Edited by: Mark Croom
Electronic Version: Leonard Charles
Electronically Distributed by Chris Cain
Contributors this month:
Kevin Ruppert
Fred Sperry
Tom Weeden
Tom Smith
Terry Baun
Articles Welcome!! Send correspondence to:
Chapter 24 Newsletter
34 Rustic Parkway
Madison, WI 53713-4700
or call (608) 271-1025 (home) or (608) 221-1979 (work)
*****************************************************************
MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
5:30pm Dutch Treat Dinner at Alt n' Bach's on Whalen Lane, next
to American TV
7:00pm Business and Program at the ECB-TOC, 3319 W. Beltline
Highway
Program: The Tektronix Profile Professional Disk Recorder
Larry Sayer is the District Sales Manager for Tektronix's Video
and Networking division. Come and find out what Tektronix has to
offer in the rapidly developing field of professional hard disk
recorders.
Visitors and Guests are welcome at all SBE meetings.
*****************************************************************
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Tentative Program Subjects
June 22, 1995 Thu
Tour: WTDY/WMGN/WJJO new studios
July ??? Family Picnic
Tue, Aug 22, 1995 TBA
Wed, Sep 20, 1995 TBA
Thu, Oct 19, 1995 TBA
Wed, Nov 15, 1995 (Broadcasters Clinic)
Tue, Dec 19, 1995 TBA
Wed, Jan 17, 1996 TBA
Thu, Feb 22, 1996 TBA
Tue, Mar 19, 1996 TBA
Wed, Apr 24, 1996 TBA
Thu, May 23, 1996 TBA
*****************************************************************
CHAPTER 24 OFFICERS:
CHAIRMAN:
Paul Stoffel (WI Public TV)
W - 608-263-2175
H - 608-241-4621
F - 608-263-9763
STOFFEL@MAIL.ADMIN.WISC.EDU
VICE CHAIRMAN:
Fred Sperry (ECB-TOC)
W - 608-264-9698
H - 608-833-6074
FRED.SPERRY@MAIL.ADMIN.WISC.EDU
SECRETARY:
Neal McLain (CTI)
W - 608-831-4636
NMCLAIN@MACC.WISC.EDU
TREASURER:
Stan Scharch (WISC TV)
W - 271-4321
H - 831-1168
CHAPTER 24 COMMITTEE APPOINTEES:
Membership - Leonard Charles
Sustaining Membership - Fred Sperry
Strategic Plan - Denny Behr
Newsletter - Mark Croom
Program Committee:
Mark Croom 271-1025 mcroom@aol.com
Denise Maney 277-8001
Kerry Maki 833-0047
Steve Zimmerman 274-1234
Special Events - Kevin Ruppert
Certification and Education:
Jim Hermanson 836-8340
Tim Trendt (UW-Platteville)
Frequency Coordination: Tom Smith
608-263-2174 (work)
SMITHT@VILAS.UWEX.EDU
SBE National Board Member & Chapter Liaison:
Leonard Charles
W - 271-4321
FAX - 271-1709
LCHARLES@WISCTV.COM
*****************************************************************
NATIONAL SBE PHONE DIRECTORY
SBE National Office
8445 Keystone Crossing Suite 140
Indianapolis, IN 46240
Main Number 317-253-1640
Engineering Conference Line 317-253-0122
Job Line 317-253-0474
Fax 317-253-0418
BBS 317-253-7555
President: Chuck Kelly CBT
Broadcast Electronics
P.O. Box 3606
Quincy, IL 62305
W 217-224-9600
F 217-224-9607
H 217-228-7373
CIS ID# 70307,2642
InterNet: kelly1@ixc.net
Vice President: Terrence Baun CPBE
Criterion Broadcast Services
5300 W. Garfield Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53208
W 414-449-5300
F 414-449-5380
CIS ID# 71525,1060
Secretary: Keith Kintner CSTE
KLCS TV 58
1061 W. Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-625-6958
F 818-362-5294
CIS ID# 72530,620
InterNet: keith.kintner@gur.com
Treasurer: Bob Goza CPBE
KMOV TV
3315 Highway 50
Beaufort, MO 63013
314-484-3718
F 314-484-3840
InterNet: rgoza695696aol.com
Executive Director: John Poray CAE
SBE National Office
8445 Keystone Crossing Suite 140
Indianapolis, IN 46240
W 317-253-1640
F 317-253-0418
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jim Bernier CBT
WTVH, Inc.
