that is a further reason for the FCC to grant the rule change.

Bruzos: What are your thoughts on the FCC incubator program?

Winston: NABOB has advocated for this program for a very long time, and I think it has the potential, if implemented properly, to be very positive for minority station owners and prospective owners.

The problem we had with the policies adopted by the FCC was the manner in which an incubating company could use the benefit could be contrary to the value of the incubated station. For example, a company could incubate a station in a very small market that had a number of stations and then use the waiver of multiple ownership rules the policy provides to gain a new station in a much larger market. That would not be in the public interest. It wouldn’t be a good thing for minorities, certainly, if someone were allowed to exceed the ownership limits in a market where they already had stations competing with a minority-owned station.

We could have a net decrease in minority ownership as a result of a badly used incubator program, so we’re hoping the FCC, as it the looks at its ownership rules in the current quadrennial review, will consider whether or not it should look to change the incubator program.

I think it has great potential, but our members would like to see it implemented in a in a more favorable manner.

Bruzos: During this ongoing pandemic, how have NABOB members been affected and what have they learned?

Winston: In the early days of the pandemic, our members were hit really hard because advertisers dwindled. If you shut down your business, you have no reason to advertise. We saw many of our stations lose advertising dollars in the 30 to 50 percent range over the first few months of the pandemic.

Fortunately, as people started getting back out into public and stores learned to adjust their sales so that people could pick up products on the curb or they added outside eating areas, the economy started slowly coming back and we were able to withstand the impact.

Fortunately, I’m not aware of any NABOB station that went out of business as a result of the pandemic, but they certainly had a very, very rough time and even now, of course, with the delta variant. We see that we’re not back 100 percent to where we want to be, but we’ve made a great deal of progress from where we were a year ago, and I know our stations will come back strong.

The post Improving Opportunities for Minority Broadcasters appeared first on Radio World.

The author is president/CEO of Bohn Broadcast Services and The MaxxKonnect Group. This commentary appeared in the free Radio World ebook “Mission-Critical: Maintaining Your Transmitter Site.”

Picture it: 1997.

Bill Clinton is president. Reed Hundt is FCC chairman.

Radio deregulation is now the norm — but so are tube transmitters, analog consoles and dialup-only remote controls.

It was a different world in so many ways.

In 2021 deregulation is still the norm, but solid-state transmitters have overtaken tubes by a large margin. Analog consoles are still in service, but AoIP has a huge stronghold in the modern broadcast plant. And remote controls now can call, text and email.

What’s the common denominator in all of those modern devices?

IP connectivity

We live in a world where the internet is connected to everything from your phone to your security systems and, in some cases, even your refrigerator.

The modern broadcast plant is no different. Today’s solid-state transmitters basically are giant computers with RF amplifiers attached to them. They’ll tell you exactly what the fault is and in some cases even order parts for themselves — as long as they have an internet connection.

Remote controls allow you to connect nearly infinite amounts of monitoring and controlling countless devices, plus they’ll show you everything visually on a neat little screen — as long as the internet is working.

POTS lines are nearly impossible to get in many locations now, but you want the remote to call you; what’s the solution? A reliable VoIP service is great — if you have internet.

Many broadcasters have embraced the connected site. Cameras, Burk ArcPlus remote controls, Nautel transmitters — you name it. But the key is reliable and redundant IP delivery. There are a plethora of ways to accomplish this.

This translator built is 100% IP connected, with Wheatnet as the primary delivery over UBNT, fiber as backup and MaxxKonnect for secondary backup and remote control.

The earliest P2P IP option specifically for broadcasters was duplexed ISM radios, offered by Moseley as LANLink nearly 20 years ago. This provided a 512 kbps data link from studio to transmitter site and offered Ethernet and RS-232 connectivity.

It was a revolutionary system and allowed, for the first time, networked devices to live at the transmitter site but be part of the studio LAN without adding costly telco circuits or expensive, dedicated, licensed standalone radios.

