Welcome to the
April 2019 issue of
INTERNATIONAL EDITION
GOT AN IDEA? BUILD IT WITH SCREENBUILDER.
1.252.638-7000 · sales@wheatstone.com
This screen provides full local or remote control over all aspects of a live show, complete with specific console and automation functions. Courtesy SAVE Diffusion.
ENTIRE STUDIO ON A TABLET BUILT WITH SCREENBUILDER
With ScreenBuilder™ 2.0, YOU decide what to put behind your glass. Smart virtual tools. Buttons. Faders. Knobs. Meters. Clocks and timers. Salvos. Hardware control and interaction. Complete signal chains. YOU determine exactly how they function and interact via the Intelligent Network with a simple scripting wizard. Adapt as your needs change. Get the idea?
Why stop at the console when you can virtualize control over your entire studio?
All these Screens were built with ScreenBuilder to create unique solutions and functionality. You can see and learn more about them at: wheatstone.com/screenbuilder2-studio-rwi See Wheatstone in booth N6806 at NAB Show 2019! Designed and built in the USA
I T ’ S A L L I N W H E AT N E T- I P
THE INTELLIGENT NETWORK
INTERNATIONAL EDITION Distributed to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America
RADIO & TV BROADCAST EQUIPMENT AND SOLUTIONS WORLDWIDE www.bdcast.com advertisement
|
APRIL 2019
The News Source for Radio Managers and Engineers
|
RADIOWORLD.COM
Managing SW Broadcasts From Ascension Island
INSIDE IP MANAGEMENT Getty Images/PM Images
The remote Atlantic Relay Station transmits critical radio broadcasts to millions in Africa and beyond
• Tackling more challenges to fully connect multiple locations — Page 6
PREVIEW
• S ee what’s on tap for the spring show — Page 8
BUYER’S GUIDE Neale Bateman
English Bay is on the northern tip of the island. Two of the power station’s wind turbines can be seen in the distance.
BY NEALE BATEMAN
ENGLISH BAY, Ascension Island —
• Flexible transmitter solutions meet broadcasters’ evolving needs — Page 18
A six-mile stretch of volcanic rock in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean is home to the BBC’s Atlantic Relay Station. Now managed and operated by Encompass Digital Media on behalf of the BBC World Service, the stations’ six powerful shortwave transmitters on Ascension
Island beam program in a dozen or more languages to some 30 million listeners in north, west and central Africa. It’s a remarkable and fascinating diversion for a digital media business better known for providing video streaming, TV playout and OTT services — but it’s not only the shortwave transmission site on Ascension that Encompass is responsible for. The company’s engineers also run the island’s
power station (consisting of five diesel generators and five wind turbines) as well as a reverse osmosis desalination plant, supplying electricity and drinking water to the island’s population of more than 800 people. A BRIEF HISTORY Originally garrisoned by the British Navy in the early 19th century, Ascen(continued on page 16)
bionic.radio
Listening, watching, reacting, learning…
Experience the Bionic Studio See for yourself at NAB 2019, Stand N5911
radioworld.com | RADIOWORLD
INTERNATIONAL EDITION Vol. 43 No. 4
◗NEWSWATCH
April 2019
www.radioworld.com FOLLOW US www.twitter.com/radioworld_news www.facebook.com/RadioWorldMagazine
CONTENT Managing Director, Content Paul J. McLane, paul.mclane@futurenet.com Content Director Marguerite Clark, marguerite.clark@futurenet.com Senior Content Producer — Technology Brett Moss, brett.moss@futurenet.com Content Manager Emily Reigart, emily.reigart@futurenet.com Technical Advisers Thomas R. McGinley, Doug Irwin Technical Editor, RWEE W.C. “Cris” Alexander Contributors: Africa: Gregory Lagat, Lameck Masina, John Masuku; Asia: Md. Azizul Alam Al-Amin, Martyn Green, Frederick Noronha, Mark Timpany; Australia: James Cridland; Europe: Andy Bantock, Kevin Branigan, Giuseppe Camonita, Nuno de Sousa, Charles Flores, Blazo Guzina, Lawrie Hallett, Will Jackson, Hans K. Kristjansson, Drew Leifheit, Raúl Llarull, Urmas Loit, Marc Maes, Davide Moro, Emmanuelle Pautler, Panos Polyzoidis, Bernd Trutenau, Andreas Tzanakos, Thomas Völkner; Latin America: Jorge J. Basilago, Carlos Eduardo Behrensdorf, Juan G. Buenaventura; Eduardo Curuchet, Arturo Valentino; New Zealand: Nick Gerritsen; North America: John Bisset, James Careless, Scott Fybush, Randy J. Stine Production Managers Nicole Schilling Managing Design Director Nicole Cobban Senior Design Director Karen Lee ADVERTISING SALES Publisher, Radio World International Raffaella Calabrese, raffaella.calabrese@futurenet.com, +39-320-891-1938 Senior Business Director & Publisher, Radio World John Casey, john.casey@futurenet.com, +1-212-378-0400 x512 SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE To subscribe, change your address, or check on your current account status, go to www.radioworld.com and click on About Us, email futureplc@computerfulfillment.com, call +1-888-266-5828, or write P.O. Box 282, Lowell, MA 01853. LICENSING/REPRINTS/PERMISSIONS Radio World is available for licensing. Contact the Licensing team to discuss partnership opportunities. Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw licensing@futurenet.com MANAGEMENT Managing Director/Senior Vice President Christine Shaw Chief Revenue Officer Luke Edson Chief Marketing Officer Wendy Lissau Head of Production US & UK Mark Constance VP/Media Technology Group Carmel King FUTURE US, INC. 11 West 42nd Street,15th Floor, New York, NY 10036
All contents ©Future US, Inc. or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 02008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to them. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. If you submit material to us, you warrant that you own the material and/or have the necessary rights/permissions to supply the material and you automatically grant Future and its licensees a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in any/all issues and/or editions of publications, in any format published worldwide and on associated websites, social media channels and associated products. Any material you submit is sent at your own risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents, subcontractors or licensees shall be liable for loss or damage. We assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and reserve the right to edit, amend, adapt all submissions.
Future plc is a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR) www.futureplc.com
Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Non-executive chairman Peter Allen Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244
DIGITAL RADIO MONDIALE RELEASES UPDATED HANDBOOK Digital Radio Mondiale has released the fourth revision of its free DRM Handbook. Aimed at the management of broadcasting organizations and regulators, the guide outlines the benefits Digital Radio Mondiale technology for radio broadcasters, as well as technical and commercial considerations when formulating a strategy for its introduction. It also includes information on the technical and regulatory aspects of DRM (in AM and VHF bands) for both large and local coverage and provides links to reports and articles on a range of DRM trials. DRM says it has updated the handbook to “keep pace with the extensive new real-life findings of DRM tests and demonstrations” and that the publication contains updated Modulation Error Ratio (MER) figures for DRM for local coverage along with other updates. “This is not a revision of the standard, which is ITU recommended and operates within the same channel and spectrum allocation as existing analog transmissions with the added digital benefits of better audio, compression and digital multimedia services. It is just a revision of a document written by the best DRM experts,” explains DRM Chair Ruxandra Obreja. “It is free handbook that DRM wants to share with the world radio community interested in digitization.”