980 James Street
Syracuse, NY 13203
315-425-5503
F 315-425-5513
InterNet: 72037.1723@compuserve.com
David Carr CPBE
KHOU-TV
P.O. Box 11
Houston, TX 77001
713-284-8741
F 713-284-8700
Leonard Charles CSTE
WISC TV
7025 Raymond Road
Madison, WI 53719
608-271-4321
F 608-271-1709
InterNet: lcharles@wisctv.com
Dane Ericksen PE CSRE CSTE
Hammett & Edison, Inc.
Box 280068
San Francisco, CA 94128-0068
707-996-5200
F 707-996-5280
Michael Fast CPBE
WCBM Radio
1303 Burleigh Road
Lutherville, MD 21093
410-356-3003
F 410-581-0150
Michael McCarthy CBRE
WLIT FM/Viacom International
150 N. Michigan Ave., #1135
Chicago, IL 60601
312-329-9002
F 708-439-1464
P 800-592-3058
Edward Miller CPBE
WEWS Scripps Howard
3001 Euclid Ave
Cleveland, OH 44115
216-431-3687
F 216-431-3641
Troy Pennington CSRE
WZZK AM/FM, WODL FM Radio
530 Beacon Parkway W. #300
Birmingham, AL 35209
205-916-1119
F 205-916-1151
Robert Reymont CPBE
Nationwide Communications, Inc.
P.O. Box 5159
Mesa, AZ 85211-0500
602-964-4000
F 602-644-7660
CIS ID# 71645,254
Internet: NCIRADIO@CRL.COM
Martin "Sandy" Sandberg CPBE
Consultant
9807 Edgecove Drive
Dallas, TX 75238
214-343-5786
F 2114-343-9807
John Schneider CBRE
RF Specialties of Washington, Inc.
19237 Aurora Avenue N.
Seattle, WA 98133
206-546-6546
F 206-546-2633
CIS ID# 74603,3342
Tom Weber CSTE
WISH TV 8
1950 N Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
317-921-8535
F 317-926-1144
CIS ID#: 73250,215
Chris Imlay, Esq.
SBE General Counsel
Booth, Freret & Imlay
1233 20th St. NW Suite 204
Washington, DC 20036
202-296-9100
F 202-293-1319
James Wulliman, CPBE
Ennes Director
721 W. Calle Del Regalo
Green Valley, AZ 85614
Phone and Fax 602-648-1250
NATIONAL OFFICE STAFF
Linda Godby, Certification
Peggy Hall, Membership
Sarah Hayden, Signal/Conferences
Julie Dinger, Secretary
317-253-1640
F 317-253-0418
Job Line 317-253-0474
BBS (N,8,1) 317-253-7555
NATIONAL COMMITTEE AND TASK FORCE CHAIRS
By Laws Committee..................................Sandy Sandberg
Certification Committee..............................Jim Wulliman
Chapter Awards Committee..........................Leonard Charles
Chapter Liaison Committee..........................John Schneider
Electronic Communication Committee....................Jim Bernier
Engineering Conference Committee......Jerry Whitaker 503-690-8798
Engineering Conference Promotion Committee..........Mike McCarthy
FCC Liaison Committee...............................Dane Ericksen
Fellowship Committee...................................David Carr
Finance Committee.................................Troy Pennington
Frequency Coordination Committee.......................David Carr
High Freq Broadcasting Task Force.....DoUg Garlinger 317-773-5050
Industry Relations Committee...........................Terry Baun
International Committee............................Sandy Sandberg
Membership Committee.................................Michael Fast
Nomination Committee...............................Robert Reymont
Sustaining Membership Committee.....................Edward Miller
*****************************************************************
ELECTION RESULTS
The votes are in and counted! Our newly elected officers for
1995-1996 are as follows:
Chairperson: Paul Stoffel
Vice Chair: Fred Sperry
Secretary: Neal McLain
Treasurer: Stan Scharch
CONGRATULATIONS!
