Archive
NAB 2012
I have been lacking on posts this year. Personally it has been tough with family issues culminating in the passing of my Dad. It adds to the lack of motivation. Now it is time to get back on track. A kick start: the NAB show is back! I’ve printed some floor maps this year and I have a list of 32 vendors I want to harass, I mean talk to and look at. All for various reasons from the obvious to the “what they He** would I want to look at them” is on that list. What are your agenda for this year?
1. Talk with those of which I still have some issues. Harris is one. Do they intend to make a new exciter that is a bit more reliable? Am I looking at having to budget for a new Exporter that may correct some of the issues? BTW, I received an email that specifically states that I “should have no need to move the equipment to the transmitter site,” so I hopefully am on track to eliminate or better manage my issues.
2. Telos: I am going to ask you point blank and face to face: Why do I have 2 Console Directors that just go to sleep and you guys cannot help with a solution? Only two. I am going to swap one out today with a different one just to see if the problem follows again, though I have done it before.. Gotta do though.
3. 305 Broadcast. A new distributor on the block. I figure I will see what they have to offer and how they compare or plan to compete with the likes of BGS and BSW.
The list goes on, but you get the gist. I will also just wander around aimlessly because I can. The largest road block to moving forward is money. No budget. I can plan and think and plan and think. Ouch, maybe not so much thinking!
Hope to see you there!
EAS and CAP
Here is the link to the FCC Federal Register: Review of the Emergency Alert System
It looks like I have some reading to do. Hopefully someone somewhere will know how to implement this crap. If you have any pointers we would like to hear!
Remote Controls: Burk Technologies ARC Plus
As you have seen tweeted over the last few months, I have installed and now tweaking our new remote control system. I decided to go with the Burk Technologies ARC Plus as it was a logical move from the existing ARC-16 system plus I was able to integrate components from the ARC-16. Moving over to an IP based system was not too bad, though I do have to wonder what others do for data at their transmitter sites. Well, here are some things that I thing you should be aware of if you are considering the Burk ARC Plus.
1. It works. That’s nice. Make sure you get the latest firmware if you do not have it yet. Right now that is version 2.3.0.5. It is up on their website: Burk>Downloads>ARC Plus. This takes care of a flash memory corruption, that if attacks, you end up having to send the unit back to the factory. I did not need a loaner, but be prepared. Since the update my boxes have been running well.
2. Tech support has been very good, though response can be somewhat slow. Based on severity response is quick, but for some of the fun I’ve had email and screenshots have helped resolve some stuff.
3. Networking and having sites see/talk with each other. Talking with Burk, about half of the installs request or require sites to communicate with each other. I do it for convenience. If I’m on one site I like to be able to see the others. Keep your network simple, and since the data rate is not a huge demand, not too many issues with busy networks. We even have an older Moseley LanLink to one site and it works 90% of the time. Also, configure the ARC Pluses correctly the first time. I actually got confused and did not bother worry about the configuration of the Public IP Address field in the units. I though, hey, I’m not using a public network, I”m on extended LAN, why bother. I learned quickly that the sites will not talk unless everything is configured properly. In our situation, the Public IP Address and the Private IP Address must be the same. Research your installation and configure accordingly.
4. Build that site list right the first time. As tech support told me, think bees and a behive. Build the first site to start the hive. From there add new sites (bees) to the hive. Do not connect to other sites and start the process over again. Start with one and you will be safe. I have four sites (ARC Pluses) along with a couple of ARC-16s attached. Everything talks well, thus my delving into automatic switching of STLs and eventually switching to our auxiliary site. See point #3 above about configuring them private and public IP addresses. It is very important to make these sites talk.
5. When using AutoLoad 2010 and all the Plus-X devices, make sure the latest definitions are downloaded for the devices. Again, those are available on their web site (see link above).
That is what you need to make these things work. Since my installation, Burk has introduced the Plus-X IP-8 adapter which takes the actual cable used between the IP-8 and ARC-16, eliminates the ARC-16 and now talks with the ARC Plus via IP. Confused? Simplified: Keep existing IP-8, remove ARC-16, add IP-8 Adapter. Ethernet cable on network, configure ARC Plus. No rewiring of the IP-8. I wish I had that as I still have 3 ARC-16s on my system. I’m looking forward to updating that portion over the next year, money pending.
