Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 893, Volume 18, #8 for September 23, 2026

TIME TO PAY UP!
This will be the last reminder. Tomorrow is the deadline  for paying the 2026 Regulatory Fees. Penalties abound otherwise. Just a reminder to go to the CORES on the FCC.gov site.

EAS STATUS – DEADLINES AND SUCH
Next week is the deadline to incorporate 15 character passwords on anything in the program chain that is connected to the Internet. Then, it is time (before November 3rd) to fill in Form One on www.fcc.gov/etrs for the upcoming national EAS test. The first NPT since 2023 will be November 17th. Then it is time to fill in Form Two, and finally, Form Three comes up with a December deadline.

At least this one should be outside the storm/hurricane season. Maybe.

In any event, there is a lot of EAS information – where the industries agree and disagree in Comments – and the FREE password generator (nope, you do not even have to register your data). Check it all out on the Front Page at www.theBDR.net

EXACTLY WHAT IS MICROMPX
One of the newer features turning up in many pieces of gear is microMPX. What is it? How does it work? How can it help my station(s)? It is something you need to learn about, because in some ways it not quite what you think it is.

We have a great person this week to talk about microMPX … and more! Kirk Harnack is our guest, so we will have a lively discussion. And, knowing Kirk, don’t be surprised if we cover some other points of current interest. It will not be boring!

The Virtual Lunch Gathering will be at its usual time 2 PM Eastern/ 11 AM Pacific. We hope you will join us and learn things. The link for our presentation is at www.theBDR.net/TLG/ We will also be on YouTube live and the video will be archived on the BDR Lunch Gathering page.

… and do not forget, on the same page we have hundreds of videos you can use on subjects you will want to learn about.

Oh, one more thing: we do have a Tuesday Reminder list, if you wish to get a reminder email for each week’s program. Just reply to this email and ask!

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

 

A COUPLE MORE COMMENTING OPPORTUNITIES
In addition to the opportunity to tell the Commission how to “fix” EAS, via Reply Comments on the 25-224 FNPRM at www.fcc.gov/ecfs, the Commission is seeking comments on another item:

The FCC seeks Comment on RF exposure issues subject to a DC Circuit Court Remand in “Environmental Health Trust V FCC.” The Court mostly upheld the FCC’s 2019 decision to maintain the existing RF exposure standards. The legal challenge, which did not like the conclusions, especially regarding cancer risks from RF exposure, now seeks more scientific conclusions.

DELAY IN FCC CONFIRMATION
The U.S. Senate confirmation hearing for nominee Danielle Thumann Severs’ appointment to the FCC had to be postponed due to her recently giving birth. The hearing is being rescheduled.

PARAMOUNT/WBD MERGER MOVES ALONG
After gaining the FCC approval for allowing indirect foreign equity ownership (such as the Saudi Wealth Fund), the merger appears to be concluding. Critics claim as many as 57,000 jobs could be lost in California. The company says they will deliver 30-odd films a year, and keep a free streaming service going, among other concessions.

MORE AMS YIELD TO BUILDERS
It just gets too tempting. Land that was cheap when stations were built decades ago is now a strong real estate asset. The list of such sales and diplex/triplex/multiplex installations grows. However, it does not seem to grow the programming and promotion budgets quite so much.

Recently, a 5-tower array, long used by WCLS (610) in Salem VA, was brought down this past week. The 39-acre site will now host a new development.

Meanwhile, the sale of nearly 26 acres on the West side of Chicago netted almost $30 million for Audacy, with WSCR (670) and WBBM (780) moving to a new site – the second move for WBBM in 7 years (the previous site was sold for $46 million). Coverage is said to be unchanged.

YET ANOTHER CRITICAL COMPUTER UPDATE
Microsoft needed to fix a bug that caused some USB-connected speakers, headphones and headsets to lose audio after the latest security update. Mostly this affect USB Class 1 devices, so it is worth checking for the special Windows 11 update. If your PC was working normally, then lost sound shortly after installing Windows updates, Go to Settings > Windows Update, click “Check for updates,” and install the newest available update. Microsoft says the release also addresses certain Remote Desktop problems and other bugs.

BE CAREFUL OF YOUR SOURCES
The consulting company KPMG has had to delete report that was full of AI hallucinations. According to a report, 40 of 45 citations that appeared to be at least partially AI hallucinations. That puts credibility pretty low!