The 1995 Nominations Committee
Dennis Behr
Herb Jordan
Kerry Maki
Jim Hermanson
*****************************************************************
AMATEUR RADIO NEWS
by Tom Weeden, WJ9H
Within minutes of the deadly explosion at the Oklahoma City
Federal Building, amateur radio operators set up an emergency
coordination network which (as of April 27th) has been in non-
stop operation. According to updates from Thomas Webb, WA9AFM/5,
during the first few hours after the blast, telephone circuits
were jammed and often inoperative. Amateur Radio provided vital
emergency communications to rescue and relief organizations until
regular telephone service was restored. Using hand-held and
mobile radio equipment, hams provided relief workers with
reliable, mobile emergency communication for more than 190
continuous hours. A mobile repeater station was established at a
Salvation Army canteen, allowing for communications to be sent
and received easily. More than 100 hams have participated in
relief efforts, with between 60 and 80 working at any one time.
The FCC has announced it will amend its rules to permit limited
automatic control of digital stations on the amateur HF bands.
The automatically controlled station must either be connected to
another station under manual control, or must transmit within a
subband designated for this purpose. Those subbands have not yet
been announced. The Commission said it believes these rule
changes will allow amateurs to "contribute to communication
technology" and to advance amateurs' communication and technical
skills.
On April 26, the FCC granted amateurs secondary status access to
219 to 220 MHz. Amateur operation is limited only to forwarding
stations in point-to-point fixed digital message forwarding
systems, including intercity packet backbone networks. This
allocation comes four years after amateurs' 220-222 MHz segment
was reallocted to the Land Mobile service. The Commission has
appointed the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) as "frequency
coordinator" of this limited segment. Hams must coordinate their
operation through the ARRL to avoid interference to Automated
Maritime Telecommunications Systems stations who already are
primary users of this band. Amateurs will also be required to
prevent interference to nearby TV channels 11 and 13.
(From May 1995 "QST" magazine and packet-radio bulletins)
*****************************************************************
BROADCAST COMMUNICATIONS TOWER COURSE NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED
Recently, the SBE National Office formally recognized Broadcast
Communications of New Glarus, WI for their Tower Technology I
Course.
At the April 20 Chapter 24 SBE meeting, a "Special Recognition"
certificate from SBE National was presented to Glenn Kramer,
Division Manager, and Kim Lawler of Broadcast Communications
Educational Services. In a letter to Ms. Jean Muehlfelt,
Marketing Director, and Jim Crooks, President of Broadcast
Communications, SBE National Certification Chairman James
Wulliman said the following: "The Society of Broadcast Engineers
Certification Committee has evaluated the Tower Technology I
Course and we feel this course meets the requirements for
recertification credit to be awarded to SBE Certified Members.
We are very pleased to be able to recognize your program and to
add Broadcast Communications to our growing list of Technical
Training Facilities, Colleges and Technical Institutions."
Congratulations Broadcast Communications! We're proud of you!
Jim Hermanson
Chapter 24
Certification & Education Chairman
*****************************************************************
LIAISON NOTES
by Leonard Charles
As your liaison to the SBE National, I invite you to contact me
with any concerns you believe deserve the attention of Nationally
elected Officers and Board members. The next opportunity I will
have to present concerns will be at the Executive Committee
meeting in July.
I have compiled un-official minutes of the National Board of
Directors meeting held at the NAB in April. You can download
them from the Chapter 24 BBS in files area #2 under the file name
BOARDMTG.TXT.