The IP delivery landscape was altered again with the proliferation of low-cost unlicensed 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz radios. These systems, with their significantly higher throughput, altered the way stations delivered content to their sites.

Traditional 950 MHz STL systems were backed up, and in some cases supplanted, by IP-only radios carrying codec audio, HD Radio data, RDS metadata and remote control information.

Now sites without some type of internet connectivity are in the minority.

IP radios have become, by far, the most common method of internet delivery to transmitter sites. Prioritized cellular, such as my company’s MaxxKonnect Wireless offering, is another great option to get connectivity into a site without major tower work, large upfront costs or long-term commitments.

A screen capture from a Wyze Cam Pan camera. Extremely helpful to diagnose things remotely.

If fiber is available at your site, take advantage of it! Costs on fiber internet are coming down significantly.

Satellite internet is an option as well. In the past, satellite has not always been the fastest or most reliable option. However, with the coming of SpaceX’s Starlink and other new low-earth orbit (LEO) technologies, satellite could rival wireline delivery in the not-too-distant future.

And so?

You may be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with site maintenance?”

Answer: Everything!

Having the ability to know what’s going on at your site, even when you can’t get there as often as you’d like, is key to keeping things running smoothly.

Example: Install an inexpensive web camera or cameras at your site. We typically install three: one looking at the room as a whole, one outside the door, and one aimed squarely at the front of the transmitter and/or equipment racks.

Dashboard for a Ubiquity AF60 IP radio.

This allows you to know who or what is lurking at your site, inside and out, plus it allows you to diagnose equipment faults or failures visually before rolling out.

Being able to see which fault indicator is lit on an older transmitter or hear the UPS beeping through the camera lets you plan for what tools and equipment to bring on your trip. This is a huge timesaver for an engineer. And less time spent on a problem means less money spent or lost — which is a win for management.

Another example is program delivery redundancy.

IP radio systems are awesome but they’re mounted on a tower and will, most likely, get popped by lightning at some point. Same goes for 950 MHz STLs.

A wireless internet option such as prioritized LTE provides an alternate program delivery path that is less prone to lightning strikes and power spikes. This backup program path can be the difference between minutes of off-air time or hours.

Climate control is another hot topic for internet connectivity. App-linked Wi-Fi thermostats are a great way to give you 24-hour remote control of the temperatures at your site. Set up your own lead/lag controller using the schedule functions, and adjust it from your phone at your house. Plus, you’ll know immediately through push notifications if the temperature exceeds the limits you set.

Other benefits include the ability to look up manuals and parts onsite rather than the 4-inch screen of your phone, and Wi-Fi calling capabilities. At many remote sites, Wi-Fi may be the only way to get a call through if cell service in the building is bad.

Our connected world is overtaking our broadcast facilities. There are more options than ever before to know what is going on at your site, without being there.

The post Life Is Good — As Long as You Have Internet appeared first on Radio World.

Clark Hurrell, president of Major Custom Cable, and Peter Milbery, president of Neutrik Americas

Neutrik Americas has acquired Major Custom Cable, a manufacturer of data and communication cables.

Among other things, the deal gives Neutrik Americas a U.S. manufacturing capability.

“Neutrik’s efforts to expand into new markets is enhanced by the acquisition of MCC. The Neutrik Group’s expertise as a manufacturer of connectivity solutions is now augmented by MCC’s leadership,” it stated. “This new level of shared knowledge and experience is expected to elevate Neutrik Americas’ ability to diversify.”

Neutrik Americas is part of the Neutrik Group. The announcement was made by Neutrik Americas President Peter Milbery and Major Custom Cable President Clark Hurrell.

[See Our Business and Law Page]

MCC has been both a customer and supplier of Neutrik in the past. “For more than a decade, Neutrik has pushed to expand into new markets with our ruggedized copper- and fiber-based locking, circular connectors,” Milbery said in the announcement. “The acquisition of MCC will help us accelerate this push to diversify into new markets. We are thrilled that we will now have U.S. based manufacturing in addition to our existing global manufacturing capabilities.”

