Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 857, Volume 17, #24 for January 14, 2026

DID YOU MISS THE RWT?
Did you notice the RWT from the FEMA IPAWS did not appear to happen this week? Actually, something did happen – although not entirely intentional – and how your EAS receiver handled it will tell you if the test worked.

GET YOUR FILES READY
We now are approaching the next round of station license renewals. Next year, the process starts, and stations in MD, VA, WV, DC, NC, SC, FL, PR, and the Virgin Islands will be the first to file with the FCC. Rather than wait until the last minute, stations ought to consider any changes in operations that might be needed. (hat tip: Cary Tepper)

UPDATING THE ZIP
For those of you who are tasked with keeping your Online Public Information File up-to-date, you may have discovered the FCC does a regular zip file of items for you. This file is not updated instantaneously, so it is worth checking from time to time to ensure that everything you uploaded is there, in the right place. (hat tip: Mark Earle)

HOW TO GET HELP WITH CYBER SECURITY
Not every station has a full IT department. So, the question is, where do you turn when you need some assistance in dealing with your local servers and keeping them secure. This week, Aaron Sauer from Auriga Technology is our main guest, along with David and Nico from Blackpoint Cyber. Their presentation will be information on ways to improve your local cyber security as well as operational issues that crop up – and they do, right? – with information on whom you can call for more information or help.

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!

 

MORE THAN A PENNY
The government may have stopped production of copper pennies, but copper is still in huge demand. Would you guess it is currently selling for right at $6.00 a pound. With prices like that, you can see where the bad guys get the idea to remove your ground system. As any station that has been vandalized knows, it costs a whole lot more to replace a damaged ground system than the scrapyards pay the thieves. What is the point? Now, more than ever, this is a time when camera and motion sensors need to be installed at any remote site.

Not only will a proper security system keep your transmitter on the air, but it will alert you should any transients try to set up living arrangements at your site. Clay Freinwald has some words here.

DON JONES PASSES AWAY AT 90
One of the absolutely nicest folks I have ever met in this industry has passed away. Don Jones never went the extra mile, he’d go the extra ten miles to help a client. Don was the co-founder of RF Specialties in 1982. On some projects in the 80’s I did a lot of business with the RF Specialties Amarillo office – with Don and Dan Sessler – and they always came through with the right advice,  equipment, and price.

FCC ISSUES FOUR MORE PIRATE FINES
Each proposed fine was for $20,000, in regards pirates in NY and NJ.

OR THE SUPREME COURT WILL DECIDE
Different Circuit Courts have made different rulings as to whether the FCC can enforce the Rules and issue fines. Now, the Supreme Court is set to consider the matter, based on fines issued against Verizon and AT&T. Both argue – as do most pirates – that without a jury trial the FCC cannot find anyone. The FCC replied that no fines are considered collectible until a District court case is filed and a jury trial is available – following the way the Communications Act sets out the process, which requires an NAL where a station can agree or push it to court.

THE FCC CHAIR AT CES
FCC Chairman Brandan Carr was interviewed at the 59th CES this past week. During the half-hour interview, Carr made several points. One was his encouragement for stations to adopt NextGen TV standards – especially as a way to provide in-depth news and information – and this is part of the “public interest” standard he expects licensees to meet to retain their authorizations. Broadcasters who do not wish to ensure the “public interest” is shown in their broadcasts are welcome to turn in their licenses and become a Youtube channel, a cable network, or a podcaster.

Carr also noted how the FCC is planning to expand opportunities for unlicensed operations in the 6 GHz GVP band to make short-range audio and video hotspots better for high data-rate content. And, yes, the FCC is going to be watching how AI is being implemented in broadcasting.

NEXTGEN TO GIVE ATTENTION TO CONTENT PROTECTION
Speaking of ATSC3 – or NexGen – among the things shown last week at CES were the two new converters to allow viewers to get ATSC3 and covert to ATSC1. Cost is expected to be under $60. Also there were new designs to meet the needs of creators for IP protection and content generated by AI without replacing those creators.

OTHER CES NOTES
AI. AI. AI. Everywhere. The common thought was that AI is to this century what electricity was to the last. Major changes in our daily lives are coming. Some 40 companies ever brought robots to the show – demonstrating everything from folding laundry and vacuuming stairs to autonomous driving to manufacturing (Caterpillar was there!) to dancing. The progress made is quite interesting.

Of course, not all of these robots may be ready for Prime Time. One man paid $80,000 for a robot to run his home. You might be very surprised at how it worked out – or did not!

FOR SALE
Actually our main new item is a “wanted.” Someone needs 300 to 550 feet of 7/8 or 1 5/8 Heliax. But there are a lot of interesting items for sale … and a job possibility in Illinois! Check them out here.