I have been appointed the Chairman of the National SBE EAS
Committee. We will be aiding members and the industry in the
understanding and implementation of the new EAS rules. It would
be beneficial for you to read the new rules soon. You can
download them from the Chapter 24 BBS in files area #2 under the
file name EAS.TXT.
I continue to urge you to send a letter to your Washington
Representatives in support of the SBE effort to get an engineer
on the staff of each FCC Commissioner. To make this as easy as I
possibly can, I have uploaded two documents to the Chapter 24
BBS. The first is titled ENGONFCC.TXT which you can download
and "fill in the blanks" before you print and send it off. The
second is titled AREAREPS.TXT which is a listing of all area
representatives and their Washington addresses. Pick those
appropriate to your area. Please take a moment to help the SBE
in this effort.
*****************************************************************
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
by Leonard Charles
Chapter 24 Membership Chair
Chapter 24 is 75 members strong as of May. If any of our members
have neglected to send in those renewals, please take a moment to
do so. We sent out a total of 133 copies of our newsletter this
month. Our newest members added within the past month are:
Chad Thielen (student) of Council Bluffs Iowa
Jamie M. McCloskey (student) of Oregon, WI
Andrew Gay of WMTV in Madison
Gregory Beyers of WMTV in Madison
Marcia Reeve of WMTV in Madison
Welcome to these newest members of our Chapter. We look forward
to meeting you at future monthly meetings. In addition, Leonard
Charles has achieved a change in grade to Senior Member of the
SBE. If you have any questions about your SBE membership, or
have colleges whom you consider potential members, please contact
me and I will take it from there.
*****************************************************************
April Business Meeting Minutes
Chapter 24 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers met on Thursday,
April 20, 1995, at the Grand Pagoda restaurant in Madison. There
were 22 persons in attendance, 16 of whom were certified. The
meeting was chaired by Chapter 24 Chairman Leonard (Chuck)
Charles.
Call to order: 7:07 pm. The minutes of the previous meeting were
approved as published in the March Newsletter.
Newsletter Editor's Report (reported by Neal McLain in Mark
Croom's absence): The deadline for the April Newsletter is
midnight 5/12/95; the folding party is 5:30 pm 5/17/95 at WKOW-
TV; check the BBS for changes.
Treasurer's Report (reported by Stan Scharch, Treasurer): the
chapter balance stands at approximately $2,100.00.
Chairman's Report (reported by Leonard Charles, Chairman): The
chapter membership now stands at 72 members, including new member
Glen Felt of Dubuque. The Newsletter mailing list now includes
124 addresses. This being Chuck's last meeting as Chairman, he
thanked the membership for their support during his two-year
tenure.
Sustaining Membership Report (reported by Leonard Charles in Fred
Sperry's absence): one sustaining member has renewed: Electronic
Industries of Oshkosh. One former sustaining member has declined
to renew. The total sustaining membership now stands at 24.
Strategic Planning (reported by Dennis Behr): no report.
Program Committee (reported by Steve Zimmerman): the May meeting
program has not been finalized; possibilities include Tektronix
and EAS.
Special Events (reported by Kevin Ruppert): there were no SBE-
sponsored activities to report. However, upcoming non-SBE events
include the 3rd Annual Broadcast Symposium sponsored by UW-
Platteville, and the 1995 WBA Convention.
Certification and Education (reported by Jim Hermanson): SBE has
presented a "Special Recognition" certificate to Broadcast
Communications, Inc. in recognition of their Tower Technology I
course.
Scholarship (reported by Paul Stoffel): The Chapter is offering a
scholarship which covers attendance at the WBA Convention.
Applications are due 6/1/95.
Frequency coordination (reported by Tom Smith): No major
activity; just more wireless microphones. All wireless
microphone users are urged to coordinate.
Old business: none.
New business: none.
Elections: The Nominations Committee conducted elections for
Chapter officers for the coming year.
