About This NewsletterMeeting AnnouncementUpcoming Meeting ScheduleMeeting MinutesEAS Changes Needed SoonWhere Is Your ValueAmateur Radio NewsSBE Short CircuitsCertification Exam Session Dates Announced For 2004-2005Chapter 24 Listserver AvailableHD/SD Switcher DemonstrationFlat-Screen TV Emits International Distress SignalFree Radio Guide SubscriptionsChapter 24 Group Photo TakenDick Gall, WB9DST, SKChapter Sustaining MembersReturn to 2004 Newsletter Archives 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:
Information and/or articles are also accepted by US Mail. Please address them to:
SBE Chapter 24 Newsletter Editor
2029 Greenway Cross #11
Madison, WI 53713-3000
Please submit text file on DOS or Windows 3.5" floppy diskette if possible.
Steve Paugh is the editor for the Electronic Version of this Newsletter uploaded monthly onto SBE Chapter 24's web page.
Thanks to Leonard Charles for his work on the Chapter 24 WWW page and electronic newsletter.
Contributors this month:
Steve Epstein
Vicki W. Kipp
Jim Magee
John Poray
Paul Stoffel
Gary Timm
Tom Weeden
© 2004 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.
Thank you to WKOW-TV for providing copying and folding facilities for the Chapter 24 newsletter!
Thank you to WISC-TV for maintaining the web server for the Chapter 24 Web page!
Chapter 24 Certification Chair, Jim Hermanson will give a Power Point presentation describing the SBE Certification Program, it's value to individual members and to the Society as a whole. The program will describe the steps needed to become certified and if you are already certified, how to upgrade to the next level. Attendees who sign-up for a certification exam will be entered in a drawing for a free copy of the examination preparation software, CertPreview. This CD-ROM program is a $30 value and has an interactive sample test that teaches as you test your knowledge. Join us and learn how certification can help your career.
Visitors and guests are welcome at all of our SBE meetings!
| DAY | DATE | TOPIC | CONTACT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weds | Dec 15 | Steve Paugh | |
| Tentative 2005 Program Subjects | |||
| DAY | DATE | TOPIC | CONTACT |
| Thur | Jan 13 | Fred Sperry | |
| Tues | Feb 15 | Vicki Kipp | |
Submitted by Jim Magee, Secretary
Chapter 24 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers met on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 at the Marriott-West in Middleton, Wisconsin for the chapter’s monthly meeting. There were 35 members in attendance, 28 of whom were certified and 4 guests.
The meeting was called to order at 6:59 PM by Chapter Chair Vicki Kipp. The minutes of the September meeting as published in the October newsletter were approved.
The deadline for the November newsletter will be Friday, November 5th at midnight and the folding party will be held Wednesday, November 10th at 5:30 PM at WKOW-TV. Treasurer Leslie Franzen submitted his reported that the chapter has a balance in the black. Membership Chair Paul Stoffel reported the chapter has 64 members and sent out 110 newsletters.
Program Chair Steve Paugh reported the next meeting would be Thursday, November 18th. Jim Hermanson will be giving a Certification presentation prepared by the National SBE office at Vilas Hall.
Certification and Education Chair Jim Hermanson reported the next local certification period is February 4-14 with the deadline for applications being December 27.
Frequency Coordinator Tom Smith reported working on coordinating a STL for WHA-AM and working with ComSearch on STL issues for Midwest Family Broadcasters. Tom also reported that comments are due November 1st for WiFi in the TV band.
National Liaison Leonard Charles reported the National office is busy with the upcoming national meeting on October 27th in Boston. The FCC Liaison Committee is working to finalize comments to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to "fix" EAS. Comments to the committee should be made via our National chapter Liaison Keith Kintner.
Under new business, Chapter Chair Vicki Kipp thanked Lonnie Cooks for setting up the chapter’s booth and hosting it at the Broadcasters Clinic and also thanked Leslie Franzen for hosting it as well.
Leonard Charles noted that the FCC has issued their 2nd Report and Order on the periodic review of DTV, and this contains the structure for finalizing the channel assignments. The table is a seven step process during the next two years that starts in November. The MSTV organization is doing a number of teleconferences with the first one on Tuesday, October 19th. Details will be sent out on the list server.
The meeting adjourned at 7:06 PM
The evening’s program was a presentation on tower safety and training by Winton Wilcox of ComTrain, LLC.
