Thursday, November 17th The Changing Face of Audio Processing by Angry Audio Cornelius Gould is a Cleveland radio voice veteran who migrated to engineering and gravitated towards getting the most out of the signal he had to work with. He became part of the development team at Omnia instrumental in designing the Omnia.11 and Volt products. For Angry Audio He took everything he has learned and programmed it into a chip for his latest project. Chameleon is the first audio processor line that relies on program content to determine how to process it delivering consistent program level with big sound and great presence. There are currently three models in production with several more coming. We hope you will join the discussion. - - - - This meeting will be virtual. Details will be distributed on the Chapter's email group in the days prior to the meeting. 
Tom Smith February 27, 1949 - October 22, 2022 Last Meeting Minutes
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| Woodward Radio Group CE |
| WMTV TV, Broadcast Engineer |
| WKOW PT MC Operator |
Program Ideas Appreciated
Amateur Radio News
Compiled by Tom Weeden, WJ9H
FT Myers ARC ARISS Event
Students from Canterbury School in Fort Myers, Florida, were able to spend a few minutes on Monday, October 24, talking with Astronaut Josh Cassada, KI5CRH, onboard the International Space Station (ISS) using ham radio. The radio contact, arranged by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, provided hope for a community devastated by Hurricane Ian. School officials estimated that 30% of the school's faculty, staff, and families were left homeless after the hurricane passed through their area.
The contact was made just after 1:30 PM EDT, and students were able ask Astronaut Cassada questions ranging from, "Is the sun brighter in outer space?" to "What's your favorite meal?" The contact lasted just over 10 minutes, when the ISS was over the Caribbean Sea.
Members of the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club, an American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Special Service Club, supported the school by providing students with technical instruction and radio equipment. The club's call sign, W4LX, was used to operate the ground station that established and maintained the contact with the ISS. Several students built a satellite tracking antenna system capable of locking onto and tracking a satellite while in range to receive the ISS signal.
An ARISS news release described that as the students were preparing for the big day, "they saw the first pictures of Hurricane Ian, as seen from the ISS, bearing down on the coast of Florida. Evacuations were ordered in advance of the catastrophic winds and storm surges, which eventually affected many of the homes of students, faculty, and staff. In the wake of this destruction, it was uncertain whether the ARISS contact could occur. However, if only for a moment of reprieve from their loss and destruction, the entire Canterbury school community, including the school's staff/faculty, amateur radio operators, students and students' families, decided to pull together to support the ARISS contact and thereby renew their sense of hope and inspiration in human space exploration."
The Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club website has a link to a video of their entire contact with the ISS. Link Here
HAARP Antenna Array
The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) conducted their largest-ever experiment and research campaign from October 19-28. Amateur radio operators were invited to listen and participate.
The research lasted for 10 days and included 13 experiments. The transmission experiments included moon bounce, Jupiter bounce, high-frequency ocean scatter, and ionosphere satellite interactions. Amateur radio operators were asked to monitor the times of the transmissions and signal quality.
This was the most scientifically diverse campaign ever conducted at HAARP. Particularly notable experiments included a first-of-its-kind attempt to bounce a signal off Jupiter, investigation into possible causes of the airglow phenomenon known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), and testing the feasibility of using radio transmissions to measure the interiors of near-Earth asteroids.
"The October research campaign is our largest and most diverse to date, with researchers and citizen scientists collaborating from across the globe," said HAARP Program Manager Jessica Matthews. Learn more about it.
More EAS Changes Proposed
•Promote security by requiring Emergency Alert System participants and the wireless providers that deliver Wireless Emergency Alerts to annually certify that they have a cybersecurity risk management plan and implement sufficient security measures for their alerting systems.
•Guard against false alerts by requiring participating wireless providers to transmit sufficient authentication information to ensure that only valid alerts are displayed on consumer devices.
EAS State Plan Updates
The Commission is requiring SECC's to develop redundant sources for the reception and relay of National level alerts (EAN) to act as a backup to the Primary Entry Point (PEP) source in your state. The recommended sources are the National Public Radio squawk channel NPR-1 and the barker channel 1 on SiriusXM.
Another requirement is for stations to ensure the security of the EAS device. This includes installing the most recent software updates, password management, and maintaining the EAS devices behind a secure firewall.
For more information in Wisconsin contact Gary Timm, broadcast chair of the State Emergency Communications Committee.
Newest SBE Chapter
Discussions continued over the summer, and a course of action was established. Ten engineers in the Republic of Georgia have become SBE members with the intent to form an SBE chapter that would serve engineers in the countries of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova.