A view of the MCC factory floor

Neutrik Group is based in Liechenstein; its Americas operation is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.

Major Custom Cable was founded in 1990 and is based in Missouri, where it has an ISO 9001 registered facility with more than 50,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehousing space, according to its website.

Submit business announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Neutrik Americas Acquires Major Custom Cable appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission has just asked a big question: Should the legacy, audio-based Emergency Alert System architecture be redesigned?

That is one of a bunch of questions that the FCC has asked in a new notice of inquiry about EAS. As Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel put it, “We’re looking for all the good ideas here, both big and small, because we know first-hand they can make a difference.”

The commission took several steps regarding alerting at Tuesday’s meeting, and this big question came toward the end.

First, it issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that sets out proposed changes to improve visual messages that appear on television during nationwide tests.

“When EAS alerts are displayed on the screen, they have both an audio component and a visual component,” Rosenworcel wrote in a statement. “In other words, they feature both a recorded message and a text crawl. But because of the legacy television architecture of EAS, the audio component may not always match the visual text. This can mean that in some circumstances, less information may be conveyed to either those individuals who have access only to the visual component or to those who have access only to the audio component. It can cause real confusion.”

This is especially true for those with disabilities, she said.

[Related: “FCC Contemplates ‘Persistent’ EAS Alerts”]

“For starters, we propose to improve the script for visual text during nationwide tests of the legacy system. We also propose changes to our rules that would bring similar clarity to nationwide tests using the newer, internet-based common alerting protocol, or CAP.”

Also, because there is greater ability to include enhanced text with CAP alerts, the FCC proposes to require broadcasters to check to see if a CAP version of an alert is available when they receive an emergency alert over the legacy system. “Finally, we ask what additional steps can be taken to rethink the architecture of EAS and improve the functionality of the system as a whole.”

In addition to that NPRM, it opened a notice of inquiry asking about more dramatic changes to legacy EAS.

A draft version of these actions was published prior to the meeting, you can read that here; the long list of questions starts in paragraph 24 on page 13. It includes questions like “Is there a more functional compression or modulation scheme that could replace AFSK,” and “Can we take advantage of digital transmission standards like ATSC 3.0 and HDR standards to improve EAS’s capabilities” and “Would it make sense to use legacy EAS only for the EAN (i.e., national emergencies) and NPT (to test the legacy system’s performance in delivering the EAN), but require use of CAP for all other alerts?”

And then the NOI concludes with that big question we led with above.

The FCC wrote, “The legacy EAS is audio-based, and daisy chain-based, because a relatively small number of hardened, full-power AM radio stations can reach 90 percent of the continental U.S. population, potentially allowing the president to communicate to the public during a national emergency. The system is centered on the EAS Protocol because it allows for automated EAS operation on the EAS Participants’ parts, and it is the same protocol used for NWS alerts broadcast over the National Weather Radio system. When the commission adopted the CAP EAS rules in 2012, it kept the legacy EAS because of its resiliency in the face of a national emergency, and because there was no fully CAP-centric system in place — where EAS messages are inputted and outputted in CAP format rather than the EAS Protocol format — to replace it.

“Do these factors remain as true and relevant today?” the FCC wants to know.

“Can the EAS architecture be redesigned to achieve the resiliency and automation provided by the legacy EAS (including delivery of ‘live’ audio), but with the functionalities provided with CAP — such as a system where the alert is still delivered over-the-air using daisy chain distribution, but the alert is formatted in CAP, with ‘live’ audio enabled by an instruction in the CAP contents?”

It wants to know what burdens and costs that would raise, whether downstream processing would systems be affected, whether consumer and enterprise emergency radios would be affected, whether NWS alerts would be affected and much more.

Comments will be taken in PS Docket No. 15-94, and we’ll report on filing deadlines when we have them.