Thank you to Lonnie Cooks for setting up and hosting the SBE booth at the Broadcasters Clinic exhibits. Thank you to Leslie Franzen for hosting the booth.
Thank you to Mark Hoenecke of WHRM and Jeff Ayers of WLEF for being the photographers for the Chapter 24 group picture taken at the Broadcasters Clinic.
Thank you to Leonard Charles for enhancing the chapter 24 web site at www.sbe24.org with an attractive new layout and dynamic .asp programming.
The Wisconsin State EAS Plan has been revised. You should now download the new plan at: www.sbe24.org/eas/.
EAS unit re-programming needed by December 1, 2004
On December 1, 2004, Wisconsin will begin originating some EAS Required Monthly Tests (RMT) from the Wisconsin State Emergency Operations Center, the facility that would originate a message from the Governor. The State EOC will use EAS Originator Code CIV for these tests. This is a new Originator Code for our state RMTs. This CIV Originator Code must be added to all Wisconsin Broadcasters EAS unit RMT filters by December 1, 2004, in order to ensure continued receipt of the RMT.
Note that the RMT is the Monthly Test that the FCC requires you to re-broadcast within one hour of receiving it. Therefore, re-programming your EAS unit for this additional code is not optional; it is required. You will begin missing some of the FCC-required Required Monthly Tests starting in December if your EAS unit is not re-programmed.
DHS Alerts are now also available
NOAA Weather Radio will now be relaying regional, state, and local terrorism alerts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. If you wish to relay these optional alerts, additional EAS unit re-programming is needed. See the new Wisconsin State EAS Plan at the website shown above for details.
Gary Timm is the Broadcast Chair of the Wisconsin EAS Committee, and can be contacted at gteas@execpc.com or 414-967-5232.
The schedule of EAS Required Weekly Tests (RWT) and Required Monthly Tests (RMT) times to be sent on Wisconsin Public Radio is listed on the web. It can be found at: www.wpr.org/eas
Over the last few weeks I have been reminded several times about the exodus of good engineers from the broadcast ranks. Reflecting on this it is no surprise. Long hours, being on call 24/7, seemingly endless new technology to learn and shrinking station budgets are just a few of the reasons, not to mention the lack of glamour that supposedly existed in years gone by. As one who has worked in several different professions, I have to admit that being a broadcast engineer is different than most jobs out there. Few jobs allow and expect you to know a little bit about everything. Within the walls of corporate America, specialists rule the day. As the type of specialist needed changes, so to do the faces. Unlike a salesperson, an engineer’s revenue goals cannot be raised. The better we do our jobs, the fewer problems there are. Unfortunately, as the problems go away, the bean counters wonder what we are doing, and some even wonder if we are needed.
Automation may offer us a solution. Take a look and see how many automation events occur daily. Determine how many of those went wrong because of engineering-related problems. 1 out of 1,000 is 99.9 percent reliability. If you start tracking your numbers, you can demonstrate the results of your work. I suggest you start tracking at least four numbers: Total number of unscheduled off-air minutes per month, number of engineering-related problem events per 1,000 events, the total number of events per day, and the revenue impact of the above.
If you have been at the station for a while and have most things under control, it may be hard to show much improvement. However, if problems are occurring, the numbers above will give you information you can take to management about the cost vs. benefit of fixing them. It is very likely that as time goes on, the number of events/day will increase. When that happens, if you can keep the number of errors constant you can show improvement. In other words, in January we were running 2,500 events/day with an error rate of 5 events/1000; six months later we are running 2,750 events/day and the error rate is still 5 events/1000, or an improvement of 10 percent.
Whether you share your numbers with management is up to you, but I was once told you can’t improve something unless you can measure it. As engineers, we constantly measure things and work with numbers. It is time that we apply some of that to the numbers associated with business. That is one of the best ways to ensure our future in this unique profession, and ensure the paycheck truly reflects our value.
Steve Epstein is the Chair of SBE Chapter 59, Kansas City. (http://www.broadcast.net/~sbe59/)
• The American Radio Relay League has reacted to the FCC’s Report and Order authorizing Broadband over Power Line. In a November 1 letter to Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans copied to President George W. Bush, ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, recalled Evans’ assurances on the administration’s behalf earlier this year "that we are responsible and sensitive to valuable incumbent [radiocommunication] systems." Haynie told Evans the FCC’s BPL Report and Order in ET Docket 04-37–adopted October 14 and released two weeks later–suggests otherwise.