GATESAIR EXPANDS EMEA SALES FORCE As part of its continued expansion in the EMEA region, GatesAir has appointed broadcast industry veteran Alexander Kurz to its EMEA sales team. GatesAir says Kurz will report to Andy McClelland, managing director, EMEA and India, and will work closely with the broader EMEA sales and business development team in the DACH [Germany, Austria, Switzerland] region. He’ll also cover most European countries and CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries south and east to the Ukrainian and Russian borders, and work closely with EMEA business development manager Peter Timmons to support regional roadshows, customer visits and partner training sessions. Kurz has more than 20 years of industry experience and joins GatesAir from NeuLion, where he helped overthe-air broadcasters and PayTV providers distribute and monetize OTT content to complement existing TV services. He also has over 15 years of experience in the test and measurement field with Ineoquest and Tektronix. “Alexander’s depth of broadcast experience and regional knowledge, including strong customer relationships that he has solidified over more than two decades, makes him the ideal person to strengthen GatesAir’s visibility and market share in the DACH and eastern European regions,” said Rich Redmond, president and managing director, International for GatesAir. “We are excited to welcome him to the team as we continue to expand our presence throughout EMEA and other international regions.”
◗MARKETPLACE Broadcast From Anywhere: Broadcasts Bionics’ Anywhere solution is designed to ease the task of station staff by allowing them to invite guests, contributors and correspondents to connect directly to the studio from any browser, on any device (smartphone, laptop or tablet), from anywhere. The company says Anywhere offers highquality audio and one-click technology. The company also offers The Bionic Studio, which incorporates one’s IP console and playout system with Bionic Talkshow and its add-on, Skype TX, as well as fully integrating the Bionic Social, Bionic Director and Bionic Contest modules. The company’s new rebranding scheme lets users buy separate components and tailor their studio technology around individual workflow. Behind The Bionic Studio is the Bionic Core, offering production tools such as object recording, multitrack editing and video transcription to repurpose content. The company says “making station content quickly discoverable, easily shareable and fit for multiplatform broadcasting doesn’t have to be onerous and The Bionic Studio is an extension to a station’s talent, where imagination is the only limitation.” Info: http://www.bionics.co.uk
3
April 2019
radioworld.com | RADIOWORLD
“Bruno dans la Radio” Broadcasts From Brussels Fun Radio’s French morning drive show takes a road trip to Belgium
explained Bruno Fonfrede, broadcast manager for Fun Radio France. “The configuration consists of a Studer Vista 1 digital broadcast console, six UHF-R Shure HF presenter microphones, a Netia Air-DDO playout system and an Adeuxi hot key player. Bruno has been collecting soundbites for many years and keeps them in a sound bank sampler for easy access during the show. Three Sony C300 and two Panasonic HE130 cameras for Fun Vision complete the setup.” Fun Radio’s engineers in the Atomium studio use Vista’s internal compression and EQ with additional sound optimization coming from Fun Radio engineers in Paris. “The audio was routed by internet streaming to the Fun Radio studio in Paris and the video signal is channeled from the Atomium presentation studio down to Fun Radio France owner M6’s production truck for transmission via satellite,” added Fonfrede. “The whole show is produced in Brussels. The Netia playout (continued on page 6)
The video feed was sent to Paris via M6’s satellite car. Pictured on stage, left to right, are Maxime Poullaouec, journalist; co-hosts Gregory Vacher and Christina Guilloton; presenter Bruno Guillon; co-host Elliot Chemlekh (disguised as “Manneken Pis”); and comedians Karina Siamer and Mikka Rocchia.
BY MARC MAES
BRUSSELS — On Friday Feb. 8, the popular Fun
Radio show “Bruno dans la radio” (“Bruno on the Radio”) broadcast live from the Atomium landmark building in Brussels, where 150 Belgian Fun Radio listeners got the chance to attend the event. “Bruno dans la radio” is Fun Radio’s prime morning drive show, airing from 6–9 a.m. on the airwaves of both Fun Radio France and, since August 2016, Fun Radio Belgique. Hosted by Bruno Guillon, the show attracts a cumulative audience of 1,700,000 listeners in France (250 frequencies), and more than 100,000 in Bel-
gium, where Fun Radio broadcasts on 20 frequencies in Brussels and the French speaking region. TECHNICAL SETUP “Bruno is one of the top hosts on the Belgian Fun Radio roster,” said Antoine Fleurus, press officer with Fun Radio Belgique. “In less than three years, he has become a main Belgian brand through as well.” “We transferred a complete onair studio to the Atomium, an exact copy of the studio Bruno uses in Paris,”
FULLY AUTOMATED VISUAL RADIO
N4816 www.multicam-systems.com
by
5
RADIOWORLD |
@radioworld_news
RadioWorldMagazine
April 2019
Solving the Missing Link We’ve mastered the IP studio but need to tackle more challenges to fully connect multiple locations
◗GUEST COMMENTARY BY DEE McVICKER
Something is clearly missing between the IP at your studio and the IP out in the wild. On the one end, IP is crisscrossing the globe and touching smart houses, smartphones and everything in modern life. On the other end, IP is also coursing through your studios. In its own AoIP way, it, too, is — routing audio, switching controls and making things happen. And in between? A huge disconnect in terms of full, seamless studio operation between two or more locations. We can talk all we want about virtual in a cloud or centralizing operations for several stations scattered across a region, but until we can connect up those two worlds, none of that is going to happen. It all comes down to solving that missing link, or more accurately, several missing links. Let’s start with the IP audio networked studio as we know it. Here, you can move programming around via audio drivers and control various elements throughout using software and hardware logic controllers built into the IP audio network. You can trigger mics on or off, set their levels, and in the case of WheatNet-IP, sum, split, EQ and control audio from anywhere in the network and in all the ways that are unique and important to a broadcast operation. CONTROL ACROSS THE DISTANCE That kind of intelligent studio operation currently extends only so far, however. To reach across the ether, you have had to leave some of that control behind. So while we have a multitude of very effective ways to port audio across many different platforms using a number of standards and protocols — AES67, MADI and AES, for example — we haven’t found an easy way to send along all the AoIP operating logic to go with it. Without that logic, you can’t do the most basic of studio functions at a distance — like turn on a mic or press a play button from 1,000 miles
away. You can’t send and receive router commands, automation control or set fader levels across two locations. You certainly can’t connect two facilities from city to city. Without being able to transfer control logic, it’s impossible to switch audio locally from a regional studio on the other side of the continent or even in the next town over. AoIP manufacturers have tried to solve this problem in various ways in the past. One promising new solution is an AoIP appliance for the WheatNetIP audio network that includes its ACI control interface along with two other key technologies. SwitchBlade is the first product of its kind to combine AoIP logic control with SIP connectivity and codec bandwidth optimization for transporting both highquality programming and the control logic critical for full studio operation between sites. With this, broadcasters can extend full, seamless studio operation across the public internet. They can remotely control a console, mic or automation system from a sister facility in the next state or from a network operation center halfway across the globe. CODECS NEEDED Key to bridging the distance between locations is being able to transfer highquality programming. With demanded bandwidth in the megabits/second range (1.4 megabits every second for typical stereo music) and available bandwidth over public and private IP links typically in the kilobits/second range (96 kbps, 256 kbps), we need really good codecs to give us the means to fit high-quality programming down those pipes and have it come out the other end sounding like broadcast quality. We’ve been using and perfecting codecs for a number of years and for a number of purposes, such as downloading music to our phones, sending audio to the transmitter, even for HD radio. In broadcasting, different codecs serve different applications, which is why broadcast equipment manufacturers offer a number of different codecs for distribution and remote products. SwitchBlade, for example, includes 256 kbps stereo Opus, G.711, G.722 and a half-dozen other codecs.
In fact, the number of uses and types of codecs available today is staggering, which brings us to SIP. SwitchBlade uses SIP to simplify that codec selection. It has two network connections: one to connect directly into the WheatNet-IP audio network and the other for connecting to a SIP server.
