• Contents for this Newsletter

About This Newsletter
Meeting Announcement
Upcoming Meeting Schedule
Meeting Minutes
Court Stays Ownership Rules
FCC Chairman Announces Initiative On "Localism In Broadcasting"
Amateur Radio News
The Early Bird Saves The Bucks
SBE Short Circuits
FCC Rulemakings
FCC Seeks To Move LPFM Along
FCC Goes Wireless
Chapter Sustaining Members
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The Chapter 24 Newsletter is published monthly by Chapter 24 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers; Madison, Wisconsin. Original hard copy edited by Mike Norton on Pagemaker 5.0. Submissions of interest to the broadcast technical community are welcome. You can make your submissions by e-mail to:

© 2003 by SBE Chapter 24. Views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the Society, its officers, or its members. SBE Chapter 24 regrets, but is not liable for, any omissions or errors. The Chapter 24 Newsletter is published twelve times per year. Other SBE Chapters are permitted to use excerpts if attributed to the original author, sources, and SBE Chapter 24.

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Mike Weber, Chief Engineer for the local Entercom radio properties, will give us a tour of the WMMM-WOLX studios. In the parking lot of WMMM-WOLX you will find the Orban traveling road show vehicle filled with the latest Orban audio processing gear. Please note that this month's meeting is being held on a Monday night to accommodate the Orban truck which happens to be passing through Madison that evening.

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Chapter 24 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers met on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 at the Wisconsin Public Broadcasting Center, Madison, Wisconsin for the chapter’s monthly meeting. There were 10 members in attendance, 9 of whom were certified and 5 guests.

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by Chapter Chair Vicki Kipp. The minutes of the previous meeting as published in the August newsletter were approved.

Newsletter editor Mike Norton announced the deadline for articles for the August issue will be midnight, Friday, September 5th. The folding party will be held Wednesday, September 10th at 5:30 PM at WKOW-TV. There was no treasurer’s report.

Sustaining membership chair Fred Sperry reported there have been no recent renewals. There are currently 23 sustaining members.

Program Committee Chair Steve Paugh reported that the next meeting will be on Monday, September 15th and will be a tour of WOLX and will also include an Orban demonstration. The pre-meeting Dutch treat dinner will be at Pizzeria Uno located across the street from WOLX. The October program will be the Broadcasters Clinic.

Certification Chair Jim Hermanson submitted his report that one re-certification application has been processed. One individual will be taking the Senior Radio Engineer exam on August 16th. The next opportunity for certification exams will be November 7th through the 17th with the filing deadline of September 26th.

Frequency Coordinator Tom Smith stated that WTKM in Friendship had requested coordination, but they were referred to the Green Bay chapter. The FCC Rule and Order setting limits on media ownership was released July 2nd, posted on August 4th and are to become official

National Liaison Leonard Charles submitted his reported that besides the Chapter 24 Newsletter award this year, another national award of local interest is the Educator of the Year award to Terry Baun, formerly of Milwaukee and who now resides in Indiana. The National SBE website contains a listing of all the national awards (click on Short Circuits) which will be presented at the national awards banquet being held in conjunction with the Broadcast Clinic this October.

SBE has filed comments with the FCC against an STA application filed by Safety Cast Corporation. Safety Cast has developed a device for use in emergency vehicles that would broadcast an alert to vehicles in their path using a low power signal that would interrupt FM and potentially AM broadcasts being received within approximately 1,000 feet of the emergency vehicle. Tom Smith reported that the FCC has already dismissed the STA.

Ballots for National SBE Officers have been distributed and are also available on the national web site. Ballots need to be returned by September 11th.

A reminder about the Broadcasters Clinic— registrations need to be in by September 15th to take advantage of the Early Bird discount. The complete program listing is on the Chapter 24 web site.

There was no new or old business.

Tom Smith announced that he is working on compiling a mailing list of production facilities including corporate and educational facilities, in an effort to expand our sustaining members. Email facility information to Tom at smithtc@vilas.uwex.edu.

The meeting adjourned at 7:17 PM.