National SBE News (reported by Leonard Charles, Chairman): The
national membership drive resulted in recruitment of 41 new
members. The SBE is supporting legislation which would mandate
an engineer on the staff of each FCC Commissioner; SBE members
are urged to contact their federal legislative representatives in
support of this legislation. At the recent NBA Board Meeting
(held during the NAB Convention in Las Vegas), Chuck was
appointed chairman of the SBE's National EAS Committee.
The business meeting was adjourned at 7:35 pm. The program
consisted of reports by members who had attended the recent NAB
Convention in Las Vegas.
*****************************************************************
THE MAGIC OF MARCH
by James W. Stellpflug & Vicki Way
The WIAA Network, as assembled primarily by Tak Communications,
has been covering the State High School Tournaments for over 10
years. Since the beginning, many changes in equipment and
techniques have been incorporated into this large scale
production.
TRANSMISSION
The transmission of the signal from Madison to the network
affiliates is achieved through Midwest Relay Communications
(MRC). For the Hockey tournament, which is held at the Dane
County Coliseum, a microwave hop is made before the signal is
handed off to MRC. A live truck is used to send the signal via a
2 GHz microwave system back to WKOW. From the station, the
signal is send to MRC. MRC then transports the signal to Skokie,
Illinois where it is uplinked to satellite. The same basic
components are used for the Basketball tournaments except they
are used in different ways. The signal to go to the satellite is
handed off to MRC immediately at the Fieldhouse where is goes
through the same route to satellite. WKOW's 2GHz "pea-shooter"
microwave is used for a feed with stereo audio back to Channel
27. The signal that is sent to the satellite has a monaural
program audio feed because the need for a network advisory line
is present. The advisory line is used by the producer, enabling
communication from the truck to all of the network stations. The
two separate audio signals are placed on separate subcarriers for
reception (6.2 MHz and 6.8 MHz).
In the past, audio has been one of the major concerns of the WIAA
Network engineers. Often times, tone is needed before the
productions begin so that levels can be adjusted through MRC's
signal path. In the past, this testing would tie up the audio
console until testing was finished. Thanks to John Corstvet at
WKOW, the console was free for production during the testing.
This year he built an independent box which enabled the outgoing
audio signal, which was stereo, to be monitored and switched
downstream of the audio console. This box served many different
functions:
1. Converted the stereo signal from the board to Monaural
2. Enabled independent downstream insertion of 1000 Hz Tone to
any of the four outgoing signals.
3. Allowed for continual visual monitoring of any of the audio
levels through two switchable Dorrough meters.
4. Used distribution amplifiers to offer multiple redundant
outputs.
FACILITIES
Over the past years, multiple productions facilities have been
used from all over. Trucks have come from Missouri, Miami,
Florida, Chicago and even Quebec, Canada. This year there were
two trucks that were used for the tournaments. "Darkstar" from
ITSI in Chicago, Illinois served as production for WIAA Hockey
and "Mother" from SOLJAY based out of Dallas, Texas was used for
basketball.
The "Darkstar" truck was a smaller truck which was equipped with
a Grass Valley Model 300 switcher, 3 Sony 1" machines, 1 BVW-75
Betacam deck, BTS Cameras, and a Chyron 3200 for graphics.
The "Mother" truck is currently SOLJAY's largest truck in
operation. Supported mainly by BTS, this truck will soon house a
BTS Media Pool. The truck is supported by the capability for
nine BTS LDK-9/LDK-9P cameras and a BTS 48x96 Venus Router. To
handle the switching, a Grass Valley Model 3000-3 is used along
with a Abekas A-53D DVE and a A-42 Stillstore. Graphics are
handled by a Chyron INFINIT! with an internal Hard Drive of 426
MB. Internal Communications use an RTS 12 Channel System
comprised mainly of 802 series panels and 325 series (4 channel)
panels. The tape room was made up of 5 VTR formats including: 1
Digital Betacam, 3 BVW-75s, 2 Sony 1", 3/4", S-VHS, and a Pioneer
re-writable videodisc.
Audio is handled through a Soundcraft Vienna audio console. A
Digicart was used for audio clips that were used as "bumps".