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

 

Here are some of the more recent items of interest:

• Keep Your Copper in the Ground – Clay Freinwald
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Enforcement Watch – EAS tones on public radio stations: $86,400
• Y2K – Tempest in a Computer Code – Barry Mishkind
• The Rewards of a Broadcast Career – Mike Vanhooser
• What Do We Really Know About Reginald Fessenden – Donna Halper
• Aqua Cobalt – Designed to Work – Ted Nahil
• The Most Heralded Radio Failure – Don Kimberlin
• Dana’s Daily Deals

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

 
MANUFACTURERS’ NEWS

Broadcast Devices is now shipping their newly enhanced PAS-200 Passive Audio Switcher, a programmable relay audio switcher. The PAS-200 introduces several significant upgrades including support for up to 16 A/B pairs of balanced analog or AES3 digital audio (non-synchronous), as well as low-voltage DC control signals.

• Ethernet SNMP v2 interface for advanced networked monitoring and control
• RS485 serial interface for expanded remote automation options
• Completely redesigned Windows-based GUI software with increased functionality and a modern, intuitive interface
• Dual power supplies with separate power cords�now standard for maximum reliability

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Arrakis is featuring their MARC-15 radio console – with 3 stereo Program output mixes and includes mono mixdowns. Complete with Monitor, Headphone and Cue systems, the MARC-15 starts at $5,925.

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Looking for a reason to visit Barcelona in early February? The Telos Alliance will be one of the exhibitors February 3-6 with their solutions for audio, intercom, and live-production workflows, including live demos of next-gen audio tech that helps bridge AV and broadcast.

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 (1/17/15) Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” hits #1 for 14 weeks.
• 26 years ago (1/17/00) Garth Brooks was named “1990s’ Artist of the Decade” at the Amrican Music Awards.
• 27 years ago (1/12/99) Britney Spears strikes gold with her first album “… Baby One More Time.“
• 36 years ago (1/13/90) MC Hammer released his major hit “U Can’t Touch This,” … and the pants that no one wears today!
• 46 years ago (1/16/80) Paul McCartney was jailed for ten days in Japan for bringing in a half pound of marijuana.
• 52 years ago (1/12/74) Steve Miller hit #1 with �The Joker.“
• 54 years ago (1/15/72) Don McLean�s “American Pie” hits #1 for the first of four weeks.*
• 54 years ago (1/12/72) Al Green hit #1 with “Let’s Stay Together.
• 56 years ago (1/14/70) Diana Ross and the Supremes perform their final concert.
• 58 years ago (1/13/68) Johnny Cash performed the two shows that were recorded at Folsom Prison.
• 63 years ago (1/12/63) “Go Away Little Girl” by Steve Lawrence hits #1.
• 65 years ago (1/15/61) Motown signed the Supremes, originally a four member group. **
• 67 years ago (1/12/59) Berry Gordy starts the Tamla Record Company with $800 borrowed funds***
• 116 years ago (1/13/1910) inventor Lee de Forest produced the wireless transmission of a live Metropolitan Opera, an experiment and publicity stunt.                                               

and 119 years ago (1/15/1907) Lee de Forest patented his Audion tube.

Here are a few other “newsy” items of interest:

• 16 years ago (1/12/10) an earthquake in Haiti killed more than 100,000 people.
• 17 years ago (1/15/09) Pilot Sully Sullenberger landed his airplane on the Hudson River, with no fatalities.
• 25 years ago (1/15/01) Wikipedia was launched.
• 59 years ago (1/15/67) Super Bowl I saw the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.
• 76 years ago (1/17/50) 11 men stole more than $2 million ($32 million today) from the Brink’s Armored Car depot in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 74 years ago (1/14/52) NBC�s “Today” debuted.
• 104 years ago (1/11/1922) insulin was first used to treat diabetes in humans.
• 107 years ago (1/16/1919) Prohibition was ratified (18th Amendment) and plunged the nation into dryness. ****
• 122 years ago (1/12/1904) Henry Ford set a land speed record – 91.37 mph – in a wooden car.
• 128 years ago (1/11/1908) President Theodore Roosevelt made the Grand Canyon a national monument.
• 138 years ago (1/15/1889) the Coca-Cola Co. was incorporated.

… and 467 years ago (1/15/1559) Elizabeth I was crowned Queen of England.

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

 

* The single ran 8:36, requiring both sides of the 45 for the whole song.

** Diana Ross was only 16.

*** One year later it was renamed Motown Records.

**** Repealed in 1933 with the 21st Amendment.

MIDWEEK BONUS

NEW QUARTERS
Did you get new quarters? Yes, those 25 cent pieces that may be lurking in your pocket. The “Mayflower Compact” quarter is the first of five new quarters to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary. Also worth looking for: a pair of new dimes, nickels, and half-dollars.

MTV
On December 31st, MTV terminated it music video channels. The ran the same video the started with. However, if you are sure you still want your MTV, be sure to check out the link.

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PLEASE INVITE A FRIEND
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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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Yes … you might have seen it before, but we should do this: some extra stuff .. some important … some just interesting.

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