Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 882, Volume 17, #49 for July 8, 2026

QUARTERLY REPORT TIME
Yes, they are due on Friday. Howeveer, if you have had problems uploading your Issues & Programs files to the Online Public Information File, you are not alone. A fair number of folks have reported the inability to save their uploads. The FCC has responded to some by acknowledging there have been problems but claim all is well now. Depending upon the browser you are using, the FCC says you *must* clear the cache to get everything working correctly. Worst case: if you have to upload them after the 10th, include a notice that the FCC site was not working properly. Include their reply to you, if you got one.

NCE FM TRANSLATOR WINDOW OPENING CHANGED
The NCE FM translator Window was coming too fast for some folks – especially those at universities and colleges where staff and resources were on Summer mode, Native American Nations, and some others. Other, smaller groups suggested that getting applications done by early August was just too soon. The FCC has listened. A Public Notice was released to announce that the Window has been rescheduled for November 4 – 17. A limited filing freeze will be put in place on October 2nd.

SELF-INSPECTION IS A GOOD PROGRAM
Your RF system can be inspected by the FCC or the Alternate Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) your state broadcast association arranges. But perhaps the best program for ensuring compliance with your Authorization is if you do it yourself. The SBE and NAB have prepared new Self-Inspection Checklists based on the program the FCC inspectors use. This week Ched Keiler will be our guest on the BDR Virtual Lunch Gathering, and discuss the checklists, how to get one, and how you can use it to avoid any worry that an FCC Field Agent will find you in violation of the Rules.

SECURITY TIPS AND TRICKS
For our 327th video presentation – and all are available to you at no charge – Jeff Welton will be here tomorrow (Thursday) to speak with us from a manufacturer’s perspective on some of the simple and quick protections, as well as more comprehensive ideas to implement.

Our 327th Virtual Lunch Gathering will be on Thursday at 2PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific. Join us and learn things! The link request is at www.theBDR.net/TLG/ … the same place where you will find most of the 323 previous presentations.  (By the way, our buddy Jeff Welton does his 100th TTT next week. Register at Nautel .com for access.)

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

 

FCC CYBERSECURITY ORDER AND NPRM
The FCC was quick to follow up and issue their Order and NPRM. Part of it may be in place in just a few months. Here is an analysis of the key parts of the Order and NPRM. 

AND THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD
C-Band users are about to be completely pushed out. The FCC’s July Open Meeting contains a proposal to auction 160 MHz of C-Band frequencies. That would leave just a 20 MHz band as a buffer to reduce/prevent interference to airplane altimeters, etc. Over the next few years, all C-Band program delivery will be shifted to Ku-Band or IP streams.

WOW RIGHT BACK THERE
You will recall that Walnut Media, owners of the 590 AM in Omaha, had asked for the FCC to permit them to restore the legacy call sign WOW. Even though it is a three-letter call, the Commission does allow reversion to a previous call if the old call sign had not be taken by another licensee. WOW – which originally was for Woodman of the World, and insurance company – had not be used for about 20 years. Since it is the very same community of license and frequency, the restoration of WOW was quickly permitted. Unfortunately, while the legacy call sign is back, the coverage will be different, as the last owner sold the property where the towers were located.

ON THE OTHER HAND
At the moment WBT’s life as an AM station on 1110 is hanging by a thread. The land where three of the remaining eight Blaw-Knox towers in the US resided was sold. Depending upon who you ask, WBT may have its license turned in if it is not diplexed or otherwise find a new home. But the 50 kW, day and night is at its end for this soon to be former PEP station.

AT&T CITES COPPER PROBLEMS
Given that the price of copper continues to incite theft from vandals, AT& T has asked the FCC to allow complete replacement of copper.

FEWER PEOPLE IN THE BUILDING
If it seems like you are seeing fewer people in the station(s) these days, it is probably correct. Some industry trades report large RIFs at iHeartMedia and other companies. Small markets are affected as well as major markets.

FUN IN THE BIG CITY
Last week it was the top of the Empire State Building, where a couple of publicity hounds climbed to the top of the antenna spire. This week it was not people so much as several bent and sagging beams and collapsing floors in a building that sparked a lot of evacuations. WPIX-TV staff had to be evacuated from a nearby building.