Getty Images/PM Images
6
SIP, TOO SIP, or session initiation protocol, is a complete messaging protocol for initiating and terminating multimedia communication sessions. When two devices are made aware of each other via SIP, they are able to talk back and forth about bandwidth, whether audio is stereo or mono, how they will communicate with each other and the type of codec to be used to encode the audio in transit. SIP is an important protocol used in VoIP communications for establishing audio connections over IP paths. As such, it can take the pain out of getting audio paths automatically hooked up at the best possible quality. For example, with 24 simultaneous connections available, one SwitchBlade appliance at the studio can send the same program content to six different transmitter sites, each using different SIP-compatible codec brands and settings and still have 18 more in reserve. In this way, it
FUN RADIO (continued from page 5)
software playlist includes 25 tracks picked by the show’s music programmer. Commercials and news-bulletins for the French and Belgian markets are inserted in Paris, and displayed on the on-air studio screens in Brussels.” Alongside Guillon and his three co-hosts Christina Guilloton, Gregory Vacher and Elliot Chemlekh, the on-air team included three extra presenters for the program’s three “Journal Pas en Images” (“News Without Pictures”) comedy news-bulletins, two telephone operators, a community manager for social media, two audio producers, a video director and two video engineers. “In total, we had 25 people travel to Brussels to facilitate the three-
becomes possible for broadcasters to replace two, four, six or more encoders with one box at the studio and hang onto existing codec units at transmitter sites. At its more advanced level, SIPbased connectivity makes it possible to transport high-quality programming to or from just about anywhere — to affiliates, from stadiums, between regional studios and across the ether to a net-
Without being able to transfer control logic, it’s impossible to switch audio locally from a regional studio on the other side of the continent or even in the next town over. work operation center. SIP negotiates the connection as well as the method for compressing high quality streams, freeing the broadcaster to transport programming without regard to the tedious details of routing and transport mechanisms used on the other end. In summary, to move full AoIP studio operation across the chasm to regional or network operation centers, we’ll need our systems to mobilize AoIP control logic, establish high-quality audio connections and interoperate with the ubiquitous codecs found at large. Dee McVicker is affiliated with Wheatstone, which makes the WheatNet-IP audio network. hour broadcast,” said Fonfrede. On Thursday, Feb. 7, the Fun Radio crew started preparations at the Atomium site with final audio rehearsal taking place between 3–4 p.m. The “Bruno dans la radio” playlist included dedicated Belgian-produced tracks and featured interviews with local guests like Willart Pascal who runs chip shop Maison Antoine in Brussels, Elena Castro Suarez (Miss Belgium 2019) and weather presenter Cécile Djunga. “It is a pleasure to welcome Bruno and his team to Belgium in the Atomium, an emblematic site, the ‘Belgian Eiffel tower,’ a true milestone location for an international radio production,” added Gregory Finn, manager of Fun Radio Belgique. “It’s also the first time we have Bruno presenting a show live in Belgium.”
8
RADIOWORLD |
@radioworld_news
RadioWorldMagazine
NAB Show Looks at Global Digital Radio Achievements
Spring show session highlights a few of the key growth points this year
April 2019
IF YOU GO What: 2019 NAB Show
BY MARGUERITE CLARK Who: “Media, entertainment and technology professionals looking for new and innovative ways to create, manage, deliver and monetize content on any platform.”
LAS VEGAS — Digital radio has
made significant progress in recent months and NAB Show session “Digital Radio Roll Out Around the World” will provide attendees with an overview of some of these developments. Radio World spoke to three of the conference’s speakers, Joan Warner, CEO Commercial Radio Australia; Joe D’Angelo, senior V.P. Radio at Xperi Inc.; and Ole Jorgen Torvmark, CEO at Norsk Radio AS, to gain insight into these advances for DAB+ and HD Radio as well as the issues associated with digital deployment and consumer adoption. DRM is another format notable by recent growth, though it was not part of the panel at press time. TURNING POINT For Warner, who is also V.P. of WorldDAB, the European Union’s implementation of the new European Electronic Communications Code
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center The increasing population coverage of DAB+ across Europe.
When: April 6–11
(EECC) marks a turning point for the radio industry. The directive, which took effect in December, requires all new car radios sold in the 27 EU member states to be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio as well as any FM or AM functionality manufacturers may want to include. Warner believes this directive “highlights the wider radio industry’s shift toward a digital future, and more importantly, it ensures that millions of car drivers across Europe will have access
How: www.nabshow.com
to the various benefits presented by digital terrestrial radio.” Torvmark echoes this sentiment, adding that the new EU code “sends a clear signal to all EU countries, car manufacturers and radio listeners that one must take into account a digital future for broadcast radio too.” Reflecting on his native Norway, the first country to switch off national FM services, Torvmark adds that the biggest news there is about radio listening figures, which had declined after the country’s digital switchover in 2017 but
How Much: A variety of registration options are offered, including a Conference Flex Pass for $855 and a free exhibits pass with exhibitor code.
In addition, France’s media regulator Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel just published the list of stations that have received a DAB+ license to begin broadcasting nationwide via digital terrestrial radio in 2020. Among recipients
The European Electronic Communications Code marks a turning point for the radio industry. are now back to where they were before the transition. “With the digital switchover behind us, and with the knowledge that we have secured a national, digital, freeto-air backbone for radio distribution, the Norwegian radio industry is focusing on how we can best manage the rest of radio’s distribution, including the user data.” Now, he says, the focus is on “becoming stronger as an industry across borders in the developments for radio taking place with connected cars, voice-controlled devices and IP-distribution.” In other parts of Europe stats show Germany leading the way, surpassing the United Kingdom, as the main DAB+ consumer receiver market. Both Italy and France now have receiver legislation in place that requires all new receivers to include digital audio capabilities. And in the U.K. DAB today accounts for more than half of all radio listening.
are all six of public broadcaster Radio France’s radio channels — France Inter, France Info, France Culture, France Musique, Fip and Mouv’. OUTSIDE EUROPE Beyond Europe, Warner points to a number of markets she says WorldDAB is monitoring. These include Vietnam and Thailand, where a 20-month trial with 11 stations is expected to go on air this year in Bangkok. “Vietnam is also hoping to complete a digital switchover by 2025,” she said. “The first DAB+ trials in the country were conducted in Hanoi in 2013, and more trials are expected this year. The results of the trials in Vietnam are set to be evaluated in 2020.” In North America, the HD Radio system continues to move forward with increasing commercial deployment in Mexico, the United States and Canada. In Mexico, D’Angelo counts more than (continued on page 10)
10
RADIOWORLD |
@radioworld_news
RadioWorldMagazine
April 2019
DIGITAL RADIO (continued from page 8)
100 stations that have converted to the digital radio standard, and in Canada, he says, broadcasters also continue to add stations and evaluate the system performance as they move through their regulatory process. “The strong show of support by broadcasters has helped drive an increase in HD Radio equipped cars,” said D’Angelo. “There are now over 55 million cars on the road with HD Radio technology and over 4,300 HD Radio broadcast programs.” D’Angelo explains that recent activities in South America and Southeast Asia seem to indicate that countries in those regions are ready to begin the transition to digital broadcasting. “For years, the lack of widely available receivers or high price points, have slowed the transition to digital in many markets,” he said. INCREASING MOMENTUM “However, in the last decade, the radio industry has benefitted from an ever-increasing number of HD Radio and DAB+ models reflecting a very healthy and vibrant manufacturing and supply chain. In fact, recently the Philippines has broken new ground with
This implementation of HD Radio is shipped across North America. The receiver has these HD Radio features: Digital Audio, HD2/HD3, Program Info, and Artist Experience.
