Monday Morning Coffee and Technical Notes

August 8, 2025 View as Webpage

2025 ABA Conference

The date for the Alabama Broadcasters Association’s 2025 Conference is quickly approaching.

Conference will be held at the Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham on Thursday and Friday August 7th and 8th. Engineers should take note of the Engineering Seminar scheduled for Thursday. 

We have scheduled 5 informative technical presentations covering the following topics:

Latest advancements in liquid cooled transmitters; Greg Martin, Rohde & Schwartz

Proper sizing and installation of large diesel generators; Bryan Martin, Thompson Power Systems

Creating Quality Audio for radio and television program streams; Larry Wilkins, ABA Engineering Services

Implementation of ATSC 3.0 Datacasting; Peter Gogas, Gray Media



Chief Operator duties as it relates to the requirements of maintaining a “Station Log”; John George, RF Specialties and South Carolina ABIP inspector.

An exhibit hall will feature a number of vendors which is a great opportunity to check out new products, services, and equipment information.



Registration is only $40.00 which includes a great lunch, during which we will honor our 2025 Engineer of the Year, Steve Kohn with WSFA-TV Montgomery. See next article.



Register online here.

FCC’s Ownership Report Changes

As part of the FCC plans to remove or update current Rules and Regulations, they announced last week a suspension of its biennial ownership report filing requirement until 2027.



While broadcasters must still file ownership reports after new construction permits, license grants, or ownership transfers, the next biennial ownership reports will now be due no sooner than June 1, 2027, or until further notice. The decision gives broadcasters a temporary break from what many have argued is an outdated, resource-draining obligation.

Becoming a People Person

One of the most important things to learn in the broadcast engineering business, or any business for that matter, is how to become a “people person”. Sure, you want to master your engineering skills, but lasting impact comes from focusing on people.  Build relationships. Earn trust. Be the kind of person who engages genuinely and humbly with everyone on the team, from the janitor to the manager.

When you meet new people, don’t start off by “talking shop”. Believe it or not, being a people person doesn’t involve lots of talking. It’s all about connecting with others in a positive way and making a good impression. Being an active listener is an easy way to do this.

Ask thoughtful questions about their work, their lives, their stories, then genuinely listen.

Never talk about yourself, unless they ask about what you do and even then, be careful not to put yourself on a pedestal (be humble). Don’t try to impress people by name dropping or sharing all your engineering accomplishes for the past 30 years, that is a real turnoff. It doesn’t matter how great you are at your job. If you don't relate well with people, you're not going anywhere.

I know a lot of great engineers that really excel in their technical abilities but lack people skills. They are much more comfortable behind the rack or at the transmitter site. But I can tell you from personal experience that getting out from behind the rack and getting know the other members of the team will make your job much more rewarding.



At the end of the day, you want to be the type of person that everyone enjoys being around and at the same time they know that you understand your craft to a degree that they can feel comfortable knowing you will always have their back.

ABIP Training Seminar

Another great event scheduled in August is our ABIP Training Seminar. This two-day seminar will cover all the items that are reviewed during a Alternative Broadcast Inspection, both legal and technical.

The first day will be in the classroom going over the checklist including details of the Online Public File. The second day will be in the field conducting “mock” inspections at Birmingham area AM, FM and Television stations.

Instructors include John George, ABIP inspector for South Carolina and Larry Wilkins, ABIP inspector for Alabama. We will also have a representative from the Atlanta FCC office with us on the first day.

The seminar is open to anyone (technical or operations) interested in learning how to keep your broadcast operation in compliance with current FCC Rules and Regulations.

It will be held Monday and Tuesday August 18th and 19th at the ABA Training Center 2180 Parkway Lake Drive in Hoover (Birmingham).



Best of all, it is offered at no cost by the Alabama Broadcasters Association Engineering Services. Log on to our website for registration and a list of area hotels.

FM Booster Update

The FCC has announced that an effective date of July 25, 2025, has been set for FM Booster stations to begin (if desired) offering limited program content as part of the Geocasting system.

FM and LPFM stations must now use FCC Form 2100, Schedule 336 to notify the Commission of the initiation of voluntary, limited use of FM booster stations to originate content on a permanent basis.

This operation allows broadcasters to originate up to three minutes per hour of unique content on up to 25 boosters per station. Use of the time is optional, and unused minutes do not carry over. Emergency Alert System compliance is required for all originating boosters.

FM boosters comprise a low power service on the FM broadcast band (88 to 108 MHz) that complements the primary FM service. This service was first created in 1970 to allow FM stations to provide supplementary service to areas in which direct reception of radio service is unsatisfactory due to distance or intervening terrain barriers (for example, a mountain). 

Booster stations are essentially "fill-in" translator stations on the same frequency as the main station. Booster stations must be owned by the licensee of the primary FM station. Booster stations are also restricted in that the service contour of the booster may not exceed the protected service contour of the primary station at any azimuth.

Like translators, a booster station must be set up to go off the air if the main station's signal is lost.



For more information about boosters, visit the FCC website or contact your legal broadcast counsel.

ABA Engineering Academy

The Radio and Television engineering classes offered by the ABA Engineering Academy have two classes scheduled this fall.

The Radio Engineering Class will be held September 22^nd – 26^th and the Television Class will be held November 3^rd – 7^th. Classes held at the ABA Training Center, 2180 Parkway Lake Drive in Hoover (Birmingham) AL. Class outlines, hotel information, and online registration are available at the Engineering Academy website.



Remember these classes are offered at no cost, so we encourage you to register early as sitting is limited.

Attention Ham Operators

The Huntsville Hamfest called the “World’s Friendliest Hamfest” will be held Saturday and Sunday August 16^th and 17^th . It will feature plenty of vendor displays, flea markets with over 400 booths, and seminars. This is the 72^nd year of the Hamfest. Visit www.hamfest.org for more details.

Pro Audio – Don’t Be Late

The phrase “Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable,” insinuates that one should never be late for a live event. It even goes so far as to imply that being “on time” for the event should actually be thought of as arriving late.

This is especially important if you are a FOH mixer for a church service or any type of live event. Successful sound engineers always are the first to arrive and last to leave. Create time to double check all inputs and outputs. Walk through the service layout to make sure you have everything you need. Don’t forget to install new batteries in all wireless equipment.

When I was working as the A1 for a major college football radio network, I would set up and test everything the day before (I slept better Friday night knowing everything was ready for Saturday’s game). However, that being said I still arrived at the stadium a couple of hours earlier and double checked everything again (including all backup equipment). When the crew arrived, I was sitting back enjoying a stadium chocolate chip cookie.

Don’t forget that once everyone is settled in, to “fax” (Facilities Check) the system. A broadcast facilities check is a test of functionality for every piece of equipment and elements on a production. All operators and engineers are typically involved in the FAX.

Sound check is another name for fax, as it makes sure all sources and monitors are working for the talent and engineer. Stay ahead of the game by arriving early and double check everything before air time.

All I can say is OH MY!