Audio cuts were dumped from CD to the Digicart which then allowed
for instant access to any of the bumps or intro cuts.
"Mother" was laid out into three main compartments. The front of
the truck contained the audio compartment. The middle segment
was the largest section. It housed production control in one half
and tape in the other. The back of the truck was engineering.
The truck was a 48' truck that expanded in the middle. This
expansion allowed for plenty of room inside production and tape.
Often there is a conflict that is encountered when working for
the tournaments. Many times the Badger Basketball team has a
game which either precedes or follows one of the days of the high
school tournaments. This usually means that the WIAA crew needs
to set-up late or tear down quickly. This year, the Badgers
played the night before the first Girls session. To make things
easier, ESPN was asked to use the SOLJAY truck for their
production. ESPN agreed since 80% of the productions done by
SOLJAY are for ESPN.
While the truck was in Madison, a maintenance session was
scheduled for the Engineering area. After the boys basketball
tournament was over the EIC of the truck received a chance to fly
home to see his family while the head of operations flew in to
redesign the engineering monitor wall. They installed nearly 20
new Ikegami b/w monitors, and two new Color measurement monitors.
They also put in a new Tektronix 1780-R Measurement Set (Waveform
and Vectorscope). These changes and repositioning of the
equipment made the second week an easier and more comfortable
environment shading the cameras in Engineering.
Overall, this truck worked great. Things seemed to go very
smoothly and the entire staff and crew had a very good
production. As students who have had a chance to learn
tremendously from these tournaments, we hope that the involvement
opportunities for students will always be available.
*****************************************************************
SBE "SHORT CIRCUITS VIA BBS"
April 26, 1995
MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN ENTERS LAST WEEKS
The annual SBE Membership Drive, "One New Member," is into its
final month. There is still time to recruit one or more new
members and be eligible to win the Grand Prize, a trip for two to
New Orleans for the SBE Engineering Conference and World Media
Expo, September 6-9, 1995, or other fine prizes.
To participate, just recruit a new Member, Associate or
Sustaining Member. A flyer was mailed to all SBE members in early
March with program details. Complete the tear-off slip on the
bottom of the flyer and attach to your new member's application
before it's submitted to the National Office. For full details,
see the flyer or call the SBE National Office.
PLEASE GET THOSE RENEWALS IN
Many members have sent in their membership renewal already but
there are a few of you we haven't heard from. Please ensure that
your membership is not interrupted - renew today!
SBE'S LEGISLATIVE EFFORT PUSHES ON
With Congress' first 100 days of the current session over, SBE
plans to have legislation introduced soon which requires each FCC
Commissioner to have at least one senior staff member with an
engineering background. In the February/March issue of the SBE
SIGNAL, background on the issue and a sample letter to
congressmen were included. All members are still asked to write
their Congressmen, urging them to support this legislation when
it comes before them. Letters to Congress have already made a
difference! Two congressional offices have expressed interest in
sponsoring the bill as a direct result of getting a letter from
an SBE member constituent. A copy of the proposed bill will be
available through this BBS when it is in its final form.
SBE ENGINEERING CONFERENCE AND WORLD MEDIA EXPO - NEW ORLEANS,
LOUISIANA
SEPTEMBER 6-9, 1995.
Mark your calendars and plan your budgets to take in this annual
conference and unique exhibition featuring the combined
conferences of SBE, SMPTE, the NAB Radio Show and RTNDA. The
Conference will be held at the Morial Convention Center while SBE
will use the historic New Orleans Fairmont Hotel as its
headquarters. The Conference and Expo will feature three days of
technical sessions, a day of Ennes Workshops, 130,000 square feet
of exhibits, several receptions and the annual SBE Awards Dinner.
A variety of hotel accommodations are available and special rates
on airfare have been arranged with United and Delta Airlines.
Watch for more details in the May/June SIGNAL.