CYBERSECURITY IS NOT ONLY A PROBLEM HERE
According to reports, the Brazilian emergency alert system has recently breached, letting a huge number of false alerts to be sent out. The National Telecommunications Agency (NTA) in Brazil says the emergency alert was not triggered by authorized or competent entities and that the emergency alert system was not compromised. O        n the other hand, according to International Cyber Digest, a government employee was running an end-of-life Windows 7 computer and downloading cracked software. An infection with “inforstealer” apparently led to false alerts being sent to 30 million people. The NAT has a new system under development with enhanced security controls to prevent unauthorized use in the future.
May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

 

Here are some of the more recent items of interest:

Here are some of the more recent items of interest:

• FCC Cybersecurity Order & NPRM – Barry Mishkind
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Enforcement Watch – $50k for translator violations
• That FCC Fine is How Much? – Barry Mishkind
• IT Security for Broadcast Gear – Kirk Harnack
• Building A Maintenance Checklist – Barry Mishkind
• The Rise and Fall of C -Band – Chip Morgan
• Predicting Maintenance Needs – Rolin Lintag
• Beware of Killer Thumb Drives – Barry Mishkind
• Danger: Consumer Electronic Parts – Ron Schacht

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

 
MANUFACTURERS’ NEWS

Nautel reports that Ted Nahil just could not stay retired. Effective immediately, Ted has come back to the company to handle the Eastern US sales region.

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Dish DBS (formerly Dish Network) has filed a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Dish has been a subsidiary of EchoStar, since 2024

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The Fall broadcast convention season is definitely under way, with more announcements. Here is a partial list, so you can make plans and secure any special registration and hotel rates:

The Texas Association of Broadcasters –  August 5 and 6.
The Nebraska Broadcasters Association – August 13.
The IBC will mean in Amsterdam, slated for September 11-14 at the RAI.
The Wisconsin and Minnesota Broadcasters associations combine for the Broadcasters’ Clinic, September 14-16.
The NAB Show New York is scheduled for October 21-22.

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

 

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

• 4 years ago (7/7/22) Bob Dylan recorded one copy of “Blowin’ In The Wind” for producer T Bone Burnett. Price?*
• 19 years ago (7/8/07) Elton John concluded his farewell tour – which started in 2016 – in Stockholm.
• 19 years ago (7/7/07) Live Earth, a series of concerts urging action against Global Warming, ran around the world.
• 30 years ago (7/8/96) the first Spice Girls record “Wannabe” hit #1 in the Uk, then the US.
• 34 years ago (7/9/92) the first AM HD transmissions were being tested in Cincinnati.
• 47 years ago (7/12/79) Chicago White Sox fans, led by two DJs blew up thousands of disco records, causing a cancellation and forfeit of a Major League ball game, nine injuries, and 39 arrests. Some called it “the end of Disco.”
• 52 years ago (7/6/74) the first disco song topped the Hot 100. **
• 54 years ago (7/8/72) Bill Withers “Lean on Me” started three weeks at #1.
• 64 years ago (7/12/62) the Rolling Stones performed their first concert.
• 64 years ago (7/10/62) Telstar 1 was launched.
• 66 years ago (7/10/60) the Hollywood Argyles hit the charts with “Alley Oop,” kicking off a “novelty-song” outbreak. (What was your favorite novelty …  King Tut; the Streak; Monster Mash; Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah; Poisoning Pigeons in the Park? Let us know!)
• 69 years ago (7/6/57) John met Paul for the first time.

… and 71 years ago (7/9/55) Bill Haley & His Comets had the first Rock song to hit #1. ***

How about a few “general history” items as well?

• 15 years ago (7/8/11) Atlantis is launched on final mission of US Space Shuttle program.
• 47 years ago (7/11/79) Skylab crashed to earth – five years after the last Skylab mission. (The space stations orbit began to deteriorate earlier than was anticipated because of unexpectedly high sunspot activity.)
• 58 years ago (7/14/68) Hank Aaron hit his 500th Home Run.
• 64 years ago (7/10/62) a U.S. patent was issued for the three-point seatbelt.
• 85 ears ago (7/9/41) the Enigma key was broken.
• 95 years ago (7/7/31) work began on the Hoover Dam.
• 98 years ago (7/7/1928) Sliced Bread was first produced in Missouri.
• 101 years ago (7/10/1925) the Scopes’ “Monkey Trial” began in Dayton, TN.
• 112 years ago (7/11/1914) Babe Ruth made his Major League debut.
• 147 years ago (7/9/1879) The Bell Telephone Company was founded – the first busy signal was not far behind.

.. and 222 years ago (7/11/1804) Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. (… but not because Hamilton got a Broadway smash hit.)

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

 

* Dylan’s song sold for $1.7 million.

** Hues Corporation’s “Rock the Boat.”

*** this was not too hard to guess: “Rock Around The Clock.”

MIDWEEK BONUS
Here is one to test your memory – The Sgt Pepper Peeper: a look and identification of all the pictures on the cover of that famous album.

Get something to drink and here you go!

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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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