• Contents for this Newsletter

About This Newsletter
Meeting Announcement
Upcoming Meeting Schedule
Meeting Minutes
Scherer Will Serve Second Term as SBE President; Officers, Six Directors Also Elected
Broadcasters Clinic Schedule Available
Amateur Radio News
Print Your Own NATE Tower Safety Campaign Posters
FCC Rulemakings
Certification Exam Session Dates
Employment Opportunity
Chapter Sustaining Members
Return to 2006 Newsletter Archives Page

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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:

© 2006 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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This month's program will be a tour of the Dane County Regional Airport (DCRA). The DCRA has recently completed a major renovation and expansion. Jay Jacobs, MCP, will give us a "behind the scenes" tour of the DCRA with an emphasis on electronics. The facility tour will include the communications and operations areas. Jacobs will share insights on flight updates for the DCRA web site and DCRA display terminals. Jay Jacobs is a Mircrosoft Certifies Professional and is employed as an Electronics Systems Specialist at DCRA.

At the airport, meet in the Ticketing area underneath the old Corbin Super Ace airplane hanging from the ceiling. We'll move to a conference room at 7:00 PM.

DCRA Parking: Covered Parking in Ramp and Surface Lot Parking have identical rates of $2/hour for the first 2 hours (2 hours = $4), and $1/hour after that.

Due to security restrictions, all attendees must sign up by September 12th at www.sbe24.org to attend this meeting. The tour registration is limited to 20 attendees. Attendees must bring a photo ID to the meeting. For security reasons, attendees are asked to keep your pockets light. Tools, knives, gels and liquids (including hand lotion, water and sode) are forbidden. Please prepare accordingly.

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Chapter 24 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers met on August 18, 2006 at the studios of WISC-TV for its monthly meeting. There were 18 members in attendance of which 11 were certified. There were also four guests in attendance.

Chair Cliff Groth called the meeting to order shortly after 7 PM. As the first subject of business, Cliff brought up the desire of newsletter editor Mike Norton of passing the job on to a new editor. Mike described the job of the newsletter editor and Cliff asked if anyone was interested. John Salzwedel expressed an interest.

Last months minutes as published in the newsletter were adopted on a motion by Stan Starch and seconded by Herb Jordan. Cliff also gave a short rundown of items in the current circuits from the National SBE office.

Newsletter Editor Mike Norton announced that the deadline for articles for the newsletter would be due at midnight on September 1st with the folding party on September 6th at WKOW-TV.

Treasurer Leslie Franzen reported the balance in the chapter’s bank account and said he had received checks for Midwest Broadcasting and Resonant Results for sustaining memberships.

Program Chair Steve Paugh reported that Professor Barry Ortan would speak at the Wednesday night meeting and program at Broadcasters Clinic. Steve also mentioned that he was lining up a speaker from WireCad for the November meeting program. Vicki Kipp reported on the September meeting, which is a tour of the Communications area of the Dane County Airport. She said that because of the heightened security, there was a limit of 20 attendees and that they needed to sign up in advance. She also reminded us that we needed to follow the current security requirements just as any passengers when arriving at the airport.

Cliff asked for volunteers for the booth at the Broadcasters Clinic, which was filled before the end of the meeting. We will demo HD radio and DTV equipment and Leonard Charles will arrange to have prototype DTV converters at the booth. These are the converters that the government will issue vouchers for, before the end of the DTV conversion.

Membership Chair Paul Stoffel said that he was in the process of checking the mailing list for outdated information.

Certification Chair Jim Hermanson reported that there was one recent recertification. He reminded us that recertification points were needed in all four categories to be recetified.

Frequency Coordinator Tom Smith reported that Wisconsin Public Radio had filed a PCN for an STL for its new station in Platteville from its Highland transmitter. Cliff Groth added that Midwest was attempting to swap two of the STL links frequencies to solve an interference problem. John Salzwedel noted that Telex was now withholding frequency information on Coach Com systems and that his truck had interference on wireless mikes during the Packer Family Night telecast. Tom Smith suggested with the current threat of wireless Wi-Fi on the TV bands; eligible users of wireless mikes such as broadcasters should apply for licenses if they are not already licensed. He suggested that if there were a large enough group of licenses using the band that may help in defeating the proposed laws that could allow for unlicensed use of the TV band.