The post FCC Asks: Should Legacy EAS Be Redesigned Altogether? appeared first on Radio World.

In January, the Texas Association of Broadcasters marks a quarter century for its Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program. Through the ABIP, a group of broadcast engineering veterans review stations for FCC compliance using FCC self-inspection checklists as a guide.

“An ABIP review is an affordable way for a station to confirm its compliance with FCC regulations,” said TAB Vice President for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Michael Schneider. “A number of stations have told us over the years that these reviews provide great peace of mind. They don’t want to miss something, and if they did, they want to fix the problem quickly. The TAB ABIP helps them do just that.”

Since Jan. 1, 1997, TAB inspectors have visited hundreds of Texas stations, reviewed station studio and transmitter facilities and certain station procedures for compliance, and helped stations avoid fines by identifying deficiencies and how to correct them.

“It’s not just a review of the online Station Public Inspection File. Inspectors assess transmitter and tower site issues like painting, lighting, fencing and signage, studio facilities, and a host of other areas including station technical and EAS logging,” Schneider said.

[Previously in Radio World: “Protect Your Most Valuable Asset: Your Station License”]

According to a list compiled by TAB ABIP Inspector Dick S. Pickens, the most common deficiencies identified through an alternative inspection include incomplete or unapproved station logs, no quarterly tower light alarm tests, no schedule of maintenance and calibration, various Public File violations, and EAS monitoring and logging deficiencies. TAB ABIP inspections do not include reviews of EEO compliance or of a station’s political file.

The TAB ABIP program, as in other states, is FCC approved. Stations found by the ABIP to be in compliance with FCC regulations can earn a three-year waiver from routine or surprise FCC inspections absent a complaint or tower safety issues.

Since 1994, state broadcasting associations have been able to partner with the FCC to provide ABIP services. A 2018 review of 15 years’ worth of ABIP records by the late Ken Benner, who spent some 24 years as an ABIP inspector, found that alternative inspections had helped stations avoid some $30 million in potential fines.

Schneider described the ABIP program as a win–win for stations and regulators, as well as the public.

“These independent reviews have helped broadcasters stay on top of their FCC requirements while allowing the Commission to reallocate staff and resources from field offices to other FCC policy areas,” he said.

“Public safety is also a top priority of the program, since a tower with faded paint or a lighting failure can be a hazard to aviation, and a breach in a tower’s fencing can lead to individuals trespassing on the site, potentially creating RF exposure issues or, with recent incidents of vandalism, knocking a station and its news and emergency information off of the air for an extended period of time.”

As with other programs, the COVID-19 pandemic did have an effect on the TAB ABIP, but looking ahead the demand for ABIP inspections is strong.

“We received far fewer orders for ABIP reviews after March of 2020. Many stations weren’t even allowing their own staff onsite. We still conducted inspections, however, following COVID-19 health and safety protocols,” Schneider said.

As stations reopen their facilities again to staff and the public, Schneider said there has been a “steady increase” in sign-ups for TAB ABIP inspections.

Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Texas Broadcasters Mark 25 Years of ABIP appeared first on Radio World.

I’m always looking to reduce the number of things that clutter up my studio, yet at the same time increase my capabilities and efficiencies. Other World Computing fills this order with the Mercury Elite Pro dual-drive hardware RAID storage solution with a built-in three-port powered USB hub.

Two universal drive bays within one enclosure will handle two drives — SSDs or spinning hard drives, or any combination — for up to 36 TB of total storage. You can decide to run the twin drives either as a Redundant Array of Independent Disks or as completely separate drives. A RAID offers a higher level of security by making two copies of everything across the two drives. This is useful for highly precious data — song audio files, financial tax records, family archives — things that you cannot lose!

The OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual works with any USB-equipped Mac, PC, mobile or tablet device, gaming console — just about any device that supports external storage. The front panel has activity LEDs, while the rear panel has two 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Type C and two 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Type A connectors; all act as a hub. Besides gaining more storage, I was able to get rid of an extra USB hub.