Note that all channel assignments when using the ESI (Enhanced Speech Interface) are 3 digits. Since you can have up to 256 channels monitored on the ARC Plus, 3 digits are necessary. Alarm reports are 300 now versus using 30. Status is 350. Logging off is 999, not 99. As you can tell, if you can get connected via VPN and a computer, that is the way to go versus using the phone, but that functionality is there. I am just starting to use the hidden channel feature so will update this post when complete.
Logging with the AutoPilot 2010 is similar to the older AutoPilot. I am still not happy that I cannot print to a file a daily log for each site as a dialog box continues to pop up to confirm the print to PDF. This may be a function of the PDF printer I am using, but still an annoyance. I’m open to suggestions and thoughts. If and when I figure out what I’m doing I will update this post. Overall the reports are definitely in-depth and you can pick and choose what you want in the report. I’ve used this to change a log for a week to track down a potential issue. Didn’t find one, so back to my normal reports.
Overall I like what we have. Not sure how others compare to this, but I would say the complexity level is about the same among them. I like the fact that I can access each ARC Plus directly via ESI, web interface, AutoPilot, and as a backup via modem. I also like that I can have AutoPilot on my computer for quick access from home while the application running in the shop continues doing it’s business. I will follow up as I create more macros and delve into the Jet Flowcharts which is next on my list of to-dos. BTW, there is new firmware update coming out, but no date yet that will make macro and flowchart processes run based on status and limit changes. At the moment you need to configure a monitoring loop to notice these changes.
Hope this information is helpful. I will update accordingly as mentioned. I plan to write more about other network devices and SNMP. Stay tuned for a short post on how I configured my silence detection using the feature in the SAS 32KD.
Cheers!
Hell Week or Just Plain Busy
As promised a recap of a busy week. If you follow my tweets, your sure already know we had a busy week. Harris, RCS, AT&T, and the regular stuff just piled on.
My Harris Flexstar RF mute issues sprung up on me this week. It has been on hiatus for a couple of months and then an outage on Monday and two within 15 minutes on Tuesday. So, in answer to a phone call today, no there is nothing really to do but make sure the latest and greatest in software/firmware release is installed. If you do not have that, you will not get much in return from tech support. I updated the Flexstar to Exgine 4.40 and DSP to 8.33. Since this had to be done, I had to upgrade the Exporter to 4.3.1 and the Importer to 4.3.2. This now sets the clock on if I continue to have issues, and knock on wood I have not had an issue since the update. On that note I still need a good answer to why HD data should be able to knock me off the air? So if you have issues with your Flexstar, update it. Then document exactly what the issue is. Once you have all that ammunition, give tech support a shot and see what answers you get. Do not be surprised if you feel a bit helpless. The HTHD+ as an RF amplifier is great, they just need to fix the most critical piece, the exciter.
While transmitter issues were occurring we were hit with an RCS NexGen crash. All 3 station decided to play the game. Console control stopped, database communications became sketchy, and the whole system was just sluggish. No apparent reason. We noted it had to do with network traffic, so some box is flooding the network or we have a physical device that has an issue. On that assumption we changed out the brand new Cisco switch purchased from RCS with an old 1GB Dell switch used on the old DAD network. Everything began to run much more smoothly. IT and RCS check the switch and all seems good. We still have yet to switch back.
If this was not enough, concurrent failure of a T1 to a transmitter site happened. I was on the phone with AT&T when the Flexstar decided to drop off. It must have been a funny picture having me on the phone with AT&T while I was poking the remote control switching us to our Aux transmitter. Multitasking at its best. AT&T replaced a repeater and a snap-jack in the CO. No dispatch to the site. This particular CO seems to be having many issue of late. We seem to cycle through which T1 goes down. Annoying, but they were on it and problem is solved for now.
In addition to running around dealing with this, I still am working details on the Burk remote control system. I have the sites up and in theory they should all see each other. Reality is a different story. I can see one site from the shop, but not another. While at the “offending” transmitter site, I was unable to see the other sites from the ARC Plus. Here is the odd part. With AutoPilot I can see all the sites. I get readings and all the good stuff. With AutoLoad I can see all the sites. Even at the transmitter site I had to visit I was able to see all the sites. Why the ARC Plus does not see the others, and the site list is in it, is beyond me. I have an inquiry to Burk on that one. I am also going to contact Moseley to delve into a potential issue with the LanLink. I need something a bit more robust. A 6 mile shot should not be that difficult.