SBE liaison Leonard Charles noted that the SBE was going to conduct another leadership seminar, otherwise any news from the National office was in the SBE Currents published in the Newsletter.

Cliff mentioned the August 24th deadline for the SBE National office to receive ballots for next year’s officers. He also noted that a certification test would be given at the NAB Radio Show.

Leonard Charles reported that the Program for the Broadcasters Clinic was posted on the Chapters website and John Salzwedel reported that his Token Creek Productions has just updated their small truck to full digital operation.

Leslie Franzen moved to adjourn the meeting.

The evening’s program was presented by Jim Hermanson and was on the subject of Wi-Fi data transmission and included discussions on RF, networking and security issues.

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: http://www.wpr.org/eas

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Christopher H. Scherer, CPBE, CBNT, of Overland Park, Kansas, was elected to a second term as president of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Scherer, editor of Radio magazine, will begin his second term beginning September 27, following his induction during the SBE Annual Membership Meeting in Verona, NY. Scherer is a Senior member of SBE. Previous to serving as president of the 5,300 member organization this past year, Scherer has served as national vice president and chairman of chapters 59 in Kansas City and 70 in Cleveland. He is also a past chairman of the SBE National Certification Committee and continues to serve on that committee. Scherer has been a member of the Society since 1989.

Commenting on his election to a second one-year term, Scherer said, "I look forward to serving the Society for another year, and in particular working with the current, re-elected and newly elected board members. We have established the groundwork of several plans and projects that I expect will see significant progress in the coming months."

Also elected to a second term was vice president, Clay Freinwald, CPBE. Freinwald, of Auburn, Wash., is a corporate engineer with Entercom. He is a member of Chapter 16 in Seattle and has been a member of the national SBE board of directors since 1999 and a member of the Society since 1968. He was elected an SBE Fellow in 2004.

Elected to a second term as secretary is Vincent A. Lopez, CEV CBNT, director of engineering at WSYT/WNYS TV in Syracuse, NY. Lopez has been a member of the national board since 2000 and is chairman of the SBE Regional Convention Strategies Committee. He previously served as chairman of the SBE Membership Committee for four years. Lopez is also a past chairman of Chapter 22 in Central New York and was elected an SBE Fellow in 2004.

Elected to a second term as Treasurer is Barry Thomas, CPBE CBNT, president of Thomas Media. Thomas is a Senior member of SBE and a member of Chapter 15 in New York. He previously served as national secretary and also two terms as a director. He has also served as chairman of the SBE Finance Committee.

Six members were elected to seats on the Board of Directors. They include:

Ralph Beaver, CBT, President and CEO, Media Alert, Inc., Tampa, Fla.

James T. Bernier, Jr., CPBE, CBNT, Director, Maintenance, Design and Engineering, Turner Entertainment Networks, TBS, Inc., Alpharetta, Ga.

Keith M. Kintner, CPBE, CBNT, Radio-TV-Film Engineer, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisc.

Thomas R. Ray, III, CPBE, Vice President, Corporate Director of Engineering, Buckley Broadcasting/WOR Radio, New York, N.Y.

Christopher D. Tarr, CBRE, CBT, CBNT, Director of Engineering, Entercom Milwaukee/Madison, Delafield, Wisc.

Larry J. Wilkins, CPBE, AMD, CBNT, Assistant Director of Engineering, Cumulus Broadcasting, Prattville, Ala.

They will be joined by six returning members of the Board and Raymond Benedict, CPBE, who will continue his service to the Board as Immediate Past President. The six returning directors include:

Jon A. Bennett, CPBE, CBNT, Director of Engineering – Richmond, Cox Radio, Richmond, Va.

Andrea B. Cummis, CBT, CTO, Sr. Vice President, Engineering and Technology, American Desi TV, Roseland, N.J.

Dane E. Ericksen, P.E., CSRTE, 8-VSB, CBNT, Senior Engineer, Hammett & Edison, Inc., San Francisco, Calif.

Ted Hand, CPBE, 8-VSB, Assistant Chief Engineer/RF Engineer, WGNT-TV, Portsmouth, Va.

Hal H. Hostetler, CPBE, Senior Engineer/I.T. Director, KVOA Television, Tucson, Ariz.

