3/3/21

Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert...
Here are some things you might want to know about:

DST IS COMING
Do you have anything that needs attention when the clocks change? March 14th is the day for most of you to "Spring Forward" for the year.

RENEWAL SEASON
License renewals continue along, with applications now being accepted for stations in Texas - due no later than April 1st.

Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming are next, due after May 1st and before June 1st

UNDERSTANDING STREAMING AGGREGATION
When you want to stream your station, will you get the best results? There are a number of choices to be made, including the aggregator you use. David Bialik addresses these choices in his new article.

AM ON FM - THE TREND CONTINUES
Can it be indicative of AM being in danger? KMOX, St. Louis is the latest 50 kW flamethrower to add an FM translator. At least four 50 kW AM clear channel stations now sport FM translators.

DID YOU GET EVERYTHING?
When you leave a studio or transmitter site are you comfortable that you got everything you planned done? This week on our Thursday Lunch Gathering Jeff Welton will discuss with us things we do not want to miss. Of course, questions and answers are a part of the day. Join us tomorrow at 2PM EST. More information and meeting link are here.

FRY'S IS NO MORE
Geeks in 9 states have long enjoyed browsing the cavernous Fry's Electronics stores. Sadly, they abruptly closed on February 24th. As in many industries, the pandemic has hurt electronics retail. Best Buy is laying off a large number of employees as they emphasize their pick up and mail order sales.

...AND 39 IHEART ENGINEERS
More RIFs at iHeart ... some 39 engineers were let go last Friday, although some are expected to become contractors as iHeart continues to consolidate the technical side and outsource more engineering work.

PERHAPS YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED ...
The BROADCAST email list - since 1985 - still continues strong, with broadcasters from all over sharing information and experience. Often solutions can be had within minutes or hours. You might want to subscribe, either for each message separately or a Digest, at www.radiolists.net/mailman/listinfo/broadcast

BTW: In response to a request, the BDR's "newsy" scroll has changed direction - again. Please take a look.

FOR SALE PAGE
Quite a few new items were added this week: An Orban 8200, a Studio Furniture set, an ERI Combiner, a Rotron Blower, a Nautel 5 kW FM solid state transmitter - and someone is looking for a Vanguard transmitter! The Buy/Sell/Trade page is here.
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May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR - and you!
 
http://worldwideantennasystems.com/
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Some recent articles of interest:

• Join the Lunch Gathering - Thursday 2 PM EDT
• Repairing FETs on an Elenos ETG3500 - Alan Alsobrook
• NAL WATCH: Late Political File uploads and Late Renewals have FCC attention
• Seeking the Right Generator - Mike Vanhooser
• Understanding Streaming Aggregators - David Bialik
• Plan Your Spaces - Gordon Carter
• The Quarterly Issues & Programs Reports - Ken Benner
• Good Practices For Mission Critical Electrical Power Reliability - Richard Rudman
• Visualizing Antenna Fields - Ron Nott
• More newsy items here

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

http://www.digitalalertsystems.com/
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PRODUCT NEWS

Henry Engineering is pleased to announce the SportsCaster is back in stock. Due to the Covid situation, the Sportscaster  - a comprehensive audio management system specifically designed for radio, webcast, and TV coverage of semi-pro and scholastic sporting events - had been unavailable and on "hiatus" for several months.

Detailed information is available at https://henryeng.com/sportscaster/

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Microsoftannounced the pending release of two new versions of Office - a consumer Office 2021 version and Office LTSC for commercial customers. Office 2021 will be available later this year for those who prefer not to subscribe to the cloud-powered Microsoft 365.

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More news from manufacturers (and links) are at: www.thebdr.net/manufacturers-news
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May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR - and you!
 
https://www.gatesair.com/solutions/
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Do You Remember? This week in history:
Broadcast related items:

• 36 years ago (3/1/85) Ford was the first to license a Beatles song for a commercial. **
• 37 years ago (3/2/84) Spinal Tap turned it up to "11" in theaters.
• 38 years ago (2/28/83) the final episode of M*A*S*H was broadcast. 77% of all viewers saw it.
• 38 years ago (3/5/83) Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" hits #1 for the first of seven weeks.
• 39 years ago (3/4/82) FCC threw up its hands and let the "marketplace" select AM Stereo standards.***
• 55 years ago (3/5/66) Barry Sadler's "Ballad of the Green Berets" hit #1.

And, a couple of more newsy items:

• 20 years ago (2/28/90) the ARPANET was decommissioned, becoming the Internet.
• 28 years ago (2/28/93) a gun battle broke out that led to fire and death of the Branch Davidians at Waco.
• 49 years ago (1972) the VW Beetle overtook the Ford Model T as world's best-selling car. 
• 52 years ago (3/1/69) Mickey Mantle retired.
• 52 years ago (3/2/69) was the first flight of a Concorde jet.
• 58 years ago (3/5/63) the Hula Hoop was patented.
• 68 years ago (2/28/53) scientists first discovered the chemical structure of DNA.
• 85 years ago (3/1/1936) Hoover Dam opened.(Originally Boulder Dam)
• 89 years ago (3/1/1932) the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped.
• 185 years ago (3/2/1836) Texas declared independence - and may still be so!

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

https://lawo.com/ruby/
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** The song was "Help."

***  .... unfortunately, it did not. And for many, this is where they jumped off
Leonard Kahn's bandwagon.

WEEKEND BONUS

Did you see this?  Moving, big time!

Someone in San Francisco decided to move his house, to make way for an apartment building. The 139-year-old house cost some $400,000 in fees and costs to move, but what a sight. They had to trim trees, remove signs and parking meters, etc. during the move.

Here are two looks at the move that you might enjoy.  One .... Two.

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