|
CHAPTER 24, Inc., MADISON, WI
|
Our Next Meeting:
Wednesday, June 24th
This will be a "Virtual Meeting"
TV Transmission Monitoring
Avateq Corp., headquartered in Canada, manufactures RF Layer Monitoring Receivers and Signal Analyzers. Their AVQ1020 RF monitor is deployed monitoring hundreds of television transmitters. Their AVQ1022 RF Signal Analyzer is used by RF consultants and transmitter field engineers for proof of performance at transmitter sites. They also have in-field monitoring and SFN monitoring with their portable AVQ200 tool.
William Smith of Avateq will show us what modern day RF monitoring and analysis looks like.
7:00 PM - Meeting/Program
This meeting will be held virtually.
Details including connection information will
be distributed in the days prior to the meeting.
Last Meeting's Minutes
Submitted by Russ Awe, Secretary
The SBE Chapter 24 meeting was called to order by Chapter Chair Britny Williams at 7pm, May 28, 2020 via a Zoom virtual meeting. The meeting had 15 members, one sustaining member, and three guests attending. This Zoom meeting technology was a first for our chapter meeting during this Pandemic.
The last Secretary meeting minutes were moved, seconded via chat and approved as submitted.
Election results from this last spring were then highlighted. The officers are:
Brinty Williams - Chapter Chair
Matthew Mommaerts - Vice Chair
Russ Awe - Secretary
Mike Norton - Treasurer
Thank you all for your service. A special thank you to Roy Henn for being past treasurer as he passes those duties to Mike Norton.
Newly elected Chapter Treasurer Mike Norton reported that the Chapter is in the black. Due to COVID 19 the paperwork at the bank transferring treasures had taken longer to process but that is now in place.
With the eNews letter, Leonard Charles reported that the deadline for articles for the June eNews letter is this Monday June 1st at 5pm. Please forward any article of interest to Chapter 24 members to Lcharles@sbe.org. If you don't receive the eNews letter and want to, send an email addressed to Lcharles@sbe.org to be added to the distribution list.
Britny Williams with the membership report stated that the chapter has a new member, Paul Cargill with EBC Engineering. Paul was previously from the Green Bay chapter. Welcome Paul!
Fred could not be present tonight, but passed along a note that the chapter has an additional Sustaining Membership. Thanks to Bryan Nelson from Alpha Video for that membership. One Sustaining membership did not renew so the chapter remains at 12 Sustaining Memberships.
The Programs report from Britny detailed upcoming program ideas. For a full list, dates and planned programs please see the Chapter 24 web site http://www.sbe24.org/Meetings/C24_mtg.asp. If you have ideas for programs, please contact Britny.
Tom Smith with Frequency Coordination reported that there has been nothing to report due to COVID 19 and everything being cancelled or postponed.
With the National SBE news, Leonard Charles reported that SBE has two new webinars coming in June.
Thursday, June 4 at 1 pm CDT
Wisconsin's own Chris Tarr, group director of engineering at Magnum Media, will lead "Management Skills for Broadcast Engineers."
Thursday, June 18
Derek Badala, Director of Sales, The Americas, Synthax, Inc., will present AoIP Module 4, Audio Codecs for Broadcast Applications.
Both webinars are free to SBE MemberPlus members; $62 for traditional members and $92 for non-members. Each webinar is also good for 1 SBE recertification credit.
Deadline for nominations for the 2020 SBE National Awards are due June 15. This includes the "SBE Chapter Engineer of the Year" award. Nomination information is on the SBE website under Membership/Awards.
No old or new business was brought forward.
Motion to adjourn was made by Russ, seconded by Chuck.
Meeting was adjourned by Britny at 7:19pm.
The meeting was followed with a presentation from Bryan Nelson from Alpha Video, Minneapolis. A very good presentation on how NDI and SRT workflows can help produce content and monitor stations totally remotely in these work from home times.
Program Ideas Needed
The Chapter 24 2020 meeting schedule is available here. Is there a topic you would like to see covered at one of our local Chapter 24 meetings? Or, better yet, is there a topic that you'd like to speak on at an upcoming meeting? Please forward any ideas to Britny Williams or to one of the Chapter 24 officers for consideration. There are several open dates available.
Amateur Radio News
Compiled by Tom Weeden, WJ9H
One of the two American astronauts on board the historic SpaceX flight to the International Space Station is a radio amateur. Bob Behnken of the "Bob and Doug" team is KE5GGX. Behnken and Doug Hurley were aboard the SpaceX vehicle "Dragon" that marked the return of human spaceflight from US soil for the first time in almost a decade on their May 30th launch. The Saturday launch from Cape Canaveral also marked the first time humans traveled aloft via a commercial spacecraft.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many radio clubs have made decisions to cancel their group participation in ARRL Field Day this year due to public health recommendations and/or requirements, or to significantly modify their participation for safe social distancing practices. With this in mind, less than a month to go before 2020 ARRL Field Day, June 27-28, the ARRL Programs and Services Committee (PSC) has adopted two temporary rule waivers for the event:
1) For Field Day 2020 only, Class D ("Home stations") may work all other Field Day stations, including other Class D stations, for points.
