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CHAPTER 24, Inc., MADISON, WI
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Monthly eNews
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October 2018
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Our Next Chapter Meeting:
Wednesday, October 17th
at the Broadcasters Clinic
(Note the early start time)
Transmitter Cooling, Liquid vs Air
by Nautel and Rohde-Schwarz
Clinic Registration is not needed to attend
However, for meal count, please let Linda Baun know you're coming.
This session will be a joint presentation by Jeff Welton of Nautel and Don Backus from Rohde & Schwarz. It will be a discussion of the pros and cons of both liquid and air cooling in transmitter systems, as well as various implementations of each. Included in the discussion will be the necessary preparations for installing each type of system, as well as talking about the types of installations where one might fit better than the other. Each speaker will provide examples from their own company's experiences.
Meal at 5:30 PM
Meeting and Program at 6:00 PM
Marriott West
1313 John Q Hammons Drive
Middleton, WI
Directions Here
Visitors and guests are welcome!
Nationwide WEA/EAS Test
The postponed Nationwide WEA/EAS Test is set for Wednesday, October 3rd on this schedule:
1:18PM CDT: WEA Test
1:20PM CDT: EAS Test
A reminder, your station must file an FCC ETRS Form 2 by 10:59PM CDT on Wednesday, October 3rd.
2018 Broadcasters Clinic
Registration is open for the 2018 Broadcasters Clinic. The event will be held October 16th thru 18th at the Madison Marriott West. Book your seat now.
Agenda and Registration.
Last Meeting's Minutes
Submitted by Mike Norton, Secretary
September, 2018
On Wednesday, September 26, 2018, Chapter 24 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers held its monthly meeting at the studios of WISC-TV/Madison. There were 14 members present, 11 who held SBE certification, and 3 guests.
Chapter Chair Rich Wood called the meeting to order at 6:55pm, and had everyone around the conference room quickly introduce themselves. No additions or corrections were made to the August meeting minutes, as posted on the Chapter 24 eNews page, so after a motion by Leonard Charles and a second by Tom Smith they were approved.
Treasurer Roy Henn indicated there were recent sustaining membership renewal deposits pending, and that payment was made to sponsor the Nuts and Bolts dinner at the upcoming Broadcast Clinic.
Leonard Charles informed the group that the deadline for the Chapter 24 eNews page on the website is October 1. Articles or information should be emailed to lcharles@sbe.org.
Rich Wood gave a membership update, listing Chapter 24 with 45 current members. There are also 14 sustaining members, with Ross Video, Token Creek Mobile Television, Full Compass Systems, and Resonant Results as recent renewals.
The upcoming program schedule was reviewed: the October 17 meeting at the Broadcast Clinic will cover air vs liquid cooling of transmitters, with the sponsored dinner at 5:30pm and the program at 6:00pm. The November meeting will be a presentation by American Transmission Company at WMTV, with the annual holiday party in early December to finish the year.
Certification and Education chair Jim Hermanson noted that the certification application deadline is December 31, for the next Feb 1 - 11 exam session. Jim mentioned that SBE certification exams are given at the AES convention, and asked about possibly offering SBE exams at the Broadcast Clinic in the future. There was a brief discussion about what would be required, and that this could be looked into for next year.
For frequency coordination, Tom Smith indicated there was only one recent request, and that most requests are repeats from previous year major events in the area.
Leonard Charles covered the SBE National report, highlighting the Annual SBE Membership Meeting which can be viewed by webcast on Wednesday, October 3 at 2:30pm. Go to the SBE.org website and click on the special webcast icon that day. Another SBE educational webinar will be presented on Wednesday, October 17: Module 2 of the SBE ATSC 3.0 webinar will be led by Luke Fay of Sony Electronics who will discuss Overview of the Physical Layer. It is free to SBE MemberPlus members.