the introduction of the first, extremely affordable HD Radio-enabled cellphone.” But with the changing ways listeners consume audio, how will digital radio
SIMPLE AND SAFE AUDIO LINKS
Modular multi-channels codec with IP, ISDN and AES67
Up to 16 audio channels in 3U ! Analog (Sub-D), AES3 and AES67 audio outputs Hot-swap modules (sold separately) : Up to 8 AoIP & ISDN modules (with double mono codec) Up to 2 AES 67 modules - Ravenna/Dante Up to 2 Control modules Full Redundancy: Power, control and AES67 modules Separated audio and control networks for more safety
www.aeta-audio.com
remain competitive and/or cooperate with internet-based streaming services? D’Angelo believes that while broadcast radio operates in a competitive environment, it also has unique advantages over internet-only streaming services. “In many ways, over-the-air radio is the incumbent for audio services and across markets has the benefit of very large/loyal audiences with extremely well established brands and presenters,” he added. “By investing in all aspects of audio distribution, digital broadcasting, streaming, apps and on-demand, broadcasters are maintaining their connection with their audience and actually growing time spent listening with their programming across distribution platforms.” He warns though that broadcasters need to embrace all technologies available to them and to create unique programming for each medium as needed. “We are particularly excited about the intersection of broadcast and IP services in the car. At Xperi we are working hard with broadcasters in over 50 countries to bring these together with the DTS Connected Radio ecosystem. This platform will ensure that listeners get the best possible radio experience in the car and the broadcasters benefit from enhanced insights and metrics to power their programming and operations.”
Control all the parameters of your codecs remotely and in real time via Internet.
EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY In Warner’s opinion, for the radio industry, streaming on the internet is a complimentary delivery platform to allow listeners to continue access content across all platforms and is not
a replacement for reliable and robust broadcast radio. “Broadcast radio and in particular DAB+ is free, reliable and doesn’t require access to the internet or electricity, which makes it still the most efficient and effective way to communicate live to a mass audience, particularly in times of emergency. The radio industry worldwide is ensuring radio content is available across all devices with broadcast radio AM, FM, DAB+ as the backbone of the business and where the bulk of listening takes place.” Warner, Tovmark and D’Angelo agree that radio’s forte is its adaptability and that the medium — still — has a promising future, also thanks to the industry’s commitment on technology and innovation. “Voice activation technology is a perfect example,” says Warner. “As people move away from reading and typing instructions, radio has integrated this new technology with Amazon Alexa to ensure radio is part of the user experience and in Australia, users can simple ask Alexa to play their favorite radio station. Radio continues to evolve and integrate new ways of accessing the content produced by radio broadcasters 24/7,” she concluded. “Radio is so much more than a jukebox of tracks,” added D’Angelo. “ It remains a highly curated, timely, local medium that delivers an experience, information and entertainment to listeners that cannot be replicated. It is a critical component of any community and can always be counted on. And, just as radio has transitioned from AM to FM to digital it will evolve to ensure that streaming does not kill the radio star.”
12
RADIOWORLD |
@radioworld_news
RadioWorldMagazine
April 2019
Calrec Audio C7408 ChyronHego SL1208 Comrex Booth C2330 D&M Broadcast N6527 Dan Dugan Sound Design C1118 Davicom, division of Comlab N6827 DB Elettronica N6824 Delta Meccanica C3135 Densitron N4515 DEVA Broadcast/Sound4 N5916 Dielectric C2213 Digigram N5919 Elber N4520 ENCO Systems N2524 and SL5616
EXHIBIT HOURS Monday, April 8: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 9: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 10: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Thursday, April 11: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. This is a selection of exhibitors of interest at the 2019 NAB Show. Highlights are paid for by exhibitors; information is from the companies. Check on-site program for changes and full list. Booths preceded by C are in the Central Hall, N is North Hall, SL is South Lower, SU is South Upper, OE is Outdoor-Equipment, MR is Meeting Room, L is Lobby.
AEQ, S.A. Aldena Telecomunicazioni Arctic Palm Technology Arrakis Systems Avid Barix Bittree Broadcast Bionics Burk Technology BW Broadcast
C3651 C1110 N5627 N6211 SU801 C1139 SU6221 N5911 N5224 N7116
ECRESO
the world's best fm transmitters
Advanced Technology
Encompass Digital Media ERI-Electronics Research ESE GatesAir Genelec Gorman-Redlich Mfg. Co. Henry Engineering Inovonics JK Audio Kathrein SE Kintronic Laboratories Lawo Logitek Electronic Systems Mandozzi Elettronica Mediaproxy Moseley Associates MultiCAM Systems Nautel NKK Switches NPR Distribution Services Omnirax Furniture Company On-Hertz OPNS Orban PatchAmp Pluxbox ProCo Sound
SU2324 C1322 C2539 N3303 C4748 C1124 C1722 N6524 C6706 C1333 N5624 N2503 C1916 N4520 SU2802 C2218 N4816 N5924 N4506 SU3408 N6511 N2531 N6020 N4120 C10106 N1434 C2949
Low Power Ecreso FM 100 / 300W
Medium Power Ecreso FM 750/1000/2000W
New! Ecreso FM 3kW
QUICK FACTS The #1 choice of major broadcasters worldwide Lowest operating costs & audio quality on the market
High Power Ecreso FM up to 10kW
Market leader in europe with 1 700 transmitters sold to Germany and +5 000 in France Transmitters enhanced with 1st Artificial Intelligence for FM radio, worldwide patented by WorldCast Systems So robust, they come with a 10-year warranty Feature-packed unlike any other transmitter • 5-band sound processor hosted into the direct to channel digital modulator • RDS encoding...
WorldCast Systems LEARN MORE contact@worldcastsystems.com | www. worldcastsystems.com
RCS N2519 Zetta Cloud With this unique Zetta feature, a station’s content is automatically uploaded to the cloud, ready at a moment’s notice for playback. From natural disasters to viruses taking down IT infrastructure, whatever the emergency, Zetta Cloud is a high-tech, cutting-edge insurance policy that gets broadcasters back on-air, easily. Riedel Communications Rohde & Schwarz SCISYS Media Solutions Shively Labs Sonifex Sprite Media The Rag Place The Telos Alliance Tieline the Codec Company V-Soft Communications Wheatstone Win-OMT Software Wisycom WorldCast Systems XDT Xperi Yellowtec
C6537 SL6405 SU6116 N5019 C3036 C1722 C9945 N5806 N7119 N5921 N6806 N6819 C856 N4124 SU2802 N3012 N3920
14
RADIOWORLD |
@radioworld_news
RadioWorldMagazine
April 2019
A Unique Approach to Cutting AM Costs Downsized state-of-the-art transmitters can offer the same coverage as legacy behemoth units
◗GUEST COMMENTARY BY NIELS DREIJER
The author is a consulting broadcast systems engineer. Electricity constitutes a major part of the operating expenses of analog transmitter sites operating below 30 MHz, if not the largest. This is because the AM modulation scheme is power- Niels Dreijer inefficient by design. Contrary to other modulation schemes, the carrier frequency of an AM [amplitude modulation] transmitter contains no useful information, but simply suppresses reception noise. Even when the audio signal is modulated at the maximum level, only 33 percent
of the total transmitter power output is allocated to the audio signal. The rest, to paraphrase the famous last words in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” is “silence.” REDUCE CARRIER POWER An obvious approach to cutting electricity costs would be to reduce the carrier when it is not needed, for example during pauses and amplitude
extremes in the audio signal. This principle is well proven, and the more advanced modulation-dependent carrier level (MDLC) algorithms can yield significant power savings. The downside to this approach is that the overall audio signal to noise-anddistortion ratio perceived by the listener may be reduced at longer distances from the transmitter site. So how about reducing the carrier power permanently? It not only saves electricity but also allows the use of much smaller and thus cheaper transmitters. Although this contrarian approach involves some compromise, it can prove fully acceptable
Getty Images/Westend61
LOWER COSTS With the 60–70 percent efficiency of a typical tube legacy transmitter as compared to 90 percent of a modern transmitter, and a 4–5 dB sideband power increase from the preprocessor, this translates into three to five times
Modern transmitters can be 100 percent modulated, often allowing a doubling in the sideband-to-carrier power ratio.