[Check Out More Product Evaluations in Our Products Section]

Meant to stay online all the time, the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual comes in a nice-looking, heat-dissipating aluminum case (matching my Mac Pro) with a quiet and high-efficiency cooling fan. It is powered from an included 12 V DC power supply.

You may select three different RAID modes when first formatting the system. You can choose: Raid 0, RAID 1, JBOD (just a bunch of drives) or Span. Mine came with two 1 TB hard drives, so I have it formatted as 1 TB RAID 1, which uses disk mirroring and is fault-tolerant.

I connected it to my Mac Pro Tower to archive a copy of all my interim Pro Tools session files and audio — it powers up whenever I turn on the studio for a session and I love it for its simple operation.

Important to know: It comes with a three-year OWC limited warranty, including a one-year Level 1 data recovery and lifetime expert support. A system with a pair of 2 TB 7200 rpm drives, 64 MB cache and transfer speeds of up to 576  MB/s costs $249. The solid-state 1 TB SSD model with speeds of up to 1026 MB/s sells for $349 MSRP.

This article originally appeared in our sister publication Mix. Users and suppliers are both invited to send news about recent installations and product applications to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post OWC Mercury Elite Pro Simplifies Storage appeared first on Radio World.

Photo: Getty Images Helen Ross

Audacy says it is ramping up its interactive voice capabilities. The company announced a partnership with Voicify, which provides “conversation experience management software.”

“As part of the partnership, Audacy will leverage Voicify’s services to drive interactive voice capabilities across the Audacy platform and make station-branded skills more easily accessible for listeners via any voice assistant-enabled device,” the media company said.

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

It said it also will license Voicify’s “Voicify Conversation Experience Platform” to create and deliver interactive voice ads and “voice commerce experiences” for advertisers. It said that platform enables marketers to deploy personalized voice experiences to consumers automatically on smart speakers and other platforms.

Audacy Chief Digital Officer J.D. Crowley was quoted saying, “As we continue to expand and enhance the Audacy direct-to-consumer platform, adding new interactive voice capabilities and enabling voice commerce experiences across a wide range of devices is an important area of future growth, especially in an age where flexibility and speed to market are a must have for our advertising partners.”

The companies cited research from Emarketer that one-third of the U.S. population are using voice to conduct searches.

They said we can expect “high-profile campaigns for several marquee brands” soon.

Submit business announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Audacy to Use Voicify for Interactive Voice appeared first on Radio World.

This isn’t what you want to see when you look up at a tower.

But it is what Matt Ruedlinger of Fullwave Tower & Broadcast found last Friday when his crew showed up at WMGI(FM) in Terre Haute, Ind., a 50 kW Class B station owned by Midwest Communications and operating at 100.7 MHz.

“We received a call that a tree had fallen on one of the lower guy wires and when we arrived found it like this,” he told us.

“After running a few analysis scenarios, we developed a controlled drop plan and removed the tower. Everything went as well as possible with no damage to the transmitter building or nearby power lines.”

This was not related to the recent tornadoes that made headlines. The station is operating from a backup tower and plans a new structure.

Send your interesting radio photos and stories to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Something Ain’t Quite Right With This Tower … appeared first on Radio World.

The Ram TRX 1500. SiriusXM’s 360L feature made its debut in Ram trucks in 2019.

During the years that I’ve produced the program “Radio-Road-Test,” I’ve seen in-dash entertainment evolve from basic to high-end AM and FM radios and cassette decks to sophisticated units capable of accessing entertainment from terrestrial stations, satellite channels and streaming audio.

More and more, such units occupy a prominent place in the center stack of the automotive dashboard. SiriusXM with 360L is the latest iteration of the satcaster’s platform. The name 360L is intended to suggest a 360-degree listening experience.

When it debuted in 2019 in the Ram 1500 pickup with 12-inch Uconnect 4.0 system, SiriusXM with 360L delivered content from both the satellite and through streaming via internet access through on-board modems.

