Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 891, Volume 18, #6 for September 9, 2026

2026 REGULATORY FEES
The FCC did announce the fees for 2026 and the deadline of September 24th for payment via CORES. The FCC also released guides and fact sheets, and a list of your radio neighbor’s fees.

Our friend, Cary Tepper points out that last year, there were many errors and omissions in the CORES Payment System, with “filled in data” wrong. Also, as we get closer to the 24th, it is worth remembering the FCC’s website is prone to regular outages and sometimes the CORES payment system crashes for the entire day. Avoid problems and fines, Tepper says, by filing as early as possible.

AM RADIO ACT VOTE SCHEDULED
The fight is not yet over, but it is getting closer to the end. The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act finally has a date for a floor vote, scheduled for next week – Majority Leader Steve Scalise, has scheduled a standalone vote. The auto industry and consumer electronics seek a different future, where everything in the dashboard is on subscription.

THE LATEST ON THE FCC’S EAS AND SECURITY NPRM
Have you heard enough about EAS and Cybersecurity of late? Yep. Many folks are tired of the subject. But questions persist. The FCC Order was only part of the matter. The NPRM drew many comments, and there is a lot to digest. Do you really know how much “Software for EAS will cost you?  Ed Czarnecki joins us with a summary of what is being proposed – answers to your questions – and what might drive you to offer a Reply Comment. If you would like a glimpse of what is being discussed, join us on Thursday.

The Virtual Lunch Gathering will be at its usual time 2 PM Eastern/ 11 AM Pacific. We hope you will join us and learn things. The link for our presentation is at www.theBDR.net/TLG/ We will also be on YouTube live and the video will be archived on the BDR Lunch Gathering page.

… and do not forget, on the same page we have hundreds of videos you can use on subjects you will want to learn about.

And, by the way, we do have a Tuesday Reminder list, if you wish to be reminded of each week’s program. Just reply to this email and ask!  

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

 

LOOKING FOR THE FREE PASSWORD GENERATOR FOR EAS AND OTHER NEEDS?
By the end of this month, all stations are required to be using a 15-character password on the EAS receiver and any other equipment in the program chain that can be connected to the Internet. A strong firewall and the latest firmware updates are also in the Order from the FCC. Full policy details are still expected to be worked out shortly.

25 YEARS ON FROM 9/11
This week marks the 25th anniversary of a rude awakening for Americans on a Tuesday morning. In between gasping at the enormity of the buildings having been hit and destroyed, the horrendous number of people killed, and all air flights cancelled, most everyone would agree that our lives were changed, nearly as much as in 1914, when the world went crazy with WWI.

Broadcasters remember our colleagues who were working on the 110th floor of the World Trade Center, and literally went down with the antenna … and the building.

Rod Coppola, WNET
Don DiFranco, WABC-TV
Steven Jacobson, WPIX-TV
Bill Steckman, WNBC-TV
Bob Pattison and Isias Rivera, WCBS-TV
Their pictures are here

AND NOVEMBER 1ST IS ONLY 7 WEEKS AWAY
Anyone want more DST? Do you prefer leaving clocks “advanced” all year long? We have to be honest and tell you we are pleased that on November 1st, nothing changes here in Arizona (or Hawaii) – neither in the Spring nor Fall. Still, there is the possibility of a vote before the Fall Election that would eliminate clock adjustments.

ANOTHER TRANSLATOR OPERATOR BUILDING A BAD REPUTATION
Zamora Broadcasting System of Dearborn, MI has received a Notice of Violation that is a bit more than an “honest mistake.” Licensed at 38 Watts of transmitter power output with a directional antenna, when inspected by a Field Agent, it seems the antenna “grew” and was radiating a mere 394% of authorized power. 
Zamora has 20 days to fix the situation and explain the FCC why it should not be fined.

ANTENNAFEST 2026
Tuesday October 6, 2026 from 9 am to 6 pm at WETA headquarters in Shirlington, VA. AntennaFest 2026 is filling quickly, so please register soon in order to secure your seat at the event.  Register Here

SOLAR STORM TRIGGERS GPS CONCERNS FOR FARMERS AND SELF-DRIVING CARS
If you plan to use a self-driving car during the next solar storm, think again: Last November, a solar storm affected GPS in a way that had not been expected: errors exceeding 10 meters were noticed, enough to not only disrupt precision agriculture or any industry to depends upon highly accurate positioning. Not only could it cause issues on farms, but self-driving cars with errors of 30-odd feet could be downright dangerous to your health!

ANOTHER AI WORRY OF THE WEEK
It seems each week that the AI tools available give more and more capabilities to the bad guys. It is one of the reasons the FCC has issued its Cybersecurity Order and is contemplating more regulations. Yet, the bad guys do not even have to guess where the potential weaknesses are – OpenAI now has released its new GPT-6 Astra to selected customers – an AI model that can independently find and exploit security flaws in computer systems. 