The program this month was a presentation by Kevin Yahl, CTO of Digital One on IP for broadcast and some of the products and services that Digital One offers.

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit granted a petition by the Prometheus Radio Project to stay the effective date of the FCC’s new broadcast ownership rules on September 3rd. The new rules were to take effect on September 5th.

The petition asks for the court to stay the rules until judicial review of the rules had occurred. Prometheus claimed that the harm from industry consolidation would be widespread and irreversible if the rules took effect. The petitioners claimed and the court agreed that there would be the likely loss of an adequate remedy if the rules went into effect and were later declared invalid. The court acted on this petition without the petitioner first appealing to the FCC because the Court determined that the FCC would not grant a stay.

Comments to the Court were filed by Fox Entertainment Group, Inc., Fox Television Stations, Inc., National Broadcasting Company, Inc., Telemundo Communications Group, Inc. and Viacom, Inc.

On September 4th, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to move a bill to the full Senate that would roll back the TV ownership rules from a maximum coverage of 45% of the nations population back to 35% coverage. The language was the same as a bill that passed in the House 400-21.

On September 5th, the FCC reimposed the freeze on applications for ownership changes that required the filing of forms 301, 314 and 315.

From U.S Court of Appeals Release and FCC Release (www.fcc.gov) with additional information from NY Times (www.nytimes.com)

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Chairman Michael Powell on August 20th announced an initiative to enhance localism in Radio and TV broadcasting. Powell stated that the core of many concerns of the public in the ownership inquiry was localism in broadcasting. He stated that in the past, the FCC promoted localism with public interest obligations, license renewals, and protecting the right of local stations to make their own programming decisions. Congress also voiced their concerns in recent hearings.

Some of the initiatives include the speedup of the granting of Low Power FM station licenses, and the creation of a localism task force to conduct studies on measuring localism and how FCC rules affect it. Other initiatives are organizing public hearings, recommending how the FCC can promote localism in radio and TV, recommendations for the Commission to make to Congress on the licensing of thousands of additional LPFM stations, and other methods to strengthen localism.

In September, the FCC staff is to deliver a Notice of Inquiry to the Commissioners on localism. Subjects to be addressed are license renewals, network-affiliate rules and such things as voice tracking.

This release was issued on August 20th. Commissioner Michael Copps issued a statement saying "This proposal is a day late and a dollar short." Copps said that the Commission should have heeded the comments of two million Americans and many members of Congress. He said that while this inquiry was going on, there would be a rush of mergers further lessening local broadcasting, and asked for a stay of the new ownership rules. He said that an increase in LPFM stations would be welcomed, but the real issue is the media "Gold Rush." He said that the Inquiry would not divert the public and Congress from their rage about the increasing control of the airwaves by fewer and fewer conglomerates.

From FCC Releases (www.fcc.gov)

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• A new educational amateur radio project for the International Space Station has been scheduled for 2004. The Manned Amateur Radio Experiment of North America, Inc. (MAREX-MG) announced the new Slow Scan TV imaging project known as "SpaceCam1," which will be an entry-level PC based Slow Scan Television (SSTV) imaging system. It will use a common amateur frequency to send and receive images from the International Space Station. Anyone with a simple UHF receiver and antenna system will be able to decode and display still JPEG images, plus hams will also be allowed to transmit images to the SpaceCam1 system. The onboard image repeater will retransmit those images from the spacecraft over a 1500 mile radius.

MAREX-MG believes the project will help stimulate a student’s interest in the space program by putting part of the ISS project within reach of the common student or school system. Their final task is in finishing the approval process for Space Flight Certification. The package will tentatively be delivered to the ISS on board a Russian Progress cargo rocket scheduled for launch in early 2004.

• The Baraboo-based Badgerland Amateur Television Society has scheduled a high-altitude balloon flight to carry an experimental amateur radio and TV payload over southern Wisconsin on September 27th. The balloon will be launched northwest of Madison and will include a camera and 2.4 GHz transmitter for video, a UHF/2.4 GHz audio repeater, and GPS tracking telemetry on VHF. The University of Wisconsin’s Space Place "ham shack" (N9UW) on South Park Street in Madison will serve as communications center between the launch site and chase teams, and will downlink video and telemetry. More information on the experiment can be found at <www.shopstop.net/bats>.