THE TOWER METER
The DAC System Power Meter
for audio signals that are not already heavily “wall-of-sound” compressed, such as those of talk radio and classical music stations. If this approach is used at the same time as replacing a legacy transmitter with state-of-the-art equipment, the effects will be threefold: 1. A greatly reduced electricity bill; 2. A significantly smaller and cheaper transmitter; 3. Much lower maintenance costs. The small modern transmitter may even be pushed to give a useful range comparable to its larger legacy predecessor.
Whole Antenna Monitoring In A Shell
For more information www.dacsystem.ch
MAINTAIN SIDEBANDS Traditional wisdom has it that lower transmitter power means shorter range and therefore smaller coverage area. However for AM-modulated transmitters, the carrier simply contributes with reception noise suppression, whereas the useful audio signal is transmitted only in the sidebands. Compared to the legacy transmitter, a modern transmitter can be much more aggressively modulated without audible distortion, often allowing a doubling in the sideband-to-carrier power ratio. Add a state-of-the-art digital audio AM preprocessor, and the numbers really start to speak for themselves.
reduction in electricity costs and transmitter size. This electricity savings, a completely unmanned operation and the lower price of a small AM band transmitter operating in analog mode can result in a capital expenditure payback time of less than two years. If the modern transmitter is used in a robust digital mode such as the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) digital standard, further power savings are possible — as a rule of thumb, the coverage area can be maintained with 7 dB less power than with AM modulation, which can give up to a further five times reduction in electricity cost. Alternatively, it is possible to increase range and coverage by utilizing the full digital power under the original analog frequency permit (ITU Circular Letter CCRR/20). This commentary is based on the analysis first presented by the author at the EBU Digital Radio Summit 2013. A brief summary may be found in the EBU tech-i Magazine, June 2013: https://tech. ebu.ch/docs/tech-i/ebu_tech-i_016.pdf. Niels Dreijer was a project manager at an AM radio station that was downsized from 300 kW to 50 kW without significantly affecting its range and coverage area, and also saw a dramatic reduction in operating expenses. He holds a BScEE Hons and an MBA from INSEAD, France.
@radioworld_news
RadioWorldMagazine
ASCENSION (continued from page 1)
sion Island, a British overseas territory, proved to be a useful stopping off point for ships crossing the Atlantic due to its location almost half-way between Africa and South America. It remains a strategic communications and logistics hub for both the United Kingdom and United States. The United States built an airbase on the island during World War II and later expanded the runway to allow for larger aircraft — it even served as an emergency runway for NASA’s Space Shuttle, although thankfully it was never used. The British Royal Air Force also has a military base on the island, sharing the same runway. It was a key base during the Falkland Islands conflict in 1982. The European Space Agency maintains a monitoring base there along with a small monitoring site for NASA and the United States Department of Energy. In the mid-1960s, the BBC built a relay station at English Bay on the northern tip of the island to transmit shortwave radio broadcasts to Africa and South America, plus a power station to provide the electricity. A LIFELINE FOR AFRICA For more than 50 years, the Atlantic Relay Station has transmitted critical radio broadcasts to millions of listeners in some of the remotest parts of Africa. The daily broadcasts include transmissions in English, French, Arabic, Hausa, Somali, Swahili and several other African languages, and more recently has added transmissions for other international broadcasters as well as the BBC. The shortwave transmitters include two 250 kW Marconi BD272 transmitters originally installed in 1966 (and still in daily use) and four 250 kW RIZ K01 transmitters, which are also capable of transmitting in Digital Radio Mondiale mode. Each transmitter can be switched to one of more than 20 antennas, which consist of HF curtain arrays beaming toward target areas in Africa and South America. Programming from London is delivered via satellite, with resilience and backup feeds provided by Encompass. The power station is staffed around the clock with engineers taking remote control of the transmitter site outside of peak broadcast times. TRANSMISSION Ascension typically transmits around 1,800 hours of program each month on shortwave for the BBC and other broadcasters. Most of these are beamed into Africa, but with the massive footprint of a shortwave transmission, some frequencies are also audible across much of Europe and the Middle East.
April 2019
Satellite downlinks receiving BBC World Service programs from London via Intelsat 10-02.
Neale Bateman
RADIOWORLD |
Although the BBC closed its shortwave service for North and Latin America some years ago, the ability to transmit westward still exists. There are currently no regular scheduled DRM broadcasts from Ascension Island but it has recently transmitted several digital test transmissions to South Africa and Brazil, proving that DRM on the shortwave bands (DRM30) can reach vast international audiences and deliver high-quality audio as well as data services. The station’s engineers also maintain the island’s FM transmitters on Green Mountain (an extinct volcano), which broadcasts BBC World Service and the British Forces radio service (BFBS) to the local audience of servicemen and women, civilian contractors and their families. OPERATING CHALLENGES Atmospheric conditions, seasonal variations, sunspots and a host of other factors determine the propagation of shortwave transmissions and therefore affect the audibility of the signal in the target area. Encompass’ specialist team of frequency managers plan all of the BBC’s transmissions and work closely with other international broadcasters to choose the optimum frequencies at various times of the day. But in the case of Ascension, that’s the least of the problems of operating a high-power transmitter site on a large volcanic rock in the middle of the ocean. Getting supplies, spares, and, of course, staff on and off this remote island, nearly 2,000 miles off the west coast of Africa, is an enormous logistical challenge. Advance planning is essential; everything has a lead-time of several weeks if not months. When the
transmitter station needs a spare part, you can’t just drive to the local store or order on-line. A supply ship from the U.K. calls at Georgetown several times a year, but the islands’ only “convenience store” usually sells out of fresh fruit and vegetables within the first week of a new delivery. Until a little over a year ago, reaching Ascension Island was relatively straightforward; an RAF plane bound for the Falkland Islands used to touch down on the island twice a week to refuel. However, there is currently a major project being undertaken to repair and resurface the runway and until this is completed, regular access is limited to much smaller military planes. There is one commercial flight a month from Ascension’s nearest neighbor, Saint Helena (more than 800 miles, or a two-hour flight away) that links
with Johannesburg, but these few military and commercial routes are the only opportunities to get people and goods to and from the island. Without all of the vital resources and services provided by Encompass engineers, the daily shortwave broadcasts simply wouldn’t happen, let alone the 24/7 power and water supply to the island’s population. The 800 or so people living on the island are in a unique position, and they have to work together in order to survive. The shortwave transmitter station is as important today as ever, broadcasting to one of the BBC’s largest audiences in the world — all from a rock in the middle of the South Atlantic. Neal Bateman works at Encompass Digital Media, managing the transmission and distribution services for BBC World Service.
One of the original 250 kW Marconi BD272 HF transmitters, installed in 1966 and still in daily use.
Neale Bateman
16
18
BUYER’S GUIDE
Transmitters
Nautel Serves Austin’s Oldest Radio Station BY DARYL O’NEAL Founder and Executive Director Sun Radio
AUSTIN, Texas — Sun Radio is a community-funded
organization operating 11 noncommercial solar-powered radio stations (soon to be 13) in the Austin and San Antonio areas. We are also online with more than 132,000 weekly listeners all over the world, of which over 35,000 use the Sun Radio smartphone app and/or smart speakers. Our primary mission is to save community radio, and our secondary focus is on being environmentally friendly in the process. There have been a lot of noncommercial stations in the San Antonio and Austin areas over the years, and with the exception of the two 50,000 watt FMs we are implementing this year, every one of the radio stations in our group was either off the air or slated for destruction at the time of our acquisition. All have been saved for the communities we serve. Our mission also involves supporting the Austin music culture and supporting Texas artists. In addition, our operation is friendly to the environment by relying on solar power, hence the name Sun Radio. The San Antonio and Austin areas are among the fastest growing in the country, and we wanted to give these communities a real local voice without the burden of long commercial stop sets. REHABILITATING KTSN We’re really excited about our first AM station, KTSN 1490 in Austin. It was originally called KNOW and was put on the air in the 1920s. This was Austin’s first radio station and one of the first stations in Texas.