This “hybrid radio” capability opened up online channels that weren’t available in the car and offered on-demand programming — interviews, podcasts and other features — based on listening preferences.

SiriusXM with 360L is a hybrid system that combines satellite and streaming content delivery to provide more channels and control.

In October 2020, the ability to create an artist channel through its subsidiary Pandora was added to the 360L experience in Ram trucks for those subscribers with SiriusXM’s Platinum Plan, along with sports notifications, which give listeners an alert about their favorite sports teams, and the ability to tune directly to the broadcast of the game.

Ram owners with the 360L platform from 2019 received over-the-air subscription updates to add those abilities to their units.

Listeners can access official broadcasts for pro and college teams.

SiriusXM says subscribers can also create individual listener profiles, so multiple drivers and passengers can customize and maintain their presets and favorites. Profiles can be synced with a listener’s mobile phone to access their favorites and pick up listening where they left off in the car on certain content.

[Check Out More From the Road Warrior]

How does this work in practice? In the Audi Q5, I was able to receive the audio stream of SiriusXM Channel 69 when the satellite feed was not available because of terrain. In the Ram 1500 TRX, I could create a channel by an artist unknown to all but a few radio listeners today, Richard Clayderman.

This feature used Pandora protocols to curate the channel’s music, adding music from other artists in the genre to Clayderman’s music, thus creating a “Richard Clayderman Radio” channel that was streamed. This is appealing to listeners like me who enjoy music from artists not usually heard on terrestrial radio — in my case Mantovani and Kostelanetz, in your case maybe it’s Weezer and Måneskin — and listeners who want to hear more music from their favorite artist when they want it.

Pandora is a part of the 360L experience, and it allows listeners to create an “artist channel.”

When I wanted to return to satellite programming or other radio programming in the Ram, all I needed to do was select the appropriate source, which could be done by touchscreen or voice control, with an old-school knob to back up the touchscreen and voice controls.

The on-demand programming offered by 360L gives a listener the ability to listen to a podcast or previously recorded show with a touch. In the Ram, the Uconnect unit will load mixed content in its presets (AM/FM/HD Radio, satellite channels and streaming audio selections).

Missing a podcast? Users can find them here.

Ford, GM, BMW and Volkswagen are among car manufacturers offering 360L-capable units in their newest vehicles.

We’ve been hearing from radio advocates like RadioDNS, the NAB and Xperi that local broadcasters need to have a strategy in place for competing with platforms like this. If one compares the channel and song displays from a typical SiriusXM channel to the display of a typical terrestrial station today, the comparison is striking.

My experience suggests that the 360L is a formidable competitor to terrestrial radio for the ears and eyes of drivers and passengers. There’s a lot to be said about giving listeners what they want, when they want it and for making it easy for the listener to access those choices.

Paul Kaminski, CBT is a veteran radio news reporter and RW contributor, and host of msrpk.com’s “Radio-Road-Test.” Twitter: @msrpk_com.

Marketing the 360L

A recent announcement that 360L will be included in most Jaguar and Land Rover models provides insight into how SiriusXM markets the platform.

“SiriusXM with 360L combines satellite and streaming content delivery into a single, cohesive in-vehicle entertainment experience, upgrading the way the subscriber interacts with the service by providing more choice and a more customizable listening experience for their ride,” it stated in a press release.

Some of the on-demand content available through 360L.

“It delivers more SiriusXM channels in the vehicle, and its personalized ‘For You’ recommendations and ability to quickly access related content make it easier for listeners to discover more of the programming they love. With SiriusXM with 360L, drivers and their passengers can also access tens of thousands of hours of SiriusXM’s recorded On Demand content, so they can access exclusive interviews, unique shows and live performances whenever they want.”

