Monday Morning Coffee and Technical Notes

June 9,, 2025 View as Webpage

2025 Hurricane Season has Begun

If you live in the Southeast part of the country, you are already aware the beginning of June starts “Hurricane Season”. These swirling storms develop in the warm waters of the tropics, then travel with their great forces toward the costal areas of the country.

As they move toward the mainland, broadcasters spring into action issuing warnings about the storm’s path and strength, along with information about shelters and evacuation orders.

Unfortunately, as these storms come inland, considerable property damage can occur, along with loss of power, phone service and worst of all loss of life. Broadcasters play an extremely important role in issuing information to the public during these events.

Thus, it is critical that broadcasters plan ahead to safeguard their facilities and staff in case of an emergency.

At the top of the list should be staying on the air and the safety of your staff.

Stations with generators should perform tests to ensure the unit is operating properly and that fuel tanks are full. Test all back up equipment including transmitters, STL systems, auxiliary transmitter and studio sites and provisions for staff. In addition, make sure you have the ability to receive information from first responders and officials during the event.



It is also important to review your risks then prepare a disaster recovery plan and test the plan.



Read a 10 step guideline for Hurricane preparation here. 

ABIP Seminar

Registration is now open for the ABA Engineering Academy special two-day seminar covering the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP).

This live training seminar is designed for current ABIP inspectors and those that are interested in becoming an inspector. We have also opened the seminar up to any engineer that is interested in learning more about the inspection program.

We have scheduled the seminar covering ABIP for August 18^th & 19^th, 2025. On the first day we will be in the classroom, going over the inspection details (Online public files, EAS, Transmitter site and basic operational items). The second day will feature on-site mock inspections at area broadcast transmitters (AM, FM and Television).

The class will be held at the ABA Training Center, 2180 Parkway Lake Drive in Hoover, AL (Birmingham). It will start at 8:30 AM central both days. Instructors are John George, ABIP inspector for South Carolina and Larry Wilkins ABIP inspector for Alabama. We also will have news shortly about a special guest speaker at the seminar.



There is no cost for attending the seminar. You can register online here. We encourage you to register early since seating is limited. On the registration page is a list of hotels that have special reduced prices for attendees.

Continuing Educational Series

The ABA Engineering Services creates an Continuing Educational blog several times a month. These are sent out to subscribers of this newsletter and are archived on the ABA website.

They cover various technical subjects that we feel would be of interest to broadcast engineers and pro audio engineers as well. To be successful in this business one needs to develop a trait of becoming a “lifelong learner”. We hope these articles will help in your career. Comments and suggestions about the Continuing Educations articles are welcome.



Watch for the next article covering “Moving from analog to digital”.

From Washington

The C-band satellite space may be in trouble again. As you may remember back in 2020 the Commission reproposed the lower portion of the C-band for use by wireless technology. This required users to compact all their satellite operations into the top half (3.98-4.2 GHz) of the band.

The FCC is now looking at opening the door to potential new uses of the upper C-band, a spectrum band considered vital to broadcasters’ satellite program contribution and distribution.

Most major radio and television networks use this band to deliver programming to their affiliates.



Read more at InsideRadio

ABA Engineering Webinar

The monthly ABA Engineering Webinar will be held on Tuesday June 17^th starting at 10:00 AM central time. Our special guest will be Wayne Pecena, IT director for Texas A&M University.

Wayne will focus on the IP content network looking at the requirements to transport AoIP, ST-2110. Then focus on high lightning advanced topics like QoS, multicast, PTP since they are required for AoIP and ST-2110 content networks. Essentially, the differences in the basic business class network vs the broadcast content network.

Click here to register

Fall schedule of the ABA Engineering Academy’s Technical Classes

The ABA Engineering Academy has released the schedule for our Radio and Television Engineering class for this coming fall. The radio class will be held the week of September 21 – 26 and the television class will be held the week of November 3 – 7.

The Academy began offering these classes in 2012. Over the years it has attracted students from all across the country and Canada. 

While the classes are designed for those just starting in broadcast engineering, we have had many “seasoned” engineers attend both for a refresher course and the latest technology (including HD Radio, ATSC 3.0 and SMPTE 2110).

The classes cover basic electronics, history of broadcasting, analog and digital audio, radio/ television generation and transmission, plus overview of station operations including EAS and FCC Rules. On Fridays we offer the opportunity for students to take the SBE Certified Broadcast Technologist exam. You do not have to take the exam to attend the class.

Classes are held at the ABA Training Center, 2180 Parkway Lake Drive Hoover, AL (Birmingham)

We encourage you to register for these classes soon, as we have limited seating. Don’t forget the classes are offered at no cost by the Alabama Broadcasters Association. Click here to register. There is a list of hotels that offer special rates for students on the web site.



Contact the Academy Director for more information.

Pro Audio – Hearing vs Listening?

Hearing is different from listening. How much of our environment are we tuning out on a daily basis?

Hearing is a natural, involuntary act that involves perceiving sound through the ears. It’s akin to a background noise that fades in and out of our consciousness. It is primarily a physiological process. It involves sound waves traveling through the air and entering the ear canal, where they vibrate the eardrum. These vibrations are then converted into electrical signals sent to the brain. This entire process occurs without any conscious effort on our part; it's automatic.

On the other hand, listening demands attention, interpretation, and response. It's a skill that can be developed with practice and mindfulness. Listening requires both mental engagement and emotional investment. It's about processing information actively rather than just receiving it passively.

In music production, critical listening and song analysis is an essential skill that sets apart the novices from the professionals. It's not just about hearing a song and enjoying it; critical listening is about analyzing every element of sound and understanding how they fit together to create a cohesive masterpiece. Whether you're a seasoned producer or just starting out in your career, mastering the art of critical listening can elevate your skills and take your productions to new heights.



A great article covering listening is available at levelsmusicproduction

Earl, think we better call the manager about this!