April 2019
I was thrilled, and when Cole McClellan, our When Sun Radio acquired KTSN, AM engineer, gets excitit was on the air but using an old ed, you know it’s good. 1 kW transmitter, limping along After our set-up and tunat about 60–70 percent power. Our ing process, McClellan first goal was to replace the transsaid “I’ve never heard AM mitter with something modern, so sound like that.” we talked with Nautel at the NAB Now that we have Show in Las Vegas to see what was KTSN on the air with available. Both Nautel and Xperi an amazing sound, we’re suggested we try an HD Radiomoving on to our next enabled transmitter. challenge. When our new Nautel J1000 We don’t own the land arrived, we couldn’t believe its size it’s on — we are just leas— it’s about the size of a microing it for now. We are wave, a huge contrast to our old working on getting histortransmitter, which occupied pretty ical protection for the stamuch the entire transmitter buildtion since it’s been there ing. for about 90 years, but for Our engineers established a plan now, the plan is to locate to get the Nautel ready to go on-air, Sun Radio Music Director Ben Bethea, Director a new piece of land that and then quickly remove enough of Affiliate Relations Ryan Schuh and Engineer/ meets our license requirethe old transmitter to get the J1000 Operations Manager Denver O’Neal with the ments. We have seven in place and on the air. This was Nautel J1000. years to get this done, and accomplished with only four to it’s going to be a challenge five hours of down time, and we were back to our full because our licensed coverage area is so small. licensed power! Once we have found a new spot for our transmitter, we’ll convert it to solar operation like our other IMPLEMENTING HD RADIO properties. Our ultimate goal for KTSN(AM/HD) is to Our next step was to implement the HD part of our continue our focus on community based radio and for signal. For this, we deferred to Nautel and their experKTSN to be our flagship network station, feeding both tise. This part went very smoothly and with Nautel’s our owned and operated translators via analog and HD assistance, we got the J1000 fully set up and working Radio and to affiliated noncommercial stations soon correctly with our Inovonics processor. to be fed off satellite. It will be a 100-percent solarWhen the HD Radio signal was first turned on, it powered noncommercial network anchored by an AM took a few seconds to lock in — and our reaction was built in the 1920s and an AM HD built in 2018. “Holy cow!” Our AM station sounds great in analog Pretty cool, huh? That’s the plan. For more information, contact Nautel in Canada mode, and in HD it sounds like beautiful stereo. It’s at +1-877-662-8835 or visit www.nautel.com. great for our music format featuring local artists!
Central Texas gets AM HD Radio service
◗USERREPORT
RADIOWORLD
20
RADIOWORLD |
@radioworld_news
RadioWorldMagazine
BUYER’S GUIDE
April 2019
Transmitters
◗TECHUPDATE DB ELETTRONICA HIGHLIGHTS NEW MOZART NEXT LINE PADUA, Italy — DB Elettronica Telecomunicazioni Spa says its Mozart Next line of FM transmitters offers low maintenance, maxi-
Minnesota Broadcaster Upgrades With BE Broadcast Electronics STX HP 10 inspires loyalty for one broadcaster in the North Star State
◗USERREPORT BY JIM OFFERDAHL Chief Engineer Offerdahl Broadcast Service
mum redundancy and high efficiency. The Mozart Next transmitter benefits from Green RF technology and is characterized by hotswappable power supply units as well as the new Automatic Current Sharing system, which the company claims ensures “the best load distribution in all power supply operating conditions.” This compact line is optimized to an efficiency of up to 75 percent. It can be remotely controlled from Apple or Android mobile apps and from a PC without any proprietary software. For more information, contact DB Elettronica Telecomunicazioni Spa in Italy at +39-049-870-0588 or visit www.dbbroadcast.com.
FOSSTON, Minnesota — Broadcast Electronics transmitters make up a large part of the base of transmitters installed around the country. We know them as well built, reliable and easy to maintain. Factory support has always been available to assist with troubleshooting when needed. When one of my clients expanded by purchasing eight additional stations in central and northern Minnesota, he decided it was time to upgrade some of the transmitters. He owned a number of BE transmitters and asked if I thought the new ones should come from BE. In turn, I asked if he was happy with the ones he already had. His reply was that over the 20 or so years he’d owned these transmitters, problems were far between and few. My experience has been the same with many other clients. He then tasked me with getting proposals from BE and other
EBOOKS: Tools for Strategic Technology Decision-Making Radio World’s growing library of ebooks can assist you in maximizing your investment in an array of platforms and tools: licensed transmission, online streaming, mobile apps, multicasting, translators, podcasts, RDS, metadata and much more. The ebooks are a huge hit with readers. They help engineers, GMs, operations managers and other top radio executives — radio’s new breed of digital, cross-platform decision-makers — understand this new world and thrive in it.
Visit radioworld.com/ebooks
manufacturers, and when all was said and done, we ordered five new transmitters, two AMs and three FMs; BE got the deal. READY TO GO One of the transmitters was an STX HP 10 kW. This transmitter can be ordered in a rack cabinet or without. We ordered it with the cabinet, which enabled the factory to pre-assemble it and test it in its final configuration. When it arrived, all we had to do with it was get it into the building — a relatively easy task, given that its total weight is only about 300 pounds in the rack — and then install the power supply and RF modules. It was basically ready to go. Since the site had threephase power, this transmitter was ordered for such a setup. Had the site only had single-phase, it could have been ordered from the factory to accommodate that. We had an electrician on site when the transmitter was delivered, and he made quick work of getting it power, while I made the RF connections and connected the remote control. The current remote control was a dial-up POTS-type, but the STX HP 10 kW has SNMP capability, and the plan is to upgrade to a remote that allows interfacing with SNMP, as soon as internet service can be installed. SNMP allows command control and GPIO logic interfacing with compatible remote controls over a single Ethernet cable. The site is fed audio by 950 MHz STL, so audio connection was a simple BNC cable to composite in. Now it was time to power up! Since the factory had configured the transmitter, all I had to do was select “TX ON.” Up came the power, and since this station’s TPO requirement is about 8 kW, the STX HP 10 kW is well suited, and it just hums along. This STX 10 kW has been in service for nearly two years. As you can imagine, having replaced a 40-year-old transmitter that ran on three tubes, the new STX HP 10 kW sounds better, and the costs of operating and maintaining have been reduced dramatically. My client has been so pleased with this purchase and the four others he made then that an STX HP 10 is being shipped to another site as I write this.
For information, contact Broadcast Electronics in the United States at +1-217-224-9600 or visit https://www. bdcast.com.