The FCC maintained in the R&O that BPL emissions are localized and at low enough levels to preclude harmful interference in the first place, and it left the door open to possibly upping the limit in the future.
Haynie pointed out that both international treaty and US law entitle licensed radiocommunication services to protection from harmful interference that unlicensed systems like BPL might generate. "Despite this," he continued, "the FCC has shifted the burden for initiating interference mitigation from the BPL system operator to the radio licensee."
The NTIA’s September 13 submission to the FCC shows that even at FCC Part 15 limits, the probability of harmful interference is essentially 100 percent within 200 to 400 meters of a power line carrying BPL signals–depending on the operating frequency. "Amateur radio stations are typically located in residential areas, nearly always well within such distances," Haynie noted. "The FCC’s Report and Order provides no assurance that when interference occurs–as it unquestionably will–it will be promptly eliminated."
While extolling the purported benefits of broadband over power line technology, the 81-page Report and Order declares the FCC’s intention to protect licensed services from harmful interference.
• A digital broadcast signal on 3995 kHz from Europe is capturing the attention of some US hams on the 75 meter band. The signal, from Deutsche Welle in Germany, is legal since radio amateurs share that part of the band with broadcasters in Region 1 (which includes Europe).
"Digital shortwave will revolutionize cross-border broadcasts and will initiate a worldwide renaissance of radio," Deutsche Welle Director General Erik Bettermann said last month during a panel discussion at Munich Media Days. Deutsche Welle plans to gradually shut down its analog shortwave transmissions, he said, as DRM receivers become more available globally–something not anticipated until late 2005.
Although the station has been broadcasting for some time on the same frequency in conventional AM, it’s attracted more notice from hams since July, when it began testing using the digital format–also referred to as "DRM," (Digital Radio Mondiale, French for "Digital Radio Worldwide"). Of course, the vagaries of propagation will be a big factor as to the amount of interference US hams experience at any given time. [The Deutsche Welle signal on 3995 kHz was at an S-3 level at WJ9H in Madison as this story was being submitted.]
Radio amateurs meanwhile have been experimenting with programs such as HamDream <http://www.qslnet.de/member/hb9tlk/>, a DRM program adapted for amateur radio use by HB9TLK. It enables digital voice and data transmissions using bandwidths on the order of 2.3 to 2.5 kHz.
(Excerpts from the American Radio Relay League’s arrl.org web site)
SBE CHAPTER OF THE AIR: HamNet meets the second Sunday of each month at 0000 GMT on 14.205 MHz. Hal Hostetler WA7BGX is the Control Station.
SBE TO ASSIST NEXTEL WITH BAS TRANSITION
The Society of Broadcast Engineers will be assisting Nextel in the anticipated nation-wide BAS transition. Nextel has yet to announce an agreement to the FCC’s proposal for the transition but it is anticipated that an agreement will be forthcoming. A few markets have already requested meetings with Nextel representatives to discuss the transition. If the proposal is approved, Nextel will move into parts of the 2 GHz band after paying the costs to relocate TV station gear that currently operates in that band.
SBE will assist the transition by helping organize local market transition committees and meetings between local broadcasters and Nextel. SBE will also consult with Nextel on suggested market groupings for the transition and will also assist with industry-wide communications with television stations to keep them abreast of the transition process and schedule. The transition is expected to take at least two years from the as yet unknown effective date of the FCC Report and Order.
Local SBE and affiliate frequency coordinators will be asked to be key contact points and local SBE chapter chairmen will also be asked for their support to ensure a smooth transition. SBE Frequency Coordination Director, David Otey, CSTE, who has worked on SBE’s behalf on a part-time basis for the last two and a half years, will now work for SBE full-time and take on the added title of BAS Transition Project Manager.
Anyone with questions about the transition may contact David at his home-office in the Denver area at dotey@sbe.org or (303) 713-0924.
Watch for more information in the December issue of the SBE Signal.
2004-05 BOARD INDUCTED AT NATIONAL MEETING
President Raymond Benedict, CPBE and the rest of the 2004-05 Board of Directors began their terms on October 27, after being inducted during the Annual Membership Meeting in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Benedict, along with Vice President, Chriss Scherer, CSRE, CBNT, Secretary Ralph Hogan, CPBE, CBNT and Treasurer R.J. Russell, CSTE, CBNT began one-year terms.