• The FCC has invited public comments on seven separate Morse code-related petitions for rule making, some of which would altogether eliminate Element 1, the 5 WPM Morse test, from the Amateur Service rules (Part 97). World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) made optional the requirement to prove the ability to send and receive Morse signals to operate below 30 MHz. Comments have been pouring from members of the amateur community on all seven petitions. Clearly ahead in the comment-collection race is the petition filed by the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators, RM-10787, which had collected more than 350 comments by September 5th. The other petitions each have garnered more than 100 comments apiece. Several countries—including Switzerland, Belgium, the UK, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands—already have moved to drop their Morse requirements. Austria, New Zealand, and Australia are expected to do so soon.

(Excerpts from the American Radio Relay League’s "The ARRL Letter")

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The early bird registration deadline for the Broadcast Clinic is September 15th. By registering early you can save $15 off the two-day registration and $20 off all three days. Also new this year is the conjunctive Non Linear Production Clinic on Tuesday October 14th, the first day of the Broadcast Clinic.

The National SBE Fall meetings will be held in conjunction with this year’s Broadcast Clinic to include the National SBE Awards Banquet on Wednesday evening October 15th. To attend the Awards Banquet you will need a separate admission ticket that can only be purchased from the SBE National Office at 317-846-9000.

Highlights from this year’s program schedule include various programs on IBOC Radio, including a panel of station Chiefs already on the air, and a discussion of the readiness of your AM antenna system for digital. Many DTV transmission issues will be discussed including the latest DTV receiver chip set by Linx Electronics, your DTV signal on Cable systems–what happens to your PSIP, and audio-video synchronization through the path. On the TV production side of things we will hear about the new Blue Laser disk technology.

For a complete detailed look at this year’s program and SBE National events go to sbe24.org and click on the Clinic link from the front page.

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SBE will be developing new software to be used by its volunteer frequency coordinators. The new software will replace software that was developed in 1989 by member Gerry Dalton of Chapter 67 in Dallas.

The existing software has been a great tool for frequency coordinators and our thanks go to Gerry Dalton who created it at no charge to the Society in order to help SBE’s frequency coordination effort grow and become more efficient.

The new software will be utilize a run-time version of FileMaker Pro and will be operable on Windows, Mac, or Unix platforms. AppleSauce Productions, of Grand Rapids, Minn., will be the developer. It will be a valuable tool for the regional coordinator as well as for coordination of special events. It’s expected to be ready for use by spring of 2004.

SBE Chapter 11 in Boston will be holding its second Bos-Con SBE Regional Convention, October 28-29 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center in Marlborough. Mass. The first day will feature an Ennes Workshop, presented by SBE. Included on the program will be a special presentation on Amber Alert and EAS in the New England region and a session by Harris Broadcast on "The Migration Path to HD Radio." Panasonic and Sony will both present their new generation CamCorders, while Amherst Alliance will discuss Low Power FM. Tektronix will present an overview of HDTV testing and monitoring, while Fred Baumgartner, CPBE will discuss tower site issues. Philip Cianci will discuss a comprehensive broadcast facility monitoring system via SNMP and Ed Hare of ARRL will discuss the hot issue of broadband over power lines. Finishing off the day will be Vincent Kajunski, District Director of the FCC New England Office.

Day two will be a broadcast trade show featuring more than 100 booths, making it one of the largest industry shows in the Northeast. The trade show is free to attend. The Ennes Workshop is just $25 and includes BOTH lunch and dinner. To register, contact the SBE National Office at (317) 846-9000 or lbaun@sbe.org.

SBE is still waiting to get a final answer from the FCC regarding its request for an emergency waiver of fees. SBE requested the waiver following its successful request to the FCC to stay the new Part 74 coordination requirements for six months. The waiver would allow licensees the opportunity to provide missing information on the FCC’s ULS without paying a fee, since the missing information is not the fault of licensees or the FCC. SBE has received two replies to its waiver request from the FCC but only that they are still reviewing the matter.