22
RADIOWORLD |
@radioworld_news
RadioWorldMagazine
April 2019
BUYER’S GUIDE Transmitters
WKGC Plays Through Hurricane With GatesAir Compact size and reliability mean a lot to Gulf Coast station
◗USERREPORT BY STEVEN YOUNGBLOOD Chief Engineer WKGC 90.7 FM
PANAMA CITY, Florida — WKGC is a student-operated, 100 kW, NPR member station broadcasting from Gulf Coast State College in the Florida panhandle. We play NPR in the morning and the afternoon, and air student shows in the evenings and on weekends. WKGC operates three HD Radio channels in addition to its main FM signal, with the option to set up a fourth HD Radio service in the future. Two years ago, we evaluated transmitters that would provide the headroom we required to accommodate HD Radio multicasts and other digital services. We also wanted a transmitter that would reduce the maintenance requirements of our aging tube transmitter from another vendor. The higher efficiency of a modern solid-state transmitter was certainly on our minds. Our evaluations led us to a GatesAir Flexiva FAX30 transmitter. The 30 kW transmitter has certainly provided the headroom and the maintenance reductions we sought. Our signals are also clearer and more robust, extending our FM coverage north to the Alabama line and blanketing the well-traveled Interstate 10 with our HD Radio signals. Reliability has been the most important benefit — a benefit proven by its performance during Hurricane Michael in October 2018. The HD Radio processing and distribution architecture can be deli-
cate, yet the GatesAir Flexiva importer and exporter have proven highly stable with no dropouts. This is an especially impressive feat with four audio chan-
nels and visual art moving over the E2X (exporter-to-exciter) connection. The FAX30 design has paid dividends on efficiency, particularly from the foot-
◗WHO’SBUYINGWHAT DELTA MECCANICA DELIVERS COMBINER SYSTEMS TO RAI ORVIETO, Italy — Delta Meccanica has delivered three FM combiner systems to Italian national public broadcaster Rai’s three stations in Sardinia. The solutions combine three and four 10 kW channels in passive reserve. In addition, the systems include input manual patch panels able to bypass the combiner and send the channel directly to the antenna, an output patch panel to commutate the entire signal on the antenna system or to the dummy load. All input channels feature an automated commutating function that uses a motorized coaxial switch mounted on Delta Meccanica’s Extra Safety System. Designed by the company, the system consists of a motorized coaxial switch mounted on a frame, allowing for easy disconnection and extraction in the case of coaxial switch failure. It permits users to restore the transmission chain quickly by replacing the damaged coaxial switch with a manual U-link. Thermal analysis monitors and logs all cavities in real time. The information is stored both locally and remotely and shows operating temperature as well as power at input and output probes. For information, contact Delta Meccanica in Italy at +39-07-6331-6222 or visit www.deltameccanica.com.
print and maintenance perspective. The transmitter is much smaller than our tube unit, freeing space for a new UPS unit that otherwise would not have fit inside the building. The compact build also accelerated the installation process, with an easy lift and quick connections to the existing conduit. The interior of the transmitter is clean and open, with plenty of room to work inside. The filter boards are accessible, and power amplifier modules and power supplies are removed and replaced with ease. Maintenance is limited to keeping the air filters clean, and keeping an eye on the air conditioners. SURVIVING HURRICANE MICHAEL When power or phase changes happen, the FAX30 automatically adjusts and stays on the air. This reliability proved instrumental to our station and surrounding communities as Hurricane Michael came ashore. This was the worst storm to ever hit our region, with wind gusts exceeding 200 miles per hour. We made our final checks at the transmitter site and our studio, which is located in our Emergency Operations Center, as the storm made landfall. We fully expected, reasonably so, to lose our signal. Our generator tripped 30 minutes into the storm, which was an ominous sign. The generator wouldn’t phase correctly, and we immediately went off the air. Although we were only a quarter mile away, we had to cut our way through downed trees to reach the generator. The FAX30 was back on the air immediately after hitting the reset button. The FAX30 operated as usual from that point forward. The transmitter adjusted its power up and down as the phases went lower and higher. We were live on the air from the EOC during the first part of the storm, and delivered important news and information to our listeners through the entire storm and beyond. We were the only station on the air for the majority of the storm, and a critical lifeline for many listeners. We are looking at ways to further reduce our operating and energy costs. We have certainly reduced the time and money associated with changing tubes and other maintenance requirements that solid-state technology eliminates. Looking forward, we intend to purchase a GatesAir Flexiva FLX30 liquid-cooled transmitter, which will substantially reduce our current cooling loads at high power. We also plan to install another FAX10 transmitter on our backup tower for additional on-air redundancy.
For more information, contact GatesAir in the United States at +1-513459-3447 or visit www.gatesair.com.
24
RADIOWORLD |
@radioworld_news
RadioWorldMagazine
BUYER’S GUIDE
April 2019
Transmitters
◗TECHUPDATES BEXT PACKS POWER INTO XL 6000
ABOUT BUYER’S GUIDE
SAN DIEGO, C alifornia — Bext’s XL 6000 is a compact FM solid-state
Radio World publishes User Reports on products in various equipment classes throughout the year to help potential buyers understand why colleagues chose the equipment they did. A User Report is an unpaid testimonial by a user who has already purchased the gear. A Radio World Product Evaluation, by contrast, is a freelance article by a paid reviewer who typically receives a demo loaner. Do you have a story to tell? Write to brett.moss@futurenet.com.
transmitter from the company’s XL Series line of broadcast equipment. In a height of four rack-spaces it offers 6 kW of power and many features for today’s broadcasters. The company says that reliability even in challenging environments is ensured by use of the latest generation or rugged MOSFETS. Like the Bext transmitters, the XL Series offers energy efficiency, with minimal heat generated by the unit. The onboard exciter is frequency agile and locally or remotely controllable. The transmitter’s menu can be navigated through the touchscreen on the front panel or remotely through a LAN/web IP connection. Standard contact closures for older style remote control systems are provided. In addition to standard analog audio inputs and AES-EBU digital audio inputs, streaming audio can be fed to the unit. The firmware can switch to a secondary, alternate audio source if the primary incoming audio feed fails. The transmitter can be powered by single-phase or threephase AC power. The user manual is stored in digital format inside the transmitter, and can be accessed using a laptop connected to the transmitter through a USB port on the front panel. This function is active even when the transmitter is not operating and/or completely disconnected from the power line. Available options include digital direct-to-channel FM carrier generation, built-in stereo generator and RDS generator. For information, contact Bext in the United States at +1-888-2398462 or visit www.bext.com.
ECRESO FM 3 KW LOWERS OPERATING COSTS THROUGH AI MÉRIGNAC, France — WorldCast Systems says its new Ecreso FM 3 kW transmitter offers users an advanced broadcasting solution. The Ecreso FM 3 kW compact transmitter, housed in a 3U chassis, includes built-in redundancy on the system’s power supplies and power amplifiers. In the case of power supply or amplifier module loss, the unit will continue broadcasting with >1500 W on air for unlimited time. Also designed for easy maintenance, the Ecreso FM 3 kW transmitter features hot-swappable power supplies and fans.
The company says the system offers an efficiency of 76 percent thanks to sixth generation MOSFET and a new planar design. Furthermore, SmartFM, the onboard Artificial Intelligence technology, adds an additional 10 to 40 percent energy savings, reducing costs and CO2 emissions. In addition to SmartFM, the Ecreso FM 3 kW transmitter incorporates a direct-to-channel digital modulator, dynamic RDS encoder, digital stereo encoder, five-band audio processor, MPX/composite over AES input, GPIO, and single frequency network. The unit comes with a standard three-year warranty and up to 10 years as an option. For information, contact WorldCast Systems in France at +33-557928-928 or visit www.worldcastsystems.com.
COMING UP IN MAY: Audio Processing
RFE INTRODUCES NEW HOT-PLUG LIQUID-COOLED TECHNOLOGY FALERNA, Italy — Italian firm RFE has developed a new liquidcooled system with hot-swappable power amplifier modules that allows users to easily replace the modules of a high-power (10 kW and more) transmitter during operation. Designed for use in both air and liquid-cooled transmitters, the system can be made up of either 6 kW or 3 kW amplifier modules. The hot-swappable and redundant amplifier modules can be easily removed from the front of the transmitter without interfering with the unit’s operation. This, says RFE, affords the user a high level of efficiency and functionality. For information, contact RFE in Italy at +39-049-738674 or visit www.rfebroadcast.com.