Six newly elected members of the Board began two-year terms including James Bernier, Jr., CPBE, CBNT, Clay Freinwald, CPBE, Keith Kintner, CPBE, CBNT, Vincent Lopez, CEV, CBNT, Barry Thomas, CPBE, CBNT and Larry Wilkins, CPBE, CBNT.
Beginning the second year of two-year Board terms are Andrea Cummis, CBT, CTO, Dane Ericksen, P.E., CSRTE, David Hultsman, CSRE, Mark Olkowski, CPBE, Thomas Ray, III, CPBE and Henry Ruhwiedel, CPBE. Completing the Board is Immediate Past President, Troy Pennington, CSRE, CBNT.
Our congratulations to these members who volunteer their time to serve in elected national leadership positions and our thanks to the outgoing 2003-04 Board, which held their final meeting the evening of the 26th. Special thanks to Sam Garfield, CPBE, CBNT, Ted Hand, CPBE and Mark Humphrey, CPBE who completed their Board terms.
THANKS TO NATIONAL MEETING HOSTS AND SPONSORS
The National Meeting was a great success, made possible with the help and support of many people. Our thanks to Chapter 11 of Boston, which hosted the National Meeting in conjunction with their very successful 3rd Annual Bos-Con SBE Regional Convention.
Our thanks also go to the companies which sponsored various National Meeting events, including MRC, Telos, Omnia/Axia, Broadcasters General Store and Radio Systems – all of whom sponsored the National Awards Dinner. Also thanks to Thales Broadcast & Multimedia, which sponsored the Awards Reception and to Scala Division of Kathrein, which sponsored the Annual Fellows Breakfast.
CertPreview
The new SBE CertPreview sample certification test software is now available. It’s Microsoft Windows-based and replaces the previous DOS-based software. New sample tests are available for Broadcast Technologist, Audio Engineer, Video Engineer, Broadcast Networking Technologist, Broadcast Engineer and Senior Broadcast Engineer in both radio and television.
Sample tests include 50 to 100 questions and indicate when an incorrect answer has been given. It provides a list of resources from which to learn more about a subject. Cost for each SBE CERTpreview practice test is $27 plus $3 shipping. Contact the National Office to order a copy.
CHAPTER CHECKUP
Keep an open line of communication with other chapters in your region. Trading newsletters is a good start. Whenever possible, coordinate program presentations from out-of-town presenters. This makes more efficient use of the presenter’s time and travel budget.
CHAPTER REBATE REMINDER
Chapter chairmen are reminded to be sure their chapter has submitted reports for all of the meetings held in 2004 by January 15, 2005. Chapters who hold and report at least five meetings during the calendar year are eligible to receive a cash rebate in June, 2005. The rebate equals 15% of the dues paid by Regular, Senior and Associate local members plus an additional $5 for each new member (same member categories) who joined during 2004.
Several chapters have not yet cashed their rebate checks mailed to them this past June. Please be sure to do so before December 31, 2004.
Contact Angel Bates at the National Office at (317) 846-9000 if you have any questions. Rebate checks issued in 2004 may not be reissued after December 31, 2004.
SBE MEMBERSHIP TICKER
SBE membership as of October 31, 2004 stood at 5,477. This is an increase of 57 over October 31, 2003!
The SBE National Certification Committee has announced exam session dates for 2004 and 2005. Check the list below for the exam period that is best for you. For more information about SBE Certification, see your Chapter Certification Chair or contact Linda Baun, Certification Director at the SBE National Office at (317) 846-9000 or lbaun@sbe.org.
| 2004 Exam Dates | Location | Application Deadline |
| November 12-22 | Local Chapters | September 24, 2004 |
| 2005 Exam Dates | Location | Application Deadline |
| February 4 - 14 | Local Chapters | December 27, 2004 |
| April 19 | NAB - Las Vegas | March 1, 2005 |
| June 3-13 | Local Chapters | April 22, 2005 |
| August 12-22 | Local Chapters | June 10, 2005 |
| November 11-21 | Local Chapters | September 23, 2005 |
Please note: SBE Certification exams are administered only by SBE and are proctored in-person by qualified and approved representatives of SBE. No other organization is authorized to administer SBE exams.
Chapter 24 members are invited to join the chapter listserver. To subscribe, send an email message to the following address: msnsbe-request@broadcast.net. In the body of email message type: subscribe. (The subject line can be left blank.)
The Mailman package the listserver is running on also has a web interface for subscribing to the list. Point your browser to www.broadcast.net/mailman/listinfo/msnsbe to subscribe.