IS SOCIAL MEDIA LOSING ITS CACHE`?
A current survey of 7500 adults reports that people are starting to reach outside their cell phone screens for real life. Half (50%) say finding trustworthy information has become harder over the last few years and 51% say they are less confident than they were in 2024 in their ability to tell what online information is real. Some 81% are taking steps to reduce screen time and 55% say they have had enough of social media, with 2/3 Gen Z having seriously considered quitting social media – 44% already have deleted apps from their phones. They are also at or near the top in reporting the importance of visiting local businesses, libraries, and farmers’ markets (40%), attending community events (36%), volunteering (30%), and writing by hand (29%).

Is this an opening for Radio with content?

FOR SALE
Some interesting items are new this week including a pair of Inovonics mod monitors, a parting out of a Harris 7.5Z, and someone seeking a 16 inch turntable. See these and other listings here.

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

 

  Here are some of the more recent items of interest:

• The FCC EAS Proposals – where industry agrees … and where it doesn’t – Ed Czarnecki
• A Custom FCC EAS Compliance Blueprint
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Enforcement Watch – No NPT Forms for 3 Year = $27k / NoV for 475% over power
• A Complete Station Audit is Important – Barry Mishkind
• Building a Secure Network for EAS – Rolf Taylor
• A Free Tool for the New FCC EAS Password Rue – and More! – Ken Fine
• Do You Have the Right USB-C Cable – Barry Mishkind

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

 
MANUFACTURERS’ NEWS

The Fall Convention series is starting to thin out a bit. But check out:

• This Week: Midwest Broadcast & Multimedia Technology Conference – Columbus, OH – September 24-26
• WABE Media & Entertainment Technology Conference – Calgary Canada – September 29 – October 1
• Kansas Association of Broadcasters 75th Convention at the Witchita KS Marriott – October 19th
• NAB New York – Javits Center, NYC – October 21, 22
• CCBE/OAB Conferences Toronto Canada – October 27, 28

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 (9/20/14) Meghan Trainor replaces Taylor Swift at #1 with “All About That Bass.”
• 14 years ago (9/21/12) Taylor Swift topped the Hot 100 and Country charts with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.“
• 25 years ago (9/25/01) XM Satellite Radio began broadcasting.
• 32 years ago (9/21/94) First mobile AM HD Radio reception; transmitted from Xetron, Cincinnati over a distance of about 6 miles.
• 43 years ago (9/24/83) Billy Joel hit #1 with “Tell Her About It.“
• 57 years ago (9/26/69) the last Beatles’ album, Abbey Road, was released.
• 62 years ago (9/26/64) Roy Orbison hit #1 for the first of three weeks with “(Oh) Pretty Woman.“
• 66 years ago (9/26/60) the first Kennedy-Nixon debate took place on television. (Most people remember more about how they looked than what they said.)

… and 100 years ago (9/25/1926) WTOP Washington DC began operations – but not in Washington. *

And here are some “regular news history” type items:

• 18 years ago (9/21/08) the last baseball game was played at Yankee Stadium. It was torn down and replaced nearby.
• 47 years ago (9/24/79) CompuServe launched the first consumer-oriented online information service, which they called MicroNET.
• 51 years ago (9/22/75) Sara Jane Moore attempted to assassinate President Ford.
• 60 years ago (9/25/66) Transatlantic phone service began.
• 61 years ago (9/25/65) Fifty-nine-year-old Satchel Paige pitches three innings.
• 65 years ago (9/22/61) JFK signed the Peace Corps legislation.
• 69 years ago (9/26/57) West Side Story premiered on Broadway.
• 164 years ago (9/22/1862) Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
• 237 years ago (9/25/1789) Congress passed  a collection of amendments to the U.S. Constitution – 10 of which would become the Bill of Rights. Foremost in the Bill of Rights is the First Amendment.

… and 237 years ago (9/24/1789) The Supreme Court was created. Original number of justices? **

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

 

* WTOP began as WTRC in Brooklyin, NY

** Six

MIDWEEK BONUS

Choose Well, and Infrequently

If you keep up with cyber community articles, you will note that CISA does not recommend changing your password often. In 2016, the FTC explicitly began advising against it, noting there is a lot of evidence to suggest that users who are required to change their passwords frequently select weaker passwords to begin with, and then change them in predictable ways that attackers can guess easily.

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A Different Look At The World
As many know, the world maps we are used to seeing are distorted by the way map-makers try to flatten a globe. A newer, perhaps more representative of the actual size of some nations, has been produced. It is interesting to see the differences.

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PLEASE INVITE A FRIEND TO JOIN US
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PLEASE 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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Now … some extra stuff .. some important … some just interesting.

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