SBE also filed comments with the FCC against an STA application submitted by the Safety Cast Corporation. Safety Cast has developed a device to be used in emergency vehicles that would broadcast an alert to vehicles in their path. The device emits a low power signal that interrupts broadcasts of FM and potentially AM radio stations being received in cars (and homes and offices) within approximately 1,000 feet of the on-coming emergency vehicles. A copy of SBE’s filing can be found on the SBE web site, www.sbe.org. The FCC did deny Safety Cast’s application but there is concern that Safety Cast or one of several other companies with similar products may reapply to the FCC at later date.

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The FCC is starting an inquiry to gather information on the effects of towers on migratory birds. The FCC will use the comments from this inquiry to determine if it should amend the environmental impact rules to consider the effects of the possibility of collisions of migratory birds into new tower construction.

In this inquiry, the FCC would like evidence of collisions with towers, particularly mass collisions of whole flocks of birds flying into a tower and dying. If such collisions do occur, the FCC would like to know what factors cause such collisions. As many birds travel at night, they ask if tower lighting is a cause, and if strobes or flashing red lights cause more of a problem. They also want to know if birds have more collisions with guyed or self supporting towers, and if tower height, location, and weather are factors. The question concerning location asks if towers in wetlands or high areas such as ridges, hills and mountains cause more problems with birds flying into towers. The possibility of birds flying into guy wires because they are unable to see them is also raised.

Currently, when filing an application to build a new tower or make major modifications of an existing tower, one has to fill out an environmental impact statement. In the statement, it asks if the tower is in a migratory bird flyway and –if the tower exceeds 500 feet–could it be placed in a location outside the flyway.

Finally, the FCC is asking if further scientific study should be done to more fully understand the extent of the problem. Such a study could last over a number of years, which means this could be an ongoing inquiry and it could be some time before any rulemakings occur.

The notice of inquiry was adopted on August 8, 2003 and released on August 20th. Comments are due 60 days after publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER with replies due 30 days later.

This notice asks for comments on a report that the Mitre Corporation did for the FCC to meet a requirement that Congress made when it allowed the FCC to go forward in creating the Low-Power FM service. Congress asked for the study after the NAB and others complained about possible interference when the FCC relaxed third adjacent spacing requirements for LPFM. The FCC was required to maintain third adjacent spacing and conduct a study. The Mitre Corporation along with ComSearch produced a 203-page report along with other studies that in total were over 700 pages.

With many pages of data and descriptions of test methods, the final report stated basically that the cheaper the radio, the worse the interference from a third adjacent station would be. Car radios and good stereos were the best while boomboxes and small portable radios were the worst at rejecting third adjacent interference. They also stated that the worst interference was near the offending transmitter, with a distance from 50 feet to several hundred feet. The description of this effect was basically what is called the "blanketing interference zone," which the FCC describes as the 110DBU contour for an FM station. The report did not explain this or refer to the blanketing interference zone, but this is a well-known problem near any transmitter and should have been better explained.

Some of the test methods may be questioned by some commentators, as they used a limited amount of receivers, and most of the transmitters used were not of the full power or height that is authorized for LPFM.

Comments are due on October 14, 2003 with the notice adopted on July 11, 2003.

On August 6th, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on a number of issues concerning the transition digital transmission of Low Power TV stations, translators, and TV boosters. This Notice asks for input on every rule that could possibly pertain to a low power TV station. The Commission asks which of the current rules should carry over to digital LPTV stations and translators, and what new rules may be needed.

Questions are asked about the use of regeneration of the DTV signal or the use of heterodyning the signal. Insertion of emergency and support messages are covered, as well as alteration of the incoming signal. The FCC asks if they should allow for the multiplexing of several stations signals in standard definition on one translator to save spectrum. Questions concerning the use of broadcast auxiliary spectrum, as well as the use of microwave signals in place of off-the-air reception were also raised. The use of the digital signal for other purposes was raised, along with the requirement of one free standard definition signal as is required for full power stations.