Instructions and a confirmation message will be emailed to you. To post to the list, address your email to: msnsbe@broadcast.net.
The SBE National also has a listserver: To subscribe, send email to: sbe-request@broadcast.net. Body of email message: subscribe. To post to the list, send email to: sbe@broadcast.net.
There are also various other lists of technical interest running on the broadcast.net Mailman package. To view the lists, go to www.broadcast.net/mailman/listinfo, or send an email to msnsbe-request@broadcast.net with lists in the body of the message.
Snell and Wilcox will be demonstrating their new HD/SD switcher on Tuesday, November 30 and Wednesday, December 1 (morning) at the Wisconsin Public Television studios, 821 University Avenue, in Madison.
The production switcher, named Kahuna, offers simultaneous high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) operations in the same mainframe with the same control panel. A mixture of high definition cameras and standard definition sources will be tested. See http://www.snellwilcox.com/aboutus/press/103 for more information.
If you are interested in attending a hands-on demonstration, contact Paul Stoffel at 608-263-2175. An evening demonstration on Tuesday, November 30 could be arranged for should there be enough interest. RSVPs needed by Tuesday, November 23.
EUGENE, Oregon (Reuters) — TV hardly gets much better than this. An Oregon man discovered earlier this month that his year-old Toshiba Corporation flat-screen TV was emitting an international distress signal picked up by a satellite, leading a search and rescue operation to his apartment in Corvallis, Oregon, 70 miles south of Portland.
The signal from Chris van Rossmann’s TV was routed by satellite to the Air Force Rescue Center at Langley Air Base in Virginia. On October 2, the 20 year-old college student was visited at his apartment in the small university town by a contingent of local police, civil air patrol and search and rescue personnel. "They’d never seen signal come that strong from a home appliance," said van Rossmann. "They were quite surprised. I think we all were."
Authorities had expected to find a boat or small plane with a malfunctioning transponder, the usual culprit in such incidents, emitting the 121.5 MHz frequency of the distress signal used internationally. Van Rossmann said he was told to keep his TV off to avoid paying a $10,000 fine for "willingly broadcasting a false distress signal." Toshiba contacted Rossmann and offered to provide him with a replacement set for free, he said.(From http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/18/odd.television.reut/index.html)
From SBE Chapter 124 Newsletter (http://www.sbe124.org/newsletters/pdx1104/pdx1104.html).
Ray Topp, Publisher of Radio Guide, invites all SBE members to receive a free subscription. Radio Guide carries much practical technical information, equipment reviews, and interesting stories of radio’s history. Enter your free subscription at www.radio-guide.com.
With the help of volunteer photographers and fellow engineers Mark Hoenecke of WHRM and Jeff Ayers of WLEF, members of Chapter 24 took part in a group photograph before the October SBE meeting at the 30th Broadcasters Clinic. This photo provides an update to our Chapters last group photo, which was taken 27 years ago.
Pictured members include Fred Sperry of ECB, Kevin Ruppert of WISC-TV, Randy Kroll of WISC-TV, Leonard Charles of WISC-TV, Ken Ebneter of Ebneter Electronic Service, Lonnie Cooks of ECB, Stan Scharch of WISC-TV, Dave Schilz of WHA-TV, Phil Mikalofsky of ECB, Mike Norton of ECB, Leslie Franzen of WMTV-TV, Jim Hermanson of WISC-TV, Mike Kulis of WISC-TV, Al Johnson of WYTE-FM, Dennis Baldridge of Baldridge Communications, Paul Stoffel of WHA-TV, Clif Groth of Clear Channel Radio – Madison, Steve Paugh of WISC-TV, Vicki Kipp of ECB, Jim Magee of Avid, and Tom Smith of WHA-TV.
A print of our group photo is now included in Chapter 24’s exhibit display case. You can see the photo online on the Chapter website at http://www.sbe24.org/archive/memphotos/index.asp.
Richard Gall, age 64, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, September 30, 2004 at home of an apparent heart attack. Dick’s engineering skills were nationally recognized and he held several patents. He was a registered P.E. in the state of Wisconsin and was actively involved in the CATV and broadcast industry. Dick was a long time supporter of SBE Chapter 24 and a mentor to many.
His wife, Rosemary and adult children Doug and Cathy survive him. A full obituary can be found on the Wisconsin State Journal web site. http://www.madison.com/obits/listings.php?date=10%2F02%2F2004
Return to 2004 Newsletter Archives
Return to Top