SBE CERTIFICATION - A KEY TO CAREER ADVANCEMENT
Several opportunities to take an SBE Certification Exam are
available during 1995. The Spring exam period in local chapters
will be June 9-19, however, the application deadline was April
28. The SBE Engineering Conference and World Media Expo in New
Orleans will be the next opportunity with the test date set for
September 7; application deadline is July 27. The final period
for 1995 will be in local chapters November 10-20; application
deadline is September 29. For information on how to become SBE
Certified, see your local chapter Certification Chairman or call
the SBE National Office.
WORKSHOP SCHEDULED FOR MIDWEST
An Ennes Regional Workshop will be held at Lake of the Ozarks,
Missouri, June 15. The Kansas City and St. Louis chapters of SBE
will jointly host this function which is being held in
conjunction with the Missouri Broadcaster's Association Summer
Convention. Members within a day's drive of the Workshop will
receive information in the mail, but everyone is invited. To
register, call the SBE National Office at (317) 253-1640.
"SHORT CIRCUITS VIA BBS" is published by the Society of Broadcast
Engineers, Inc., 8445 Keystone Crossing, Suite 140, Indianapolis,
Indiana. For more information about SBE, contact John L. Poray,
CAE, Executive Director through this BBS or call the SBE National
Office at (317) 253-1640.
*****************************************************************
EAS MADE EASY
by Gary E. Timm, Chairman
Wisconsin State Emergency Communications Committee
Broadcast Engineer WTMJ Stations
(From THE BROADCAST NEWSLETTER, MARCH & APRIL 1995 Chapter 28,
Milwaukee)
The following excerpts are gleaned from a 114-page FCC document
released 12/9/94. It outlines the creation of the new Emergency
Alert System (EAS), which replaces the current Emergency
Broadcast System (EBS). That release contains 3 elements:
First, a Report & Order, which describes the background and
intentions of the new system. Second, Part 73, Subpart G of the
Commissions rules (dealing with EBS) has been eliminated, and is
replaced with a new Part 11, which covers the new EAS. The new
rules require not only broadcast stations but also all cable
systems to participate in the new EAS. The third element of the
release is a Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (FNPRM),
where they ask for comments on two proposals. First, should
"small" cable systems be exempt from the new EAS rules? Second,
should other video service providers be required to participate
in the new EAS? They propose that MDS (known as "wireless
cable") should participate, and ask about adding SMATV and "Video
Dial Tone" (telco in-home video service). FNPRM Comments were
due by 2/22/95, Reply Comments by 3/24/95. The rules In Part 11
became law on January 28, 1995, 30 days after they were published
in the Federal Register.
Here are the important things to know:
The only change for 1995 is in shortening our current EBS Tone.
BY JULY 1, 1995, PRESENT EBS DECODERS MUST BE MODIFIED TO DEMUTE
ON 3-4 SECONDS OF EBS TONE. In addition, it is an option to
modify current EBS encoders to send an 8-second Tone.
By July 1, 1996, broadcast stations will be required to install
the new EAS encoder and decoder. This is a digital audio signal
that goes right on the main audio channel of all radio and TV
stations. In addition on this date, TV stations must have a
means to visually broadcast the data from incoming EAS alerts.
The FCC will authorize a State or Local Area to go to the new
system early, if ALL stations in the State or Area have EAS
equipment installed, cable is "represented" in the local EAS
Plan, and the Area complies with all other applicable part 11
rules. Benefits of going to the new system are: Doing only a
monthly test that requires audio message, and weekly tests that
only involve 10 seconds of the digital signal.
A one year span from July 1, 1996 to July 1, 1997 is dubbed by
the FCC as a "debugging" period. During this time, the old EBS
equipment must be "retained and kept operational to ensure that
the new architecture is effective."
On July 1, 1997, old EBS equipment can be removed. The two-tone
signal will no longer be used to demute decoders. However, 8
seconds of two-tone must still be sent before any emergency audio
or video message, as an Attention Signal for the public. This
rule never goes away. July 1, 1997 is also the day that all
cable systems must have their EAS encoders and decoders
installed.