I can say at least I was busy and not bored. Mix this with home life and it was quite a week. I’m glad to be able to sit down and spew this out. If you have experience with any of the items discussed or have any items you wish to see a discussion, please drop a line, leave a comment, or give a call. Now let’s see what next week brings!
Cheers!
One Busy Year and a Happy New Year!
Sitting here on the last working day of the year for me and reflecting on the busy year that just occurred and the upcoming year. I hope the economy improves a bit for the radio industry. Though we did good by corporate in terms of being able to clear some much needed projects, the operating side needs a bit of economic help as I suspect many of my peers may agree. Anyways, let’s see what we did this year.
Recently Tweeted events was the RCS NexGen installation. Not a huge installation, nor a small one. Let’s say moderate in size at 18 computers and all the fun that goes with installing them. We met our deadlines having all our stations on the system before the end of the year. We will continue to work out the little bugs as they pop up. The most recent bug, as that is the only term I can reference at this moment, is the Export data can only be assigned to a single network. Our audio servers have 2 NICs (Network Interface Card) to keep NexGen traffic separate from other data and external sources. Exported data such as RDS, HD PSD, and streaming must be sent out. We happen to keep our transmitter network separate from house and streaming, and we keep streaming off the house and transmitter networks. While configuring Export data for a station we are lead to believe you fill in the appropriate information and if TCP/IP one types in the port and IP address of the receive machines. Well, this works pretty good for the data we send to the transmitter network (RDS and HD PSD), but not so good with the streaming network. We find that the export data can only feed one NIC. Ouch! Next week we decide if we install a basic router or we press the issue with RCS. Other than little things like this the system appears to be working as advertised. Now if Programming and Traffic departments can play nice. The last accomplishment of the RCS install is we are connected for console control and EAS (Sage ENDEC) control via IP. No GPIO devices are used (for the time being). Now that is cool.
We installed a new remote control system. We decided on the Burk ARC Plus system along with various peripherals they provide. I will say the overall project was a success. I will also have to say I may want to rethink some of the work I did. I also must say that 2 ARC Plus units had to be returned for factory repair due to memory corruption of which I updated 3 units to a new firmware version that should take care of this. I am also going to help Nautel and Burk troubleshoot a SNMP error that is occurring with, between, or something the PlusConnect-NV and the Nautel AUI. The PlusConnect-NV talks with the AUI (Advanced User Interface) via IP, so I have no more physical relay closures to the remote control, it is all done via IP. These errors are not causing trouble, but it fills my Burk Event Logs, so it is annoying. Also, no occasion I will receive a false alarm of an NV output power is below lower limit which is most likely due to the error and time-out of the SNMP request. This will be interesting to troubleshoot because it is an area I do not normally get to play: SNMP, Agents and Traps. Another fun time is the network between studio and transmitter sites. All are slow connections in some way or another. Part of two sites depend on the Moseley LanLink which I have noticed is not the most reliable, but works.
On the line of Burk and the remote controls, the series of devices help connect many items. One site has the IIU (Integrated Input Unit) and ICRU (Integrated Command Relay Unit), all sites have at least one Plus-X 300 which is an input/metering/relay box, and a site with 2 PlusConnect-NVs and 2 PlusConnect-HZs. The PlusConnect-HZ box connects to the Harris Z10 controller board via a serial connection and then talks to the ARC Plus via IP. Pretty cool on both accounts. In a way you may say that we are nearly all IP connected in some way or another.
We ran a firmware update of our SAS 32KD and RioLinks before the RCS installation. We updated all the RioLinks to work via IP. We also added the capability to change show configuration on the Rubicon consoles. If that was not enough, the firmware allows us to add silence sense to outputs. With this I plan to wire some alarm statuses to the remote control for various silence events. Another micro-management and troubleshooting tool.
Early in the year we upgraded our old Nortel PBX phone system to a new Avaya. This phone system is capable of using digital phones (which made our transition easier) and VOIP. We will be testing and implementing a bit of this here in the future. We also took advantage of the Avaya and integrated it with our Telos 2101 Hub. Now we have in-house extensions in the studios.
