Monday Morning Coffee and Technical Notes

February 3, 2025 View as Webpage

ABA Engineering Academy

The ABA Engineering Academy will offer our Radio Engineering Class the week of February 24 – 28, 2025. The Television Class will be held the week of April 28 – May 2, 2025. We will offer a second round of classes later in the year.

The class will cover basic electronics, analog and digital audio, history of radio broadcasting, AM and FM transmitters/antennas, EAS and FCC rules. We also offer the opportunity for students to take the SBE Certification exam on Friday.

Classes will be held at the ABA Training Center 2180 Parkway Lake Drive Hoover, AL (Birmingham). Classes are offered at no cost for beginners or seasoned engineers from across the country.



Daily class outlines and registration is available at the ABA Engineering Academy website.

Quarterly Tower Light System Inspection

Station engineers (and management) should be aware of the requirements of FCC rule’s part 17.47 concerning monitoring of tower lights.

 (a)(1) Shall make an observation of the antenna structure's lights at least once each 24 hours either visually or by observing an automatic properly maintained indicator designed to register any failure of such lights, to insure that all such lights are functioning properly as required; or alternatively,

(2) Shall provide and properly maintain an automatic alarm system designed to detect any failure of such lights and to provide indication of such failure to the owner.

(b) Shall inspect at intervals not to exceed 3 months all automatic or mechanical control devices, indicators, and alarm systems associated with the antenna structure to ensure that such apparatus is functioning properly.

Stations may also elect to contract with an outside approved monitoring service.

The Key word here is approved. Paragraph (C) of this section states that stations are "exempt from paragraph (b) of this section for any antenna structure monitored by a system that the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau has determined includes self-diagnostic features sufficient to the Bureau”.



If your station is using or planning on using the services of an off-site tower light monitoring system, ensure that they have been approved by the Bureau.

From Washington

Two Senators have reintroduced the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act”, which requires that automobile manufacturers keep AM radio on the car dashboard. 

The proposed bill has the same language as the version of the bill introduced last year but never passed despite broad bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. The bill  protect AM radio’s role as an essential public safety tool and ensure Americans can continue to rely on this life-saving resource in their vehicles.

The FCC is taking a hard look at Noncommercial broadcast stations to see if they are airing commercial advertisements.  

Noncommercial stations can air acknowledgments of those making financial contributions to stations, but the identification of such sponsors must be limited – you can give their name, a general description of what their business is and where they are located, but such information must be provided in an objective, non-promotional manner.

Transmitter Site Visits

A while back we featured an article about things to look at when performing your regular transmitter site visits. One of the more important items is a quarterly transmitter site walkaround.

Walking around the site looking for things that should not be there, such as bolts, hangers and other similar items could signal damage to the tower structure. 

Illegal access and dumping, excessive growth of vegetation and the condition of transmitter building can dimmish future maintenance issues.



Observe the condition of the access road, gates and locks, plus public utility (power) right aways for a clear path. Just because the transmitter site normally doesn’t have any people visiting the site and it may be that you are the only one that goes there, doesn’t mean you should not keep it neat and clean.

  Pro Audio – Return to Basics

I would be the first to admit that never before have we had such ability to reinforce live music, and moreover, it’s never been easier to alter, shape and tone that music. But I wonder if this considerable processing power has made it easier than ever to create music that is nearly unlistenable.

Instead of searching for the latest and greatest plugin, microphone or console, learn to mix. Zero out the EQ, turn off the compression, bypass the plugins and simply mix.

Learn to make it sound great with nothing other than your skill as a mix engineer – and hopefully some decent musicians. The bulk of the sound comes from the ability to simply put together a good mix.

 A tech with a lot of skill and mediocre equipment will always sound better than one with low skill and the best gear.

How does a FOH technician get to that point?  Start by learning to listen….listen to good quality music and see how sources sit nicely together. Then take the multitrack copy of the last concert or church service (dry with no effects) and practice, practice, practice. Develop the ability to balance both the level and the panning. 

Stop and Think about it!