Itemized benefits included the availability of many of the company’s streaming channels; access to “tens of thousands of hours” of on-demand content; enhanced sports play-by-play that “makes it easier to find the listener’s favorite team when it is game time, and gives them access to the official broadcasts for more pro and college teams”; Pandora stations that enable drivers to create personal channels; “For You” content recommendations based on listening habits; and listener profiles to allow more than one person to choose favored settings. Drivers and passengers also can use their voice to search SiriusXM’s library of content; and in Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, the platform can receive over-the-air software updates.

More info: Where to find it

SiriusXM with 360L is available in vehicles from Stellantis’ Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands; GM’s Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet and GMC brands; Ford F150s and Ford vehicles equipped with SYNC4; Lincoln Navigator and Nautilus; most BMWs; and most Audis and Volkswagens. It is standard across the Maserati lineup. It will be available in the New Range Rover and will be standard in Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles equipped with the PIVI Pro infotainment system by model year 2023.

The post SiriusXM with 360L Is an Impressive Dashboard Experience appeared first on Radio World.

Kirk Harnack and Jeremy Ruck circa 1994 with scale model of Sears Tower antenna masts

Among those mourning the death of engineer Jeremy Ruck this past weekend is Kirk Harnack, his friend and former co-worker.

“Jeremy and I worked together on the [then] Sears Tower in Chicago under the tutelage of Don Markley,” Harnack told us.

“We were measuring human exposure to RF radiation, mapping the tower and roof areas where workers’ presence would be time-limited. It’s not surprising that Jeremy continued to apply his knowledge and RF wisdom to the Willis Tower’s RF infrastructure over the 25+ years since our shared experience there.”

Jeremy Ruck and Kirk Harnack at the Michigan Broadcasters Engineering Conference 2020

Harnack commented on Ruck’s real-world experience and ability to communicate difficult ideas.

“Jeremy would explain complex technical concepts in simple tech terms that most engineers could understand. You felt smarter — better informed — after any conversation with him.”

He said Ruck’s favorite test equipment was the vector network analyzer. “He educated hundreds of engineers on the importance of VNA measurements, characterizing dozens of key parameters in RF transmission systems. These measurements allowed the fine adjustments necessary to optimize DTV transmission as well as FM systems. He could massage these systems to work as well or even better than their design. I think you’d be amazed at the number of FM listeners and TV viewers who unknowingly enjoy the results of Jeremy’s expertise.”

Jeremy Ruck (right) in the 2020 calendar of tower company Precision Comms Inc.

Ruck was a popular presenter at engineering conferences, including in Wisconsin and Nebraska. “He also shared his experience and knowledge about the TV repack with a wider audience in November 2019 on the SBE WEBxtra webcast.”

The photos shown here are provided by Kirk Harnack.

The post “You Felt Smarter After Any Conversation With Him” appeared first on Radio World.

Designed by live event touring professionals, the Li.LAC Microphone Disinfector is a rack-mounted encasement that uses controlled exposure to ultraviolet light to kill bacteria and viruses on microphone surfaces, metal grilles and the windscreens underneath.

The Li.LAC Microphone Disinfector is available in a professional 19-inch 3U rackmount drawer-based format, so that it can be located in an equipment room or packed in a road case to travel with other equipment.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

The departments of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention of the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands have conducted scientific studies to evaluate the effectiveness of Li.LAC. A disinfection level of 99.99 percent for surface disinfection inside Li.LAC has been approved by Opsytec Dr. Gröbel GmbH, an independent, accredited laboratory and developer of industrial UV measurement technology. Li.LAC qualifies the 99.9 percent value, however, noting that the exact surface disinfection level varies with the type of virus or bacteria and the shape and surface of the microphone or other object being disinfected.

The unit can hold up to three hand-held microphones or several lavalier or headset microphones, headsets or beltpacks at a time, and a disinfection cycle takes 5 to 10 minutes. Much like a microwave oven, users close the drawer and press Start; the unit will not operate unless the drawer is fully closed and switches off as soon as the drawer is opened, ensuring operator safety.

The Li.LAC Microphone Disinfector is available in the United States for $1,599 from ISEMcon. Li.LAC lists additional resellers in Europe and Australia/New Zealand on its website.