In old business, Tom Smith reminded everyone to register their C-band downlink systems by the extended October 17 deadline.. For new business items, Leonard Charles worked through the next year program dates, typically alternating Wednesday and Thursday the last full week of the month. Rich Wood asked that program topics and possible speaker leads be sent to him.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:12pm following a motion by Pete Deets and second by Tom Smith. The program was an informative web presentation by Bob Orban on audio processing for television, the CALM Act, and audio loudness measurement. Following the presentation, Bob Orban addressed questions from the group.
Amateur Radio News
compiled by Tom Weeden WJ9H
Following a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on September 28, members of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society ORARI (The Indonesia Amateur Radio Organization) and other volunteers have been providing emergency communication for community and government interests. The quake and tsunami destroyed the city of Palu, completely cutting power and telephone connections, as well as the cellular communication infrastructure.
New IARU Region 3 Disaster Communication Coordinator Dani Halim, YB2TJV, said Amateur Radio operators in Indonesia immediately responded to the unfolding disaster, establishing an emergency net on 7.110 MHz. Amateur Radio volunteers from other regions also pitched in to support radio communication for emergency news on 7.110 MHz and 7.065 MHz. ORARI also activated the LAPAN-ORARI IO-86 satellite as a back-up communication channel. Some radio amateurs with mobile stations have traveled to the affected region to help.
According to Budi Santoso, YF1AR, on Java Island, Sutrisno Sofingi, YB8NT, was heard on 7.110 MHz using an emergency station he assembled at the disaster site. He said Amateur Radio was the only available communication with the outside world.
Amateur Radio also has assisted government agencies following severe damage to the telecommunication infrastructure. Hams operating on 2 meters were communicating information on which roads were open to allow traffic from the outside. Halim reported that communication was established from the Luwuk Disaster Management Agency some 430 miles from the earthquake's epicenter to obtain information on landslides and blocked roads and highways.
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami has claimed upward of 900 lives and caused widespread devastation. Some victims have been reported to be trapped in the debris. The Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency has told news media that, in addition to communication, heavy equipment for rescue operations is limited.
Some earthbound radio amateurs and sky watchers have received images from a tiny Chinese satellite now orbiting the moon. In May, China launched the DSLWP-A and DSLWP-B microsatellites -- also known as Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2 -- into a lunar transfer orbit, although Longjiang-1 was apparently lost in the process and likely remains in deep Earth orbit. They were deployed as secondary payloads with the Queqiao relay satellite as part of the Chang'e 4 mission to the far side of the moon. DSLWP stands for "Discovering the Sky at Longest Wavelengths Pathfinder." The satellite will test low-frequency radio astronomy and space-based interferometry, and while it carries Amateur Radio and educational payloads, no transponder is aboard. The Chang'e 4 mission will be the first-ever attempt at a soft landing on the far side of the moon. The Chang'e-4 lander and rover are scheduled to launch in December. The Harbin Institute of Technology (BY2HIT) developed and built the DSLWP spacecraft and is overseeing that mission. The microsat also carries optical cameras from Saudi Arabia.
An open telecommand protocol allows radio amateurs to take and download images. The spacecraft transmits on 70 centimeters (435.400/436.400 MHz), with 250/500 bps GMSK using 10 kHz wide FM single-channel data, with concatenated codes or JT4G. JT4 uses four-tone FSK, with a keying rate of 4.375 baud; the JT4G sub-mode uses 315 Hz tone spacing and 1,260 Hz total bandwidth.
(Excerpts from the American Radio Relay League's arrl.org web site)
FCC NEWS
compiled by Tom Smith
C-BAND UPDATE
A reminder that the registration period for C-band earth stations ends on October 17th and the comment period on the C-band rulemaking on October 29th. Instruction on filing the registration on C-band earth stations can be found on satellite program carriers SES's website and Intelsat's website. SES has a program that may pay the FCC registration fee. Information can be found here.