Field Day rule 4.6 defines Class D as "Home" stations which includes stations operating from permanent or licensed station locations using commercial power. Class D stations ordinarily may only count contacts made with Class A, B, C, E, and F Field Day stations, but the temporary rule waiver for 2020 allows Class D stations to count contacts with other Class D stations for QSO credit.
2) In addition, for 2020 only, an aggregate club score will be published, which will be the sum of all individual entries indicating a specific club (similar to the aggregate score totals used in ARRL affiliated club competitions).
Ordinarily, club names are only published in the results for Class A and Class F entries, but the temporary rule waiver for 2020 allows participants from any Class to optionally include a single club name with their submitted results following Field Day.
The temporary rule waivers were adopted by the PSC on May 27, 2020.
ARRL Field Day is one of the biggest events on the amateur radio calendar, with over 36,000 participants in 2019, including entries from 3,113 radio clubs and emergency operations centers. In most years, Field Day is also the largest annual demonstration of ham radio, because many radio clubs organize their participation in public places such as parks and schools.
(Excerpts from the American Radio Relay League's arrl.org web site)
FCC NEWS
compiled by Tom Smith
LPTV Displacement Actions
On June 1st, the FCC issued two notices concerning the displacement of low-power TV stations due to the reallocation of the 600 MHz band to wireless broadband use. The first action (DA-20-573A1) was to remind stations located in the guard band (TV channel 38) and duplex band (TV Channels 44 and 45) that they must cease operation on July 13, 2020. The first 3 MHz of TV channel 38 along with reserved channel 37 for space research forms a 9 MHz buffer between the new wireless spectrum and the remaining UHF TV band. The duplex band is an 11 MHz gap between the lower half of the new wireless broadband spectrum used for downlink to the customer and the upper part of the wireless broadband spectrum used for uplink to the provider. LPTV stations on channel 38, 44 and 45 that are still operating must cease operation and move to a new channel on the remaining TV bands if they have a construction permit for a new channel or must go silent and either apply for a new channel or return their license and go off the air. Two LPTV stations in the Madison market are affected by the notice, WMWD-LD Channel 38 Madison which has a construction permit for channel 15 and WSMW channel 45 Janesville which has a construction permit for channel 7. WMWD has been off the air for some time. Both stations are owned by the Word of God Fellowship.
The second action (DA-20-576A1) allows LPTV stations that currently have mutually exclusive applications pending, an opportunity to amend their applications and either settle with the competing applicant, or file an engineering change to another channel, or other engineering change (such as transmitter site or antenna modifications) that would allow for operation between the applicants. The settlement period is from June 1 to July 31, 2020.
Public Notice Rules Modified
On May 12th, the FCC modified its rules (FCC-20-65A1) concerning public notices when applications by broadcast stations are filed. When an entity files an application for a new station, seeks to modify it's facilities, or files for renewal of its license, it must notify the public. This notice changes some of the rules pertaining to the public notice announcements. The first rule change is that stations may replace notices in the local paper with a notice on the stations website or another website related to the station such as its parent corporate website. The FCC requires the notice to contain a specific wording. The second rule change applies to the over the air announcements. The new requirements include making 6 announcements with a FCC required script over a four week period starting within 5 days after the FCC accepts the application. The announcements may not air on the same days of the week. The notice must air between 7 AM and 11 PM. The script contains the announcement of the FCC web address to the stations public file for the public to view the application. TV stations must display the copy of the script and may use either a full screen display or a crawl. The notices need only be aired on a TV stations main channel and need not be aired on the stations sub channel. LPFM stations follow the same rules for making the announcement as full power non-commercial stations. Stations must still certify with their applications that the announcements were aired and that the dates of airing are placed in their public file . Since the FCC has a required script, stations do not need to place a copy in the public file. The FCC retains the current list of applications which do not require a public notice.
For the Record
(Wisconsin FCC Grants)
compiled by Leonard Charles
5-12-2020
Lakefront Communications, LLC
WJYI 1340 KHZ Milwaukee WI
WKLH 96.5 MHZ Milwaukee WI
WHQG 102.9 MHZ Milwaukee WI
WJMR-FM 98.3 MHZ Menomonee FALLS WI
WNRG-FM 106.9 MHZ Brookfield WI
W254CU 98.7 MHZ Milwaukee WI
Voluntary Transfer of Control, as amended
From: SAGA Communications, Inc.