We continued to study and test various ways of doing live remote broadcasts. Verizon 4G LTE has been a live saver in some cases and has been a defacto go-to for other broadcasts. In all cases we had at least, if not better, a 98% success rate using this method. We use Tieline Technology codecs and an external 4G router and 4G LTE USB modem. I won’t mention that Tieline has developed an USB module which we plan on testing for them in the near future. Speaking of Tieline we decided to purchase the Report-IT application for iPhones and iPads. We have done a couple of successful long form broadcasts using just an iPad on WiFi. We plan on future testing of the Mic Adapter and Genie. Speaking of iPhones, we are using the iPush to get surf reports to our NexGen system. No more calling in and recording. Audio quality is much better and the reports are seamlessly inserted in the logs along with beds.
Lastly I want to mention that my Nautel NV20’s were delivered 12/24/2008. They are 3 years old!
As we wrap up this year, I wish my readers a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Happy Holidays
Wishing my readers, though few, a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year!
Cheers!
Bill
Tech Week Review: I’m Tired
This week was a full week if there ever was one. We managed to dodge a bullet in the power department, survived another AT&T T1 failure, rebounded from an RCS mess, and finished the first steps of a studio upgrade.
Power. We take it for granted. A normal facility would have enough available capacity to grow. Here we do neither. This is tied into our RCS NexGen installation where we had to add a server room to accommodate the hardware intensive system. (not our choice, but we do what we do.) The facility was built in the mid-80’s for two stations. Today it house 4 stations, a minimal amount of production space, and a tech center that was expanded to handle the PPM equipment. The tech panel is connected to a generator and is only capable of 40 Amps, max. The limit is the generator which we cannot do anything about, yet (future project and story will accompany it), at 12.5kW. We are max-ed out on the panel with only 5 Amps of headroom on two phases and 0 Amps on the third phase. With a bit of juggling and shedding non-critical equipment, racks, and even production rooms, we managed to fire up all 18 server class computers and their peripheral equipment. Mr. Goldberg would be proud of this accomplishment.
Since I dropped the RCS NexGen mess into this and it is associated with this hell, we received the equipment and it was NOT configured with IP addresses which we were told was done. We were also not given instructions on the Dell FX100 KVM extenders which even Dell does not support. We ended up finding out that Dell re-brands them under the model FX100 and they actually come from a Canadian company of which our IT dude contacted. We find they are obsolete and no longer manufactured. He did receive instructions and got them to work! We can now proceed on learning how this beast runs and begin to deploy such beast.
On that note, in conjunction with the RCS project we are upgraded a production room. It is finally getting equipped with a SAS Rubicon console. Finally all our main facilities will be on the same system. This was a project that has been postponed for 3 years! I had the furniture modified to accommodate the smaller frame, a PR&E/Harris Legacy console was removed, and a new Rubicon 16 installed. The console was up and running by the end of the day as I pre-configured it between the other headaches of the week. All we need to do is finish connecting peripherals and attend to details. I am the resident expert on SAS having installed 8 consoles in our facility, one configured as a split-console. One issue that has arisen in this installation is the Telos Console Director. The display starts out good, but then messes up. Operation is not an issue, just the display. Next week begins with a call to Telos to see what I can do to verify anything unusual. I know the cable from the I/O to the director is good and I know the Desktop Director works just fine. Interesting that I seem to have issues with Console Directors. I still have no resolve on my other two that just go stupid and shut down. A mystery that needs solving!
In the middle of this fun was our routine T1 outage from our friendly folks at AT&T. This came in the middle of our power management project. We finally got to deal with a tech that knew what he was doing. He was baffled by the fact that the circuit was down hard for 2 hours with no signs of problems before or after in the logs. He proceeded to tear out the circuit and test all the way back to the CO. He found 80 Volts of cross-battery and had new pairs assigned. Let’s see how long we go this time. This circuit has issues at least 3-4 months, and each time AT&T says it tests good.
I did manage to make it to the SBE meeting to hear what Nautel has to offer in the future. Now there is a company I have not problems with at the moment.
I continue the installation of the Burk ARC Plus system as time permits. All projects are running together now and two of our stations have gone into live broadcast mode. We do the best we can to cover everything, it just means we delay projects to accommodate them.
On that note, it was tiring this week. It took time off today and spent time with my daughter. We attack next week and fit all in everything in between 3 live broadcasts. Busy is good, it just makes it difficult to do it right and in the time allotted. Have a great weekend!
Impatient Futurist: Forget 3D Screens—We Need 3D Audio, Like in Real Life
Impatient Futurist: Forget 3D Screens—We Need 3D Audio, Like in Real Life – http://pulse.me/s/UJx1
I agree with this person. Audio quality has slipped since the advent of digital music everywhere. I am asked constantly why I care so much about my on-air quality while others don’t. My answer is because I care.