ROHDE & SCHWARZ COOLS WITH LIQUID MUNICH, Germany — Rohde & Schwarz says that its THR9 transmitter has features that make it unique among FM transmitters, The company says that is reflective of a single corporate philosophy, which dates back over 70 years to when the first FM transmitter in Europe signed on the air. It was also manufactured by Rohde & Schwarz. It calls the THR9 is one of the most compact high-power transmitters available, with up to 40 kW analog power in a standard rack configuration. It’s an efficient FM transmitter with analog efficiency in excess of 74 percent. A key contributing factor to this performance is liquid cooling, the company says. With liquid cooling, R&S says, transmitters are more efficient, smaller and more reliable with fewer moving parts. Liquid cooling is a closed loop design, so owners don’t have to refill the system or worry about contaminants getting into the system. In addition, it uses redundant pumps and heat exchangers so a single failure, however unlikely, won’t keep stations from broadcasting at full power. The THR9 liquid cools power amplifiers, power supplies and the combiner, so, R&S says, owners get higher efficiency, lower electric power consumption, greater simplicity of design and more flexibility in operation. With reduced or eliminated HVAC requirements, R&S says, the THR9 saves hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the transmitter. Beyond that, the THR9 features HD Radio support with the first Xperi Generation 4 hardware and software reference platform, shipping originally in August of 2017. Since then, the HDR900 continues to add features including automatic synchronization of the analog and digital HD1 signal and other improvements. For information, contact Rohde & Schwarz in Germany at +49-89-4129-0 or visit www.rohde-schhwarz.com.
26
RADIOWORLD |
@radioworld_news
RadioWorldMagazine
April 2019
◗NEWSWATCH NEW FREQUENCY PLAN INCLUDES DAB+ FOR LOCAL STATIONS The Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel has issued a tender for both FM and DAB+ frequencies. This move reflects the region’s ongoing digital transition toward digital. The last frequency allocation round dates back to 2008, when it offered nine-year licenses for the FM-dial in the Wallonie-Bruxelles Federation. “The licenses fell due two years ago and today we’re opening up a call for both FM and DAB+,” said Nele Smets, CSA’s head of the radio department and assistant general manager. In total, the South-Belgian FM environment has room for 82 frequencies for independent radio stations, six for “national” (covering Wallonia) or urban networks and four for provincial networks. “In addition to the six DAB+ frequencies for the national and urban networks, for which simulcasting on FM and DAB+ is mandatory as part of their broadcast permit, we have five frequencies for new DAB+ projects and 12 multiplexes for independent radios: four in urban areas and eight more multiplexes for rural areas. Each local radio multiplex offers room for 12 to 18 stations,” explained Smets. “This new tender will have an impact on the radio landscape because
radio frequencies are in demand.” Contrary to the situation in Flanders, where local stations are not (yet) in the DAB+ plans, in Wallonia, the CSA together with independent radio association RNI+ [Radios Numériques Indépendantes+], succeeded in obtaining DAB+ architecture and financial support for local and independent radio. “The government has budgeted 1 million Euros to finance the technical infrastructure and the transition to DAB+ for local radio,” said Smets, adding that, in 2016, RTBF and the private networks benefited from a €5.4 million support for DAB+. “Today, apart from the investments, we have secured a place on DAB+ for local radio, offering far better coverage than FM today,” she said. “Unlike in the north of the country, where Norkring operates the DAB+ spectrum, in Wallonia the existing infrastructure remains property of the public service broadcaster RTBF. maRadio.be, a consortium with RTBF and private networks, including founding members Radio Contact, Bel RTL, Fun Radio and Nostalgie will handle the promotion of the technology.” For the local stations, no definite launch date for DAB+ has been published, although preliminary work on multiplexes and the construction of a transmitter park is underway.
— Marc Maes
LAWO ESTABLISHES U.K. SUBSIDIARY German broadcast manufacturer Lawo has opened a subsidiary in the United Kingdom and added to its sales and support team with new appointments. The company welcomes James Walker, Olivier Kadhim Boyd pre-sales and Hough, Devin Workman, systems engineer, James Kadhim Boyd, Craig Walker, solution architect Newbury along with Sales Managers Olivier Hough and Devin Workman. Based in the U.K. offices, the company says these new hires will bring a “new quality of customer relationship” to the country through their expertise and years of commercial and practical sales engineering and support experience. “Lawo is investing heavily in the U.K. as part of a drive to keep up with increasing activity and opportunity in the area of IP processing and distribution, and management of IP-based media workflows,” explains Craig Newbury, director of Sales and Operations, U.K. and Ireland. Newbury heads the new team.
BROADCAST EQUIPMENT EXCHANGE TRANSMITTERS/EXCITERS/TRANSLATORS
TRANSCOM CORPORATION
Serving the Broadcast Industry Since 1978 Transmitters and Broadcast Equipment for Radio & Television Used FM Transmitters 55W 2000 Harris DIGIT CD 5KW 1988 BE FM5A 5 KW 1999 Nautel FM5, Solid State 10 KW 1988 BE FM10A, Dual 5 KW 10 KW 1998 Nautel FM10, Solid State, 1-phase 20 KW 1992 Harris HT20CD 25 KW 2004 Harris HT25CD Used AM Transmitters 10 KW 1991 Nautel AMPFET10, solid-state
Exciters & Miscellaneous Equipment Exciters->Harris DIGIT Bird Model 8932, 10 kW air-cooled RF Load Used DTV & ATV Transmitters **Rohde & Schwarz** **Harris Platinum** New TV Transmitters-DTV & ATV Please visit our website, OMB and Technalogix
www.fmamtv.com, forouradditional listings. Please visit website, www.fmamtv.com, for additional listings.
HARRIS Email: transcom@fmamtv.com • Phone: 215-938-7304 P.O. Box 26744, Elkins Park, PA 19027 RETUNING & TESTING AVAILABLE • CALL US FOR A QUOTE!
ADVERTISING CONTACTS EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA: RAFFAELLA CALABRESE +39-320-891-1938 Fax: +39-02-700-436-999 raffaella.calabrese@futurenet.com SEND MATERIALS TO: NICOLE SCHILLING nicole.schilling@futurenet.com
THE AMERICAS: JOHN CASEY +1-212-378-0400 x512 Fax: +1-703-852-4583 john.casey@futurenet.com
RADIOWORLD
April 2019
www.radioworld.com ADVERTISER INDEX
This listing is provided for the convenience of our readers. Radio World assumes no liability for inaccuracy.
page
advertiser
website /url
10
AETA Audio Systems
www.aeta-audio.com
8
Aldena (Telecomunicazioni) SRL
www.aldena.it
1
BE - Broadcast Electronics
www.bdcast.com
1
Broadcast Bionics
www.bionics.co.uk
17 Calrec
www.calrec.com
4
Comrex Corporation
www.comrex.com
14
DAC System
www.dacsystem.ch
18
Deva Broadcast Ltd
www.devabroadcast.com
19 GatesAir
www.gatesair.com
27
Inovonics Broadcast
www.inovonicsbroadcast.com
11
Lawo AG
www.lawo.com
23
Mandozzi by Elber
www.mandozzi.ch
5 Multicam
www.multicam-systems.com/en/
21 Nautel
www.nautel.com
28 Orban
www.orban.com
9
Telos - The Telos Alliance
www.telos-systems.com
7
Tieline Technology
www.tieline.com
2, 13, 15
Wheatstone
www.wheatstone.com
12
Worldcast Systems – Ecreso
www.worldcastsystems.com
25
Xperi
www.xperi.com
9000