Cost projections by manufacturers for the new combined
Encoder/Decoders range from $600-$1000 at the low-end, to $1500-
$2500 for a more sophisticated unit.
Here are some additional things you need to know about the new
EAS:
ALL radio, TV and cable operations must participate in the
National level EAS, except those that request and obtain an FCC
"Non-participating National (NN) Authorization." Participation
at the State and Local levels continues to be voluntary for all
stations, as it was with the EBS. As before, even "Non-
participating" stations may participate in the State or Local
Area EAS without any prior approval. All stations, including Non-
participating, must have an FCC "EAS Operating Handbook" (which
replaces the old EBS Checklist), and the Red Envelope
Authenticator List (same as now). The FCC is studying digitally
authenticating National EAS Alerts.
The EAS Encoder can "pass on" decoded alerts, or create its own.
The digital audio signal is applied to the station's main audio
channel at 80% modulation. It identifies the sender, type,
length, and county-location of every EAS alert sent.
Stations will be required to monitor two sources on the new EAS
Decoder, rather than the present single source. That decoder
will also be capable of either Manual or Automatic reaction to a
received alert. It can store up to 10 preselected codes that you
may wish it to respond to. It also will store 2 minutes of
incoming audio or text.
Remote Control stations can use the Manual mode if they can
directly monitor the signals of both assigned sources with the
decoder at the remote control location. If not, Automatic
operation must be used. However, in that case the remote control
location can be used to override the transmission of an EAS
message if appropriate. Remote Control stations may switch
between Manual and Automatic as desired.
With Automatic decoders coming, the FCC is proposing rules to
permit the unattended operation of broadcast stations. See NPRM
in MM Docket 94-130, FCC 94-289.
Co-owned/co-located stations can share one encoder and decoder.
Test requirements under the new EAS after July 1 1997:
- Required Weekly Test (RWT)- Send digital codes only, once
per week, anytime.
- Required Monthly Test (RMT)-This will be received from the
monitored stations on your decoder. You must retransmit the test
within 15 minutes, sending digital code, 8-second Attention
Signal, audio test script, and digital end-of-message code. Test
will be run daytime one month, nighttime the next month.
Foreign-language stations, under the new rules, can use "the
primary language of the station" for all announcements, including
all National, State, and Local Area Tests and Activations. NO
English announcement is required....this is in place of the
English. In addition, now that Part 11 has become law these
stations may begin doing our current Weekly EBS Test Script in
their "primary language."
Chapter 28 Editor's Terry Baun's Note: This has been a brief
summary of the new EAS Rules. If you would like more detail on
the new EAS System, including information on EAS Protocol,
Encoder/Decoder Requirements, Tests, SECC Duties, EAS Priorities
and Terms, Training and Awareness, EAS requirements for CLASS D
FM, LPTV, Foreign-language stations, and Cable TV, as well as how
RBDS and NWS-WRSAME fit in with EAS, request a copy of Gary's
complete EAS report, which should be available by the time you
read this. Call Gary Timm at WTMJ, 414/223-5232, to request a
copy. Our thanks to Gary for sharing all this information with
us!
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FOR SALE:
Ampex ATR-700 reel-to-reel deck in good condition. Unit has
stereo electronics but currently has full-track mono heads
installed. Asking $375. Call Fred Sperry at (608)833-6074.
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CHAPTER 24 SUSTAINING MEMBERS
Our latest renewal:
Roscor Wisconsin
Thanks to all our
Sustaining Members:
BTS
Broadcast Communications
CTI
Clark Wire and Cable
Comark Communications
Electronic Industries
Emmons Associates
Fuji Film I&I
Harris Allied Broadcast
MRC Telecommunications
Maney Logic
Panasonic Broadcast
Scharch Electronics
Skyline Communications
Sony Broadcast
Tectan, Inc.
Teleport Minnesota
3M Audio & Video
Video Images
WISC-TV 3
WKOW-TV 27
WMSN-TV 47
WMTV-TV 15
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