Do you care?
Posted from WordPress on NookColor
When The Economy Attacks
This was a tough week. The economy strikes again. I witnessed the layoff of 13 full-time employees and a handful of part-time employees. All good people. It seems every radio group has now seen what the economy has done, and we all must take up the slack as we move forward. Even with this tragic event, there is work to be done. In my case a lot.
This week I went live with our new Sage ENDECs. I have the air chain switching setup within the SAS router and all the handheld RC-1 controllers work. I now need to implement automation control, but that is up in limbo as we wait to see if and when we get our new system. I will have a temporary solution within the next couple of weeks.
On that note I am not impressed by the input controls of the ENDEC. There are 5 inputs to use, but you can’t use them the way you want. Sage gives you schemes to use them the way they think they should be used. I have called and expressed my concerns, but they go unheard. The main headache is their required 1 second closure for the box to work properly. Anything less and it acts different and creates a gotcha. The SAS closures are roughly 300ms. Using Scheme 1 instead of a RWT it starts a 15 minute hold timer before running the test. Not very intuitive. Why we cannot program how the inputs work is beyond me, especially since the box is network accessible. And the answer is yes, I am looking for ways to “hack” in and control the box via something other than their web GUI.
I also cleaned up a Harris/PR&E Impulse console. I had to order a handful of new switches. I must stress if coffee is spilt into a console, just tell us. I was able to clean things up on the PC board and luckily the solder pads were intact. I was suspect of the ribbon cable connector. I used Deoxit and made sure all the contacts got burnished. I sparyed air through to get any extra residue and cleaner out of the connector. The console is up and running for morning show production. Now if I could drop a little SAS Rubicon in there….
Now that this stress week is over I can attack details and do some digging. Some days I wish I could program so hacking wasn’t such a chore. At least it is fun to dig!
Have a good weekend.
Posted from WordPress on NookColor
Summary of Life
Oh there is so much to write about. I’ve been on vacation, and now back this week to much to do. Twitter has been good for updates. I sure would like to drill down and give you guys some substance, but here we are summarizing the fun we have had this week.
HVAC. Finally, after 6 or so years, we have air conditioning at our Class A transmitter site. The R2D2 type units just were not cutting it and when I had the vendor out to get the quote, one of the units would not stay on. Now that the new unit is in, the room is consistent and hopefully will be much cleaner as it is a closed system. We had a Fujitsu 2.5 ton split system installed. It is quiet; almost too quiet. The residence at the house will appreciate that. It is rated at 19 SEARS, so it is efficient. Let’s see how efficient over time. Check that off the list.
I received my RF load for a station that had one under-sized since the HD installation. That needs to go. The thing showed up the day before I left on vacation. I will squeeze that in shortly. Should be straight forward. Of course I plan on making the project a bit more complicated as the RF coax switch on that station needs to be rotated 90 degrees as the interlocks do not line up properly with the controller, position-wise. Now that will be fun. Drop switch, rotate it, and make plumb again.
New Avaya phone system was installed. Some minor adjustments are required, but we had the first phones up and running 1 hour after the old system was turned off. We’re good. I congratulate the IT dude on his planning and the folks at GSolutionz for providing a good installation experience. Can’t wait to play with the new features. I do have one thing we are attempting to solve: Connecting the system to the Telos 2101. I have Green, but I do not have the numbers and the two systems are not quite talking with each other. I’m waiting for a call from Telos now (been 2 hours already) on the error codes that are showing so I can get the techs to adjust the Avaya to provide what Telos needs. Anyone else connect a phones system to the Telos? Any luck, trouble, solutions?
I continue to find the time to run tests and evaluate the Orban 8600. Stay tuned for a user report somewhere. Hint: I like it. Now will Omnia step up and let me dig on that one?
I continue to rotate 6 year old Aphex 230 processors through as they fail. All the same vintage and all getting capacitors replaced. I am still not told which ones, but at least I know they get recalibrated when sent in for service. Believe it or not, one unit had a tube replaced. I need to dig up the type and get a couple replacements in house. My oldest is 7 years old.
Keeping busy is good. Makes the days fly by. If there is a subject you would like to hear about, let me know. I appreciate all comments, good and bad.
Have a great 4th of July weekend!
Tech Notes from the Field 