Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 765, Volume 15, #37 for April 10, 2024

Here are some things you might want to know about:
        
NAB FLOOR PASSES
Procrastinators alert! As of today, you can still get a free floor pass for NAB. See below for the codes to use. There may be cutoff, but so far you have time. www.nab.org.

AM SHRINKAGE
The FCC has released the current number of stations at the end of March 2024. Compared with December, perhaps one of the biggest items is the 17 AM stations turning in their licenses. The previous six months saw 19 other AMs close, with the one year total of 45. The NCE Window has already added 45 NCEFM stations to the total, with Low Power FM and TV showing slight decreases. 

AM SHRINKAGE – A GOOD THING
Separate from the numbers, the authorization has been granted for the HEBA installed by Grady Moates, Kurt Gorman, and David Maxson for WGFP un Webster, MA. This week Grady, accompanied by David will discuss and explain why the process took so long and how they overcame issues.

Tomorrow … Thursday at 2 PM Eastern/11 AM Pacific … that is the time. The place: get your invite at www.theBDR.net/TLG/
… we will also be on the youtube.com/thebdrnet channel.


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

 
 
WCCO NEARS 102 YEARS OF SERVICE
The radio dial is a whole lot different that in was in 1922, when many stations got their start. How have they dealt with the changes over the decades? Mark Durenberger’s history of WCCO shows the rocky beginning as well as the growth of the station.

WCHS TOWERS DOWN
The recent storms (tornado level) that went across the country took two of WCHS, Charleston, WV towers. The PEP station has quickly set up a non-directional signal to cover the market until the array can be rebuilt.

WQZS TOTALLY DOWN
The Meyersdale PA station was not killed by weather storms, but the legal storm around owner Roger Wahl’s criminal conviction. The FCC deliberated after a petition, but stood firm that the license was toast.

NICE ANNIVERSARY FOR CAROLINE
Radio Caroline is now 60 years old. The station that literally changed the British pop music scene was most recently dramatized in the movie “The Boat The Rocked.“

FOR SALE
Do you have an old FM processor on the shelf? We have two folks looking – one hopes for an Optimod 8600. Check these and other items out on the BDR ForSale page.

Also, Dana calls it Whopper Wednesday. See Dana’s Daily Deals today.
 
May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!
 

Some recent articles of interest:

• WCCO – 102 Years Old This Year – Mark Durenberger
• A Job Hunter’s Quick Primer on HDTV – Dana Puopolo
• Getting Ready for Spring – A Checklist – Barry Mishkind
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Apple vs the Nautel Legacy App – Richard Rudman
• Enforcement Watch: Be Sure to file applications on time
• Belden 9451 vs StudioHub – Bob Burnham
• Preparing for Streaming Services – Mark Shander
• Dana’s Daily Deals – Dana Puopolo
• More newsy items here

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

 

MANUFACTURERS’ NEWS
 
If you plan to be in Las Vegas, the 2024 NAB Show registration is now open.
 
        If you would like a free Floor Pass:
        Nautel code is NS9564.  (And don’t forget the NUG on Sunday – www.nautel.com)
        Inovonics code is NS5268.
        Broadcast Depot – Booth W 1953 – the Free Pass code is NS6722.
        GatesAir – Booth W2730 – Floor Pass Code NS6663

We are starting to hear about some of the new items you can see in Las Vegas:

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Henry Engineering reports they will be in the BGS booth at NAB – C 2808. You can see Hank on Sunday and Monday. 
I’ll be in the booth on Sunday and Monday only.  The products will be there for the whole show.
 
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Nautel will display several enhancements to their line this year, including, later this year, a new audio player, now built-in to the VX series, as a backup to program loss.

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Bringing several products closer together LAWO took the opportunity of a pre-NAB event to display their new HOME mc� DSP app, which is basically the  A__UHD Core in a microservice-based environment. The HOME mc² DSP app is a ultra-low-latency, server-based, agile audio engine.

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Axel Tech will show, among other products, their Oxygen 3000 Plus 8.3 Release in Booth W1851 at NAB.

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Digital Alert Systems has released the Version 5.3 of firmware for the DASDEC EAS series. The download is free to all users of V5.x firmware.

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Telos Alliance has announced their latest series of audio processors for television: the Linear Acoustic AERO.20, AERO.200, and AERO.2400.
May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!
 


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

• 15 years ago (4/13/09) Phil Spector (69) was convicted of second degree murder. He died in prison in 2021.
• 35 years ago (4/12/89) Garth Brooks debut album contains two #1 hits: “If Tomorrow Never Comes” and “The Dance.“
• 36 years ago (4/12/88) Sonny Bono is elected mayor of Palm Springs, CA, his stepping stone to Congress (1994).
• 47 years ago (4/9/77) Abba had their first US #1 hit with “Dancing Queen.“
• 54 years ago (4/10/70) The Beatles officially broke up. Really … 54 years???!!!!!
• 59 years ago (4/12/65) “Mr. Tambourine Man” was released.
• 76 years ago (4/8/48) Ampex delivered the first Model 200 tape recorders (S/N 1 and 2) to Bing Crosby.
• 102 years ago (4/7/1922) In March and April 1922, the Department of Commerce really opened the spigot and issued a lot of radio licenses.

… and 164 years ago (4/9/1860) the phonautogram was invented by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville to record sound.


Also, how about some more regular newsy-type stuff:

• 7 years ago (4/13/17) the US dropped the “Mother of all Bombs” (MOAB) on ISIS’ tunnel complex in Afghanistan.
• 14 years ago (4/3/10) Apple released the first iPad.
• 15 years ago (4/8/09) Somali pirates highack the Maersk Alabama ship.
• 50 years ago (4/8/74) Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record.
• 54 years ago (4/11/70) Apollo 13 was launched to the Moon.
• 73 years ago (4/5/51) the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death for spying.
• 79 years ago (4/12/45) FDR died during WWII.
• 112 years ago (4/10/1912) Titanic left Southampton on its tragic journey.
• 122 years ago (4/14/1902) the first J.C. Penny store opened.
• 128 years ago (4/6/1896) the first modern Olympics was held in Athens.
• 135 years ago (3/31/1889) The Eiffel Tower opened.
• 158 years ago (4/10/1866), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City.
• 159 years ago (4/9/1865) Robert E. Lee surrendered, ending the Civil War.
• 159 years ago (4/14/1865) John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln.
• 163 years ago (4/12/1861) The US Civil War began. as Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter.
• 196 years ago (4/14/1828) Noah Webster first published his American Dictionary of the English Language.

… and 391 years ago (4/12/1633) Galileo was accused of heresy.

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

 

* the first commercially released Eddy Arnold � “Texarkana Baby”


MIDWEEK BONUS
Would you be interested in a some of the songs used by the Bose acoustical engineering team to tune car stereos? According to Bose here are 54 songs on the list. I hope Ma Belle Amie is one of the them.

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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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