Conrad H. Trautmann, CPBE, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technology, Westwood One, Inc., New York, N.Y.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers is the professional organization for radio and television engineers and those in related fields. SBE has more than 5,300 members in 111 chapters across the United States. There are also members in more than 20 other countries.

Most chapters meet monthly and offer educational programs and an opportunity to network with their peers.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers offers the largest and most recognized certification program for broadcast engineers, operators and technicians, with more than 5,000 certifications currently active.

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The 2006 Broadcasters Clinic is scheduled for October 24 - 26 at the Marriott West inMadison. An array of technical topics will be covered over the three day event, as well as opportunities to talk with vendors at the trade show. Online registration and more information is available now from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association web site by going to www.wi-broadcasters.org, or by calling 608-255-2600 or 800-236-1922.

Hotel and Lodging information can be found at the Chapter 24 web site (www.sbe24.org) and clicking on the Broadcast Clinic navigation link. Take this opportunity to enhance your knowledge and stay up to date with evolving broadcasting technology.

The registration fee covers program materials, continental breakfasts and luncheons as indicated, refreshment breaks, and an evening reception with hot hors d’oeuvres (cash bar). The price is $130 for any two days or $150 for all three days. An Early Bird Rate or $115/$130 is available if registered before September 15th.

To register please call the WBA at 608-255-2600 / 800-236-1922 or visit http://www.wi-broadcasters.org/events/broadcastclinic.htm .

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• September is US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Preparedness Month, and Saturday, September 16, is Amateur Radio Awareness Day. For the third straight year, the American Radio Relay League and Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) groups across the US will join a coalition of more than 200 national, regional, state and local organizations taking part in Preparedness Month activities. ARES is a partner with DHS through the Citizen Corps program.

ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, says local ARES groups and clubs will be making presentations to civic organizations, at schools and at regional fairs to showcase Amateur Radio. To highlight Amateur Radio Awareness Day, ARRL public information officers (PIOs) will promote the DHS’s "30 Tips for Emergency Preparedness" to attract news media coverage.

ARRL Public Service Team Manager Steve Ewald, WV1X, notes that the underlying theme of National Preparedness Month is to encourage everyone to be aware of and prepare for emergencies all year long. "Amateur Radio operators, led by ARRL Field Organization leaders across the country, are encouraged to consider this year’s ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) –as well as all preparations and post-SET evaluations– as a demonstration of your participation in National Preparedness Month," Ewald said. The target weekend for the 2006 SET is October 7-8.

• The recent appearance on the sun of two so-called "backward sunspots" may mean solar Cycle 23 is drawing to a close and Cycle 24 now is under way or soon will be. At least that’s the thinking of some scientists.

"We’ve been waiting for this," said Solar Physicist David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, after the first backward spot showed up. "A backward sunspot is a sign that the next solar cycle is beginning." The term "backward" refers to the sunspots’ magnetic polarity. One such sunspot appeared briefly July 31, then disappeared, but its significance was that its magnetic polarity was just the opposite of current Cycle 23 spots. Another more robust backward spot, Sunspot 905, appeared in late August – although it subsequently began to dissipate – and some sungazers are saying Cycle 24 already has begun.

"Eventually there will be more of the new reversed sunspots than old ones from Cycle 23, and that occurrence is one way to mark the beginning of the next sunspot cycle," he said. Ionospheric radio conditions will not improve any time soon but over a period of several years of the course of the 11-year cycle, perhaps peaking around 2010.

Sunspot observations have been made since the invention of the telescope around 1610, but interest declined when sunspots almost disappeared between 1645 and 1715. After regular patterns in solar activity were discovered in the mid-1840s, Swiss astronomer Rudolf Wolf dubbed the 1755-1766 sunspot cycle as "Cycle 1." Amateur radio operators have followed the interaction between solar activity and long-range radio propagation since around 1930.

(Excerpts from the Amercian Radio Relay Leage web site, www.arrl.org, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR.edu) and NASA.gov)

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The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has developed six different tower safety posters which are available for download and self-printing from their website at www.natehome.com.

There is a link on NATE’s home page to the "Safety From the Ground Up" poster page at http://www.natehome.com/MemberBenefitsServices/SafetyandEducation/SafetyPosters.cfm. These posters were also distributed to subscribers of NATE’s monthly magazine, Tower Times.

