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Filing Window: November 1, 2019 - January 31, 2020

FEMA has approved the release of the new Federal Bridge certificate bundle designed for Digital Alert Systems DASDEC and OneNet CAP EAS devices to receive IPAWS messages. A deadline of Nov. 8 to install the certificate has also been announced.

[Read: Broadcasters Need to Keep Eye on Latest EAS Updates]

This was revealed through an email from Digital Alert Systems’ Edward Czarnecki, the company’s senior director of strategy & government affairs, to Society of Broadcast Engineers members.

The certificate is needed to ensure proper validation of CAP alert message from IPAWS. It is a free update and it works with software versions 2.6, 3.x and 4.x.

“We are aware that Nov. 8 leaves very little time — however, the final confirmation from FEMA to release the certs to EAS users was given a few hours ago,” said Czarnecki.

DAS has posted the certificate on its website, included with instructions and download links.

 

The post Updated IPAWS Certificate Released For DASDEC, OneNet appeared first on Radio World.

Now is the chance to recognize individuals and organizations that have significantly contributed to the television and radio industries by nominating them for the 2020 NAB Technology Awards. The nomination window is open between now and Jan. 13, 2020.

These four annual awards consist of the Radio and Television Engineering Achievement Awards, recognizing individuals for their outstanding accomplishments in each industry; the Technology Innovation Award, which acknowledges an organization showing an advanced technology or exhibit at the 2020 NAB Show that has not yet been commercialized; and the Best Paper Award, honoring the author(s) of a paper published in the Proceedings of the 2020 Broadcasting Engineering and Information Technology Conference.

The awards are presented each year as part of the NAB Show in Las Vegas.

“It is an annual highlight to present these awards to deserving individuals and organizations in celebration of our industry’s technical and engineering achievements,” said Sam Matheny, NAB’s executive vice president and chief technology officer. “I look forward to again recognizing the success that foster progress in broadcast technology and broadcaster innovation at the 2020 NAB Show.”

Nominations are due by Jan. 13, 2020. Nomination forms and award rules are available at www.nab.org/events/awards.asp.

The 2020 NAB Show will take place from April 18–22, 2020, in, as always, Las Vegas.

 

The post NAB Accepting Nominations for 2020 Technology Awards appeared first on Radio World.

The Media Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission is asking two licensees to clarify why they haven’t paid years’ worth of regulatory fees — in one case, for more than a decade — and warned the owners that the next possible step could be loss of the stations’ licenses.

In both situations, the backgrounds are similar. Cox Broadcast Group and La Favorita Inc. are being questioned by the FCC over allegedly unpaid regulatory fees. For Cox station WCGA(AM) in Woodbine, Ga., the FCC said that the licensee allegedly failed to pay regulatory fees for fiscal year 2010, 2103, 2016, 2017 and 2018 resulting in unpaid regulatory fees totaling $11,531.21. Despite the fact that demand letters have been sent to Cox, no payments have yet been made, the Media Bureau said.

[Read: Virginia FM Handed $15,000 Forfeiture for Alleged Filing Violations]

A similar situation has occurred with three AM stations in Georgia licensed by La Favorita Inc. The Media Bureau said the licensee has unpaid regulatory fees stretching back more than a decade — from 2007 through 2018 — for stations WAOS(AM) in Austell, WLBA(AM) in Gainesville and WXEM(AM) in Buford. The amount of unpaid fees totals $79,457.69 for those years. The bureau said that demand letters have been sent to La Favorita but to date have not been paid.

In both cases, additional charges will continue to accrue on these debts until they are paid in full, the bureau said, which includes a penalty equal to 25% of the amount of the original fee.

The commission also has the authority to revoke a station’s license for failing to pay regulatory fees and penalties. As a result, the commission has asked Cox and La Favorita to file documented evidence within 60 days to show that that it has paid or to show cause why payment should be waived. The FCC warned that failing to provide such evidence within the next two months may result in revocation of the stations’ licenses.

 

The post FCC to Two AM Licensees: Pay Fees or Nixed Licenses Could be Next appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission said it may be time to tackle the issue of duplicative programming in commonly owned radio stations.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a blog post this week that the commission will seek comment on modifying or eliminating a rule that limits the amount of duplicative programming that can be aired by commonly owned radio stations in a market.

This rule was originally adopted in 1992; since then the number of radio stations has continued to grow. In his blog post recapping the issues set for the November FCC meeting, Pai said that number of AM and commercial FM stations has increased to 19,500 (up from 11,600 in the 1990s) while the number of noncommercial FM stations has more than doubled and more than 2,000 low-power FM stations have been launched.

[Read: Groups Call on FCC to Waive First-Term Fees for Incubating AM/FM Stations]

And as the number of stations proliferate — and those stations continue to offer content over the air, on websites and through mobile apps — the commission is seeking comment on how to ensure competition and program diversity, which were the objectives of the radio duplication rule when it was set. As a result, the commission will seek formal comment on whether the rule is still necessary and whether it should be modified or eliminated.

Comments on that notice, known as Media Bureau Docket Number 19-310, can be found in the FCC’s ECFS database under the formal title of “Amendment of Section 73.3556 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding Duplication of Programming on Commonly Owned Radio Stations.”

The November commission meeting is set for 10:30 a.m. Eastern on Nov. 19.

 

The post FCC to Tackle Duplicative Programming Rule appeared first on Radio World.

Graham Lay has joined the GatesAir team as its new regional sales manager representing the Middle East and Africa. One of his key responsibilities is to build GatesAir’s market share and brand visibility in those regions.

