Troubleshooting is the engineer’s basic function. Eventually, given enough time, almost everything will break down. Then the “fun” begins. We have all troubleshot computers that provide less-than-useful error messages or that display problems which seem at first to be a condition contrary to fact. Here is one I just finished and thankfully it […]

One mark of a good engineer is to know when to pull out your hands and call for help. Whom you call can be very important in solving problems. A customer of mine is a well-read veteran of not only The Nam but 30 years of high power AM broadcasting. I am proud […]

Each season has its own challenges for broadcast engineers – from site access in Winter to handling the heat and storms of Summer. Here is a tip on how good attention to maintenance will solve problems and keep you on the air. Glen Martin share this one. If your transmitter is showing temperature […]

Although the number of tube transmitters is dropping, troubleshooting skills are still needed when problems turn up. There is a common failing in the tube type 3 kW to 10 kW transmitters. The problem is that the center filament contact of the 3CX3000A7 tube socket is rather small and tends to get crusty […]

In an era when many transmitter sites are visited infrequently, most good radio engineers pay close attention to operating parameters. When something happens, how one proceeds is important – and how fast. Waiting until there is “smoke” can be very expensive in the end. Clay Freinwald explains. Chasing slow changes in transmission system […]

Whenever doing tests or measurements of a station’s signal, having properly calibrated test gear is essential. Burt Weiner helps us understand one issue that could create a problem and how to resolve it. I have been using FIM‐21 and FIM‐41 Field Intensity Meters since … forever. They are a pretty clever device, particularly […]

Everyone has tools to do their job. It could be a hammer, saw, notepad, scissors, rake, oven, broom, or one of many other items. Broadcast engineers often start with a meter to measure key parameters of the gear they maintain. Bill Weeks notes the evolution of the most highly regarded meters used during […]

There is a lot to do every day, every week, and if we lose track, it is easy to miss something important. That is why we encourage you to have a personalized checklist. At times, the broadcast engineer seems to be chasing the most recent “fire” – whatever emergency of the moment is […]

Part of the Maintenance Shift is doing maintenance: ensuring the audio and RF chains are operating properly, reading the meters, and logging the parameters to ensure everything is as it should be. But, that might not be enough, as Burt Weiner recalls. Let me tell you a story… About five years ago I […]

There was a time when every station had an audio test set, and one could check the frequency and phase errors of the audio chain. Today, with so much audio in the digital domain, fewer stations bother with the cost of gear for checking the analog. Steve Brown offers an easy, inexpensive project […]