NATE quickly reacted to the alarming number of tower work tragedies that have occurred in 2006 by creating a series of six posters to remind those who work at tower sites of safety rules. The series includes messages of:

Underneath the headline, each poster displays the message, "NATE reminds the industry to work together to make sure all tower climbers are going home safely at the end of the day. Are you doing your part?" A captivating tower photo is featured on each poster.

Once downloaded from NATE’s web site, the color posters can be opened and printed from Adobe Acrobat Reader. The poster .PDFs are sized to print on a standard 8.5" X 11" piece of letter paper. Some tower sites have chosen to laminate their NATE posters so that they can display the poster directly on their towers.

NATE's motto, "Safety From the Ground Up" is backed by NATE's continuing efforts to provide members with new and updated safety and educational materials.

If you have questions about NATE’s Tower Safety Campaign, please contact Jodi at jodi@natehome.com.

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The FCC is seeking comment on waiver requests by Clarity Media Systems, LLC of a number of FCC Part 78 Rules in order to operate a low power, multichannel digital television distribution service at ten Flying J truck stop plazas. These truck stops are located at or near Frazer Park, CA; North Salt Lake, UT; Ogden, UT; Rapid City, SD; Blacksburg, SC; Waco, TX, Carmel Church, VA; Fairview, TN; Graham, NC and St. Lucie, FL.

Flying J is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clarity Media, owns and operates 165 truck stops.

Clarity Media is requesting operation in the Broadcast Auxiliary Band of 2025-2110 MHz to operate a multichannel digital television system. This band is used for electronic news gathering by broadcasters and mobile Cable Antenna Relay Service and certain Part 101 stations. The system they have proposed would divide the band into fourteen 6 MHz channels and operate with an isotropic radiated power of five watts with a four degree electrical down-tilt reducing the EIRP to 2.5 watts at the horizon.

Clarity has notified all BAS licensees within 83 kilometers of the proposed operations and has outlined emergency shut down procedures in the event of conflict with BAS operations.

Clarity requests waivers for the following rules: sections 78.1 ("Purpose"), 78.11 ("Permissible Service’) 78.18(a) (6) ("Frequency Assignments") 78.101 ("Power Limitations"), 78.103 (e) ("Emissions and Emission Limitations"), and 78.107 ("Equipment and Installation"). Clarity will also need a waiver of Section 78.13, ("Eligibility for License") to operate this proposed multichannel TV distribution system.

Clarity Media claims that this system is needed to enhance the quality of life of the truckers on the road by providing live TV to them while parked at truck stops. This would further national commerce and public safety.

Comments are due on September 22, 2006 with replies due on October 23, 2006. The FCC released the notice on August 23, 2006.

On August 24th the FCC released a notice for comment on the methods they should use to conduct an auction of nine FM licenses that were unsold in Auction 37 on November 21, 2004 and Auction 62 on January 31, 2006. The FCC seeks comment on auction procedures before any auction they conduct. These comments may make minor changes from auction to auction.

Comments were due on September 6th with replies due on September 13th. The upfront payments range from $1500 for Class A stations in Cedar Key, FL and Tuceps, CA to $150,000 for a Class C1 in Ocracoke, NC.

The FCC has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking into new rules to cover the application and operation of direct broadcast satellite operations. The FCC would like comment if they should continue the current first-come first-served application process or if another application system should be adopted. They are also seeking information on reduced satellite spacing, the length of license terms, coordination issues between operators, and performance issues such as performance bonds, milestone reviews, and annual reports.

The FCC is also seeking any other information that may affect the operation of direct broadcast satellite systems.

This notice covers all DBS operations in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band using the 17.3-17.8 GHz uplink band including orbital slots not assigned to, but used for U.S. operation.

This action was adopted by the Commission on August 14, 2006 and released on August 18th.

From FCC Releases (www.fcc.gov)

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The SBE National Certification Committee has announced exam session dates. 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 Megan Clappe, Certification Director at the SBE National Office at (317) 846-9000, or mclappe@sbe.org .

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Provideo, a High Def production facility in Madison is looking for an experienced engineer for a part time position. You would be responsible for a yearly technical operational budget and also participate in equipment evaluation and installation. Duties would also include maintenance, troubleshooting and repair of equipment in our edit suites, studio, and duplication areas. Digital and analog experience required. You must be a self starter and demonstrate good communications skills, and work in a team environment.

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