Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 821, Volume 16, #41 for May 14, 2025

Here are some things you might want to know about:

FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER
During the NAB Show and CES before that, you could see all sorts of automobile “entertainment systems,” from simple radios to wide screen displays for the front seat and back seat. Despite the on-going argument whether electric vehicles interfere with AM, Congress is pushing an “AM in every car” Bill.

On the other hand, Slate, a start-up manufacturer is planning to sell a pickup truck with no radio – and, actually, a whole lot of other things usually seen in a car – but at a sub-$20,000 price. That means no electric windows, no heated seats, no paint (yep, the plastic body panels will not be painted by the factory). With a “Bring Your Own Tech,” attitude, aside from a smart phone mount and USB power, the owner will be expected to install whatever options desired. If it happens, initial deliveries will be later in 2026.

SITE SAFETY DOES NOT COME BY CHANCE
Last week, representatives of NATE (The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association) spoke on our weekly broadcast about things stations should know about site safety and contractors that can be trusted. With a background of OSHA’s Safety Stand-Down Week, they explained how NATE got started, the resources and safety support offered, and wrapped things up with updates on the ANSI/ASSP A10.48 standard, including high-level updates and Project Execution Plans. The video is posted at: www.youtube.com/thebdrnet channel.

UPDATE ON STREAMING
This week we turn from the towers to program content: Figuring out the best way to stream is not as simple as just hooking the program chain to the Internet. Understanding the differences between on-air broadcast and streaming can lead to better audio on both platforms.

Jay Tyler from Wheatstone is our presenter this week on our Virtual Lunch Gathering. Jay will share with us information on aspects of using Linux appliances vs. Windows PC for streaming, as well as displaying the brand new Wheatstream Duo, a Linux-based product that can support two streams each with four outputs. And, he will answer your questions.

Please join us at 2 PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific for an informative/enjoyable discussion on streaming. This is one of those where the programming and production people should be joining us. We will all learn things!  Link requests are at www.theBDR.net/TLG/

FOR SALE
If you need a satellite dish, this might be something to check: a complete 10 foot dish with filters and a new cover.  That, and other items are available on our ForSale page. Check it out here.

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

THE EAS FIGHT
Recent support for “EAS as software” has some (especially LPFMs) ready to go for it, but others, including Digital Alert Systems (in their recent filing at the FCC) point out that there are a lot of factors needing careful consideration – and there is no guarantee that costs will be substantially less that currently. There is no question that Part 11 is antiquated (it was supposed to be updated in 2012) with aspects considered in 1997. Still, with some of the features now available in the receivers, rushing to completely redo the system could lead to some big potential problems.

HAM RECEPTION SET TO RETURN NEXT YEAR
The news from The Radio Club of America is that the RCA will be “very involved” in ensuring there will be a Ham Radio Reception next year at NAB 2026. (Hat tip to David Ehehalt)

IF YOU HAVE A DOMAIN, DO NOT GIVE IT UP!
Emerson College’s WECB found that an old domain they stopped using, had been scooped up and was now an AI-powered content farm, featuring some strange articles by non-existent authors. There is no indication that porn was involved, but the idea of bad actors using a formerly valid site for putting out provocative materials that often are not true.

WIRELESS MICROPHONE SPECTRUM ADVOCACY
Recently, the Wireless Microphone Spectrum Alliance (WMSA), organized by Shure, led more than 60 companies to meet with FCC officials, with the goal of ensuring sufficient RF specturm for the needs of broadcasters and others. You can probably think of any number of needs for in-studio and remote pickups. Then, remember we are on the verge of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics. A lot of spectrum will be needed.

HD RADIO STATUS
There are something close to 16,000 full power AM and FM stations in the country – with just under 2,000 LPFMs, and 8900 translators and boosters. At least report, just under 3,000 stations were running digital (HD) transmissions.

CYBER SECRUITY WORRIES?
A recent report suggests that 2/3 of companies have suffered a data breach in the past two years. (iHeart is currently being sued for one such incident.) Over 1/3 caused unplanned downtime and/or financial losses. A lot is being spent on things like penetration testing, but unless it is done every time there are infrastructure changes, the danger returns.