To: SAGA Communications Reincorporation, Inc.
|
5/19/2020
First Unitarian Society of Madison
WMUU-LP, 102.9 MHZ, Madison, WI
Voluntary Assignment of License
From: First Unitarian Society of Madison
To: Cow-Power Media Productions
Supplement filed 11/01/2019 by
First Unitarian Society of Madison
Application dismissed per licensee's request.
|
5/20/2020
Digital Networks-Midwest LLC
W15DM-D, CHAN-15, Waupaca WI
W44DO-D, CHAN-44, Rhinelander WI
W36DH, CHAN-21, Waupaca WI
K32GF, CHAN-18, Rhinelander WI
Voluntary Assignment of License
From: Digital Networks-Midwest, LLC
To: Reach High Media Group, Inc.
|
Certification and Education
compiled by Jim Hermanson
The Open 2020 Exam Schedule
| Exam Dates |
Location |
Application Deadline
(to SBE National Office) |
| August 7-17, 2020 |
Local Chapters (Madison Area) |
June 12, 2020 |
| November 6-16, 2020 |
Local Chapters (Madison Area) |
September 21, 2020 |
What certifications am I eligible for? Click here
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. Contact the SBE Chapter 24 chairperson or certification chairperson for more information.
Ready to Take an Exam?
When you are ready to take an SBE exam, note the open exam schedule, complete the appropriate application (found here... https://www.sbe.org/sections/Cert_App_Proc.php) and send it directly to the SBE National office (see address below) with the respective fee. You will be notified once your application is approved. Your local certification chairman will receive a list of applicants and exams in his/her chapter and arrange for a proctor. He/she will then contact applicants to schedule a mutually agreeable date, time, and place for the exam(s) within the respective exam date window. This must be coordinated before the exam will be sent by SBE National. Completed exam(s) will be mailed back to SBE National for grading. Pass/fail results will be mailed directly to the applicants within approximately six weeks.
The majority of SBE certifications are open book and access to the Internet is allowed to give a more "real world" situation.
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
|
Ready to Recertify?
When you are ready to recertify, see the following page for forms and information.
https://www.sbe.org/sections/cert_recert.php
Please keep SBE up to date on your contact information. When your certification is due to expire, you should receive a letter from SBE six, three and one month prior to your certification expiring. You will also receive an email notification.
The next expiration date is 7/1/2020. Please send in your re-certification paperwork by that date.
If you have any questions contact Certification Director Megan Clappe.
June Webinars
Management Skills for Broadcaster Engineers - June 4
The webinar is presented by Chris Tarr, CSRE, AMD, DRB, CBNE, the group director of engineering at Magnum Media. The Management Skills webinar will discuss how to effectively deal with "non-engineers" in the workplace, and basic good management practices. We'll cover things like effective communication, email tips, dealing with emergencies, and how to handle yourself when things get difficult. It's a great presentation for those getting started in the business, or even those who just want to be more effective in the workplace.
Members $62, MemberPlus Members FREE and Non Members $92. Register Here
AoIP, Module 4 - Audio Codecs for Broadcast Applications - June 18
IP Audio Codec technology for reliable transport over unreliable networks is a class designed to educate attendees about the world of IP Audio Codecs for Broadcast Applications. This class will give attendees the foundations of IP Audio, IP Audio Transport over a LAN / WAN, as well as the keys to reliable audio transport for Broadcast-Critical applications.
Key topics include: The relationship between network speed, audio compression, and latency; Choosing the right audio compression algorithm for your given application; Error correction technology available to insure secure and reliable audio transport; Key technologies available for broadcasting Dante, MADI, AES 67, AES/EBU using your existing internet connection; and Cost-effective solutions available for Remote Broadcasting, STL, SSL, DVB Audio, and Web Radio.
This presentation will look into the advantages each technology has to offer, what they are, where and how they are used, and answer any questions the participants have.
Members $62, MemberPlus Members FREE and Non Members $92. Register Here
Completion of each of these SBE webinars qualifies for one credit, identified under Category I of the Recertification Schedule for SBE Certifications. The fee for SBE members $62. SBE Members with SBE MemberPlus are FREE. The non-member fee is $92.
Tons of state-of-the-art radio, TV, multimedia, and IT engineering training is available through this page...
https://www.sbe.org/sections/WebinarsbySBE.php
More information on SBE Education Programs is available here...
https://www.sbe.org/sections/edu_seminars.php
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. Articles of interest to Chapter 24 members are accepted up to the close of business the 1st day of each month. Send your article to lcharles@sbe.org.
|