After the transition to digital TV is completed, LPTV and translators will be able to use Channels 52-59. The FCC asks if they should be able to use channels 60-69 on a secondary basis during the transition.

There is a long discussion on what the signal protection contours should be, along with how tight emission masks should be. Other technical standards discussed include ID insertion in translators and signal quality. Hours of operation are also an issue as with local programming origination for Class A LPTV stations.

Applications procedures including the use of auctions and the conversion of analog stations directly to digital was another issue covered.

The Report and Order is 63 pages and was adopted on August 6, 2003 and released on August 29th. Comments are due 60 days after publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER, with replies due 30 days later.

On June 2nd, the FCC made major changes to the broadcast ownership rules. In the June issue of the Chapter 24 newsletter, a rundown of the new rules were printed based on the FCC press release. Since then the FCC has published five releases concerning the new ownership rules. On July 2nd, the FCC released its Report and Order on the new rules. This report ran 257 pages with the appendixes running another 57 pages.

Chairman Michael Powell made a 12-page statement, Commissioner Katheen Abernathy made a 4-page statement and Commissioner Kevin Martin made a 3-page statement. The two Democratic Commissioners made long dissenting statements. Michael Copps made a 23-page statement and Jonathan Adelstein made a 39-page statement; this is in addition to the long statements they both made on June 2nd.

On August 5th, the new ownership rules were published in the FEDERAL REGISTER in its own section. The notice was 77 pages long. The new rules became effective 30 days from publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER which is September 5, 2003.

On June 2nd, the FCC also issued a freeze on new applications for ownership changes until new forms could be written as approved by the Office of Management and Budget. The freeze was lifted on August 14th with the new forms 301, 314 and 315.

The final issue that the FCC took up concerning the ownership rules was a Notice of Rulemaking concerning the description of smaller non-rated radio markets. The FCC would like input on how to determine a radio market that is not defined by Arbitron Rating Service. In the notice, the FCC asks if they should use some kind of signal contour system as they do now, or use statistical markets as they use for Wireless Phone markets.

Comments are due on October 20, 2003 with replies due on November 19, 2003. On August 11th, the FCC extended the comment period from the original date of September 4th for comments and September 19th for replies. On August 15th, the FCC also issued a notice that allowed petitions for reconsideration to run twice the normal 25-page limit by increasing the limit to 50 pages. Reply comments to the petitions for reconsideration were increased from 10 to 20 pages.

From FCC Releases (www.fcc.gov) and the FEDERAL REGISTER (www.access.gpo.gov)

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The FCC announced a plan to speed up the settlement on conflicting application for new Low Power FM stations. The FCC will allow major change amendments for frequency changes and minor change amendments for other conflicts. The FCC will allow for consideration to be paid in excess of legitimate and prudent expenses, and encourages time-share agreements. The settlement period is to end on October 31, 2003.

In the Madison area, there are a number of applicants who have conflicts over three frequencies. They are Kettle Moraine Community Radio, Mukwonago; Come Pray With Us Radio Association, Whitewater; and St. Jerome Educational Association, Beloit, asking for FM Channel 225 (92.9 MHz). Channel 246 (97.1 MHz) is being sought by Wisconsin Polka Appreciation Society, Dane; Lake City Church, Inc., Madison; and St. Raphael Educational Association, Sun Prairie. In Madison, nine groups are after Channel 256 (99.1 MHz). They are Health Writers, Inc.; Boys and Girls Club of Dane County; Center for the Prevention and Intervention; Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin; Cornerstone Church; St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church; Youth with a Mission, Inc.; Sun Prairie Community Church; and Common Ground Church.

From FCC Release (www.fcc.gov)

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The FCC has started a wireless Internet service for visitors with laptop computers. The Commission has set up free Wi-Fi Access service on the Twelfth Street, Courtyard, and Eight Floors. There is no technical Support and no need to register with the FCC to use the service. System logs will be made available for investigations of misuse.

From FCC Press Release (www.fcc.gov)

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