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

 

Here are some of the more recent items of interest:

• Building a Secure Network for EAS – Rolf Taylor
• A Free Tool for the New FCC EAS Password Rule – and More! – Ken Fine
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Enforcement Watch – No NPT Forms for 3 Year = $27k / NoV for 475% over power
• Do You Have the Right USB-C Cable – Barry Mishkihd
• C-Band Passes Away From Broadcast – Danny Ray Boyer
• Silicon Carbide Comes to AM Broadcasting – Tim Hardy
• FCC Cybersecurity Order & NPRM – Barry Mishkind
• IT Security for Broadcast Gear – Kirk Harnack

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

 
MANUFACTURERS’ NEWS

And do not forget there are still some of the Fall regional and International conventions continuing:

• THIS WEEK: International: IBC in Amsterdam – September 11-14
• Midwest Regional Broadcasters Clinic at Madison, WI – September 15-17
• Georgia Association of Broadcasters’ – Atlanta – September 19, 20
• Midwest Broadcast & Multimedia Technology Conference – Columbus, OH – September 24-26
• WABE Media & Entertainment Technology Conference – Calgary Canada – September 29 – October 1
• Kansas Association of Broadcasters Convention Manhattan KS – October 6th
• CCBE/OAB Conferences Toronto Canada – October 27, 28

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At IBC Stand 8.B73 Nautel will will have the new 8 kW and 10 kW analog FM transmitters that extend the VX Series power range from 150 W to 10 kW. These new rack-mount models give broadcasters a compact, serviceable, and cost-effective option for higher-power main, standby, and N+1 FM applications.

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The Telos Alliance will demonstrate new audio observability capabilities at IBC 2026, highlighting a growing focus across its Media Solutions portfolio on helping broadcasters and media organizations monitor the health, quality, format, and metadata of audio as workflows become increasingly software-defined.

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Inovonics will be featuring their Award Winning Products for your FMDAB+ Stations at IBC Booth # 8.B77b.

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AxelTech is heading to IBC Show 2026 at Booth 8.C61. This year they are showing off new features for Oxygen 3000 Plus, Tiger, and Falcon Series- including native VoIP calling, a new Dante card, and a range of connectivity and security updates.

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Neutrik Group Americas has introduced a new channel partnership with DigiKey, one of the world’s leading electronic components distributors. DigiKey can now supply the complete portfolio of NEUTRIKand REAN connectivity solutions, making these solutions more accessible to engineers, integrators, manufacturers, OEMs, and technical buyers who rely on DigiKey’s extensive distribution platform and streamlined purchasing experience.

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

 

Do You Remember? This week in history:
Broadcast related items:

• 11 years ago (9/8/15) the FCC moved its servers. One of our readers submitted this picture to try to explain why the move may have had some glitches.
• 23 years ago (9/8/03) the RIAA began suing individuals who shared mp3 files. (Remember Napster?)
• 51 years ago (9/9/75) “Welcome Back, Kotter“ debuted on ABC. The theme by John Sebastian hit #1.
• 54 years ago (9/10/72) was the last concert by the Doors. Final song “Light My Fire” – a tribute to Jim Morrison, who died in 1971.
• 55 years ago (9/11/71) Donnie Osmond hit #1 with “Go Away, Little Girl.”
• 60 years ago (9/12/66) “The Monkees” TV show debuts with Beatles look-alikes.
• 62 years ago (9/10/64) contestants were first put in “Jeopardy.”
• 68 years ago (9/12/58) Jack Kilby first publicly demonstrated the first IC. *
• 70 years ago (9/9/56) Elvis Presley made his first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” 

… and 100 years ago (9/9/26) NBC network was organized, based on WJZ and WEAF.

And, here are some more newsy-type items: 

• 23 years ago (9/8/03) the RIAA began suing individual sharers of copyrighted mp3 files.
• 49 years ago (9/7/77) President Carter agreed to give the Panama Canal to Panama.
• 52 years ago (9/8/74) President Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. 
• 61 years ago (9/9/65) Sandy Kofax pitched a “perfect game.”
• 129 years ago (9/10/1897) the first drunk driving arrest was made. In what state? **
• 250 years ago (9/9/1776) the United States of America was made the official name of the country. Before that? ***

… and 362 years ago (9/8/1664) The Dutch gave up a colony to the British, who named it for a Duke. ****

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

 

* Around the same time, Robert Noyce also invented the IC. Kirby and Noyce both got patents, but it took a ten year legal battle for Texas Instruments and Fairchild Semiconductor to come to an agreement and reap the rewards (maybe $1 Trillion a year).

** Sort of a trick question: the arrest was made in London, England, of a taxi driver, George Smith.

*** The United Colonies.

**** Yes, we are talking about New York.  The first capital for the US.

MIDWEEK BONUS

If you ever wanted to see the International Space Station (ISS): Here is all the information you want.

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PLEASE INVITE A FRIEND TO JOIN US
We sure hope you are finding the BDR and the Newsletter to be of value to you. If so, there are two things that you can do to ensure the BDR keeps pulsing along:
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PLEASE TELL US WHAT’S WHAT
There are so many areas into which we would like to expand, but it is feedback from you that helps us decided where to go first. Are you interested in a certain piece of gear or technology? Let us know. Even better, would you be willing to do a user report and share your experience?

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We sure do appreciate you spending time with our Newsletter. And even more so when you recommend us to your colleagues and friends.

barry

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Now … some extra stuff .. some important … some just interesting.

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