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This Week’s Newsletter
Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 867, Volume 17, #34 for March 25, 2026
NAB IS NOW UNDER A MONTH AWAY
The NAB Spring Show will open on April 19th in Las Vegas, with radio manufacturers being generally gathered together in the Central Hall this year. Check below for the floor pass codes.
PREC will again be at the Tuscany Suites just before the NAB with a program aimed at non-commercial public radio stations.
THE NUG IS NOW RTF
Sunday morning during the NAB Show, Nautel will again present their discussion on technical topics. Many know this as the NUG, but this year, the location will change, so get ready for the Radio Technology Forum in the Westgate Main Ballroom. The program starts at 8:30 and even includes lunch. Register here.
BROADCAST ELECTRONICS BRINGS IT ALL BACK HOME
This week, Rich Redmond joins us as our guest to talk about the changes that have occurred at Broadcast Electronics and how they affect BE customers. With NAB just around the corner, there is a lot to know about BE and its plans, as ownership and control returns to the US. Customer support is a topic that will receive attention. Your questions are invited.
Join us at 2 PM on Thursday / 11 AM Pacific. Link request is at www.theBDR.net/TLG/
Join us Thursday at 2 PM Eastern /11 AM Pacific, and let us learn things. The link request is, as usual, at www.theBDR.net/TLG/ Yes, you can see us on YouTube live – but joining us on zoom makes it easier to ask questions and discuss issues.
May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!
THE LPTV FREEZE IS OVER
After 16 years, the freeze on LPTV applications is over – and as of last week, there are already at least 27 applications for new LPTV stations on Channel 6. This may have an effect on some LPFM and NCE FM stations. (Why Channel 6? The analog aural carrier is just below 88 MHz, which many radios do receive.)
CBS NEWS RADIO STOPS JUST SHORT OF A CENTURY
The radio service which has been using CBS News as its name will terminate on May 22nd, just short of its 100th anniversary. Operations will be winding down over the next weeks before the final close.
ZONING IS ALWAYS AN ISSUE
According to the Missoula, MT City Council, an LPFM at the top of an 80-foot radio tower is dangerous to permit. The Council unanimously denied a proposal from the Lighthouse Baptist Church to build a tower, citing safety risks and incompatibility with the surrounding residential area. Local residents claimed there was a fire risk, the potential collapse of the tower, and … an oldie but goodie … the effect on local visual impact.
EXCEPT FOR NON-COMMS, YOU HAVE TO PAY THE FCC
A station owner in Texas – who has already lost or surrendered eight stations is in the FCC’s spotlight and could lose their 9th station.
FOOLING THE FCC IS NOT A GOOD IDEA
Stations that are not honest with the FCC find it does not handle it very well when the find out. Recently, a station seeking License to Cover a CP for Somerset MA apparently was forced to surrender their license when the FCC received an information objection that claimed the station actually was not built, the surveyor of the site was non-existent, and to top it off, there had been a transfer of control issue.
FOR SALE
We have several new items this week: An Enco DAD Automation system, an STL tower and antenna, a DA STL antenna, and a couple of slightly damaged AM transmitters for repair or parts. These and other items are at the ForSale page.
May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!
Here are some of the more recent items of interest:
- My Experience with Tubes and Rebuilders – Reid Brandon
- Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
- Enforcement Watch – License deleted / EAS fine: $369k
- Coping with Overgrown Wild Vegetation – Barry Mishkind
- Making Nautel Customer Support Better – John Wilton
- Keep Your Copper in the Ground – Clay Freinwald
- The Rewards of a Broadcast Career – Mike Vanhooser
- What Do We Really Know About Reginald Fessenden – Donna Halper
- Y2K – Tempest in a Computer Code – Barry Mishkind
May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!
MANUFACTURERS’ NEWS
Just before NAB (April 8th), Lawo will announce the next major step in the company’s converged media-infrastructure strategy during Lawo’s global online event on April 8 (see www.lawo.online/one for details). The solution is designed to accelerate system setup and optimize operational efficiency across broadcast, recording, live performance, and corporate AV environments. Its main mission is to make production workflows faster, smarter, and more agile on a daily basis.
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WorldCast Systems’ new Ecreso AIO transmitter, V 3.4.0, now comes equipped natively with APTmpx technology and advanced network security with major enhancements to its integrated IP codec and audio capabilities. The package makes broadcast infrastructure more secure – something that really is not an option today. The upgrade is free to current WorldCast users.
WorldCast Systems also has introduced a new Kybio monitoring offer, available exclusively through Broadcast Supply Worldwide (BSW). The allows radio stations to monitor up to 25 devices through a secure cloud-based dashboard – featuring real-time alerts and performance insights, helping to quickly detect and resolve issues before they impact on-air operations.
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Just in time for NAB, Dielectric Unveils their new OptiLoad with External Heat Exchanger, designed to cut HVAC Load in RF Facilities, which will improve efficiency and reduced the HVAC burden RF facilities.