The group has already incorporated in the Republic of Georgia as the Incorporation of Eastern Europe Broadcast Engineers (IEEBE). As per SBE by-laws, the group held three organizational meetings on Sept. 15, 16 and 19, 2022, and chapter officers were elected at those meetings before applying for chapter status. The new chapter officers are Chair Davit Robakidze, Vice Chair Zurab Gegenava, and Secretary/Treasurer Nino Koberidze.
The SBE Board of Directors approved the new chapter application at its meeting on Sept. 28, during the SBE National Meeting. The new chapter is 148 Eastern Europe.
SBE Surveys
All responses are confidential. The information will be used internally for the SBE. Some general data may be shared, but no individual responses will be attributed to anyone.
Shocking Time of Year
Certification and Education
compiled by Jim Hermanson
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.
When you are ready to take an SBE exam, note the open exam schedule, complete the appropriate application (found here... http://www.sbe.org/applications) 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. Approximately 3 weeks before the exam time, your local certification chairman will receive a list of applicants and exams in his/her area 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.
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:
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Megan E. Clappe Certification Director 9102 N. Meridian St. Suite 150 Indianapolis, IN 46260 317-846-9120 Fax mclappe@sbe.org |
To apply for a specialist certification, an individual must currently hold certification on the Broadcast Engineer, Senior Broadcast Engineer, Professional Broadcast Engineer or Broadcast Networking Engineer Certification level. Exams must be completed within three hours and consist of 50 multiple-choice questions (two points each) and one essay question (20 points maximum). Examinees are provided one essay question to answer. Exams are pass/fail, and a score of 84 is a passing grade.
| Exam Dates | Location | Application Deadline (to SBE National Office) |
February 3-13, 2023 |
Local Chapters (Madison Area) |
January 6, 2023 |
June 1-12, 2023 |
Local Chapters (Madison Area) |
April 21, 2023 |
August 4-14, 2023 |
Local Chapters (Madison Area) |
June 16, 2023 |
November 3-13, 2023 |
Local Chapters (Madison Area) |
September 8, 2023 |
November Webinars
FCC Compliance: Preparing Your Station for a Violation-Free New Year
Thursday, November 10, 2022 | 1 p.m. CT
This webinar will not be so much a review of 2022 but instead a look-ahead to the compliance issues that broadcast engineers should think about as the calendar turns to 2023: EAS functionality and testing, technical record keeping, station identification, tower lighting & marking, C-band dish reimbursement, license accuracy, online public inspection files, etc. If there are any broad topics you think warrant discussion during the presentation, please don't hesitate to make suggestions!
Your Instructors
Steve Hartzell, Esq., Brooks Pierce
As an FCC and communications lawyer, Stephen Hartzell advises broadcasters and other FCC-regulated businesses on a host of compliance matters, and he routinely provides all the same services as his colleagues who practice at DC-based communications firms. He maintains productive relationships with members of the FCC staff. His practice focuses on providing operational advice, including FCC licensing, enforcement issues, EAS, political programming, sponsorship identification/payola, the FCC's EEO rules, broadcast station ownership, closed captioning and other accessibility issues, children's television programming, and indecency and other programming content issues.
Patrick Cross, Esq., Brooks Pierce
Patrick represents media and broadcasting companies and radio and television stations in resolving issues regarding FCC regulatory compliance, FCC enforcement matters, programming, licensing, technical matters, copyright and other intellectual property matters, ownership, and a variety of other issues. Patrick has been practicing law since 2016 and clerked for two federal judges prior to joining Brooks Pierce's Communications Practice.
Prior to his legal career, Patrick spent seven years touring the world as the lead guitarist and tour manager for an eleven-member musical act.
SBE Recertification Credit
The completion of a webinar from Webinars by SBE qualifies for 1 credit, identified under Category I of the Recertification Schedule for SBE Certifications.
Registration and Pricing
This webinar will be approximately 90 minutes long.
SBE Members: $62
MemberPlus Members FREE
Non-Members: $92
Registration Link
Questions?
If you have questions regarding this course, contact Cathy Orosz via email or by phone at 317-846-9000.
More information about registering using the SBE MemberPlus benefit
All SBE webinars are included at no additional cost for members who renew or join using the $175 SBE MemberPlus membership option. You get all the live and archived Webinars by SBE in the SBE catalog plus any new webinars the SBE adds during the membership year, all for no extra cost. Members can renew and newcomers may join online at the SBE website using the SBE MemberPlus option.
Access to the SBE webinars through the SBE MemberPlus program is limited to the MemberPlus-purchaser only. You are not permitted to distribute, sell, copy, share, project or otherwise make the webinars available to any other individual or group without express written permission by the SBE.
Several state-of-the-art radio, TV, multimedia, and IT engineering training webinars are available through this page...
http://sbe.org/education/webinars-by-sbe/on-demand-webinars/
More information on SBE Education Programs is available here...
http://www.sbe.org/education/
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.