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Li.LAC Microphone Disinfector Debuts appeared first on Radio World.

Another AM radio station in the United States has converted to all-digital broadcast operations. WSRO(AM) turned off its analog signal in early December and is now broadcasting jazz music in all-digital AM covering the western suburbs of Boston.

The radio station is licensed to Ashland, Mass., and owned by Langer Broadcasting Group. The geographic area considered part of the MetroWest region of Greater Boston and located about a half-hour west of the city.

According to a post by station representatives on a Boston area radio message board: “WSRO Ashland, Mass. is on the air in the digital-only MA-3 mode of HD Radio. The transition occurred about 3:30 p.m. this afternoon (December 1).”

The station, which promoted the switch to all-digital AM on-air, asked for reception reports from listeners in its online post.

The FCC confirmed the station turned off it analog signal on Dec. 1 and can no longer heard on analog radio receivers. The station at 650 kHz is directional and drops from 1.5 kW daytime to 100 watts at night.

WSRO programming is simulcast on FM translator 102.1 MHz in Framingham, Mass. It also simulcasts in analog on 1410 (AM) and 98.1 (FM), according to those familiar with the most recent developments.

Attempts to reach representatives of WSRO for comment on the transition and listener response were unsuccessful.

WSRO was silent from July 9, 2020, through Oct.27, 2020, to reorganize its finances, according to the FCC database. The station broadcast a Brazilian music format until it switched to jazz earlier this year.

The station’s transition follows the recent move of Cumulus Media news talker WFAS(AM) in New York’s Hudson Valley to all-digital AM broadcasting. WWFD(AM) in Frederick, Md., and WMGG(AM) in Tampa, Fla., are two other stations operating with all-digital AM broadcasts.

In addition, several other AM licensees have notified the FCC of their intentions to go all-digital only.

The post New England Gets Its First All-Digital AM appeared first on Radio World.

Jeremy Ruck — a broadcast engineer and P.E. who owned Jeremy Ruck & Associates, managed Willis Tower in Chicago and wrote many articles for Radio magazine and Radio World — has died.

According to his obituary at Oaks-Hines Funeral Home in Canon, Ill., Ruck was 50. He died after a battle with COVID-19.

Ruck graduated from Bradley University in 1996 with a degree in electrical engineering.

His friend and colleague Mark Persons said that Ruck was an employee of D.L. Markley & Associates for many years, but left that firm after Don Markley died. He formed Jeremy Ruck & Associates in 2012.

“The broadcast engineering community will miss Jeremy Ruck,” Persons told Radio World.

“Jeremy was always young and vital, ready to go the top of the Sears Tower, now known as the Willis Tower, in Chicago to supervise a broadcast antenna project in the middle of the night. Many remember Jeremy as a frequent speaker at the Wisconsin Broadcasters Clinic in Madison, Wis., describing the complexities and math behind engineering problems.

“He came to my town on the 1990s to do a tune up of a three-tower AM directional and sipped wine with Paula and me when the workday was done. We talked endlessly about the radio industry and amateur radio.”

Persons said Jeremy Ruck, WM9C, became an Extra Class amateur radio operator at age of 17 and was active in the ham community over the years.

“Like Don Markley, not many can fill his shoes.”

Fletcher Ford, CEO of Regional Media, posted on social media that Ruck was “one of the best consulting broadcast engineers in the country, a great husband and father, a devout Catholic and Freemason, and a great friend.”

Another friend, engineer Art Reis, said Ruck had been involved in leading the television repack in Chicago. “I am sad beyond words,” Reis wrote.

Among his survivors are his wife Frankie and 10-year-old son Alexander.

A graveside funeral services will be held on Thursday, Dec. 16, at St Joseph Cemetery in Canton, Ill, according to Ruck’s obituary.

The post Broadcast Engineer Jeremy Ruck Dies, Age 50 appeared first on Radio World.