Monday Morning Coffee and Technical Notes

June 22, 2026 View as Webpage

2026 Alabama Engineer of the Year

Each year, the Alabama Broadcasters Association recognizes an outstanding broadcast engineer with its prestigious “Engineer of the Year” award.

The recipient is selected from nominations submitted by engineers across the state and honored for service to Alabama’s broadcast community.

The 2026 Engineer of the Year is Terry Harper. He began his career in 1967 at WABT (now WACQ) 580 kHz in Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1969, he joined Auburn University’s Educational Television Division as an audio engineer.

He retired from Auburn University in 1994 and has provided contract engineering services across the state ever since.

Terry and his wife Tammie reside in Auburn. They have three sons and seven grandchildren.

His hobbies include snow skiing, hunting and fishing, and working on the farm.

The award will be presented at the ABA 80^th anniversary reception in Auburn Wednesday June 24^th. The reception will be held from 4:00 – 6:00 PM at the Auburn Marriott Opelika Resort and Spa.



This is a free event, and everyone is welcome. Register here

Annual License Fees

The Commission is required to “assess and collect regulatory fees” to recover the cost of carrying out the functions of the Commission.” When the required payment is received late or is incomplete, the Commission must assess a penalty equal to “25 percent of the amount of the fee which was not paid in a timely manner.” 

Failure to pay these annual fees on time can result with some “not so pleasing results”.

The Media Bureau and the Office of Managing Director issued an Order to Pay or to Show Cause against 3 commonly-owned Texas AM stations proposing to revoke the stations’ licenses unless, within 60 days, the stations pay their delinquent regulatory fees and interest, administrative costs, and penalties, or show that the debts are not owed or should be waived or deferred. 

The stations have a combined unpaid regulatory fee debt totaling $166,646.79 for fiscal years 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

ABA Engineering Academy

As technology continues to change, successful engineers must embrace lifelong learning. To support that goal, the ABA Engineering Academy offers broadcast engineering classes throughout the year.

These courses are intended for individuals at all levels of experience, including newcomers and experienced engineers, as well as those seeking to deepen their understanding of the technical aspects of broadcasting.

The next Radio Engineering class will be offered the week of September 28th – October 2nd. The television class is scheduled October 26th – 30th.



This 5-day class is held at the ABA Training Center in Hoover, AL (Birmingham). Discount rates for students are available at area hotels. More information about daily subjects covered and online registration is available here.

RGB-LED Television Sets

I was in a big-box store a few days ago and noticed that one of the displays of television sets indicated that it featured Mini-LED technology, a step up from QLED.

Oddly enough, AVSforum just posted an article explaining this system.

RGB LED TVs replace the traditional white or blue LED backlight with individually controlled red, green, and blue LEDs. Instead of producing white light and filtering it into color afterward, the display is generating those colors directly at the backlight level itself.

The advantage is fairly easy to understand. Traditional LCD TVs rely heavily on color filters, and those filters inevitably reduce efficiency because some of the light is lost in the process. By generating red, green, and blue light directly from the backlight, RGB displays have the potential to produce brighter colors, greater color volume, and higher overall brightness without washing out the image.



That’s one of the reasons so many manufacturers are suddenly pursuing RGB Mini-LED technology right now. It allows them to maintain more saturated colors at brightness levels that conventional LCD TVs have traditionally struggled to achieve.

 FM Translator Filing Update

The FCC announced it would be opening a filing opportunity for new FM translators to operate in the FM Reserved Band (88.1-91.9 MHz) at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, and it will close at 6:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.

Applications can only be filed by existing noncommercial station operators. In addition, applicants would be limited to 10 applications nationwide – and low power FM operators would be allowed to file for only 2 translators.

In this window, preferences will be given for “fill-in translators” over those applications that propose to extend a broadcaster’s coverage contour. Unlike with commercial translators, translators in the Reserved Band can extend the contour of a noncommercial station.



For more information contact your communications attorney

What’s on Your Tower

When a new tower is built to support a transmission antenna, additional equipment can accumulate on the structure over time. Without accurate records, you may eventually lose track of everything installed on the tower.

It is recommended that a tower drawing be created with the height of each item. Be sure to include the following:

·     Each light level (side markers and beacons)

·     Length of the antenna (if top mounted) above structure top plate

·     Height of each item (STL, rental equipment, ENG, two-way antennas)

Create a separate data sheet for each item that lists its purpose, transmission line type, and the tower leg where the item and line are mounted.

Heights may be measured from either ground level or the tower base, and the site’s ground elevation above sea level should also be noted.

Pro Audio – Microphones

Audio professionals often say, “Get it right at the source.” The microphone is the first stage where sound waves become electrical signals, so any problems introduced there will carry through the entire mix.

Sound engineers should regularly inspect all microphones for technical problems and ensure they are cleaned, stored properly, and checked along with their connectors and cables.

Microphones should also be chosen and positioned carefully so they accurately capture sound at the source and convert it into an electrical signal.

Work closely with talent who use handheld vocal microphones, since improper handling can lead to feedback, overload, comb filtering, proximity effect, and other source-related audio problems.



For health and hygiene, disinfect vocal microphones after each session.