Graham Lay

Lay has more than a decades’ worth of experience in sales and account management for broadcast and communications. He previously worked for electrical cable distribution company IEWC, moving to Dubai in 2015 to serve as the business unit leader, MEA for Argosy Cable, an IEWC company.

“I look forward to working with the greater EMEA team to strengthen our brand in the Middle East and eastern Africa,” Lay said. “We see enormous opportunity to help broadcasters refresh FM radio infrastructure, and drive large, national digital TV and DAB radio transitions that generate new revenue and service opportunities for customers.”

Lay is based in Dubai and reports to Andy McClelland, managing director, EMEA.

 

The post GatesAir Taps Graham Lay for MEA Region appeared first on Radio World.

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The Media Bureau announces that it has opened MB Docket No 19-310, captioned "Amendment of Section 73.3556 of the Commission's Rules Regarding Duplication of Programming on Commonly Owned Radio Stations."

Media Bureau announces that it has opened MB Docket No 19-311, captioned "All-Digital AM Broadcasting."

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Equipment dealer Progressive Concepts has announced an agreement with RVR Electronica of Italy to become an authorized dealer and service center.

Progressive will be handling RVR’s current stereo FM transmitter line: TEX30, TEX100, TEX150, TEX300, TEX502, TEX702 and TEX1002. These range from 30 W to 1 kW in power and can be controlled remotely via the web.

All of the TEX models feature a stereo encoder with left and right analog audio inputs, mono inputs, and MPX composite signal and auxiliary inputs for SCA/RDS signals. They utilize a Power Factor Correction power supply.

They are also FCC- and Industry Canada-approved.

 

The post Progressive Concepts Takes on RVR appeared first on Radio World.

The following comments were about the column “Are You Doing Your Part” in the June 12 issue of RW Engineering Extra.

TALKING TO THE WRONG PEOPLE?

Hi Cris, I was fortunate enough to have worked with the late Tom Osenkowsky in the early 1990s. While I was holding down afternoon drive, he appointed me “assistant chief operator” of WLAD Danbury, Conn. — more an honorary position than a functional one, but it meant I could field tech issues and check logs when he wasn’t around.

My deeper interest in engineering didn’t happen until a couple of years later — 1994 — when Tom Walker (WNNK-FM Harrisburg) suggested I join the SBE. Along the way, I got my CBT and CEA certifications and I did my best to wrangle my way into working with any engineer I could who was in charge of an AM directional system. I wanted very much to learn how those things worked.

Well, I must have been speaking to all the wrong people. Nobody anywhere wanted to share their secret knowledge with me. Between stations along the southern tier of Maryland and much of Northern Virginia, I couldn’t get my nose into the tent. One told me his skill was all that was keeping him employed and didn’t want to risk losing out to someone (slightly) younger and no doubt less expensive to hire. Another told me I was just a dumb disc jockey who had no business getting into engineering. Whatever I learned about directional RF came on my own from being a ham, and even then that’s limited to two sticks and a little algebra at best.

I sympathize with the industry and the shortage of qualified folks. I also sympathize with those before me who needed to make it to retirement with a paycheck. I’m now a few years out from hanging up the headphones myself, so a mentoring program would be wasted on me. I’ll eventually walk away from the biz pleased with other things I accomplished, but always a little unhappy about the selfishness I experienced, and flummoxed by the lack of foresight that caused AM to shoot itself in the foot in slow motion.

Alan Peterson, KJ4IVD
Arlington, Va.

 

NICELY PUT

Just read your “Radio World” article. “A few funerals away.” What a capsualization! What a brisk way to report the apparent future of broadcast engineering.

I hold SBE certification, but broadcast engineering is at arms’ length.

Thanks for that crisp designation.

Ludwell Sibley
Medford, Ore.

 

PASS IT ON

Excellent commentary, Cris! Much like my advice at the NAB Engineering Achievement Award event two years ago, and Gary Cavell’s this year — to pass knowledge on to younger generations. Unfortunately, it’s easy for us to forget the need as we get involved in our day-to-day work.

In my career, there were a few “senior” engineers (a generation older than me, at the time!) who gave me some lifelong lessons in technology and engineering philosophy. Their contribution to me and others were extraordinary. However, I wish their experience could have extended to many others. I believe we should develop more opportunities to teach and discuss in sessions with others, so that the knowledge is passed on.

It is difficult for national conferences to be a venue for education — sessions seem to be increasingly shorter and lighter in detail. But educational venues could be developed elsewhere. Maybe at SBE meetings and conferences? Personally, I’d welcome the chance to teach, and I wonder how others feel about this.

Thanks for bringing up the transfer of knowledge and wisdom. It is indeed an important issue for our industry!

John Kean
Falls Church, Va.

 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRAINING

Great article, Cris. The Colorado Broadcasters Association has hosted three “Introduction to Broadcast Engineering” classes in the last two years. These are modeled after Alabama’s program and taught by their staff engineer, Larry Wilkins. The courses are free to everyone, not just members, and we invite anyone with an interest in broadcast to attend. On average, the course has attracted as many as 22 individuals who attend all three days of the course.

I hope you’ll send some “potentials” our way the next time we host this (currently looking at October 2019) and I would really appreciate any outreach you could provide to get more people to attend the classes.

Thanks again for this article. The call to action is desperately needed!

Justin Sasso
President & CEO
Colorado Broadcasters Association
Englewood, Colo.

 

Do you have a story to share? Write to radioworld@futurenet.com. Please reference “Are You Doing Your Part” in the subject line.

The post Readers Comment on Engineering Extinction appeared first on Radio World.