After a month-long ballot process with its members, Saginaw-based Alpha Media Regional Director of Engineering Geary Morrill has been elected to a 2-year term on the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) Board of Directors. The results were announced on August 29. Morrill is a long-time member of SBE Chapter 91 in Central Michigan. He will… read more
On Thursday, August 15, 2019, WION Radio in Ionia hosted broadcast engineers from SBE Chapter 102 (West Michigan/Grand Rapids) and SBE Chapter 91 (Lansing/Mid Michigan) on the lawn of the radio station for Chapter 102’s annual picnic. The Mid Michigan group was invited by the West Michigan chapter to come and take in the event… read more
REC Networks reports that a low-power FM station in California was recently cited by the FCC for operating without a transmitter that has been certified for use in the LPFM service. According to REC Networks, “the certification requirement dates back to the 1990s prior to the establishment of the LPFM service with the surge of… read more
Alpha Media Regional Director of Engineering Geary Morrill, based in Saginaw, was the featured guest this week on Kirk Harnack’s TWiRT (This Week In Radio Tech) Podcast, discussing the rise of his career beginning in the ’70s and the process today of finding, hiring and training new engineers. Special thanks to Kirk Harnack for sharing. … read more
At the 2019 NAB Show, a broad coalition of broadcast television station groups – including both network owned-and-operated stations and affiliates, as well as public broadcasters — today announced plans to deploy Next-Gen TV in the 40 largest U.S. TV markets by the end of 2020. The announcement includes Fox Television Stations, NBCUniversal Owned Television… read more
Scheduling has begun for the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP). The MAB conducts these alternative inspections regionally from April to October. Every broadcaster wants to be in full compliance with FCC rules, but finding out that you are not in compliance by receiving an FCC fine, can be a costly learning experience. The Michigan Association of… read more
RadioWorld reports that EAS equipment maker Sage Alerting Systems has announced a firmware upgrade for its ENDEC Model 3644. The upgrade, #89-32, adds Blue Alert functionality. Blue Alerts are warnings about police that may be in trouble or are issuing a related emergency message. They are currently voluntary. The company adds, “The release notes also address… read more
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, A topic not much discussed among broadcasters, but one that should be paramount in the future planning of all broadcast companies, is insuring the security of their stations and the safety of their employees. This is an issue on which all broadcasters should be focusing. Last month, the Wisconsin… read more
A reminder to broadcasters that next Wednesday, October 17 is the deadline to register C-Band satellite dishes. The FCC is exploring allowing additional users into this spectrum, and has warned that only registered users of the spectrum will be entitled to any protections against any new users who may be authorized. As previously published in… read more
Note: this event is presently full, but interested attendees may place their name on a waiting list in the event of cancellations. Nautel, in conjunction with Comrex, Double Radius, ERI, Munn-Reese, Optimized Media Group, Wheatstone and the MAB, are hosting a one-day series of engineering sessions for engineers in northern Michigan. This will be a… read more