In another action by the three major satellite service providers, they jointly announced on October 1st, the formation of the C-band Alliance (CBA) to facilitate the clearing of the C-band spectrum with wireless broadband carriers for the introduction of 5G service while protecting C-band satellite services. The CEO of the Alliance is Bill Tolgenin ,who is currently the CEO of OTA Broadcasting which was founded by Michael Dell to purchase TV stations to resell in the Incentive Auction. Preston Padden will be the person responsible for advocacy and government relations. Padden is currently in charge of government affairs with OTA Broadcasting and was the organizer of a group assisting stations wishing to participate in the incentive auction of TV spectrum. Press releases can be found on SES's website and at Intelsat's website. Both the SES and Intelsat websites have information on their proposals for sharing C-band spectrum with 5G services in the form of press releases and white papers.
PUERTO RICO STATIONS RECEIVE EXTENSION
On August 30th, the FCC extended the period that Puerto Rico stations may remain silent as they rebuild after being damaged from Hurricane Maria. The Puerto Rican stations will receive a six month extension to remain silent for a period from September 6, 2018 to March 6, 2019 if they had filed to remain silent before September 6th. Normally if a station is silent for longer than one year, their license is revoked, but because of the issues surrounding the effects of Hurricane Maria, the FCC is extending the deadline. The release on the extension can be found here.
Certification and Education
compiled by Jim Hermanson
The Open 2018 - 2019 Exam Schedule
| Exam Dates |
Location |
Application Deadline
(to SBE National Office) |
| February 1-11, 2019 |
Local Chapters (Madison Area) |
December 31, 2018 |
| April 9, 2019 |
NAB Show (Las Vegas) |
March 1, 2019 |
| Jun 7-17, 2019 |
Local Chapters (Madison Area) |
April 19, 2019 |
| August 2-12, 2019 |
Local Chapters (Madison Area) |
June 3, 2019 |
| November 1-11, 2019 |
Local Chapters (Madison Area) |
September 24, 2019 |
A reminder that each year, account balance permitting, Chapter 24 will reimburse half the application fee to any member of Chapter 24 in good standing who successfully obtains any SBE certification level not previously held by that member.
From SBE Career Advancement email from National Certification Director Megan Clappe ...
CBNE qualifies as host certification for SBE Specialists
The certification committee recently approved the Certified Broadcast Networking Engineer as an applicable host certification for the SBE Specialist certifications.
Specialist certifications were created to establish a benchmark of individual strengths. Currently SBE offers, 8-VSB, AM Directional and Digital Radio Broadcast Specialist. The upcoming ATSC 3.0 certification will also be a Specialist.
If you are interested in any of the above mentioned certifications, you must first hold a 5, 10 or 20-year certification. Then you may apply to take a Specialist certification.
If you have any questions contact Certification Director Megan Clappe.
When you are ready to take an SBE exam, please fill out the appropriate application and send it into the SBE National office (see address below). You will be notified once your application has been approved. Approximately 3 weeks before the exam time, your local certification chairman will receive a list of applicants in his/her area. He/she will then contact those applicants to schedule a date, time and place for the exams. The exams will be mailed back to the National office for grading. The pass/fail grades will then be mailed directly to the applicants.
You may mail, email or fax your applications to:
Megan E. Clappe
Certification Director
9102 N. Meridian St.
Suite 150
Indianapolis, IN 46260
317-846-9120 Fax
mclappe@sbe.org
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October 2018 Webinars
ATSC 3.0, Module 2: Overview of the Physical Layer, presented by Luke Fay, Sr. Manager Technical Standards, Sony Electronics.
This presentation will cover the scope of the physical standards, the architecture of physical layer, its functional descriptions and the mandatory modes of operation, followed by a few optional technologies and a summary.
The cost is $59 for SBE members and $89 for non members. SBE MemberPlus member participate in the webinar for FREE. Click here to register.
The SBE is saddened to learn of the passing of industry leader Richard Strickland. With that, the 2018 RF Safety course previously scheduled for November 15 has been postponed.
Look for future announcements for the continued Advanced RF Series and an ATSC 3.0/Next Gen TV Series in 2018.
Views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE), its officers, or its members. SBE Chapter 24, Inc. regrets, but is not liable for, any omissions or errors.
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