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At this NAB show, Wheatstone will introduce its VMX mixing platform for multiple studios, consoles, and glass surfaces – along with new VML virtual mixing console that runs on any modern web browser.
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WHERE TO SEE THEM
If you are making a “walking list” of companies you do not want to miss during NAB, here are some of the best to check:
- Arrakis Systems
- BGS/Broadcast Tools
- Broadcast Depot
- Broadcast Electronics
- BSW USA
- Comrex
- Davicom
- Dielectric
- Digital Alert Systems
- Lawo
- Nautel
- Telos Alliance
- Wheatstone
- WorldCast
May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!
Do You Remember? This week in history:
Broadcast related items:
- 3 years ago (3/18/23) Morgan Wallen made a record for the most entries on the Hot 100 in a single week, with 36.
- 23 years ago (3/25/03) Celine Dion began a Las Vegas “residency,” among the first to do so.
- 43 years ago (3/26/83) MTV’s heavy rotation propelled Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like a Wolf” to #1.
- 46 years ago (3/24/80) The famous “Dallas” cliffhanger aired. Who Shot JR? *
- 54 years ago (3/25/72) America’s first single, “A Horse with No Name” hit #1.
- 59 years ago (3/25/67) It was the Turtles who were “Happy Together” at #1.
- 61 years ago (3/26/65) “Stop in the Name of Love” made The Supremes the first act with four consecutive #1 hits.
- 71 years ago (3/25/55) “Rock Around the Clock” became the first #1 rock song.
- 104 years ago (3/28/1922) and counting! In March 1922, the Department of Commerce really opened the spigot and issued a lot of radio licenses, including: WEW, St. Louis, MO, KMJ, Fresno, CA, WPE (later KMBZ-980) Kansas City, MO, WDZ, KOB (now KKOB) Albuquerque, NM, WBAA, WAAF (later WNTD), and WAAM (more recently WBBR-1130) NewYork.
- 113 years ago (3/26/1913) the first reported use was made of Amateur Radio in Emergency Communications. (Herbert V. Akerberg, a 15-year-old High School student, was reported to have used his radio in Columbus, Ohio during a flood, for some 72 hours)
- 127 years ago (3/27/1899) Marconi’s experiments initiated transmission across the English Channel – or so he said.
…and 151 years ago (1875) Alexander Bell was granted a patent for the “multiple harmonic telegraph.”
Here are some other “Headlines of the Past.”
- 5 years ago (3/23/21) the Ever Given container ship ran aground in Suez Canal, blocking traffic for six days.
- 37 years ago (3/24/89) the Exxon Valdez ran aground spilling 11 million gallons of oil. It was one of the worst spills in history.
- 43 years ago (3/23/83) Ronald Reagan announced the SDI, jeered as “Star Wars.”
- 47 years ago (3/26/79) Anwar Sadat and Menachim Begin signed a peace treaty at Camp David.
- 47 years ago (3/28/79) Three Mile Island had a nuclear event.
- 49 years ago (3/27/77) two 747’s collided in the Canary Islands, killing hundreds. 583
- 53 years ago (3/29/73) The US withdrew from Vietnam.
- 54 years ago (3/24/72) The movie “Godfather” opened.
- 63 years ago (3/28/63) Alfred Hitchcock made folks afraid of “The Birds.“
- 69 years ago (3/25/57) Europe’s Common Market was founded in major step toward economic unity.
- 73 years ago (3/26/53) American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announced a successfully tested vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio.
- 95 years ago (3/29/31) Nevada legalized gambling.
- 114 years ago (3/27/1912) Japanese cherry trees were planted along the Potomac.
… and 115 years ago (3/25/1911) The Triangle Shirtwaist fire killed 146 in New York City, leading to the development of a series of laws and regulations that better protected the safety of factory workers.
May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!
MIDWEEK BONUS
* It was his ex-mistress, Kristin. The eight-month cliffhanger started a lot of similar usage.
MIDWEEK BONUS
Did you know?
Ameica’s best selling soft drink (for decades) was named after “coca” leaves and caffeine-rich “kola” nuts – and it did have cocaine in it until the early 1900s.
Yes, it is Coca-Cola – first formulated in 1886, by wounded Civil War veteran and pharmacist John Pemberton, who was trying to make a tonic to relieve headaches. Asa Candler is credited with founding the Coca-Cola Co. in 1892 in Atlanta. However, because he though bottling sodas was a fad, Candler sold the exclusive rights to bottle Coca-Cola to two lawyers in Chattanooga for … yes … $1.00 – today, the franchise fees alone continue to make the Coca-Cola company one of the richest companies in the US.
Extra trivia:
- Pemberton’s first name was “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca.”
- It is claimed that only two people in the world know the full Coca-Cola formula.
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barry