The Broadcasters' Desktop Resource

Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…

This is BDR Newsletter 794, Volume 16, #14 for November 6, 2024

Here are some things you might want to know about:

WHY SITE SECURITY IS SO IMPORTANT
Stations need to know what is going on at their transmitter site(s). We recently commented on a station where the engineer – no one at all – had been to the site for four to six months. Result: a meth lab.

And, they need a plan for when something happens. This past week, on the day the Dodgers won the World Series, someone broke into the home radio station – KLAC – in Los Angeles and seriously detuned the phasor. The engineer in this case was alerted immediately, and the station was able to stay on the air, while corrective adjustments were made. (After dark, a lower power was used until the adjustments were finished – but a sister station more than made up coverage for the fans to hear the game.)

NEW RULES EFFECTIVE
The new Wireless Multi-Channel Audio System (WMAS) will effectively become available on November 18th for use in on a licensed basis on frequency bands where wireless microphones are currently authorized, mostly the VHF/UHF bands.

Additionally, November 20 is the date when digital FM stations will be permitted to apply to have different power levels in the upper and lower digital sidebands, pending the OMB certifying the procedures.

ANALOG CONSOLES MEET THE DIGITAL STUDIO
Broadcast audio consoles, for the most part, have transitioned to the digital domain.

The AudioArts AML console series, debuted at the NAB last Spring is a different sort of breed: not a mere facelift on an older design but a complete redesign of an analog console with a lot of modern digital features like USB. Smaller stations and home studios may be very interested in the AML, But what if you have an aging analog board that you think is time to retire, but you do not have the desire, resources, or budget to spend on an ethernet switch and a full AoIP studio.

Darren Paley is our special guest this week, ready to talk consoles with us. And, he may even touch on the latest Wheatstone audio processing products. For sure, this will be an interesting discussion.

Join us tomorrow, Thursday. As every week, we will be live at 2 PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific.  (NOTE: ARIZONA folks: we move to NOON, to accommodate everyone else!)

Join us tomorrow, Thursday. As every week, we will be live at 2 PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific. The link is available at www.theBDR.net/TLG/ … and we will again be on youtube live (you can subscribe to thebdrnet channel and get notifications). (you can subscribe to thebdrnet channel and get notifications).

The QR code will get you to youtubelive:

BTW: if you subscribe, you can get an alert when videos start!