Monday Morning Coffee and Technical Notes

May 5, 2025 View as Webpage

EAS Software Proposal

As most are aware, there have been discussions about moving the EAS system operation from hardware to a software based platform. While improvements in operation are most always a positive move, there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed.

A proposal filed by the NAB has asked the Commission to move forward on the change. However, seems some in the industry feel that a possible change needs to be researched more thoroughly. 

Digital Alert Systems, manufacturer of the DAS-DEC EAS hardware system, says the NAB proposal overlooks key issues. In its 46-page filing, it stated that the petition fails to account for “a substantial array of unresolved regulatory, procedural, cybersecurity, operational and intellectual property questions.”

As Digital Alert Systems said “Without safeguards — particularly around compliance and cybersecurity — a shift to software-only systems could undermine “the very goals” of modernization”.

On the other side, some radio groups along with the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) are supporting the proposal saying it would improve EAS reliability and security, without compromising the system’s effectiveness.

The editor of this newsletter, who serves as the chairman of the Alabama State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC), agrees that the present EAS should be upgraded to a more modern operation, however a lot of thought needs to given on any changes.



The EAS system is a vital link for State and National officials to warn the public of impending dangers that could affect life or property. Any changes should not compromise the goals of a State and National Alert Warning system.

 May Webinar

The 2025 NAB, held in Las Vegas is now over and all the equipment and personnel have returned to their respective companies. If you miss this year’s convention or would like a review, plan to join us May 20^th at 10:00 AM central for our regular monthly Engineering Webinar.

Paul McLane Editor-in-Chief Radio World will be our special guest to share the latest in equipment and information presented at this year’s convention.

Don't miss this most informative presentation.

online registration is available here.

ABIP Seminar

The ABA Engineering Academy is excited to announce it will offer a 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 also have opened the seminar up to any engineer that is interested in learning more about the inspection program. The seminar is offered at no cost by the Alabama Broadcasters Association.

We have scheduled the seminar 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.

You can register online here. On the registration page is a list of area hotels that have special reduced prices for attendees.

Understanding DNS

While most engineers are familiar with DNS servers. What happens “under the hood” sometimes is a mystery.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet.

Humans access information online through domain names, like www.espn.com. Web browsers interact through Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. DNS translates domain names to IP addresses so browsers can load Internet resources.

If you are over 40 then you may remember learning how to use a library index file in school. DNS works the same way.

The amazing thing it normally only takes a few seconds once you hit the enter key.



information furnished by cloudflare

Back to Basics - Resistance versus Impedance

Resistance and impedance are both opposition to the flow of electricity and are measured in Ohms (Ω). The symbol for resistance is R, while the symbol for impedance is Z.

Here’s the catch: resistance is opposition to the flow of electricity in a DC (Direct Current) circuit, but audio is AC (Alternating Current), and audio circuits are reactive — they contain components that store and release energy such as capacitors and inductors which react with each other as frequency varies — and frequency is always changing in music. This reactance, combined with resistance of components such as resistors, gives us impedance.

The impedance of an output (also called source impedance) measures how easily power can flow from that output. Input impedance measures an input’s opposition to the flow of power from an output and gives you an idea of how much power the input device will “pull” from the source in order to get work done. 



In audio circuits, the general rule for maximum voltage transfer is that the load impedance should be at least ten times that of the source impedance. When you see a microphone with an output impedance of 200Ω (which is typical), that microphone should be happy when connected to an input with an impedance of 2kΩ or higher. In this case, “happy” means that the microphone’s frequency response and noise level are maintained as the manufacturer intended.  

Pro Audio –  Drums



A great music mix, like a sturdy building, must begin with a solid foundation.

Most often the drums play a large part of this procedure.

It all starts with the kick drum, the cornerstone on which many

great modern music structures are built. If treated correctly,

the kick can be a wonderfully solid place to start building a mix,

just be careful to blend it respectfully with everything else so

it’s more of a “best supporting actor” than the star of the show.

Tuning the other drums in the kit is absolutely vital. It changes everything. Be sure before deep diving into drum miking and processing that the heads are new and the drums are tuned! An improperly-tuned snare, for instance, can sound “out of place” in some worship music, so work to settle on a tone through tuning that works best with the music, and the rest of the instrumentation.

It takes a bit of work, but the extra time spent tuning and setting noise

gate(s) just right will help the overall low-end spectrum to be much tighter.

Earl I think we found the problem