ABOUT THOSE PRESENTATIONS AND VIDEOS
We do post our presentations, usually on Friday each week, so those of you who get “hit” by something urgent cannot watch. There is a full index at www.theBDR.net/TLG/ but we would like to mention that in addition to the week’s presentation, we also cover some news and discuss other topics. Just a little incentive to check in on Thursday … and subscribe to the YouTube.com/thebdrnet channel.

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

 

Some recent articles of interest:

• Spring Cleaning – the Broadcast IT Edition
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Enforcement Watch – LPFMs running some pretty high power – like 811% high!
• Radio In The Good Old Days – Ron Schacht
• A Look at the NAB’s 2025 Spring Show
• The Orban 8000 at 50 years – Barry Mishkind
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Measuring RF Power – Getting It Right – Bob Tarsio
• Registered Plug? No, It’s A Jack – Rolf Taylor
• Dana’s Daily Deals

More newsy items here

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

 
MANUFACTURERS’ NEWS

BE has a special deal right now on refurbished FXi-250 exciters. For under $3,000 you can get the exciter and a manufacturer’s warranty while they are available. Contact Perry Priestley for more information.

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Shure is celebrating its 100 years of operation. Discover more about their rich history: Explore 100 Years of Shure

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Although the week is over, NATE has a lot of good information sparked by OSHA’s Safety Stand-Down Week. You can find some of the materials here. 

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More?  See it here.

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

 


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

• 12 years ago (5/12/13) Astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded “Space Oddity” on board the International Space Station.
• 40 years ago (5/13/85) The Parents Music Resource Center pushed a rating system and warning stickers for records.
• 42 years ago (5/16/83) Michael Jackson did the “Moon Walk” for the first time on TV; the audience loved it.
• 43 years ago (5/15/82)”Ebony And Ivory” began a seven-week run at #1 on the pop charts
• 59 years ago (5/17/66) Bob Dylan was called a “Judas” for electrifying “Rolling Stone.” (This was three years after Dylan walked off The Ed Sullivan Show in a song dispute.)
• 62 years ago (5/12/63) Bob Dylan refused to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show. *
• 60 years ago (5/17/65) The FBI Lab reported they found no “dirty” lyrics in “Louie Louie.”
• 61 years ago (5/16/64) the first Motown record to hit #1: Mary Wells with “My Guy.“
• 70 years ago (5/14/55) “Unchained Melody” hit #1. Can you name the artist? **

… and 117 years ago (5/12/1908) Nathan B. Stubblefield was granted a patent (887,357) for wireless telephone. But was it radio?

Here are some other “Headlines of the Past.”

• 28 years ago (5/11/97) IBM’s Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in chess match.
• 45 years ago (5/18/80) Mount St. Helens erupted.
• 52 years ago (5/17/73) the Watergate hearings began.
• 52 years ago (5/13/73) Bobby Riggs and Margaret Court face off in first “Battle of the Sexes”
• 52 years ago (5/14/73) America’s first space station, Skylab, was launched
• 71 years ago (5/17/54) the landmark case of Brown vs Board of Education was decided.
• 76 years ago (5/12/49) the Berlin blockade was lifted.
• 96 years ago (5/16/1929) the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out its first awards, at a dinner party for around 250 people held in the Blossom Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California.
• 107 years ago (5/15/1918) official scheduled air mail delivery began – but how about this: ***
• 233 years ago (5/17/1792) the New York Stock Exchange was formed.

… and 418 years ago (5/13/1607) the Jamestown settlers arrived.

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

 


* Dylan was not allowed to play “Talkin’ John Birch Society Blues,” so he walked.

** Les Baxter. Curiously, the one you remember, by the Righteous Brothers, topped out only at #4.

*** During the first aerial flight in North America by balloon on January 9, 1793, from Philadelphia to Deptford, New Jersey, Jean-Pierre Blanchard carried a personal letter from George Washington to be delivered to the owner of whatever property Blanchard happened to land on, making the flight the first true delivery of air mail in the United States.

MIDWEEK BONUS

How the continents came to be is interesting. This animation aims to show how the tectonic plates moved over nearly 2 billion years.


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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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